Thank You! This is all great info. Parallels is what I think of for a dual operating system setup. I have bought MAC upgrade stuff from OWC before with good results!
Hi, how do you postprocess to gcode from Rhino? Thanks
I export STL files to Vcarve.
I also started playing with Kiri:Moto lately. It is simple
And has some great features. It runs great for simple models but it ran into problems when I tried it with more complicated models. I have high hopes for it.
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Not quiteā¦ I have been a Mac user since OS 2.0 around 1985. I ran it on a IICi complete with a 10Mb SCSI hard drive and 8Mb RAM. Having used OS X since the first release and latterly through the various iterations of Mac OS up to Ventura. I have a lot of CNC experience with the Mac and I found Parallels to be the very best of the virtual computer solutions.
One of the issues for Mac users is that there is not as much work put into providing some of the PC available solutions to CNC processing. CAD/CAM and post processors for the Mac are not as plentiful as they are on the Windows PC platform. I recently took advantage of the trend towards small cube-like PCs. I bought a cheap 27 inch screen, keyboard, mouse, and Windows 11 Pro computer with 500GB NVMe storage and 16GB RAM. The cost was around $400.
I have dedicated it exclusively to my CNC machine and access it across my mesh network via Microsoftās Remote Desktop Protocol so that I can actually run the required CNC software from my Mac. Although I felt that Parallels was an excellent solution, I saw that there was a night and day difference running Windows software on a Windows machine.
I use two pieces of CNC-relevant software. I use Carveco Plus (perpetual licence bought very cheap on Black Friday) as my CAD/CAM and post-processor software. I use gSender as my software for driving the movement of my CNC machine. As it happens, I see that gSender is getting some fairly exciting improvements but I have not yet run the beta.
TLDR: take home is you can buy a very small and very capable Windows system that will do all you need when dedicated to the CNC machine and you can still keep your Mac.
I had set up an instance of this pre-delivery of my AltMill and never returned to it. Happy to hear that someone has had some success with it - might turn the VM on at some point and play with it.
Thank You Jeffcar!
I may get there one day. There are a lot of recipes out there to get the job done. As a beginner with CNC I would like to find an initial solution that will not compound the CNC learning curve with Windows related issues that I am completely unfamiliar with. By sticking with MAC and Carbide Create Pro on the CAD/CAM side along with the G control computer and G sender from Sienci I will have support on the G code side from Sienci while having access to a large resource of Carbide Create tutorials. 120$US/ year for the CC Pro license and I can bail out on that without a big investment if or when I want to go with Ventric or any other Windows based platform. I ordered my Altmill a few days ago. I do have a lot of other projects and family related commitments to get through this summer so I am fine with the lead time. Getting the physical environment ready for the Altmill is turning out to be a fair bit of work. When you insert a 5ft square machine into your shop that needs dedicated power, clearance around it for maintenance and safety as well as good dust collection, it creates a major reorg of all the other machinery.
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You are most welcomeā¦ just thought I would add my Ā£2.47p. 
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I ordered the Altmill on May 21. So the prep work is now on a schedule. I hope they come up with a spindle for the Canadian market soon. I donāt really want to take on an alternate spindle.
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If you ordered in May, then you are likely not getting your Altmill until August. I spoke to Sienci last week about an issue and asked about the spindle. They are hoping to get the spindle certification in Canada within the next two months. Andy will likely provide more information in the June update.
Hi Brian, Iām the MAC user for more then 15 years but if you have business you need to use Windows also because many softwares is for windows only (I use QuickBooks, Vectric and Avenir LoopCAD for my business) , I resolve problem to use Parallels Desktop at MAC with installed Windows 11 (for MAC ARM Processor) in separate SSD drive, now I can use Windows at office but if need also I take SSD to home and use in home MAC to work, easy and chip option, only one attention about this option-you must be have all MAC with ARM or Intel processors.
There is millmage on the road map from the same team that made lightburn. Only in closed early access right now.
Millmage is in public Beta as of last week.
Thank You John for the info on Millmage. I will check it out. Since it looks like the Altmill wonāt arrive until August there is still time for Beta work to refine it. Meanwhile I have plenty to keep me busy. A complete reorg of my shop has been required to fit the Altmill in there without compromising my large table saw setup. Currently working on the dust collection system. Itās a 2 hp 240v collector with a cyclone and a Wynn Env. Canister filter. Canāt use an I vac directly to activate the motor due to its 1hp limit. Thinking of home brewing something maybe including automation of the blast gates which is an upgrade I have always wanted to do. Cyclones are a great edition IME. I have had the system in place since 2018 and have yet to need to empty the plastic bag that catches the fine dust. In fact there are only a couple of cups of dust in the bottom of the bag. Almost 0 maintenance. Just empty the dust bin when itās filling up and use compressed air to clean the canister filter when the static pressure drop starts to increase.
Thanks again for the millmage info.
Brian