Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] DOS/EMC aka DeskNCrt now freely available

Randy Gordon-Gilmore wrote:

> Do you have a DOS/Windows background and can tell me how much effort is
> involved in learning Linux and getting it and EMC up and running? I
> haven't seriously thought about it at all yet.

Yes. I'm no Linux/Unix guru, but I've used it a bit before. It depends
a lot on how carefully you select your hardware. If you just buy a
bargain PC and assume it will run Linux straight out of the box, you
may get a rude surprise, especially with network and video cards.
I read the hardware compatibility guide, and only started with hardware
specifically identified as compatible. I still had to tweak the video parameters
to get the best results on my junker monitors (literally, I got them out of the
trash at work.)

There was a bunch of trouble getting the real time patches applied to the kernel,
but this process is much simpler now. The scripts that do it have been greatly
improved, and you can also get the RT kernel already patched from several
sources. I think the latest Red Hat and other Linux distibutions come with
a real-time option that can be installed from the main CD.

Once you have RT-Linux running OK, installing EMC is quite straightforward.
You load one file from a CD or internet download, run one command to
unpack the file, and then one command to install EMC. You have to edit
one startup script to select form the many display, motion and I/O functions
available, and make a couple of settings for memory and I/O port configuration.
If you set up your hardware by the standard connections, it will run right
away. If you want to customize, it may take a while to get the E-stop and
limit switches working the way you want.

There is help when you get stuck on some point.

The advantage is that the X windows screen allows you to run other programs,
anything from a calculator to a text editor to hack on a toolpath program,
or get a file from a Windows machine that has the CAD/CAM software on
it. I would not be happy at all with a system that only does EMC under
DOS.

Jon