Topics

1

General Mach Discussion / PCB Milling advice and help

« on: October 02, 2013, 10:58:54 PM »

Im very new to the site, so apologies if ive posted in the wrong place. My small business has forced me down a route where i have to seriously look at milling my own PCB's.

Not only am i new to the world of CNC machines, im pretty new to working with PCB software...

However, im pretty quick to learn. Most of my first PCB's will come from commercial .GRB Gerber files, and i have some experience with EAGLE PCB software.

My basic questions are, Is there a simple program for turning a Gerber file directly into a format that Mach 3 can immediately work with? (Unless Mach 3 can handle these                       .                                files directly, and ive yet to learn how)
                                 Is there a better PCB program that is simple and easier to use then EAGLE?

Any help or advice is greatly appreciated.

J

2

General Mach Discussion / Bare Minimum PC Specs

« on: October 02, 2013, 05:15:29 PM »

I am an absolute Nube here with Mach 3 and with CNC's in general, forgive me if ive posted in the wrong place, i did a search for this question and found nothing.

Ive read that the minimum 'ideal' CPU speed to run Mach 3 is 1Ghz, but what are the problems and realities of running Mach 3 on a machine running at only 800Mhz? Even if its running absolute bare services in the background, and dedicated to the job.

I have a reason for the question, the PC i have is perfect size wise for the physical installation i had in mind.

Any comments would be welcome.