How to play with EMC2 and G code without an actual mill

Ig, there are demos in there you can modify, I think. I know I've run the demos. You do have to load the RTAI version of the kernel.

Pete Keillor

OK, I will look some more. I am about 1/3 through the EMC2 manual, which is actually very well written. This EMC2 looks like a fine piece of software also.

I was hoping to use it in simulation mode without RTAI mode on later versions of Ubuntu, this way I can try it on many computers, like my laptop.

Or maybe I will just run it remotely via ssh.

There is a live CD for EMC2 that will let you boot and run EMC2 in demo mode from the CD without installing it. At the time I was converting my mill, PIII's had some of the better scores on latency tests, so I bought a PIII

When I first bought my CNC mill I bought Bobcad/cam V17 and have since upgraded to V21. It lets you draw the part, generate the G code, and run the code giving you a 3D view of what it cuts. You can download a demo of BobCAD/CAM from their website but their salesmen will call. If you tell them you're just using it for hobby use you might be able to get a cheap price on it. There are also some free viewers I've seen years ago but haven't looked lately.

RogerN

Can't help ya there, but I hear a good firewall for linux is vinnywall 1.0

The Axis GUI of EMC2 has a 3D TOOLPATH preview. But, this is not a subtractive volume viewer, ie. it does not show you what the machined object will look like. If you are familiar with milling, it gives a pretty good idea of what you will get, but if you want to evaluate the effect step-over size has on cusp size of a contoured surface, you will never get that info from EMC2. What you need is a previewer that is provided by the high-end CAD/CAM packages like Gibbs CAM or others. Prepare to mortgage your house for that investment.

Jon

Maybe I will write a free, GPLed previewer. It does not seem to be monumentally complicated, given enough RAM.

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Unka George (George McDuffee) .............................. The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there. L. P. Hartley (1895-1972), British author. The Go-Between, Prologue (1953).