FluidNC Router post
Updated v2.4.7At a glance
- FluidNC dialect for routers — the same support Mill, Plasma and Oxyfuel already had
- Gives the machine its own GcodePilot workspace, so you can drive the router from inside JetCad3
- Manual M0 tool-change pause by default, or native T/M6 when your controller has a macro
- M7/M8/M9 coolant, G28 or G53 retracts, optional canned drill cycles
- No G43/G49 — FluidNC has no tool-length table
The bundled FluidNC Router post writes G-code for FluidNC-controlled routers — the router
counterpart of the FluidNC Mill post, and built on the same shared base
as the MASSO and LinuxCNC router posts. Select it on your
machine profile's Post tab; output defaults to .nc.
Because FluidNC is a controller JetCad3 can talk to directly, picking this post also gives that machine its own GcodePilot workspace — connect, jog, home and run the program without leaving the app.
Tool changes
FluidNC routers have no automatic tool changer, so a tool change parks the spindle, cancels
coolant, spells the tool out in a comment, and pauses the program with M0 so you can swap the
cutter and resume. The first tool of a job only announces itself — a single-tool program never
stops for a change that isn't happening.
If you've set up a tool-change macro on the controller, turn on Native tool change and the post
emits T#/M6 directly with no pause, optionally preceded by an M1 optional stop and followed by
a preload T# naming the next tool.
No G43/G49 is ever written — FluidNC has no tool-length offset table, so tool length is yours to
set at the machine.
Spindle and coolant
M3/M4 with the operation's RPM, emitted only when something changes — consecutive operations
sharing a tool and speed don't restart the spindle between contours. Flood (M8) and mist (M7)
both work, cancelled with M9, and a Dust collector option drives an M8-wired collector from
the header and footer.
Drilling
Drill operations post as explicit G0/G1 peck and retract moves by
default, which behave identically on any controller. Turn on Canned drill cycles and they fold
into FluidNC's native cycles instead: G81 for a single plunge, G83 with a Q peck depth for
full-retract pecking, and the chip-break cycle G73 for partial retract — each closed with G80.
Formatting options
Safe retract is G53 machine Z0, G28 machine home, or a plain rapid to clearance height (which
adds a header note, since nothing guarantees that path is clear). Arcs come out as I/J centre
offsets or R radius; program end is M2 or M30; and coordinate decimals, word spacing,
machine-info and tool-list header comments are all settable.