timh
New Member
Posts: 3 
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Post by timh on Jul 27, 2017 18:11:42 GMT
Yes, you can. And it's a lot better than having a full-scale PC sitting out in the hot garage pulling dust in through the fan.
The Universal GCode Sender app (UGS) doesn't work that well. The Pi is about as powerful as a desktop PC circa 2000 and it shows when you try and do a fast move by holding down an arrow key, the event queue stacks up, events overrun and you get those awful noises that say that the stop switches wouldn't have been such a bad idea after all (something I hope to retro-fit). Java isn't as slow as people claim, but this is a $35 PC and I think the JVM is not as much into optimizing as the server versions are.
However, there's a native app for Raspbian - bCNC - that doesn't have that problem. I just finished making a slotted spoil board this morning using mostly cursor keys plus some one-off gcode commands and it turned out well.
I've an unusual source for clamps. We had a bunch of pants hangers that used a plastic hook to lock the clamp bars and the hooks broke. So I sawed the wood bars into pieces (about 1x4 inch) and drilled mounting holes in them.
You can install bCNC via the "apt-get" Linux command.
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Post by jkendall on Jul 28, 2017 2:20:55 GMT
I thought about doing this since I have a few Pi 2's sitting around, but then I looked in my closet and saw a stack of Core 2 Duo machines sitting there. If you work in IT or cruise Craigslist, capable hardware for CNC isn't that hard to come by. I've also been using Linux exclusively for about 7 years now, so OS installation is also cheap. If you like bCNC and can get your hands on the source code, you can conceivably compile it for an x86 or x64 platform as well. It doesn't have to stick with the ARM architecture. I did the same thing with RetroPie to have a nice retro gaming platform on some hardware that could actually handle it. It's a neat idea. Edit: Nevermind. bCNC is python based. It can run on just about anything already. Source: github.com/vlachoudis/bCNC |
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Post by jkendall on Jul 29, 2017 4:18:14 GMT
bCNC is kinda slick! I've been toying with it since yesterday. Thanks for the tip!
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Post by Derek the Admin on Jul 29, 2017 16:56:03 GMT
Thanks for the report on this.
bCNC is pretty good. I have it and it gets my long jobs because I find it more reliable. I run it on Win 10 (aka the second worst windows ever producedl
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Post by jkendall on Jul 29, 2017 17:02:22 GMT
Thanks for the report on this. bCNC is pretty good. I have it and it gets my long jobs because I find it more reliable. I run it on Win 10 (aka the second worst windows ever producedl You do remember there was ME, Vista, and 8.0 right? |
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timh
New Member
Posts: 3
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Post by timh on Jul 29, 2017 18:03:42 GMT
It's sort of ironic, but aside from the dust/heat considerations, the other reason that I went with the Pi is that my idle Windows boxes are old 32-bit XP systems and the latest UGS requires a version of Java that Oracle doesn't support for XP. It doesn't hurt that even a small form-factor PC is still much bigger than a Pi and my workbench is crowded enough already. Or that the Pi pulls 5 watts instead of 50 or so. Eventually, I might design a rig that allows me to hold the Arduino and Pi in a single control box, since they're similar in size. I'm not certain, but I think the Pi 3 is designed to run 64-bit and currently runs 32-bit Raspbian. 32 bits is rapidly disappearing from almost every Linux platform. As for Windows, it's hard to be the second-worst release when there have been so many fighting for the #1 spot. And what's the Network Neighborhood named in this release?  |
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Post by Bruce on Aug 31, 2017 20:14:13 GMT
That wireless pendent using a cellphone sounds pretty slick. Anybody tried it out with Rpi running bCNC?
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Post by oflameo on Sept 6, 2017 18:57:20 GMT
Thank you for the tip timh. I am glad I rush ordered those stop switches then.
Funny you mentioned that jkendall, I both browse Craigslist and work in IT. I got my M3 so I can work via Craigslist in more capacities and not depend on Makerspaces who have moved in a political gotcha direction in my area recently right after the local Techshop announced that it was closing down. I withdrew all of my activity at the space in July.
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Post by aforww on Sept 6, 2017 23:52:11 GMT
That wireless pendent using a cellphone sounds pretty slick. Anybody tried it out with Rpi running bCNC? I haven't used it in that manner but have used it. Didn't find it handy. I prefer the Xbox controller. |
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Post by aforww on Sept 6, 2017 23:53:28 GMT
Speaking of which, I'll being doing a how-to on that tonight if I can stay awake.
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Post by Derek the Admin on Sept 7, 2017 1:30:04 GMT
Looking forward to it.
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Post by oflameo on Sept 13, 2017 17:49:51 GMT
Those of you who are using Raspberry Pi's to run your M3, did you mount the Pi to the machine? If so, how did you mount and power it?
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fred
New Member
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Post by fred on Feb 5, 2018 19:29:05 GMT
Here is my pi3 setup. I don't recommend a bt keyboard though, I had a heck of a time getting that to work. I've also found success running Universal Gcode as sudo.  photos.app.goo.gl/JmGsJmPV8xvwpfLT2My pi is sitting up on top of the cabinet. I should get a case for it. Hmmm, sounds like a job for the m3. |
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Post by Bruce on Feb 6, 2018 17:10:59 GMT
Cool setup Fred. I'm a big fan of RPis and I'm also using bCNC. But I had a decent Win7 laptop sitting around and I'm using it connected to my Carve King.
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Post by yasamoka on Feb 6, 2018 22:51:24 GMT
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