ISO install of LinuxCNC on Debian 8 & Mint LMDE 2

To all concerned
I recently created a ISO to install Linuxcnc on Ubuntu 14.04 and Mint was waiting for permission from a Canonical Lawyer to use there packages. This was the reply:

Hi Tim
Thanks for getting in touch.

We are really pleased to hear your enthusiasm for Ubuntu and that you are interested in using Ubuntu.

To keep the balance between the integrity of our trademarks and the ability to customise and promote Ubuntu, we’ve tried to define a reasonable intellectual property policy. You can read the full policy at www.ubuntu.com/legal/terms-and-policies/...tual-property-policy.

As you can see from our policy, you may freely remove the Ubuntu trademarks, recompile the source code to create your own binaries and thereby eliminate Canonical copyrights, to create your own derivative distribution.

So, if this is acceptable for you, we are very happy for you to go ahead!

We thank you again for your support of Ubuntu. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.
Kind regards



Wunmi Solaja
Legal Executive
Canonical
Blue Fin Building, 5th Floor
110 Southwark Street, SE1 0SU
Direct Dial: +44 (0)20 7630 2417
Ubuntu - Linux for Human Beings
www.canonical.com

Mr. Jeff Epler did warn of such a response but I was hoping for something different sense ISO was not a distribution of anything. It was to be used on a pre-installed system. With Mr. Solaja answer I am not willing to take this task of recompile all packages in ISO.

So what I have done is create a ISO to install on a pre-installed system of Debian Jessie 8 and Mint LMDE 2. For those not familiar with Mint LMDE 2 it is a Debian version of the Mint distro based on Debian Jessie which I think is a little more user friendly than Jessie. The ISO will work with both LMDE 2 and Debian Jessie 32-bit or 64-bit. The version of Linuxcnc that will be installed will be from 2.7.3 buildbot and will always install the most current version at date of install. The following link is where it can be downloaded. Below that are the install instructions.

ISO Debian 8 Mint LMDE 2https://www.dropbox.com/s/bjgb57s9im3bi71/lcncInstall.iso?dl=0

To use ISO for install of Linuxcnc 2.7.3 from buildbot on pre-installed updated OS

only works on

LinuxMint,(debian) LMDE2 any flavor
Cinnamon (32-bit) or (64-bit)
MATE (32-bit) or (64-bit)

Debian 8 Jessie (32-bit) or (64 bit) any Flavor
cinnamon (32-bit) or (64-bit)
kde (32-bit) or (64-bit)
lxde (32-bit) or (64-bit)
xfce (32-bit) or (64-bit)
gnome (32-bit) or (64-bit)
standard (32-bit) or (64-bit)
mate (32-bit) or (64-bit)

32-bit kernels available
3.18.13-rt10mah+ <Rt-preempt - source static.mah.priv.at/public/3.18.13-rt10/
3.16.0-9-rtai-686-pae <Rtai- source Linuxcnc repository

64-bit kernel available
3.18.13-rt10mah+ <Rt-preempt - source static.mah.priv.at/public/3.18.13-rt10/

Place lcncInstall.iso in home directory then
open terminal

sudo su -
mkdir -p /mnt/disk;mount -o loop /home/`who | cut -d' ' -f1 | sort | uniq`/lcncInstall.iso /mnt/disk;/mnt/disk/install.sh;umount /mnt/disk -l

Follow direction displayed in Terminal

---

If you choose to install Sim only 32-bit or 64-bit, sim install dose not install a new kernel
but now you want to install realtime kernel or kernels
open Terminal

sudo dpkg -r linuxcnc-uspace <will un-install linuxcnc for Sim

Then need to use ISO again

sudo su -
mkdir -p /mnt/disk;mount -o loop /home/`who | cut -d' ' -f1 | sort | uniq`/lcncInstall.iso /mnt/disk;/mnt/disk/install.sh;umount /mnt/disk -l

Follow direction displayed in Terminal

NOTE: for sim install no reboot is required, but menu items will most likely be in category Other
after you you log out of system then back in or a reboot menu items will then be in CNC

---

If you choose to load both 32-bit kernels the deb files will be present in home folder.
The script defaults to Rtai for install of Linuxcnc if both kernels are installed.
If you want to use the Rt-preempt kernel, (takes about 2 min)
open Terminal and

sudo dpkg -r linuxcnc <will un-install linuxcnc for Rtai kernel

then use gdebi

sudo gdebi -n linuxcnc-uspace_i386.deb <will install linuxcnc for Rt, need a internet connections the first time you do this

Find Grub-Coustomizer in start menu
Open Grub-Coustomizer
Now click the "General Setting" tab
Click on choice box to the right of predefined
In drop down menu choose 3.18.13-rt10mah+ for default system boot
Making sure you do not choose (systemd or recovery mode) option for your kernel

Then reboot

---

If you want to go back to using Rtai kernel, (takes about 2 min)
open Terminal and

sudo dpkg -r linuxcnc-uspace <will un-install linuxcnc for Rt kernel

then use gdebi

sudo gdebi -n linuxcnc_rtai_i386.deb <will install linuxcnc for Rtai

NOTE you will see a error it is not a problem linuxcnc is not happy with the current booted kernel

Find Grub-Coustomizer in start menu
Open Grub-Coustomizer
Now click the "General Setting" tab
Click on choice box to the right of predefined
In drop down menu choose 3.16.0-9-rtai-686-pae for default system boot
Making sure you do not choose (systemd or recovery mode) option for your kernel

Then Reboot

---

If you only choose to install one 32-bit kernel but now what to install the other
You must install both kernels , deb files will only be available in home directory if you choose to install both kernels
The script defaults to Rtai for install of Linuxcnc if both kernels are installed.
Re-install of kernel that is already installed will not hurt anything.
But first you need to un-install Linuxcnc

To un-install Linuxcnc on Rtai
open Terminal

sudo dpkg -r linuxcnc <will un-install linuxcnc for Rtai kernel

or

To un-install Linuxcnc on Rt-preempt
open Terminal

sudo dpkg -r linuxcnc-uspace <will un-install linuxcnc for Rt kernel

Then if booted into Rtai or Rt-preempt kernel

sudo su -
mkdir -p /mnt/disk;mount -o loop /home/`who | cut -d' ' -f1 | sort | uniq`/lcncInstall.iso /mnt/disk;/mnt/disk/install.sh;umount /mnt/disk -l

Follow direction displayed in Terminal

---

NOTE
If you installed Linuxcnc for Rt-preempt kernel you can run linuxcnc booted into a generic or Rtai kernel in sim mode only
With Rtai install if not in Rtai kernel and trying to run linuxcnc you will get error message on screen

It is always good to check what kernel you are booted into to do this
open Terminal

uname -r

Another good check for Linuxcnc Rt kernel install
start linuxcnc from Terminal
open Terminal

linuxcnc

Choose and run a configuration

if you are in sim only mode you will see in Terminal

Note: Using POSIX non-realtime

if you are booted into Rt-preempt kernel you will see in Terminal

Note: Using POSIX realtime

I hope someone finds this usefull

Tim March

Tim,

First, I am sorry to hear that was your response, considering the amount of time you have put into this product.

I would like to use your iso to install Linux mint distro on my pc. However I do have a question:
So if I understood correctly I can use this on an already installed Linux Mint distro?

LMDE (Linux Mint Debian Edition) is a very exciting distribution, targeted at experienced users, which provides the same environment as Linux Mint but uses Debian as its package base, instead of Ubuntu.
www.linuxmint.com/download_lmde.php

If so ill give it a shot! I liked Linux mint but I was unable to compile the Linuxcnc source without an error, looks like you took all the work out of it, Ill let you know how it goes! Thanks for the effort, really helps us newbies!

cncnoob1979 said

So if I understood correctly I can use this on an already installed Linux Mint distro?

That is correct LMDE 2 both flavors Cinnamon and Mate, the link that you posted is the correct link also.

Once you get everything installed I can also help you with latency issues. If you check latency with standard latency test in Menu->CNC you might think that your computer will be a poor choice. I just have been helping someone else with a different type of install latency was terrible we got latency down a great amount. If you have trouble with install or find a mistake in instructions please post here and I will make corrections accordingly.

Good luck

Tim

Tim

Thank you. Preliminary tests have your ISO working well. I wish I could say the same about the LMDE 2 install. I am sure the problem is my hardware because Linux Mint 17.3 worked well on two other boxes using the same DVD. More to follow.

John

I tried upgrading from Wheezy to Jessie yesterday but had problems finding the correct kernel to use with the latest Linuxcnc. You ISO looks like the answer to that problem.
Pity it's only available on Dropbox where I don't have (or want) an account. Any chance of a torrent somewhere?

geoffs said

Pity it's only available on Dropbox where I don't have (or want) an account. Any chance of a torrent somewhere?

You do not need a account to dropbox to download, just dismiss any prompts to create a account then download file.

Tim

I must admit, I just saw the prompt to login via Google and dismissed the page.
I'll download now and give a try.

Just created an account to say thank you!!

note to newbies like myself: the kernels are included in the ISO.

I would also like to include a link to Dxf2Gcode on SourceForge and instructions on how I got it to work on my machine:
(Sorry for the simpleton instructions, but being a relative newbie, I thought detail might help somebody out there. Please point out any errors and make improvements)


sourceforge.net/projects/dxf2gcode/


go to home > downloads

extract dxf2gcode:
right-click on downloaded file and select 'extract here' (this makes a folder called 'source')

right-click ON 'home' folder and select 'open as root' (Menu>Files>File Systems)

move or copy 'source' folder to 'home' folder (Just drag from 'download' folder to 'home' folder)
close 'download' folder

open 'source' folder- just double-click
right-click IN 'source' folder(avoid content) and select 'open in terminal'

run clean script (in terminal):
mkdir clean
for var in $( ls dxf2gcode*.py );
do cat $var | tr -d "\r" > clean/$var;
done
mv clean/* ./
rmdir clean/

make symbolic link (in terminal):
sudo ln -s /home/<user>/source/dxf2gcode.py /usr/bin/dxf2gcode.py

note: replace <user> with your login id/name

make dxf2gcode.py executable (in terminal):
sudo chmod a+x /usr/bin/dxf2gcode.py

run dxf2gcode from terminal:
python dxf2gcode.py

close dxf2gcode

open the file 'postpro_config' in 'source' folder, and at the end of the document add:
[Export Parameters]
write_to_stdout = 1

*********************************************************************************
to complete integration in linuxcnc:
go to home> linuxcnc> configs> sim.axis

in the .INI file(s) add to the [FILTER] section(s) (please read note 1):
PROGRAM_EXTENSION =.dxf 2D ACad/QCad Drawing
PROGRAM_EXTENSION =.DXF 2D ACad/QCad Drawing
dxf = dxf2gcode.py
DXF = dxf2gcode.py
PROGRAM_FILTER = python
PROGRAM_EXTENSION = *.py Python Script


NOTES:
1. I don't have a CNC machine at the moment so i'm trying out the different configurations. You could just change the .ini file that matches your setup. I chose to edit ALL the .INI files- and there are quite a few. I'm hoping one of you python gurus can edit the [FILTER] section to remove CASE sensitivity. Seems redundant to check for both DXF and dxf
2. The author recommends adding 'EDITOR = gedit' to the [DISPLAY] section in the .INI file. I did not because it is already done.
3. When you open a dxf file in linuxcnc (file > open), dxf2Gcode opens in a new window. Export your dxf file to gcode (.ngc), close dxf2gcode ,and open your .ngc file in linuxcnc. *** I might be missing something here: integration only seems to save you a step (having to manually open dxf2Gcode). Any help here would be appreciated.


original instructions can be found at:
sourceforge.net/p/dxf2gcode/wiki/Installation/

Tim,

I just finished my installation yesterday and it worked right out of the box! Thank you for taking the time to make this. Im going to give LMDE 2 a shot, I must admit that I like the standard installation of mint 17.3 better [NOT LMDE 2]!

It was not difficult at all, everything was clear and concise.

I removed all "fancy" effects from the display and I have fairly stable latency around 10~15. I am using mesa hardware and not so worried about latency issues, 10-15 is still excellent. I still have hyper-threading enabled and I am not isolating any of my CPU cores. I don't want my PC to crawl if I can help it otherwise.

Also watch out, if the screen saver comes up and locks the screen, you may not be prompted for a password to unlock it. This is a known issue but I forgot to turn off mine, and while updating the system ~ you guessed it, I was locked out. I waited a reasonable time and shut down the computer, hoping the updates were completed. I got lucky


Thanks,

Thanks for creating this image. I was able to mostly follow your instructions with a couple changes and get it to install over a fresh jessie 64 installation with xfce but my latency went up to 170+. On the standard pre-bundled weezey 32 net install I was getting about 14.

I tried the 32 bit version with similar results. I have fiddled with bios settings to no effect. My linux knowledge is quite rusty so I don''t know where to turn next. Anyone have any suggestions.