Mach3 vs LinuxCNC/EMC What do you use and why?

[Lee Roberts]

Hi,

There is a little decussion here: how many linuxcnc emc users do we have (http://www.mycncuk.com/forums/machine-control-software/5530-how-many-linuxcnc-emc-users-do-we-have.html) and i thought it would be nice to see just how many user's of both Mach & LinuxCNC the forum has, so if you've got a few seconds will you vote your prefered choice above please?

If you would like to give the reasons behind your prefered choice below, please feel free !

.Me

[birchy]

The vote will lean towards Mach, purely because there are a lot more Windows users than there are Linux users. Ironically, a lot of people rave about how good Android is, little do they realise that it is a Linux based O.S.

Personally, I've been 100% Linux on all my PCs for a few years now and am very much a fan of open source projects. I've converted a lot of friends to Linux Mint and they love it. They often thank me for introducing them to it as they had never realised that Windows and Mac are not the ONLY operating systems available. But Linux isn't the answer to everything. Windows has better support for games and certain other programs. But they're mostly commercial software and I prefer FREE. The main bonus is that Linux doesn't suffer from all the instability and security issues that Windows seems to be renowned for. It's not surprising that most of the internet is run from Linux servers and one of the servers I rent in London hasn't been rebooted since I started using it in 2009!

Having said all that, most people don't like change, so stick with Windows purely because it's what they are used to.

As for LinuxCNC...dunno yet as I'm only just starting to use it. But I got my first ever stepper motor running within a couple of hours of reading, so I can't imagine me trying anything Windows based in the near future.

[martin54]

Not so much a preferred choice but what I already know & use. You will get far more votes for windows & mach3 not because it is better but it's because it's what people have & know. You buy a computer it comes with windows or mac operating system already to go. That is enough for most people & there are still a lot of people who wouldn't have a clue about changing the operating system on a machine & would never touch it.
I run windows because I can get help & support for the software I use easily which you can't always do with other operating systems including mac but then most of the software is for business use so I can't afford to have problems. If I had a driver problem & a printer not working correctly I can call the tech department & get help straight away running windows as they all know & use it.

[C_Bubba]

Way back when I got into cnc, it was still EMC (Not EMC2) and there was no BDI (brain dead installation) CD. Mach1 was out and I still used win98. So I looked at Turbocnc which is dos based and at the time if one registered ($20) you got the source code. I figured it would do what I needed at the time and who knows, maybe I could learn enough programing to add a feature or two along the way if development ever stopped. I never have trusted windows for a control application and that also figured into my decision. Now many years down the road, it is like an old coat and I am comfortable with it and will continue to make that my mainstay controller.

[JAZZCNC]

Mach because Art fennerty is a Genius and a true Gent. Brian the new owner While not quite Art is still a TOP bloke with cheap affordable CNC controller at his foremost concern.

Has for the debate then it's a make your own mind up.? All I'll say is I've seen many migrate to EMC/linux Cnc only to drift back.

Also just wait for Mach4 things are about to get funky.!!!

[Swarfing]

Depends on the circle you walk in? I've seen many drift away from Mach and never return :-)

People spend many years working with Windows, they then give linux a go and expect to be up ad running in the same comfortable manner as what they are used too. I work with Windows as a software performance engineer, even i have to use my good friend google to see how to do things under linux. So i do understand why people loose interest very quickly, plus the fact that a lot of programs do not look all glitzy. This is because they are mostly built with a practicle nature and no bling.

[John S]

Why can't I vote for two. the vote is for Mach or EMC and then they stick other in.
I want to vote Mach and other seeing as i run two commercial machines with Ahha on them.

I don't want to get involved in a dick slapping contest between the two but just point out that if everyone who starts out in this hobby has to use Linux / EMC then I'm afraid the number would be cut by as high as probably 75% or greater.

I'm not saying one is better than the other as it would be totally impossible to define but familiarity with an operating system has to play a major part of any decision.

I know the Linux guys will jump on this and say it's not so but they are all, for want of a better word,and no disrespect, geeks, who are very, very familiar with the Linux operating system and cannot understand why others are not.

Why not just be content in using what you are most comfortable with.

[Web Goblin]

Edings USBCNC for me so far. It could do with some better support though.

[JAZZCNC]

Depends on the circle you walk in? I've seen many drift away from Mach and never return :-)

Not Yet.!! . . . . . And if you get on the Yahoo or Mach forum you'll see loads of returns and even more who started with linux due to low finances and say how much more comfortable they are with Mach.!

[Swarfing]

Obviously not geek enough then the understand what they are leaving?????

It's horses for courses, the same goes for the linux sites. Like i said it is all about the circles you walk in. As John pointed out is about familiarity not necessarily one being better than the other. Linux does allow you to get under the bonnet and what you do with it is swings and roundabouts.


Not Yet.!! . . . . . And if you get on the Yahoo or Mach forum you'll see loads of returns and even more who started with linux due to low finances and say how much more comfortable they are with Mach.!

You already said it here that they are trying to do it on the cheap (naturally windows people). I willing to say that neither is better than the other. Most of what i say about the Pro Linux world is mostly teasing. Linux will always be better and still be around way after windows has died :-)

[m.marino]

I use Mach3 as did not know about EMC2 at the time. Still learning fully about Mach (that book is thick and there is a lot to learn). I might have a go at learning the LinuxCNC set up just to get a basic understanding to help myself or others. I have also worked with machines with industrial controllers but I don't think being part of a crew building a 15 ton door press or 120K psi water jet for cutting headliners (which both had their own control software) counts as did not run them.

I have built Linux systems from the ground up and once set up they can run a nice treat (Mostly fedora/red hat). Linux has issues with you must know the language to use the system, windows does not require that. So once again we are at that horses for courses that has been pointed out in another on this board.

Michael

[Jonathan]

I know the Linux guys will jump on this and say it's not so but they are all, for want of a better word,and no disrespect, geeks, who are very, very familiar with the Linux operating system and cannot understand why others are not.

I think we've established that I fit into the geek category, which I'm happy with. However I'm no more familiar with any Linux based operating system than I am with windows 3.1! When I switched to LinuxCNC I had done no more in linux than use a web browser and play tux racer a few times, but that wasn't an issue since as I said in the other thread about this, you don't need to know about linux if all you're doing is running LinuxCNC. I fail to see how familiarity with the OS helps to run LinuxCNC, since you don't need to make any changes to or with the OS to use it.

That said, I intend to stop using windows soon, as there's no way I'm going to be forced into using Windows 8!

[Swarfing]

:applouse:

[Ger21]

The main bonus is that Linux doesn't suffer from all the instability and security issues that Windows seems to be renowned for.

Windows hasn't had stability issues since Windows 98, 15 years ago. A lot of Mach3 users still use Windows 2000.

I use Mach3 because I like Windows. All my other software is written for windows, and since Mach3 runs in Windows, I don't see a need to jump to a different OS.

Mach3 isn't perfect, but I doubt that LinuxCNC is either.

I really hope to have a control with S-curve accel for my next router. If Mach4 doesn't have it in the next year, then I may jump to the K-Flop with their KMotion control software, although I'd probably create a custom front end for it.

[HankMcSpank]

I fail to see how familiarity with the OS helps to run LinuxCNC, since you don't need to make any changes to or with the OS to use it.

Well, the 'puter doesn't build itself, then load the OS itself,then load the app itself - that all needs a human to oversee & if there's a hiccup anywhere, then that's why you need to know your way around the OS ....sure it's not rocket science, but it's a possible time overhead most don't need to incur, because most are using a CNC app running on windows just fine. (or to use the useful Maxim "if it ain't broke, don't fix it!")

[Lee Roberts]

Why not just be content in using what you are most comfortable with.

Exactly, I think most people do. (choice)


Linux does allow you to get under the bonnet and what you do with it is swings and roundabouts. Linux will always be better and still be around way after windows has died :-)

So dose windows if you know how to use it :witless: or should that say "if you're familiar with it" or "comfortable with it", i guess it comes down to the individual, sure windows makes it easy to change some things, but so dose linux. You know it will, given microsoft started out by writing apps for a different os and failing consistently at it, only once somthing changed did they do a good job and then they went of and made their own os. Like Mr Jobs, i'm still waiting for a windows os to show me something that the original os's out there are not already doing or haven't done before.


I fail to see how familiarity with the OS helps to run LinuxCNC, since you don't need to make any changes to or with the OS to use it.

Me too, my comments below sum up my thoughts on this.


That'll be because the 'puter doesn't build itself, then load the OS itself,then load the app itself - that all needs a human to oversee & if there's a hiccup anywhere, then that's why you need to know your way around the OS ....sure it's not rocket science, but it's a possible time overhead most don't need to incur, because most are using a CNC app running on windows just fine. (or to use the useful Maxim "if it ain't broke, don't fix it!")

I agree that allot of people know their way around a windows os, however i think there is a point being missed by some on this. Doing somthing in a flavor of linux is just as easy as doing the same on a windows os, other than the "time it takes" because the individual may not be so familiar with a linux os.

I dont see why one would need to fall into any kind of category (geek or otherwise) to use linux. I would also put money on the table that installing a linux distro is just as easy if not easier and quicker than installing a windows os. It's about the individual and people, linux has had a number of GUI's for years now guys. This “Linux is for geeks” chant is a load of rubbish if you ask me, linux is just different to what your probably used to seeing/using but its no harder to use.

If there is somthing i dont know about that needs to be done on a windows os that cant be done on a linux box then tell me, if there’s a procedure that needs to be done, share it with us. If i'm wrong, i say im wrong.

Once upon a time John I would have agreed with you that it did take a certain type of person to use or get on with a Linux system but times have changed and like I said above GUI’s have been out for a long time and while an individual would have some aesthetics to get used to, i dont think now days they would need to overcome anything more complicated then learning to use a windows based system for the first time.

That’s what’s cool here though!, we have choice and choice mean’s there is no need for change, only choice. :culpability:

I appreciate that "most people" are familiar with a windows os and this could be an advantage to them when building a system to run their cnc machine but i dont agree that performing an individual task is harder to do on a linux system now days. Like i said though, if there is somthing you know of that has to be done or is difficult to do on a linux system when you want to use it to run machine control software then please share it with us, i stand to be corrected.

.Me

[John S]

Once upon a time John I would have agreed with you that it did take a certain type of person to use or get on with a Linux system but times have changed and like I said above GUI’s have been out for a long time and while an individual would have some aesthetics to get used to, i dont think now days they would need to overcome anything more complicated then learning to use a windows based system for the first time.



Had to smile at this because about 4 months ago on another forum I'm on they had this exact same conversation. For the record I didn't take part.
One guy decided he's take a look and asked advise, now there were two very capable Linux guys on the forum who only use Linux EMC and they started to help this guy out.

Very comical to watch as he got deeper and deeper in trouble starting off with installs that wouldn't. Eventually he just gave up not managing to even get Linux installed.

[HankMcSpank]

I agree that allot of people know their way around a windows os, however i think there is a point being missed by some on this. Doing somthing in a flavor of linux is just as easy as doing the same on a windows os, other than the "time it takes" because the individual may not be so familiar with a linux os.


that's my salient point...I didn't say linux was hard, just different...and anything that's different needs to be learnt (& however shallow the learning curve may be...why bother if you have an app that works on windows already)....& that ahem "time it takes" could be considerable, see John's post immediately above!

[JAZZCNC]

This is a No win contest.! The linux guys will always insist linux is best and the Windows brigade will do the same.

Now the problem I see with changing for Windows users, and esp new CNC users is not the Working of EMC or Linux cnc what ever it's called but the whole package.?

Getting a CNC machine to work has a whole needs CAD,CAM and Controller and here lies the problem to me. I personally don't know of any of the top well known or even industry standard Cam packages that work direct in Linux. So not being a linux user I suspect that some windows emulation happens some where down the line and this requires a certain amount of Geek-ness to make happen.
I'm sure there will be Linux based Cam packages but a quick google and flip thru the linux CNC forum and thread asking about available Cam software showed me it's not straight forward.
just read the comments on the provided link regards whats needed to make the suggested Cam programs work and then note the lack of reply's.( And it's had 2yrs to mature.!) This says it all to me.

http://www.linuxcnc.org/index.php/english/forum/31-cad-cam/1751-cadcam-software-for-linux

Call it what you like but it aint straight forward and requires more technical knowledge of the OS or a variant of several OS's than should be needed to work a CNC machine straight out the box. Windows while flawed does work out the box and even the newest of users can access it and the now plentiful available software without to much trouble.
A perfect example being Just the other week I learnt a 72yr old gent with virtually no experience of computers other than using the internet how to install, load and use both Cad,Cam (BobCad Cam) and Mach then in the space of a week he'd created his first basic part. (He even understands the basic inner workings of setting mach up IE tuning I know of seasoned Linux users who struggled with that in EMC.!)
If that had been Linux he'd have had no chance and still be struggling to install the Cad/cam software because he wouldn't now where find any and if he did he wouldn't know how to load the OS or even which version or flavor that runs the emulator that loads windows based program then reload the OS that runs the control software.

Call linux and it's users what you like but it's not simple and they generally do need to be accomplished pewter users or familiar with Several OS Versions or flavors to achieve a task like installing and using all thats needed to work a CNC machine from Idea to finished part.!!

Happy new year.!! (And where all GEEKS by the fact where reading and writing this Crap. !!)

Edit: Just spotted Cambam works in Linux so that's 1 entry level package. That comes with a BIG warning and loads of technical babble just read the thread and post #3 here if you think Linux is not Geeky http://www.cambam.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=2440.0 )

[Ricardoco]

Happy new year.!! (And where all GEEKS by the fact where reading and writing this Crap. !!) Hey you speak for yourself, i didnt understand a word of this thread and whats linux LMAO.... Oh and Happy New Year to you and Yours too...

Rick

[Jonathan]

That'll be because the 'puter doesn't build itself, then load the OS itself,then load the app itself


Oh but it does - LinuxCNC can run off a CD or flashdrive. Just download it, burn it to the CD (or flashdrive) in windows, stick it in your computer and switch on. The computer will now boot into Ubuntu, and just double click the icon to run the program to configure the ports and pins, just like in mach, then you get an icon on the desktop which runs LinuxCNC.
If you want to install it for good, then select that option when the computer boots, but it's actually fine to just keep running it off a flash drive, which is nice if you're short for room in the control box so don't want to include a hard disk!



it's a possible time overhead most don't need to incur, because most are using a CNC app running on windows just fine. (or to use the useful Maxim "if it ain't broke, don't fix it!")


Unless you're a new user. Nowhere in this thread has anyone said that any specific individual must change - just that other options are available. If you're happy with Mach3 then by all means stick with it, but it doesn't take long to try LinuxCNC.


Getting a CNC machine to work has a whole needs CAD,CAM and Controller and here lies the problem to me. I personally don't know of any of the top well known or even industry standard Cam packages that work direct in Linux.

That's besides the point - this thread is about LinuxCNC, not CAM software. I agree options are currently more limited if you're running the CAM software on Linux, but there's nothing to stop you continuing to run your favourite CAM software in windows.

[JAZZCNC]

That's besides the point - this thread is about LinuxCNC, not CAM software. I agree options are currently more limited if you're running the CAM software on Linux, but there's nothing to stop you continuing to run your favourite CAM software in windows.

Yes it's relevant has folks started talking about linux and comparing the OS saying how you don't need to know the OS to *USE not run* Linux CNC. YES YOU DO
You can't USE it without G-code and that requires either a sound knowledge and certain amount of GEEK to use Linux soley or to a lesser extent knowledge of running Windows emulators.
So my point is you still need windows to use Linuc CNC while not being a considered a Geek so other than if your a tight arse if Mach does every thing you want and is designed for windows with a massive user base of windows users and his just a mouse click away WTF point of making life hard.!!
Some programs like BobCad Cam will even send the tool paths direct to Mach with no pissing about reloading or booting to this OS or that partition etc .!!

Your average or even advanced CNC user like me would struggle to get to grips with Linux and be able to soley use it with Linux.!

[m_c]

I think the main issues with Linux have been covered.

But to add an analogy. Most people here can drive cars, but how many could jump in a lorry and drive it?
It's still got a wheel on each corner, the steering wheel and the pedals do the same thing, but could you handle the air brakes, the air handbrake, and all the extra gears? Using the linux fan comments here, it's not that much different, and can be done easily with minimal issues...

[John S]

Bit of a long story - go get a coffee and also bit of a history lesson but it get to the point of the post.

My involvement with CNC came in 1994 when I went to an auction just to see how much large [ 50" + tables ] were going for and came away with a mint Beaver NC5 for absolute peanuts because like a lot of early machines it had broken rubbish electronics.

With some help we did actually get it running on the original Posidata controller. I had looked at doing a manual conversion so knew the marketplace as regards controllers etc of which where wasn't the choice we had today. First couple of jobs paid for an upgrade and we chose an American company with a very good UK agent called Ahha, I know silly name but so is Apple. Old Dos program, needed a dedicated card in the machine and the card and breakout board which was made to plug into the Posidata was £1,800.

Absolute brilliant bit of gear, in fact it's still on this today and a Bridgeport MDI BOSS is also on one. I could convert to Mach but to be honest it wouldn't give me anything I don't already have except perhaps wizards.

This lead to buying up cheap machines, converting them and selling them, there was a market and I had access to heavy lifting gear with Hiab trucks etc, this slowly fizzled out as companies got rid of older equipment and upgraded to VMC's.

About this time the small hobby market was developing and starting to convert to CNC. There was a range made by SimplyCNC up in Scotland based on the X3 and articles like Dick Stevens in MEW helped this but I felt I could do a better job and so approached Ketan at Arc Euro to do a kit for the X3.

First problem we got was cost, Dicks was cheap because he's done all the work himself, something a lot of people seem to miss. SimplyCNC was more expensive but he'd cut corners that much to get the price down that it was unreliable and caused him to stop doing these with a bit of bad press as well.

I was ready to throw the towel in because we couldn't get an affordable conversion using good components but Ketan said carry on and we will review final figures and ask round. It soon became clear that there was a market for a decent conversion and we went ahead. You got everything to bolt on and all the electronics to built the rest, you had to do all the fitting but it had a very good book to explain everything.

That book was the secret.

The first book was written and given to a guy who had no experience of CNC but was a decent engineer. Two pages in he was stumped because I'd missed an obvious move out, obvious to me but not a beginner. It took 10 re-writes to get the book done, by this time we were onto a third guys as numbers 1 and 2 now had some knowledge and we didn't want that.

It was a total success and we sold just under 40 kits, even sold one to an 82 year old guy and he got it running.

Then the Chinese came on the scene directly and asked, would we help them develop a turnkey CNC WTF, no way that's our bowl of rice.
Then on second thoughts if we don't someone else will and we will be out the loop.
So flew to China, thrashed out a deal, came back and built the KX1 CNC here in the UK, bits and plans went back to China and the KX1, KX3 range was developed which then got ripped off by Novacon, Syil and the rest.

Part of the deal was we would write to operating manual here in the UK, no Chinglish, given our previous experience with the X3 manual and we would support world wide sales of these machines via a web based site.

World wide covers everything except some Asian countries which are handled by Sieg and Russia who have their own arrangements. There are many of these machines in schools in Russia.

So today we are supporting many countries with these machines. Majority go to absolute beginners who have never used a CNC or even a milling machine and there is a lot of hand holding.

The ONLY way this model works is that it uses Mach on the Windows operating system, 90% + of our web based problems are computer / program related, the machines are very reliable given the number of them out there.

Most users with problems can sort there own out with a bit of help once given a start because they are familiar with windows, note I said familiar and not experienced.

Given our user base, beginners, if we had made the move to Linux and EMC this model would not have worked for the sole reason they are not familiar with it.

EMC has a place, no one is saying it's better or worse but it's not for the great unwashed out there.

Thank you for letting me explain our model.

[JAZZCNC]

Bloody hell John you must still be pissed from last night.!! . . . . Never seen you gush so much. . Lol :yahoo:

[John S]

Bloody hell John you must still be pissed from last night.!! . . . . Never seen you gush so much. . Lol :yahoo:

What on 3 coffee's ? not drinking at the moment, personal choice, nothing wrong. There are three bottle of nice cider in the back of the Donald, been there about a month now. I'll get round to them.

[Swarfing]

Here here John and a great history lesson. You are right with releasing on windows, it was familiar to all and no explanation was required. Linux (UNIX)has been used for automation for more years than i have been alive. It's those early UNIX developers who brought it to the masses. The difference is it is only those that...again walked in those circles that would pick this up. Those at home would not understand UNIX, this is where Linux was born. A developers dream play pen that could be exploited.

It has come a long way and will continue to get stronger, this is not a VHS vs Betamax saga. There will always be Linux CNC users because they get a different type of support for what they want to do.

I started my IT life supporting Netware and UNIX systems, hence why lean towards Linux. For those that say they need to learn most of what is in Windows came from the way Netwere worked (containers and object controls). This also gave MS a kick up the bum to rival with 16 and 32 bit platforms, something UNIX already had.

Jazz if you search hard enough you will find that a Huge use of corporate use of UNIX/ Linux CAD/CAM software is used. It is mainly used in design to line manufacturing. Especially in the electronics market (I worked for Motorola). You will not see this software being offered to Joe Bloggs.

Everyone to their own at the end of the day, i earn a living testing and finding issues with crappy Windows software. Hence why at home i use Linux.

[JAZZCNC]

Jazz if you search hard enough you will find that a Huge use of corporate use of UNIX/ Linux CAD/CAM software is used. It is mainly used in design to line manufacturing. Especially in the electronics market (I worked for Motorola). You will not see this software being offered to Joe Bloggs.

Yes I did expect there would be at the upper levels but not in main stream to lower level industry like the jobbing joiners shop or Machine shop.!

[audioandy]

Hi 2e0poz

Would you have time to start a thread just outlining the basic's of getting started with EMC2?
I for one would like to explore alternatives to windows and Mach but don't really have the time to sit down and try to get my head round Linux, I understand if you don't have time but I for one would appreciate the advice.

Andy

[birchy]

I must confess that despite being a Linux "fanboy", setting up LinuxCNC wasn't quite as straight forward as I had hoped. Don't get me wrong, installing the O.S. was very simple and setting up the parallel port and motors/drives was also made easy with the "stepconf wizard" but I had a few ball aches due to hardware issues. In a nutshell, LinuxCNC is a bit fussy on which hardware it likes because it uses a Realtime kernel. Although the Realtime kernel is a major advance, the downside of this "bleeding edge" technology is that it will not work well with all hardware. The whole LinuxCNC setup depends heavily on having low latency, so I would strongly recommend that anyone wanting to test LinuxCNC do so by booting the CD in "live" mode before installing it. That way, you can run the latency test and determine whether or not the PC/Hardware is suitable for CNC control. I managed to improve my latency by around 60% by removing the wifi card and using various BIOS settings but I'm a self-confessed Geek and that approach is not suitable for most users...



Would you have time to start a thread just outlining the basic's of getting started with EMC2?
I for one would like to explore alternatives to windows and Mach but don't really have the time to sit down and try to get my head round Linux, I understand if you don't have time but I for one would appreciate the advice.

Andy
Have you read the wikis? They're very informative and aimed at newbies. LinuxCNC Documentation - HTML version (http://www.linuxcnc.org/docs/html/)

[meyerga00]

Linux is free software but more importantly its a very stable system in my experience compared to windows. There is also loads of open source (free) engineering ect packages available to download. I started on MS DOS 1.0 and have used every variation since. Ubuntu is loads better than any of the MS stuff I have toiled under!!!

[meyerga00]

I must of gotten a bum copy of both windows 98, and XP. Both used to hang and crash on a regular basis. I would have to have to reload either package every few months just to keep my machine working. I put Ubuntu on the very same machine and it has been working flawlessly for several years now...

[John S]

Pray tell us where you can get a reasonably price DECENT CAD / CAM package that's native to linux please ?

[birchy]

Pray tell us where you can get a reasonably price DECENT CAD / CAM package that's native to linux please ?
Personally, I use Qcad/LibreCad and then convert to gcode with dxf2gcode and/or hand write gcode. I've read that HeeksCad and HeeksCNC are decent packages but I've not tried them. Not sure on the status of 3D cad packages nowadays, but support was poor when I last looked a few years ago. Having said all that, I only consider free/open source projects but there are a few commercial packages available.

EDIT:
Just found this link in my bookmarks. Looks decent, but haven't tried it yet. OpenSCAD - The Programmers Solid 3D CAD Modeller (http://www.openscad.org/)
And of course there's this list of the good, the bad and the ugly: http://wiki.linuxcnc.org/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?Cam

[Swarfing]

John if you want pro then Siemens NX8 if you want to pay for or free then Medusa4

Free CAD software program for Linux and Windows: MEDUSA4 Personal (http://www.cad-schroer.com/Software/Free_CAD/)

[John S]

Cad seems to be covered, think Draftsight does linux but CAM is the bug bear.
forget Heekscad unless you have days and weeks to waste.

[C_Bubba]

John,
Sheetcam has a linux disto.

[Swarfing]

I run the linux cambam version which works for me

[Swarfing]

for 2d i use a mix of Librecad and draftsight

[magicniner]

My answer to the title question is Mach3 on XP, because that's what the guy I bought the mill from was using and he gave me a copy of the Mach3 config file.
As a complete newbie to Cad/Cam/CNC it didn't ocurr to me to look for something different, if I ever hit a problem where Mach3 doesn't offer a solution I'll investigate alternatives.
The Cad/Cam I'm using is BobCad/Cam V25, 4-Axis Standard with BobArt Standard, I can't fault BobCad's training material and support, in addition to forum and email support Al produced a video tutorial showing how best to approach a 4-axis job that was giving me particular problems,

- Nick

[John S]

http://www.stevenson-engineers.co.uk/files/linux_emc.jpg

[magicniner]

Did he jump or was he pushed? ;-)

[birchy]

You couldn't find this one, John?

10859

[Jonathan]

I don't think he's quite got the hang of how to dispose of balloons.

[JAZZCNC]

I don't think he's quite got the hang of how to dispose of balloons.

Here's Jonathan taking his blow up balloon to be disposed of correctly.:chuncky: 10860

[EddyCurrent]

Looks like a 3 axis model

[Ulsterman]

Mastercam-Mill 1and 3 and lathe -------most computer software is good for profiles but lacks efficiency in machining structure -that's where the CNC machinists take over and uses both