How to install HeeksCAD in Ubuntu 12.04

Hi! In a previous post where I wrote about the CNC Software Toolchain for Linux I mentioned HeeksCAD, which is a great software to generate the toolpaths from the 3D models for CNC machining. Since I upgraded to Ubuntu 12.04 I started having some problems with the HeeksCNC plugin and some features like the pocketing and profile operations stopped working. I tried to reinstall it in Ubuntu 12.04 but then I found out that it wasn't a so straight forward process as with previous Ubuntu versions. As such, I decided to make a small tutorial on how to install it under Ubuntu 12.04 Precise Pangolin.

(Click the photo for better resolution in Picasa Photostream)

So, the first trick is that you cannot install the official version from the official HeeksCAD git repository.

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Homemade CNC: TheMaker1

Hi! In the following lines I'll present a project that has taken a very long time to complete: my homemade CNC machine. From the first tests and tryouts with various materials to the actual machine 2 years have passed. More important stuff always made me delay the development of the CNC. However, I estimate that the total amount of time was 3 weeks. I think CNCs are a big challenge for anyone since it involves a lot of mechanical, electronics and computer engineering (although we can bypass the computer engineering part by using available software). It was a challenge for me, with lots of frustration along the way because of my lack of skill to make the parts with the few tools I had, but now I can happily say "Mission Accomplished!":D.

(Click the photo for better resolution in Picasa Photostream)

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CNC Software Toolchain for Linux

Hi! Some time ago I made a post about My Home Lab where I showed a small CNC that I built. In the same post I said that someday I would post some details on the software toolchain and that's exactly what I'm going to do in this post.

The process of using a CNC to make 3D parts follows three simple steps:

1. Design the parts.

To design the parts I use HeeksCAD. HeeksCAD is a free, open source, CAD application written by Dan Heeks.

(Click the photo for better resolution in Picasa Photostream)

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