My shop's compter died; is it time for a tablet?

[galgier (Gary Algier)]

My (older 2014?) Mac Mini that I used in the shop has died. I think it is only the disk drive, but before I try to resurrect it, I would like to investigate alternatives for Carbide Motion (mostly) and Carbide Create (briefly).

I could fix the Mac. This would be likely cheap. This allows me to continue using the 24" monitor and use both programs from the shop. But all the equipment takes up space and some day the dust will probably kill the Mac.

I could buy a refurbished or used Mac. This would be the same as now, but more money.

I could buy a NUC PC or similar. Setup would be similar, but it would be Windoze.

I have seen people mention using a tablet. I assume this would also need to run Windows. How well does Create work on a tablet? I don’t do much editing from the shop, but often I will only want to run parts of the project so I need to be able to enable and disable tool paths. Also, I often will find out exact dimensions as I am mounting the stock. Running back to the office to do these simple tasks is a pain (and then I need to wait for Dropbox to sync). Are these changes easy enough on a tablet? This would solve the space and dust issues.

Does anyone have any recommendations? Does dust eventually kill anything with vents? Is a tablet up to the task? Any larger tablets? (I have aging eyes). Any way to use a Raspberry Pi? They are small and can be made dust safe. Any other small and dust safe solutions?

Gary

[mhotchin (Michael Hotchin)]

I am using a MS Surface in the shop (and a ‘real’ computer at the house). It’s a tablet with a mini keyboard, and I find it works just fine for minor editing in CC.

[WillAdams (William Adams (Carbide 3D))]

So long as it meets the system requirements, Carbide Create runs well on a tablet computer running Windows, and if you can find a fanless one, they are well-suited to the rigors of a shop environment.

Yes one can use a Raspberry Pi:

Carbide Motion on a Raspberry Pi

If you’ve got a Raspberry Pi 4 lying around give this a shot over the weekend: https://carbide3d.com/carbidemotion/pi This was a quick R&D project and we just got it working a few hours ago so we haven’t tested it too much yet. We don’t know if the Raspberry Pi will become a supported platform for us yet, but let us know if you find it useful. PS- Be sure you run sudo apt-get update before trying to install this package if you’re on a fresh Pi install

A Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Pro 360 is my main computer, and I spend a lot of time in Carbide Create and Carbide Motion on it — if you like using a stylus, it’s just about the best option available now (it replaced a Book 12, which I’m sad was not updated).

[Logan01 (Logan Habel)]

I use a Microsoft surface pro 9 for CC and CM. It also runs photoshop and illustrator. I like the compact size.

[Chaotica (Joel McKenzie)]

I prefer having a dedicated Pi system for CM that’s always connected/On/ready to go & physically attached to my CNC cabinet.

I do all my CC design work on my laptop or desktop & then save the project files to the Pi via network share.