Re: EMC - a practical implementation?

[John Guenther <jguenthe-at-nafis.fp.trw.com>]

Steve,

Sounds to me like you are looking to pull off a Red Hat, that is take FREE
software, package it up in a pretty box on CD's, sell it commercially for a while
to establish your market and then go public for large profits.  Well, let me tell
you Red Hat and all the other linux companies did not get there over night, they
did not get there by berating the product they sell.  They got there by getting
on the development band wagon, comming up with ways to fix the problems they saw
and then packaging and marketing the product.  This took years, not days or weeks
and it took the effort of a lot of people.

Many of us on this list would like to see EMC become easier to install, features
added and bugs fixed.  There are people working on these problems, more joining
the crew all the time and lots of us using the EMC software for both hobby and
production work.  The only way EMC will get to the state you seem to want is
through the efforts of many many people, or the efforts of a small group of
people with a very large budget to work with.  As it stands today, if you follow
the instructions provided in the handbook and install it on the recommended
versions of linux the install is basically easy, not much worse than setting up a
Winslow box with ALL the MS software, and you will have a functional system.
However you will always have to work with configuration files since machines are
different, servo drives are not standard, stepper drives are not standard and
every user wants different levels of performance from CNC machines.

The bottom line is don't complain about that which you know nothing about!

John Guenther
Senior Software Engineer / DBA


JohnDRoc-at-aol.com wrote:

> Steve,
>
> I don't know, but I detect a lot of animosity towards something that is of no
> consequence to you, one way or the other.  What did you hope to get out of
> this thread?  For those who are using EMC daily, you're going to have a heck
> of a time trying to convince them that EMC s--ks.  Why discourage those who
> would try it, just because you don't have the capability?  If your time is so
> valuable, then surely you must have the resources to go out and buy a $10k
> program that does what EMC does and more.  I don't own the shop, either -
> I'll get a small compensation when it's running.  Maybe not total
> reimbursement, but I prefer to look at what I've learned as an investment.
> I've learned, in the process.  Judging from other comments, I'm probably
> working on one of the heaviest machines that EMC has been applied to, since
> from its original development.  Jog at 1000IPM, cut at 800IPM, 20HP spindle
> motor, 20 Tool Changer - this ain't no Bridgeport. (In addition, I've had
> several people contact me individually to do similar work to their machines,
> for a FEE.)  This is supposed to be a forum for constructiveness, so again I
> ask - what did you hope to get out of this thread?  Revamp NIST?  Boycott EMC?
>
> -John