Hi all, I received my maslow kit a few months ago, but funds have been tight and am yet to build it up. I have a pc in the house, but no portable computer for the garage. Does the computer program need to be connected at all times? Assuming I need to buy a laptop
To answer your question, yes, the Arduino/Due needs to be connected to a PC while you are cutting (running the GCode).
There are a few options for this like buying a laptop to keep near your Maslow. But with you saying funds are tight, you can go the route of a Raspberry Pi. You can search Raspberry Pi on the forum here and can find numerous posts (like this one) depending on which version of the Maslow you have (Classic or M2). All you would need then is a good internet connection, and you can then control it from your phone/tablet/desktop PC. IMHO, that would be your cheapest option. If you go with the RPi, I highly recommend you use a device that you can keep near the Maslow as you will want to be there to watch the machine as it is cutting and have a way to stop the program quickly if something goes awry!
something needs to be connected all the time, but that something can be a
raspberry pi (without a monitor, connected via wifi), and with WebControl,
that’s the recommended approach.
David Lang
you don’t even need an Internet connection. a wifi connection to your phone is
all you need. This can be done via a stand-alone access point, or even (with
some config that we haven’t made part of the webcontrol image) have the Pi act
as the access point.
David Lang
This is true. I forget sometimes you can set up an internal home network and not need to be touching the greater interwebs. I bow to you good sir!!! 