newbie

i am the proud owner of a 3 x 5 cnc router. i am a wood worker with GREAT plans for this machine. now all i have to do is get it going....
i have an extensive background as a computer nerd (retired support tech), with a "fair to middlin" comfort level in linux.
i have no problems generating vector designs and converting them to the proper gcode file.
where i get stumped is when i hit the keyboard on the cnc. i have bee given a BRIEF introductory to linuxcnc. i can load the wanted graphic, but i die after that.
i need help (even willing to pay for support so that i can "get going". i have also set up with teamviewer for support.
can anyone point me in the right direction. my private email is : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
thnx in advance

jacques

Is your machine already setup and configured to be ran by Linuxcnc?
(If not you have a lot to learn before you begin machining anything.)

If it is ready to go, the first things to do after starting Linuxcnc are take the machine out of e-stop, power on, and home (reference) the machine.
How exactly you perform these operations will depend on what user interface you've chosen and how the machine is configured. In the Axis ui the top left button with the little red stop sign shape is the E-stop on/off button, and the next one over is the Machine Power.

Once the machine is powered up and all of the axis are referenced (homed) Linuxcnc will technically be ready to start running a g-code file. Although you may need to touch off or set the machine coordinate system for some or all of the axis to properly run a program.

I highly recommend you at least read through the General User Information section of the Linuxcnc Documentation and the "Coordinate Systems" and the "G-code Overview" chapters of the G-code Programming section.
linuxcnc.org/docs/html/

the person who sold me the machine set it up (he builds them) and made it work. this was a few weeks ago. shortly after he set it up, i was able to replicate the carving (vcarve's lion head). but i have not touched it in all those weeks and can't remember how to get it going again.
i enter the design, home it (at least i think i am doing it correctly by making sure i have the "bullseye" icon besides the xyz.
when i try to step through the code, i get an error message that it cannot execute because i am not homed.
at one point i also homed the a and it executed (i saw the graphical representation on the screen), but nothing was happening at the spindle.
soooo, here i am....

i managed to get it going and to carve the lion head.
there is an error message displayed: "rtapi: error:unexpected real time delay on task 1. this message will display only once per session.run the latency test and resolve before continuing.

You've missed this critical step before running LinuxCNC
linuxcnc.org/docs/2.7/html/install/latency-test.html

Do you know if the machine has home switches, or limit switches. Limits can be used as home switches.
I am guessing it does not or you would not have had so much trouble figuring out how to home the machine. I would advise adding them to the machine. It doesn't take much, a few inexpensive switches some wire, and at least one free input. If you don't want to add them, and the machine has reasonably sturdy hard stops, you could jog up against each hard stop and then home each axis there. But it won't be possible to setup the one button click automatic homing that you can do with switches.

When you are testing your Latency, be sure to exercise the machine thoroughly. Network access, harddrive read/writes, heavy processor loads, some graphically intense stuff. But the idea is to make the pc work, but not bury it in an impossible load that grinds every thing to a halt. On the other hand it is also important to test it at a light idle load for an extended time to make sure that no power saving features kick in and mess up the latency. Make sure that you've turned off all the power saving features in the bios, they are latency killers.