Mach3 and SheetCam on same PC?

[davek0974]

Is there any harm in running Mach3 AND sheetcam together on the same PC?

If only one program is used at any time, it should get full processor/memory access etc surely??

In my situation it would suit perfectly if this would be ok - my Mach3 pc has no network and my design/sheetcam pc is in the house upstairs so it's a very long walk to go back and alter say an action point or cut speed etc.

Are there any known issues?

[acourtjester]

Ditto on what John said it would work fine for minor changes to the G-code to have SheetCam there. I use a jump drive between the 2 computers. You could redo SheetCam every few months. For simple changes to G-code I just use Notepad but if you want to change cut order or change offsets it would be handy to have it on your shop computer.

[davek0974]

Ok thanks,

I'll give it a go and see how it plays I think, I know Mach is working well at present so any odd behaviour and I'll pull the sheetcam install off.

Some jobs I wouldnt want to do on the machine pc anyway - complicated nesting needs a chair and a coffee sometimes

Maybe a laptop would be the safest option after all, I can prep the code in the house plus take it to the shop so I can make quick alterations.

One thing I have noticed about sheetcam is that its very hard to keep multiple copies synchronised - any changes to tools etc need to be copied across which can be a pain so having one working copy could be best.

[tnbndr]

I have a laptop with both sheetcam and Mach 3 installed with no issues whatsoever.
The table manufacturer set it up that way for me. It has network capability but I do not run it on a network or internet, it is strictly used to run the table. I was told not to take Sheetcam updates so I just leave things as they are. And they seem to be working fine.

[KIDTech]

I have found a Lenovo w520 (laptop) works great as a 2 dimensional CAD station as I am rather busy for work so I can do my drawing/designing whenever I get a chancel. I also can have it in the shop if I need to edit things quickly. I have SheetCam and Mach3 on the laptop and run Mach3 only on the pc that controls my machine. I have ACAD, SheetCam, Mach3, Inventor and Visual Studio on my laptop with no issues.