PCB CAM Software on Linux¶

The Ant Farm¶

Download the zip fiel of the latest release at: The Ant Farm Git Hub
unzip the contents of the zip file and place it in ~/Apps/TheAntFarm (your home folder)
opoen a terminal from the above folder.
run the command: sudo apt install python3.11-venv
sudo apt install python3.11-venv
sudo apt install libxcb-xinerama0
add a empty text file in the TheAntFarm directory called requirements.txt Run the commands here How to install and pre requisites
note that the command prompt in the terminal has (env) added for the python enviroment you just activated.
Now explore to the folder you unzipped into and locate the “the_ant_farm” file and right click it and select properties, go to permissions and check the checkbox next to “Allow executing file as a program” and close that window.
Now you can double click the “the_ant_farm” file and the software open!
Check this video out for an overview of how to use the Ant Farm Software The Ant Farm: from Gerbers to a Real PCB

Note that g-code generated by The Ant Farm gets saved in the “gcode_temp_dir” folder.

FlatCAM¶

I tried in get FlatCAM installed on Linux Mint Cinnamon in 2019 and then again on Linux Debian Mint Edition (LDME) on Dec 7 2024. It was horrible trying to get FlastCAM to run.

It also ends up the version of python that FlatCAM needs conflicts with the needs of Cinnamon Desktop.

Back to Home Page