Step 6: Get a real computer! [FuddyMuckers]

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====== Step 6: Get a real computer! ======

LinuxCNC comes as a complete system - a specially compiled realtime Debian Linux operating system with the LinuxCNC software installed. That means you have to either re-format a computer to install it or get fancy and install it alongside your existing OS in a dual-boot setup - which I won't go into here, if you have to ask then you probably shouldn't do it.

Anyway, the ideal approach is to just dig up an old PC that has a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parallel_port|parallel port]] on the back((for my eBay controller)) from somewhere and just install LinuxCNC on it as a single-purpose machine. If you're not into computers, find a friend who is and ask if they've got an old PC in their junk collection (they will, we all do) and drag it home, ideally with a keyboard, mouse, and monitor etc.

The computer doesn't have to be very powerful - something 10 years old will likely be entirely OK, and you don't want an expensive PC if it's living in the workshop. £50 on eBay should more than sort you out.

If you don't need a parallel or serial port for your CNC device then almost anything will do - old laptops are perfect.

I discovered my collection of old crap didn't quite meet the criteria (the PC with a parallel port had no graphics card, the PC that worked didn't have a parallel port) so I wandered round to the IT department and relieved them of an old Dell base unit from their pile - an OptiPlex 760 with an Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 @3Ghz and 3G of RAM, Radeon 3450 graphics card, and a 250G hard drive. It's not going to set the world on fire but it's a perfect score for our needs. Being Dell it's physically well constructed too, and quiet, which is nice.

===== Step 6a: Install LinuxCNC again! =====

Guess what! You've now got to install LinuxCNC on this machine.

**Wrinkle #1:** I discovered that this will NOT work from an [[http://www.easy2boot.com/|Easy2Boot]] stick which is a real shame, so I burned it to a spare USB stick and fired it up.

**Wrinkle #2:** After installation, the graphics was glitching and flickering and very low-res. The graphics card came with a dual-head VGA adapter, swapping to a DVI one seems to have cured it and makes the world less fuzzy.

Procedure is pretty simple - download ISO, write to USB stick, boot PC and follow on-screen instructions like we did in [[2-install_vm|step 2]].

===== Step 6b: Get more software! =====

Yes, this is also [[4-more_software|Step 4]] so I won't detail it here - read the Debian manuals for how to do it.

I will be installing:

  * [[https://kate-editor.org/|Kate]] text editor
  * [[http://pycam.sourceforge.net/|PyCAM]]
  * [[http://www.openscad.org/|OpenSCAD]]
  * [[https://inkscape.org/|Inkscape]]

==== PyCam Wrinkles ====

Download ''get-pip.py'' from [[https://packaging.python.org/tutorials/installing-packages/#id13]], then:

<code>
python get-pip.py
pip install --upgrade pip enum34
pycam</code>

<WRAP center round todo 60%>
Work In Progress here!
</WRAP>

===== Step 6c: Playstation! =====

Well, a knock-off USB Playstation controller anyway. Very handy for moving the mill.

I haven't yet managed to get it working with LinuxCNC but there's info on their website about doing it.