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Welcome to The Phlatforum PhlatPrinter III

Software Question?

Discussion in 'Planet - CNC USB Software' started by flyboysrc, Jul 3, 2011.

  1. flyboysrc

    flyboysrc New Member

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    for the phlatprinter mk3 do you have to pay for the software or is it free? because when i went to planet cnc i couldnt find the software that you download that is free. I dont own a phlatprinter yet but i cant buy one if i have to pay for the software.
     
    flyboysrc, Jul 3, 2011
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  2. kyyu

    kyyu Active Member

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    Software is your choice, but you do have the option to use free. I'll assume you are talking about cnc control software. Planet cnc software is free, although you need to buy their usb board. You can download it from their "Download" section. If you don't use the planet cnc usb board, then the standard controller software work from your pc's parallel port. The free software solution is "EMC2" which runs on ubuntu Linux os. The pay option is "Mach3" controller software, which is the most popular.
     
    kyyu, Jul 4, 2011
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  3. NeilBlanchard

    NeilBlanchard Member

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    I am assuming Mach3 runs in Windows, and how much is it? Is there a trial/demo version? Are there any that run in Mac OSX?
     
    NeilBlanchard, Jul 6, 2011
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  4. 3DMON

    3DMON Moderator Staff Member

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    $175 It's in the Phlatstore here: http://www.phlatboyz.com/Mach3_p_30.html
    The trial version will only allow you to do I think 500 lines of code, which is not much.
     
    3DMON, Jul 7, 2011
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  5. navionflyer

    navionflyer New Member

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    Neil,

    I don't know of any Mac OSX based CNC software. If you find one, please let me know.

    Tim
     
    navionflyer, Jul 7, 2011
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  6. NeilBlanchard

    NeilBlanchard Member

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    Thanks folks, I can run Windows on my Mac and I also have a Windows laptop.

    What types of files can be used as input into Mach3?
     
    NeilBlanchard, Jul 8, 2011
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  7. 3DMON

    3DMON Moderator Staff Member

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    Mach does not like laptops and also needs a parallel port. Mach accepts many different types of gcode files. If you are wanting to use a laptop then you should check out the planetcnc option. viewforum.php?f=129
     
    3DMON, Jul 8, 2011
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  8. NeilBlanchard

    NeilBlanchard Member

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    Really, a parallel port? I thought the Phlatprinter3 has a USB input?
     
    NeilBlanchard, Jul 8, 2011
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  9. 3DMON

    3DMON Moderator Staff Member

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    In the beginning things can be a little hard to understand but maybe I can clear it up a bit for you. The steppers need a driver card this is the easycnc driver board. The easycnc board has a parallel port on it. Now we need software to interpret the gcode to drive the board. This is where the planetcnc option comes into play. The planetcnc board has the usb on it but has a cable to plug into the parallel port of the easycnc board. The planetcnc board comes with its own software that makes it so you do not need Mach. Now if you don't have the planetcnc board this is when you would need Mach, EMC2, or some kind of software to drive the easycnc board and would need a parallel port.

    You've already purchased the Phlatprinter and it comes with the driverboard and planetcnc board/software, so just focus on using the Phlatscript in Sketchup to generate the gcode. Use that gcode to put into the planetcnc software.

    Hope this helps Neil.
     
    3DMON, Jul 9, 2011
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  10. NeilBlanchard

    NeilBlanchard Member

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    Okay, I think that makes it clearer; thanks Shaun.

    So, I can't use DataCAD to drive the Phaltprinter 3? Because I am generating the sections of the Sketchup model in DataCAD so I can properly get the thickness of the walls of the CarBEN EV. I modeled the exterior skin and some of the interior surfaces, but not all of them.

    Will I have to export the sections from DataCAD back into SketchUp, to generate the gcode?
     
    NeilBlanchard, Jul 9, 2011
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  11. 3DMON

    3DMON Moderator Staff Member

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    If you do not use Sketchup and the phlatscript to generate the gcode you would need to find something else to generate gcode from your DataCad files. I personally know nothing about DataCad though.

    However the Planetcnc software will let you import dxf files directly into it to cut from, but it is only a 2d option right now. This is also something I haven't played around with and do not know much about it.
     
    3DMON, Jul 9, 2011
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  12. NeilBlanchard

    NeilBlanchard Member

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    Thanks again Shaun. It looks like I will either need to complete the inside of the SU model of CarBEN EV -- can it then generate the 2" slices for the gcode output files? Either that, or I will reimport the slices from DataCAD back into SU. DataCAD can export STL, DWG, DXF, PDF, or SKP files. DataCAD's native file type is AEC, and I doubt there is a way to get gcode files; other than working it through SU.
     
    NeilBlanchard, Jul 10, 2011
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  13. iGull

    iGull Member

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    Hi Neil

    On the Mac OSX question, there are currently no real options to drive your CNC.

    However, I have been reliably informed by the programmer at DeskCNC (I use this software even though it is PC based) that they are to release a Mac OSX and a Linux version soon (perhaps even an iPad/iPhone version too I'm told !) There are a load of good reasons for going the DeskCNC route which I will leave the student to find for fear of being biased against Mach :roll:

    I wouldn't hold your breath for this too long 'though, as I've been told this over the past year :lol:

    Seriously, I would give DeskCNC a good look as an alternative - it uses a hi-speed serial interface (you can use a cheap USB2serial adaptor) to it's fairly cheap board. The software also has built-in CAM if you want to do other stuff. I'm currently setting it up to drive my 60W laser system for instance - particularly clean user interface, which was one of the main factors in choosing it.

    As an aside, there's lots of things happening in the GRBL arduino arena at present - especially in relation to controlling laser cutters (and some 3 axis stuff too) - a few of the systems are currently using macs to control the hardware - still using the dreaded G-code of course :x

    From the other     Neil :lol:

    Cheers

    Neil
     
    iGull, Jul 10, 2011
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  14. 3DMON

    3DMON Moderator Staff Member

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    You can slice a model in Sketchup with a slicer plugin.
     
    3DMON, Jul 10, 2011
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