Is It Worth It?

[FLUTE HEAD]

Hey All, Im New To Linux And Found The Bdi Install On The Net. It Was The First Almost Free Program I Found So I Ordered It. What Would Make Someone Want To Use Emc Apposed To A Cheap Priced Win/dos Machine Controller Or Any Other Lower Priced Controller?
I Hear That Linux Is More Stable Than Windows. The Emc Sounds Like
A Really Good Program.

[Chagrin]

From what you've said it sounds like EMC is definitely not for you. You're going to need much more than just a basic understanding of Linux to get this running.

Linux is an investment in knowledge (and a good one I might add) but EMC is an investment in time. Unless you want to become a computer nerd, your time is probably worth much more than the price of Mach 1 or Mach 2 from www.artofcnc.ca.

[FLUTE HEAD]

chagrin, you say unless I want to invest lots of time, but I have the brain dead install and from what i've read it shouldn't be hard being that I have the disk's. I was under the impression that it does all the "nerd" work for you. please correct Matt Oh, by the way, How come nobody is talkin much in this EMC forum?

[ynneb]

How come nobody is talkin much in this EMC forum?

Maybe coz they all got brain dead after trying EMC out !!!!

Before I bought Mach2 I tried EMC out. All I can say is part with your bucks and buy Mach2.

[FLUTE HEAD]

JUST SOME FYI FOR THOSE INTERESTED, It seems that the brain dead install cd's have installed just fine on my computer. I've also got morphix installed to hard drive. The emc program comes up and by the looks seems ok. I have not made any moves in it yet, just picked a few buttons to see if it was working. If anyone is using this program I would love to hear from you. thanks, Matt

[owhite]

While I would certainly like to see more traffic in this forum, one issue is that EMC has a mailing list which is an essential read if you want to get it working. My guess is that most EMC users are probably just avoiding creating two groups with overlapping information.

owen

[unterhaus]

The reason that nobody talks here is that there is an email list for EMC. Also, a lot of discussion on the CCED yahoo email list. If you are serious about using EMC, look at www.linuxcnc.org

There is also an IRC channel.

Both TurboCNC and Mach2 started with EMC. Sherline is selling mills with EMC installed. There are lots of users of EMC around the world. If you are using true servos and not stepper emulation, EMC is the only way to go that doesn't cost big bucks.

[ynneb]

If you are using true servos and not stepper emulation, EMC is the only way to go that doesn't cost big bucks.

Mach 2 is $150 bucks. You can email the creater of mach2 any day you like, the support is fantastic, the product is constantly been updated with new tricks. I wouldnt have thought that was considered bug bucks when you think about the cost of a lot of other software out there.

My short experience with EMC was that no one answered my emails or questions. I would prefere to pay someone $150 and get help than use a free program that could take ages to work out.

[ESjaavik]

Originally Posted by ynneb My short experience with EMC was that no one answered my emails or questions. I would prefere to pay someone $150 and get help than use a free program that could take ages to work out.

I agree on one thing, Mach 2 is worth the cost.

But I cannot understand that you did'nt get any replies on EMC. Where did you ask? The right place to ask is the mentioned mailing list. The developers and a lot of users are actively participating and does reply.

If Mach 2 does what you need, go buy it. But EMC can be tailored to your needs if you take the time and have a bit of programming background. And it fits very well in with the general attitude of many on this forum, where often a CNC machine can be made from a hand drill, a couple of broom sticks and a table top. That's great, I like that attitude. And with EMC the DIY can be extended to the controlling parts too.

[unterhaus]

Ynneb,
Mach2 is not big bucks. Mach 2 uses step and direction control from a parallel port. What I meant was that if you want to use some other control method, like analog control voltages or Pico Systems, you only have one choice in the hobby market: EMC.

As far as support, if you ask on the mailing list, they will get you running. With a program as configurable and complicated as EMC, I don't think that you can expect to get help by asking a question just anywhere.

I spent 5 days with the main players of EMC at EMC fest this spring, and I must say they are evangelical in their desire to make people happy.

Eric

[FLUTE HEAD]

Yeah I here you guys. It seems like they could have organized the support pages a little better. Kinda a like a "one stop shop" for info on how to instal. Lets see, theres the yahoo group, the emc master handbook, misc. personal web pages, and then cnc zone. I like the fact that it was offered on cnc zone, for how well organized this site is. If people want to pursue emc, do it here. Just an opinion

[ESjaavik]

Flute Head, it doesn't help much that this place is well organized as long as the EMC mailing list is where the "guys that know" hangs out.