by bdring » Mon Mar 21, 2011 12:22 pm
That is basically the correct flow. A good controller can pull a few of those steps out and make it more like printing.
Which way you go, depends on your background and what you plan to fabricate. Most people with a CNC background have trouble giving away too much control. I personally prefer the G-Code route over the printer route. I like to be able to control the offsets for the kerf and even the direction and order of the cuts. I feel more connected to the machine through G-Code.
If you were setting up a machine at a school, tech shop or hackerspace, I would go with the "printer" method and buy a commercial controller.
Bart
"If you didn't build it, you will never own it."