Any other MacOS users out there?

[Ben_Smith]

I’m just about to get started actually having my LR4 ‘air cut’ some things, just to get a feel.

Unfortunatly, there is no Estlcam for Mac… I was thinking then of going with Fusion360, which I’m familiar with from a CAD perspective, but have never used for CAM (as I’ve never done that before at all…), but I read there are issues with feed rates, and it sounds like possibly not the best option?

I also saw Kiri:Moto and am now thinking I might go that route?

Anybody have any experience with any of this and CAM via Mac?

Thanks for your thoughts and advice!

[MakerJim]

@Ben_Smith

Anybody have any experience with any of this and CAM via Mac?

There are a few of us who use MacOS. Take a read here:

Random thing that might be of interest to Mac Users

So I’ve been messing with options to run Estlcam on my Mac without having to pay the annual fee for Parallels. My normal workflow is to design my toolpaths at my desk in my office (and air conditioning), then save them in an iCloud folder. I then go to the shop and use a Mac mini to access those toolpaths and push small ones to the Jackpot wirelessly (Always verify the file size to ensure it all arrived safely.) Most medium to large files will fail, so I just transfer those with the SD card. …

[bitingmidge (Peter H)]

@Ben_Smith

I also saw Kiri:Moto and am now thinking I might go that route?

I use Kiri:Moto happily - I am not a power user nor is my LR3 likely to wear out from overuse, but I’ve found it fills the gap nicely.

Note to file: I must update the “kiri-moto instructions!”

[Britt (Britt Percival)]

@Ben_Smith

Anybody have any experience with any of this and CAM via Mac?

I am using VirtualBox to run Windows and Estlcam on my Macs.

[DougJoseph (Doug Joseph (design8studio))]

…and I’m using Parallels for ESTLcam on Windows 11 Pro “ARM edition.” To clarify, I’m on a MacBook Pro which has an “Apple M1 Max” processor chip, and that’s an ARM chip, which means my VM’s need to be ARM based. With the advent of Windows 11, or around the same time, Micro$oft began to offer an ARM edition of Win 11, which is not only offered but even supported by MS even when used in a virtual machine. I’m looking for a link to support that statement and hopefully this is the right one: Windows Arm-based PCs FAQ - Microsoft Support.

Note: I already needed and used Parallels for other software, so for me this this was multiple birds with one stone.

Another note: I had really old Windows software that by use of an installed kind of “interpreter” program, I’ve been able to get it to still run. I’m amazed to have some software that’s really useful to me, and that dates back to either Windows 95 era, or perhaps even older, Windows 3.1 era, that runs for me in this Win 11 Pro VM.

[dgkeith237]

I’ll chime in here as well. I use Parallels with Estlcam for most work because I’ve found that the Whisky solution above takes a very long time to calculate V-Carve paths and it’s actually failed for me. I’ve been trying to improve my inlay technique, and I do find Parallels to be a better solution for that type of work.

Formerly I used Parallels for other things and I was hoping to get out from under that subscription, but I made the painful decision to get another year. One day I hope to be able to drop it for Millmage, but that project seems to be moving incredibly slowly (from what I read the V-carve and 3D stuff is turning out to be hard.)

[Ben_Smith]

Thank you all for the advice! I’m making slow progress, but it’s fun! I’d rather go slow and not break stuff! Not cutting anything but air until I’m sure I really get whats happening!