Not at the computer at the moment, so I’ll have to check out the USB settings for wine later.
If I have a device that runs windows and needs USB access, I tend to make a virtual machine in VMware. That’s a premium option, but you can get Oracle’s Virtual box for free and it will do the job.
Using platform.io on Linux, I had to chmod the usb interface to be able to reach the board for flashing.
But why use estlcam to run it? Cncjs is much smoother!
Hey. I’d never come across Cncjs - will check it out now.
I kind of landed on Estlcam as cheap-and-cheerful that did the job way back and stuck with it. My CNC mill is strung up from scraps of wood so was just surprised to see it work at the time.
Usually, you just need to be in the dialout group to get to usb uart devices. Then you can avoid all the chmod/udev rules stuff for every device.
I really enjoy Linux on various old devices that I use in the shop and give to the kids. I wonder if I should take the leap on my main laptop as well? (Dell xps 13) fusion 360 is the only obvious miss, but there might be good Linux alternatives? Or I can do a dual boot/vm-setup…
I set up Mint 20.1 (Upgrading to 20.2 today) on an older Toshiba laptop for evaluation.
I have Estlcam set up on it, working fine under wine. Yes, it’s annoying to set up, but now it works, so I’m happy. I was even able to update it. There’s a native FreeCAD client, so that’s good. LightBurn also runs on it (But screws over my laser if I let it connect via USB. Still haven’t debugged that) I also have PrusaSlicer running on it, which is good enough that I finally ditched Windows on the main machine that I do my 3D print slicing on. It’s connected to my old old MBot clone (Which I don’t think works right now. Last thing it printed was a core for the original ZenXY) and I use the browser on it to connect to my current main printer’s Duet wifi. Linux is so much faster than Windows on the same processor, it definitely breathes new life into old computer equipment, and I have tons of it. Convenient to just grab an old laptop or PC and set up a dedicated machine for whatever task. Maybe not so nice for the power bill though.
FreeCAD is good enough for me, but doesn’t seem to be really a substitute for Fusion360. I find it more than reasonable for 2D/2.5D, but some 3D projects I find … frustrating. I only ever got far enough into Fusion 360 to manage a simple shop vac nozzle which I use with the Primo, but I don’t think that I could replicate the same part in FreeCAD.
I can’t use fusion. I am still hooked on onshape. I had freecad installed, but when I upgraded to a new hard drive, I haven’t bothered reinstalling it.
I use prusa slicer fine with it. I prefer pronterface to repetier host, but I used to have RH installed. I just use that until octoprint is up and running.
Vscode works fine too. I use platformio, but I prefer using the command line version. I make a virtualenv for each pio project and then pip install platformio. Then platformio run or platformio run -t upload. Works great and I just leave those envs there, in case I need to do some forensics 8 months later, I will start with the same versions.
IMHO, ubuntu is a good choice for most people. It is a bit soft on users and isn’t completely open like arch or something. But if I get in a corner case where I just need prop. software to run some hardware, I am going to do that. I also use ROS, which is pretty closely tied to ubuntu. I do use i3wm though.
I’ve gotten a little fluent with fusion, but I don’t think I’m too deep in, to not being able to let go. I honestly find the autodesk universe quite confusing and overwhelming as a simple hobbyist. (I tried opening some building dwf files I got from the local municipality, and that rabbit hole was only frightening)
I really like the simple and transparent way linux is run, with packages and dependencies determining everything. I’m very confused about the file system structure, but I think the main worry should be to keep track of my own home directory 
One issue that I have to clear out is whether work allows me to use a Linux citrix client for remote desktops…
Yeah. The file system is part of the core and it is built very rationally. But it doesn’t hide any of the complexity from you. But most of the home is free for all. Just be careful in the dot files.
I just set up current Estlcam under wine in Linux mint 19.3.
Estlcam opens correctly, I can load a dxf, but as soon as I add a path the drawing becomes invisible. However it’s still there and its shapes do highlight when I move mouse pointer over them. Preview shows path are created correctly, they just are not displayed.
Any suggestions?
Thanks!
You can use fusion online from any browser, which works pretty well, other than exporting gcode! Hah. It makes a virtual machine in their cloud and has near full functionality. I use it from my Ubuntu devices:
https://fusion.online.autodesk.com/
Unfortunately, I have to use a windows box to get the gcode out of Fusion.
Interesting. I have not seen that. When I used fusion last, it was in a VM running windows. Maybe I will give that a shot.
Why can’t you download the gcode?
I just realized that it’s only available under a student or educator license. They have been developing it for the Chromebook market and it’s come a long way over the past year.
It’s a custom virtual machine that they spin up and control in their private cloud, which is relatively seamless to the end user. So the local file system on the VM is not readily available as you are restricted to Fusion program. I can tell it’s a virtualized environment and not a true web app as you can see the VM fail on occasion, screen resizes in the browser… Overall it works well on old gear and chrome. Unfortunately, if you are try to export gcode, it goes into some inaccessible folder on the VM. The rest of the files are available on your Autodesk hub. So save / share to the hub, then download to a windows box, and then get the gcode.
I tried onshape (reading your earlier post about it) and it looks pretty cool. Seems pricey vs. a $60 / month seat of Fusion.
There is a free subscription for onshape. I am not a professional, so I can use it. I would not pay $60/mo. for CAD. I just don’t use it enough and there are good alternatives.
It makes sense that you would need a pay license to use the online version if they are doing it in a vm server side. That can’t be cheap for them. Onshape and kiri:moto are client side, so they don’t have to spend as much on the servers (presumably). That price tag does suck for people like Ryan who need a professional license.
Ah, this is great!
I’m using the onshape plug-in for fusion360. It let’s me export a face as svg. Via Inkscape to estlcam, works like a charm! I know I can do the camming in fusion, I just find it overly complicated.
Does the web-version of f360 allow plug-ins?
It says it does, but anything that requires getting to the operating system’s file system is not usable.
Just installed Estlcam on an Airbook M2 laptop computer using Codeweavers Crossovers for Mac. They also have Codeweaverss for Lenix.
That looks a lot more interesting than installing Win. Have you been using it long?