Getting started

Dedicated controls with JC3 Appliance

Boot into full CAD, CAM, and control—or into your own packaged JetFlight HMI.

JC3 Appliance turns a suitable computer into a dedicated machine control. It boots directly into the operator environment, so the machine can feel like one complete product instead of a desktop full of separate utilities.

Two ways to build the operator station

JetCad3 at the machine

Use the standard Appliance boot-to-JetCad3 workflow for a complete design-to-part station:

• Design or edit the part with JC3's CAD tools.
• Prepare the job in the appropriate CAM workspace.
• Preview motion with the included JetFlight engine.
• Operate a supported machine through GcodePilot.

JetFlight is distributed with JC3. If JC3 is already installed, its JetFlight runtime is already there and available to JC3—there is no separate motion-engine installation for simulation. JC3 feature access continues to follow the user's normal plan; the free JetFlight runtime does not change JC3 licensing.

Your OEM HMI at startup

For a focused machine interface, package a native JetFlight HMI and launch it from an Appliance startup script. The operator boots directly into your machine's controls, branding, process screens, and status displays. Your own HMI and process logic can remain closed source: compiled .jfpkg applications let you deliver the application while retaining the original readable source in-house.

The same host can support either approach. Choose the startup application for the machine you are delivering; do not launch two applications competing for control of the same hardware.

What the OEM package contains

Keep the selected JetFlight executable, the HMI package, and the machine configuration together in a versioned deployment. A minimal launcher can look like this:

#!/bin/sh
set -eu
cd /opt/my-machine
exec ./JetFlight --run ./MachineHMI.jfpkg

This example names an OEM-owned installation directory; it is not a path preinstalled by the stock Appliance. The stock image boots JC3. The OEM integrates this launcher into its startup session, selects a compatible native display backend, and verifies its packaged image.

The Appliance session launcher supports a selected client application. A native display build that owns DRM/framebuffer directly requires an appropriate direct-display session; a desktop/windowed build needs its matching compositor backend. Treat the display and startup configuration as part of the OEM image, not a universal one-line installer.

Commission the whole control station

Validate boot, display sizing, touchscreen or keyboard input, application restart, recovery access, and update/rollback behavior on the target computer. Keep machine connection and output enablement deliberate; booting an HMI must not unexpectedly start a machine.

Start with the HMI example, then use simulation before connecting hardware. The JC3 downloads provides the standard JC3 image; an OEM HMI and its machine configuration are supplied separately by the builder.

Reviewed 2026-11-06. Confirm the hardware catalog and current published release before connecting a machine.