Hi folks. This is just a heads up. I downloaded the latest version (1.0.6) of gSender for MacOs yesterday. I am running MacOs 10.15.7 (Catalina) in 16GB of RAM and with a 500GB SSD. When the software loaded, I checked the homing, which worked perfectly and it reported the expected -3.000mm for every machine position axis. The machine jogged correctly and I tested each of the positional movements for speed and size and they worked fine.
I could not load any files in any format, regardless of whether they were .gcode or .nc files. Single or double clicking on the load button resulted in the finder window opening, permitting the required file to be highlighted… and then when the open button was pressed, nothing! nada! zip! I had a look at all of the settings that were accessible to me in the software but I could make no change which affected this behaviour. The viewer window remained stubbornly empty.
I thought it could be possible that I had downloaded a file which had become corrupt at the point of download. I used an application cleaner to remove all traces of gSender, including its preferences file. Upon following the download process again, I reinstalled the new copy of gSender. I am delighted to report this copy worked as expected and it downloaded files directly into the viewer window. All else seems to be fine.
Is there a specific setting that will add some values to the Z axis so that it can run a boundary test without cutting anything? Thank you for any assistance.
Jepho - nice to see you here, and nice to see you still making nice things!! I have adopted GSender, having now used 1.05, 1.06 and the latest 1.07 and all are correctly opening/using files on my Mac Air (High Sierra 10.13.6) - so it might be a MacOS version thing, it might be something else.
One thing I have seen, is that from 1.05 to 1.06 I tried the ‘update is available’ button and ended up with a non-working GSender, if I recall it was in fact not displaying the preview and I presumed the whole would be non-functional. I downloaded 1.06 manually and installed it, replacing 1.05, and all was well. For 1.07 I went straight to the manual download rather than experience the same issue.
Hi Andy! Great to see you here. Thank you for your kind comments. I feel better now I know I am not the only one who has decided that Carbide Motion is very badly hobbled. I did not understand that point until I tried to do things to match my developing CNC understanding.
Yup, that is a good thought. My MacBook Pro is ancient (Mid 2014) and it can only accept the next OS, which I think may be BigSur. Now the idea that if something is not broke, ‘don’t fix it’, is appealing but I had a sticky trackpad. No doubt due to not covering the keyboard while milling wood. I like American cherry wood but it is seriously dusty to machine it.
As an aside I took it along to an Apple genius. They said it would be repairable but they had to try and find the spare parts. The age of the machine meant that spares were not commonly available. I then discovered that the track pad was an integral part of the keyboard and top plate. They offered to fix the machine for £400 and said it would take 10 days.
On the tenth day at around 13:00 they had not even started the job. I called and said thanks but I needed the computer and if necessary I would purchase a tragic macpad to give me the functionality of the trackpad. I went to collect my machine at 15:00 and it had been fixed! New top plate, keyboard and trackpad were fitted. They also changed the lid hinge, and supplied a new battery FOC. Finally the price was a reasonable £149. The interesting fact was they scoured the UK for the part and they only found one in stock in Watford. win/win!
I have some software that may not travel well to BigSur and I am holding off until several developers get back to me about their intentions for their programs. Thus far, I have only downloaded the software directly. I could not tell if this is a bug but thought it reasonable to let the developers know.
Great news. I am very impressed with the UI and the control offered. I will be testing it on several complex files during the week. All of my static testing of the jogging and movement has been great. I must have become really pedantic… I found my self wishing for an entry box that permitted at least 3 digits after the decimal place, where the values for the X, Y and Z axis positions is entered.
Jepho - I put myself in the advanced/advancer category of user, and for a long time found CM to be ‘too basic’ and too prescriptive in its approach. The flexibility in UI terms of CNCjs, UGS and GSender allow me to compose the screen I want to use rather than a baby-steps philosophy. GSender wraps up most of this in a far better designed UI ‘out of the box’.
I know Carbide are trying to provide the most error-proofed environment for beginners, and if I recall in their Kick-Starter days they used UGS and had lots of support issues, but it very quickly becomes a limiting factor in using the machine!!
Indeed, it was prescriptive. I could not face the idea that MeshCAM worked in a similar manner. The £500 asking price suggested that it was worth it. My fundamental point is that many people will have used design software of one sort or another over the years. I could not see why some of the widespread conventions were not used.
I still have a 9 month old ticket awaiting attention. This is for the CM bad habit of plunging the cutter through the workpiece randomly. I was told that C3D would still support my machine but that has not happened. I guess my perspective, speaking as an improver, is that it is not rocket science (my son always tells me that rocket science is easy) and simple things are simple.
The real issue is that any company could not afford to support free software to any depth. I do accept that CC and CM get the newbie going. So newly sold machines are always going to be usable, with a number of provisos. I asked for several months for a file of known dimensions and performance so that new users could know immediately if something was wrong. It could also have been used as a diagnostic tool. I guess that the take home message is never sit on your laurels. In a fast moving industry, no cares about yesterday’s achievements. They want to know what is planned and what can you list as an achievement today.
I think the gSender approach is pointing in the right direction and lessons can be taken from it just in terms of ease of use and UI design. Anyway, good to know you are here because it will keep me honest.
