PC Specification for Running WELmill

PC Specification for Running WELmill

It is hard to make a specific recommendation as there is a number of interacting variables to take into account. A 90 MHz Pentium 1 PC with 48MB RAM and a 7GB hard drive might be the minimum specification: WELmill certainly runs well on such a machine. In the end it boils down to how long you are prepared to wait while WELmill pre-processes very large 3D CNC files: 2.5D CNC files are usually quite small.

When a new or amended G code CNC file is selected for machining a part, WELmill pre-processes the data. All the machining movements are calculated. The results of these calculations are saved automatically if the menu item OPTIONS - SETTINGS, "Retain Calculated Mill Steps" has been checked: the file extension is NCX. If another of the same part is to be machined on a subsequent occasion, the calculations are not repeated: the NCX data are used. The calculations are only repeated if the originating CNC file or some other factor has changed.

The longer a CNC data file, the longer it takes a PC to do the NCX machining moves calculations. Exactly how long depends on the speed of the PC. For example, the 60mm square Celtic knot, shown above, has a 1.4MB CNC file running to over 43000 lines of code. The NCX machining moves file is 10.5MB. For a 90 MHz Pentium 1 PC, the time from first reading the CNC file to the start of machining was 16 minutes. A 350MHz Pentium 2 PC took just 3 minutes. So, the faster the PC, the shorter the processing time.

3D CNC data files will be very big. 2.5D CNC data files are quite small: for example, the CNC file for the letter D, above, is 8KB. The calculation time for a 90 MHz Pentium 1 PC is short.

PC specification is a matter of "horses for courses" and the length of time you are prepared to wait while big CNC files are number-crunched. If there is a choice, the faster the better.

The actual machining time will be the same regardless of whether a 90 MHz Pentium 1 PC or a 350MHz Pentium 2 or faster PC is controlling the milling machine.

Summary
When a CNC data file is selected, WELmill always checks to see if there is a corresponding NCX machining moves file. If there is one, the route to the start of machining is swift almost regardless of the PC being used.

If there is a NCX file but the originating CNC file, or some other factor, has changed, then the NCX file is recalculated and this may take a while.

If there isn't a NCX file, one is always calculated. If, in the menu item OPTIONS - SETTINGS, "Retain Calculated Mill Steps" has not been checked, the NCX file will not be retained for future use.

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