4 axis mill convertion from mach3 to Linuxcnc experience?

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08 Nov 2018 15:10 #120271 by i_r_machinist
Back in 2010 I retrofitted a 4 axis milling machine with Mach3, a Bob Campbell BOB, and viper 200 drives. I'm tired of fighting Windows. My question is, does anyone have experience converting a running milling machine from Mach3 to Linux? I'm trying to find a manual for Linux but seem to get sidetracked on here alot.
Thanks
i_r_machinist

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08 Nov 2018 19:02 - 08 Nov 2018 19:03 #120282 by rodw
The documentation is available here for the stable 2.7 branch is here:

linuxcnc.org/docs/2.7/html/

Once you have Linuxcnc installed, you first need to make sure that it passes latency tests. This will determine if your PC is suitable for LinuxCNC. This is a function of your PC hardware and has nothing to do with Linux or LinuxCNC.

Linuxcnc comes with a program called stepconf to build a parallel port configuration in a graphical environment. Stepconf can import a Mach3 XML file and convert it into the hal and ini files that define a Linuxcnc machine configuration.

You should find getting a working machine relatively easy.
Last edit: 08 Nov 2018 19:03 by rodw.
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08 Nov 2018 19:15 #120283 by Todd Zuercher
The documentation for Linuxcnc can be found here.
linuxcnc.org/docs/html/

A simple parallel port Mach3 config can usually be imported and converted to a Linuxcnc config using the Stepconfig configuration wizzard. Copy your Mach3 xml file to something (like a flash drive) so you can transfer it to your Linuxcnc PC.
linuxcnc.org/docs/html/config/stepconf.html
This may or may not get you a running config, but it should get you most of the configuration info and a decent base you can then finish off easily.
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