#linuxcnc Logs
Oct 13 2025
#linuxcnc Calendar
12:20 AM roycroft: the rain finally just stopped
12:35 AM roycroft: we were supposed to get 6.6mm today, but it's been pouring since late morning until just now
01:35 AM Deejay: moin
01:55 AM KennyLog-in is now known as justache
03:05 AM robert1 is now known as rmu
03:51 AM lcnc-relay: <krey2892@> Scopeuk: It seems like a downgrade in comparison to the carvera router.. it doesn't have good chip collection based on the video where the chips get in the linear rails so that would be pain to keep running, has small work area and no ATC.. Like it could be modded to be more capable but we want to get something more approachable by people
04:39 AM Tom_L: morning
05:51 AM lcnc-relay: <sodakaustik@> https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/428933948484354049/1427243541201027126/20251013_133329.mp4?ex=68ee27a1&is=68ecd621&hm=0b4094e50e9f0eeeed9133c4c5d50f87c6004d9f193bf7d6166b96345ed88471&
05:51 AM lcnc-relay: <sodakaustik@> morning!
05:51 AM lcnc-relay: <sodakaustik@> surface ground
07:29 AM rdtsc-w: that's gonna be one helluva impulse sealer :)
08:09 AM -!- #linuxcnc mode set to +v by ChanServ
09:29 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> stayed up watching "The Feral Engineer"'s youtube series on LinuxCNC setup
09:30 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> seemed pretty good, so far getting into the pncconfig
09:30 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> just trying to wrap my head around how all the moving parts fit together
09:30 AM rdtsc-w: haven't seen a vid on mesact yet; yeah there are a lot of moving parts
09:31 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> that was one of the questions I had, was where in the process mesaconfig fits in, and does it replace other config tools, or just add to them?
09:31 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> mesact, sry
09:37 AM Unterhausen: Isn't that series a little old now?
09:37 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> 21 I think, so probably.
09:38 AM Unterhausen: that's the problem with making tutorials for lcnc, people should probably commit to making updates
09:39 AM Tom_L: lesliet, pncconf or mesact is an either or choice
09:39 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> mostly just looking for the overview, and wanting to see what is involved in setup in general, not too worried about fine grained detail yet
09:39 AM JT-Mobile: mesact is a stand alone configuration tool for mesa boards
09:39 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> ok, good to know, thanks
09:40 AM Tom_L: alot newer and supports newer boards
09:40 AM JT-Mobile: I found pncconf a bit confusing that's why I wrote mesact
09:40 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> are there any videos on it yet?
09:43 AM Tom_L: i think most of the videos he did were for flexgui
09:43 AM Tom_L: https://www.gnipsel.com/linuxcnc/mesact/index.html
09:44 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> Tom_L: lol, was already on this page, thx
09:44 AM Tom_L: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWyuYmZsDfE
09:45 AM Tom_L: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bt_uiCL2v3E
09:45 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> will probably pull the trigger on this cart pretty soon, got the rpi5 and other stuff people here recommended. So I can start at least playing with it in sim
09:46 AM Tom_L: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SLU_Cp2sI8
09:46 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> Tom_L: thank you, bookmarked for this evening
09:46 AM Tom_L: haven't watched them in a while
09:46 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> I'll just keep immersing myself in whatever lore I can find and hope some of it sticks
09:48 AM Tom_L: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-bhGNOqtEU
09:49 AM Tom_L: found one more
10:00 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> Classicladder looks like it will be very useful
10:02 AM Tom_L: it's about as easy to use comps
10:03 AM Tom_L: i didn't know anything about ladder when i did my config so i did it all with comps
10:03 AM Tom_L: kindof a tossup
10:05 AM Tom_L: Commands and userspace components and Realtime components and kernel modules
10:05 AM Tom_L: http://linuxcnc.org/docs/stable/html/
10:05 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> Tom_L: oh my!
10:05 AM Tom_L: you just load what you need
10:06 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> have read most of the manual in that last link. I'm sure I'll need to read it all again, and in more detail as I go on
10:06 AM Tom_L: linuxcnc is very versatile
10:07 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> picking that up, yes it seems great once I work with it enough to feel more confident
10:07 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> larger investment of study up front, but I'm thinking it will pay off
10:08 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> especially when it comes to one-off weird machines
10:11 AM Tom_L: that's why we're here
10:11 AM Tom_L: or the forum
11:56 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> https://imgur.com/a/SxGkzqe
11:56 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> this morning's efforts
11:57 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> the paint is peeling, so I got some stainless pans coming that the various covers should fit in, so I can strip the paint with carb cleaner
11:57 AM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> and reshoot them once clean
12:01 PM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> https://imgur.com/a/FpPWH5y
12:02 PM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> table is pretty good. A couple of rust spots like it had two vises on it for a long time, but laying a straightedge length wise, and in an x across corners, I don't see any perceptible gap
12:16 PM Tom_L: lookin good
12:17 PM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> redoing the whole thing in almond and black as I go through it
12:18 PM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> will probably move it to where I want it to live while the table and knee are off
12:19 PM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> looking at the hook spanner style nuts for the ballscrew in the head, there's a lot of the kind of damage done when someone doesn't have the spanner & uses a screwdriver and a hammer instead
12:19 PM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> as well as grease where there should only be oil
12:20 PM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> so I think the person who replaced bearings in it was maybe struggling a bit :p
12:22 PM xxcoder: is there a way to tell apart grease and overly aged oil?
12:23 PM Tom_L: probably smells different if you can smell
12:23 PM xxcoder: interesting
12:23 PM Tom_L: i opened up a brittish transmission once that used whale oil for lube...
12:23 PM Tom_L: talk about an odor
12:24 PM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> yikes
12:25 PM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> yeah, I bet that smelled like ford limited slip additive
12:25 PM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> which is bad
12:25 PM xxcoder: oh boy. hopefully smell didnt stain your clothes or whatever
12:25 PM Tom_L: Whale oil, specifically sperm oil, was used in automatic transmission fluid because its properties prevented rust and handled high temperatures well. Its use was common until 1972
12:26 PM Tom_L: banned
12:26 PM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> xxcoder: seems to me like oil just leaves a crust when it dries up? This appears to be mobil ep grease, it's not in bad shape, it's just not the correct lubricant for ballscrews
12:26 PM xxcoder: interesting. thanks :)
12:26 PM Tom_L: i use vactra II on my ways
12:27 PM Tom_L: and screws for that matter
12:29 PM Tom_L: that ban led to the developement of synthetics since the immediate replacements led to early transmission failures
12:29 PM Tom_L: mid 70's
12:30 PM xxcoder: if ban didnt happen, there would be no whales and we would still have synthetics
12:30 PM xxcoder: so its good it happened :)
12:30 PM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> vactra 2 seems like a good choice
12:30 PM xxcoder: and hey less stinky
12:31 PM rdtsc-w: looking good lesliet; have any stones large enough to glide across that bed? that'll tell ya if it's flat :)
12:31 PM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> :p
12:32 PM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> I do have a little 3" one for the other mill
12:33 PM rdtsc-w: https://www.sharpeningsupplies.com/collections/lapping-plates-and-flattening-stones some of them not cheap :)
12:35 PM lcnc-relay: <lesliet@> probably overkill for what I'm doing
12:49 PM * roycroft has quite a collection of diamond stones and ceramic/glass stones, and has not ever dared to add up how much they all cost
12:50 PM xxcoder: reminds me of robertz