I am curious if most people use there main computer/laptop or have a dedicated unit for there CNC.
I have a dedicated one but I also have a work computer to frees this once up.
I just use my personal laptop. That way I can design stuff when I feel like it without having to get the dedicated computer. Often on the couch in front of the TV I’ll get create. I also use the UBS stick to transfer files simply because my 1F isn’t turned on most of the time. I have brought my laptop down into my workshop but it’s rare as I don’t want to get sawdust into it (I’m using a gaming laptop with a powerful GPU that has two powerful fans).
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I just use my laptop. It might sometimes be nice to have a bigger screen, but using the portable laptop is just too convenient.
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When “all this” (meaning CNC stuff) started, I convinced myself to finagle an Amazon purchase of an i5 laptop because I just “had to have” VCarve Pro… To date, and I guess it’s been two years now, said laptop has sat unused, on the charger next to my desk while I use my Mac instead.
Not a fan of Microsoft for long-history personal reasons, so I generally stick with the free options that can run on my Mac, like Carbide Create, Easel, and SketchUp. I’d probably buy, use, and enjoy something a little more substantial like VCarve Pro but I just can’t justify the expense of it considering I’ve never figured out how to make a dime using my CNC like others have…
I use Macs as well, but Vectric is so much better than any of the free versions I had to come up with a solution. So I have an I7 9th Gen with a decent GPU sitting under my desk. I use TeamViewer to remote into it. it’s on the same network, of course, so there is not perceptible lag. TV is free for private use. Look into it.
They have a web-based version as so, and I have a cheap ChromeOS computer in the shop that I can use to remote into it and make quick changes if I need to rather than walking back to my office.
And I control my 1F exclusively via remote. I threw the crummy 10" screen away and use my Ipad as a controller. This way I can load files remotely from my office as well.
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One thing I could not do without, agnostic of OS, is a LARGE high resoluton monitor. I use 2x 34" monitors on my desk. I cannot even imagine doing any kind of design work on a laptop screen. LOL>
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I don’t doubt how great VCarve is, I simply can’t afford the expenditure. The i5 laptop I ended up with mostly because of black friday and some built up credits at Amazon, has 16GB of RAM but only a 1ghz processor (3.6ghz “Turbo” mode), so chances are, on top of VCarve’s insane price, I’d have to toss in another $400 for a mini PC or i7 laptop.
I would have to figure out a way (between RealJob[tm], always having to babysit the 2yo grandson, and growing health issues) to actually make money with the CNC considering every single thought I have come up with is in a completely saturated market (which I never realized until after I bought the machine…
About the best I can afford right now is Carbide Create Pro at $10/month…
Wayne
Sorry @pdodge70, I know I’ve gone completely off-topic here. Short answer. Yes, I have a dedicated Windows 11 laptop for my CNC. No, I’ve never used it for such. 
wait, erm… 
Wayne
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@quesohusker same here…
Hey Paul,
since the Onefinity CNC is a stand-alone CNC that already includes a computer, you don’t need a computer to run it.
However to model 3D in a CAD software, I would rather dedicate a computer to do 3D and graphics work in general, with very big monitors. For this, the old truth applies more than ever: There is no substitute for a lot of RAM than a lot of RAM. Or, in other words, you will hate every computer when it starts to swap memory to the swap partition.
Also I recommend a wheel trackball on the left hand (as a right-hander), to have the right hand free for keyboard shortcuts. Navigating through menus is a total time eater, always learn the keyboard shortcuts of every 3D modeling or graphics software.
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VCarve isn’t real demanding on hardware. You could download the demo and give it a try and see.
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It’s varied over time. I used to primarily use my iMac Pro (2x 27" screens) in the office and have a MacBook Pro on an arm beside the CNC mainly used as the UI for the CNC (I don’t have a dedicated screen connected to it) and a laser engraver. Office is upstairs and CNC is in the basement. I found myself going up and down stairs too often even though I could remote in to the desktop machine from a small monitor laptop. Recently I bought a dedicated Windows PC that sits about 10’ from the CNC in another room. It’s not dedicated to the CNC as it serves other hobbies in that room but will now be the primary machine for design work. I think I’ll keep the laptop beside the CNC still, although I could switch to a monitor there for that it is still good for the laser.
I think the important thing is having a big monitor and good input devices (mouse, etc) for the design work.
None of these machines are my primary computer though, that is a newer MacBook Pro.
I too am not a bill gates fan, I bought a beater desktop from the local library for $50 & keep it beside the 1f, I use Easel which allows me to do design work in the living room (laptop) or in the shop, and any work done on either computer is updated automatically. The original touchscreen seems to have failed so now am using the computer monitor to run the CNC.
To Paul’s original question:
I do all modeling and most other coding on an i7 16GB ram in the house. Fusion of course saves the models to the cloud. But I have Dropbox set up to automatically backup and sync all CNC related files which are in a directory called Onefinity.
In the shop I have my 15 year old i5 8GB ram beside the CNC also synced with Dropbox. So things I code in the house show up on the laptop in the shop.
I have that old computer stripped right down to only have programs needed for the CNC to try and make it faster ( It still takes 15 minutes to boot up, and then 15 minutes to start Fusion after that ).
When I first get in the shop I start the laptop booting, then cut the workpiece on the table saw and setup on CNC. After the CNC is setup the laptop is ( usually ) finished booting up.
I get Fusion going in case I want to make changes to the code quickly.
One of the biggest reasons to have a laptop in the shop for me is my programs I call macros. I have a bunch of programs that are hand coded for things like surfacing that I make quick changes to then send them to the OF. Since we cannot edit programs on the Buildbotics this is a real time saver for me. Perhaps when the proper macros are perfected on the Buildbotics I will be able to do the editing there and make the laptop less important.
If that laptop dies from dust I will just get another garage sale special and sync every thing off Dropbox again.
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Hey all,
I should add that for controlling the webbrowser-based User Interface on the Buildbotics-derived Onefinity Controller on Original/X-50/PRO Series, it is better to use a remote computer over Ethernet or WiFi than a HDMI monitor directly connected to the CNC controller, because the Raspi inside is not able to render the camotics.org-based 3D toolpath simulation, but you get this on the remote computer:
Image: A typical surfacing your wasteboard g-code toolpath program, uploaded to the Onefinity Controller. Animated during milling.
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LOL, he hasn’t had anything to do with Microsoft products for at least 16 years. Personally, I only use a Mac when I have to (you can’t publish iOS apps without one). Not a fan of Apple’s excessive walled-garden approach and their price premiums.
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@everyone else, sorry, OT, I know…
@Ruairisdad
I can get that perspective, and at one time I shared it, but when I experienced my breaking point with Microsoft, I was really, REALLY hesitant to buy a Mac, imagining how much I’d hate it. I imagined that to do ANYTHING of note, I’d have to install Parallels or BootCamp to run the programs I used on a daily basis.
I ended up buying a student copy of Office for the Mac to cover my work-type basics and found that for everything I ever wanted to do, there was simply a better alternative program available (usually for free at the time) on the App Store.
Now, I send 90% less time worrying about how to get the computer to do stuff and 90% more time actually getting what I need done on the Mac.
Perfect? No. “Walled Garden”? Yes. If you’ve never given the ecostructure a chance though, that’s about like saying “OneFinity Sucks” while you’ve never used anything but a Genmitsu 3018…
If vCarve Pro came in a Mac version, I (and I’d venture hundreds of other Mac-based CNC users) would buy it in a credit-card-frenzied-regret-it-later heartbeat, but they don’t, so…
Best of luck.
Wayne
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I design on my main computer and have a laptop connected with internet control to control the CNC. Laptop has a larger display and I control what I am cutting cutting and seeing the tool path and pattern that is being cut. I use the touch screen for homing, Z probe, XY and Z probing. The touch screen will not show patterns along with all controls at the same time. Easier follow all steps all the time. More control. I still use the USB to transfer files to the controller.
I use an old laptop with linux on it dedicated next my machine and i use google remote desktop to connect to my main computer to do minor modifications. It works like a charm.