Unlock potential of all 4 timers on mega2650

[pluciorx]

I would like to ask if there are any open plans of enabling all 4 timers at the same for Mega2650 ? Giving the number of available posibilities that would open a whole new potential for the library and the board itself

[gin66]

4 timers would mean 12 steppers. Just if all steppers run at the same time, then the maximum stepper rate would drop to something in the range of 5 kHz. Still there is doubt, if the stepper task still can fill all 12 queues with the remaining CPU load. If only two or three steppers run at the same time, then this could work.

In my eyes, the avr devices are not powerful enough and therefore I have no plans to support it.

esp32 (without S3,C3,…) can drive up to 14 steppers with espidf4 and rp2350 up to 12. Especially the latter is in the meantime similar price range as the avr with much more processing power

[pluciorx]

I fully agree that to to run all 12 at the same time (or even 6) it would be better to go with ESP,

I change the dimensions of a machine in one axis only with button press driving two motors at the same time synchronous. But in total there is 5 motors: z0 z1, X and r1 r2. and its seems painful that I can run only 3 out of mega2650 when only r1 and r2 require some higher speed.
R1 and R2 never runs when z0 and z1 or X is running.

AVR have another advantage of being compatibile with 5V industrial systems.