Is anyone running Linux on their PC’s instead of Windows XP? I use Ubuntu Linux on all my PC’s including my older ones which can be used in Mark’s shop.
Possibly use Blender for design work then LinuxCNC for tool control
check out: http://www.linuxcnc.org/ - uses an older version of Ubuntu than I have loaded but that is a minor issue. We can just load the proper version on another boot partition.
People are even driving their CNC machines using Raspberry Pi loaded with Linux.
I would not be surprised if Windows 8 was a BSD Unix variant just like OSX is. If they did switch to BSD Unix as a base, it would produce a massive improvement in their OS for very little effort. Of course, this is assuming the folk at MicroShaft are smart enough to make such a move.
Yes, I use Ubuntu on my machines. My CNC uses grbl running on an arduino so i’m not using the linuxcnc image. I just drive the code to grbl with one of the Java apps written for the purpose. No frills but suits my needs at the moment.
I used linuxcnc/emc2 for years. I found it a real pain to work with and configure, even aside from the hal config stuff. I switched to Mach3 about 9 months ago and I haven’t looked back.
I’ve used both linuxcnc and Mach3, but I currently run LinuxCNC. After getting through the initial config, which I’ll admit wasn’t the best experience, LinuxCNC has performed flawlessly. I think it is worth looking at prior to dropping the money for Mach3.
That’s actually a really good point. I’ve got a relatively simple machine with a router for a spindle and no auto tool changers, autozeroing, or even limit switches at this point. All that LinuxCNC is doing for me is moving the bit around. If you have a more advanced machine or running more advanced jobs, you’ll probably see some benefits from Mach3.