Excellent results can come from a small CNC router, but don't forget the software! CNC tools, whatever their flavor, can greatly enhance your “making” or DIY.
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- Marlin is control board firmware. CamBam is CAM software. Cambam works with Marlin out of the box. It is what I used for the first few months.Marlin and GRBL are both solid options that do similar things.CamBam, Fusion 360, Estlcam do similar things.One of each are needed.We’ve talked about Marlin vs grbl before too. Marlin is getting a lot of features that used to be only in grbl. Marlin supports dozens of boards (einsy rambo, for example). There are also a lot of programs that interface with Marlin and not grbl. Plus a lot of us have printers with Marlin, so we’re already familiar. I’ve used both and they both have their faults and strengths. If you don’t have a strong preference, I will always suggest Marlin here, because there are a dozen people here who will help out if you get stuck.It’s not just because you want a dual purpose machine.I thought that the point of a forum was to discuss ideas and options.It definitely is (although caveat, there are all skill levels here and a huge proportion of the posts are on support). I’m sorry if you felt we weren’t trying to discuss it. Reading back through my response, I can see how you thought that. I’m glad you spoke up about it.I’m glad you like cambam. I’m glad you like grbl/arduinos. I personally think something should do one thing and do it well. I’ve learned EstlCAM, and I can use it with openscad, librecad, onshape. I know cnc.js and I can use it with EstlCAM, image2gcode, slic3r.Cambam has two other downsides: 1)$150, 2)Windows only. Those might be just my issues. EstlCam is technically windows only, but works in wine and is only $50.These are just my thoughts on it. Part of the discussion about it. Any way you like is good enough for me.
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I think most prefer to be not tethered, and in the case of the LowRider being tethered is a really bad idea. I would say a vast majority of the users prefer and SD card and lcd, and some use a PI. Control software (mach style) does not really have much of a use of small machines without a toolchanger. Most just want a file and to hit go.It is cool to hear CAMBAM is now offering control though. - Posts
Excellent results can come from a small CNC router, but don’t forget the software!
CNC tools, whatever their flavor, can greatly enhance your “making” or DIY ability. My current tool of choice is a CNC router. Being familiar with a manual milling machine, the concept seemed similar, and the price of these is quite reasonable when compared to some other tools. As described in this post, my machine is a Zen Toolworks model, but there are certainly other options to visit like this Probotix V90 model noted recently in this post.
Although any number of CNC router models look great in videos and pictures, rest assured that even the best machines require some patience to get one running satisfactorily. Setting up the machine can be a challenge, as well as figuring out what your machine is capable of, but one thing that might slip peoples’ minds is the software involved. Read on to find out all you need to know the basics of what goes on behind the scenes to “magically” produce interesting parts. Continue reading “Software Advice For Anyone Thinking About A CNC Router”