largest NC file

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lgrfbs
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21 Jun 2026 05:15 #347179 by lgrfbs

largest NC file was created by lgrfbs

What was the size of your largest NC file?
A few days ago, I made a mistake by putting a "-" in front of a value that was supposed to be positive in FreeCAD's CAM workbench, which resulted in an NC file that was 20,590 kB or 688,627 lines long.
The file was never run, since I caught the error.
So I was wondering—how large have the NC files you've generated been?

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rodw
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21 Jun 2026 10:29 #347186 by rodw

Replied by rodw on topic largest NC file

from what I understand, that would likely run but the screen preview might have a big spasm!

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lgrfbs
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21 Jun 2026 12:39 #347191 by lgrfbs

Replied by lgrfbs on topic largest NC file

Sorry for the rambling post.Since I ended up with a huge NC file when I was CAM-processing a project, I got curious—how big do NC files have to be to be considered “big” for you guys?

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tommylight
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21 Jun 2026 12:50 #347192 by tommylight

Replied by tommylight on topic largest NC file

I am pretty sure i have used bigger than 20MB files, probably 55MB, but a bit fuzzy on that.
dmap2gcode that i use for engraving/scratching and laser, makes huge files.

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MaHa
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21 Jun 2026 19:13 #347198 by MaHa

Replied by MaHa on topic largest NC file

I used the 3D job i was working on today, set xy and z-steps to very low values, in the cam. The resulting file has 1601179 lines / 38.1 MB It took about 2 minutes to load. Then i doubled the file to 3202358 lines. 16 GB Ram and 1 GB swapfile was insufficient, Linuxcnc crashed. It seems, if there is enough memory, very large files can be loaded.

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MikkelRS
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22 Jun 2026 15:44 #347225 by MikkelRS

Replied by MikkelRS on topic largest NC file

At work I use a 5axis large format machine, ive had over 100mb files before cutting for ~25 hours.
It has a tool changer but rarely used since it gets full of crud- crappy gantry design with very little dust extraction.
Much fun!

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lgrfbs
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22 Jun 2026 15:59 #347227 by lgrfbs

Replied by lgrfbs on topic largest NC file

Wow, those are some pretty hefty files you're working with.

Thanks for sharing more with us.

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timo
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24 Jun 2026 13:22 #347303 by timo

Replied by timo on topic largest NC file

I was looking at one of my "bigger ones" and it has a measly 2kB.
About 80 000 lines of G-code. :-)

,
A bit of 2.5D surfacing nothing really exciting.

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rhscdn
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03 Jul 2026 00:15 #347474 by rhscdn

Replied by rhscdn on topic largest NC file

I often do 3d wood carving and run the occasional wooden sign. Depending on the size and detail, the files can get very large. And yes, the stock screen preview can be problematic with these files.

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ississ
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07 Jul 2026 20:37 #347588 by ississ

Replied by ississ on topic largest NC file

About 10Mb, 423469 lines
Run at 2010, don't remember with which version but went fine

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largest NC file

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