Phase 0 · Built for Pentamachine

5-axis CAM in the browser.
Built for Pentamachine.

Pentacad is CAM, simulator, post-processor, and machine-control bridge in one browser tab. 3+2 strategies tuned to the Pentamachine V2 kinematics, a real-time A/B axis simulator, and a live WebSocket bridge to your Kinetic Control box.

Launch Pentacad → Try the live simulator → See the strategies

Every CNC shop pays for the same five tools. Every day.

SolidWorks or Fusion, Mastercam or HSM, a simulator if you can afford one, a post for your specific machine, and some patchwork control software. Five subscriptions. Four file exchanges. Hours of context switching per part.

$$
CAD tool
$1,500 – $4,500/yr
$$
CAM tool
$2,000 – $12,000/yr
$$
Simulator
$1,500 – $8,000/yr
$$
Post-proc.
Custom, per machine
$$
Controller UI
Vendor-locked
Pentacad is what happens when you refuse to accept that.
The solution

Five modules. One browser tab.

Pentacad is the CAM stage of the cycleCAD Suite. It picks up where cycleCAD hands off a model and produces verified, posted, streamable G-code — without leaving the browser.

01

Setup Manager

3+2 tilt-plane selection, WCS alignment, stock definition, fixture offsets. Pull parts directly from cycleCAD — no STEP round-trip.

02

CAM Strategies

12 toolpath strategies covering 2D, 3D, drilling, and finishing. Adaptive clear, parallel, scallop, projection, flow — the core you'd expect from a pro CAM.

03

A/B Simulator

Forward-kinematics 5-axis replay. Soft-limit checking, stock removal, collision awareness. See the whole job before a chip flies.

04

Post-Processor

Pentamachine V2 .ngc dialect. G20 imperial, G93 inverse-time feed, A/B rotary, up to 40,000 RPM. Reverse-engineered from real sample files.

05

Kinetic Bridge

WebSocket client with live DRO, jog, stream, pause, abort, probe. Auto-reconnect on dropout. Browser talks to machine — no intermediate app.

CAM Strategies

Twelve strategies. One registry.

Every strategy is a first-class module with its own parameters, parameter UI, and posting behaviour. Add your own — the registry is open.

2D Contour

2D · Roughing

Offset-based contouring with ramp-in, lead-in/out and wear compensation.

Adaptive Clear

2D · Roughing

Trochoidal material removal with constant chip load. High-feed friendly.

Pocket

2D · Pocketing

Zig-zag, spiral, or adaptive pocketing with multiple islands.

Drill

Drill · Hole ops

Peck, chip-break, deep-hole, tap, and spot-face canned cycles.

Parallel

3D · Finishing

Axial pass pattern parallel to a chosen axis. Fast preview, clean walls.

Radial

3D · Finishing

Radially-swept finishing around a spindle point — ideal for bowls, cups, profiles of revolution.

Scallop

3D · Finishing

Constant-scallop-height contour-parallel. Consistent surface finish on complex geometry.

Projection

3D · Engraving

Project a 2D curve onto the 3D model surface. Used for engraving and boundary finishing.

Flow

3D · Finishing

Flow-line / morph finishing between guide curves. Smooth, UV-parallel toolpaths.

Bore · Thread

Drill · Precision

Single-pass bore, helical interpolate bore, and thread-mill canned cycles.

Chamfer · Deburr

2D · Finishing

Edge-following chamfer and deburr with V-bit or ball-endmill. Auto-detect sharp edges.

Face

2D · Facing

Stock-top facing with climb or conventional cut, configurable stepover.

Post-processor

The exact Pentamachine dialect.

Pentacad's post emits G-code in the exact Pentamachine V2 .ngc dialect — reverse-engineered from Matt's real sample files. No tweaking, no hand-editing, no guessing.

Generated programs run end-to-end on V2-10, V2-50CHB, and V2-50CHK without modification.

  • G20 imperial units (and G21 metric via config)
  • G17 XY workplane · G90 absolute · G54 WCS
  • G94 feed-per-minute and G93 inverse-time for 5-axis
  • 5 axes: X Y Z A B — A tilts, B rotates, up to 40,000 RPM spindle
  • M7 mist / M8 flood / M9 off · full tool-change with Tn M6
ring-outer-contour.ngc 
%
(AXIS,stop)
(PENTACAD GENERATED — Pentamachine V2 dialect)
(OP: Adaptive Clear — Setup 1)
N10 G20 G17 G90 G40 G54
N15 G94
N20 T1 M6  (T1: 1/4" flat carbide)
N25 M3 S18000 M7
N30 G0 X0.0 Y0.0 Z0.25
N35 G0 A22.5 B0.0  (tilt plane)
N40 G93  (inverse-time feed)
N45 G1 X0.052 Y0.310 Z0.118 F28.3
N50 G1 X0.104 Y0.612 Z0.095 F31.1
... 4,238 lines of toolpath ...
N4290 G94
N4295 M5 M9
N4300 M30
%
A/B Simulator

Replay the whole job. Before a chip flies.

A forward-kinematics simulator reads the generated G-code and animates the Pentamachine's exact A/B axis geometry. Tool head, A-tilt, B-rotary, and linear moves — all synchronised.

Soft-limit checking happens in real time, so a move that would crash the table stops the simulation with a line-number flag. Fix the strategy, re-post, re-simulate — no file export needed.

  • Full 5-axis forward kinematics — modal G20/G90/G94/G93 tracked
  • Soft-limit flagging per axis with exact G-code line reference
  • Stock-removal rendering (Phase 2) — see material disappear
  • Collision detection against fixtures and table (Phase 2)
  • Adjustable playback speed · frame-scrub · bookmark key lines
Kinetic Control Bridge

Your browser is the controller UI.

Pentacad includes a WebSocket client that streams G-code line-by-line to a Kinetic Control box, reading DRO and status back in real time. No vendor app. No middleman.

🌐

Browser (Pentacad)

WebSocket client
🔌

Kinetic Bridge

WS ⇄ LinuxCNC IPC
⚙️

Pentamachine V2

A/B kinematics · 40k RPM
Stream G-code over ws://. Events fire in both directions.
pentacad:jog
X+ / X- / Y+ / Y- / Z+ / Z- / A+ / B- · rapid or incremental
pentacad:stream
line-by-line with backpressure · resumable on dropout
pentacad:dro
machine position · work offset · feed rate · spindle RPM
pentacad:probe
G38.x probing with result readback
pentacad:pause
feed-hold · resume · optional-stop
pentacad:abort
cycle-stop · safe Z · spindle off · coolant off
Machines

The Pentamachine V2 family.

Phase 0 supports the three primary V2 variants. Kinematics JSON is versioned and editable — the schema is open for community contributions.

Phase 0

V2-10

Penta Machine Company

Entry 5-axis with A/B table geometry.

Travel X/Y/Z~10 × 7 × 5 in
A / B range-35° to 135° · ±360°
Spindle24k RPM · ER11
Kinematics JSONtemplate
Phase 0

V2-50CHB

Penta Machine Company · CHB variant

Larger envelope, bigger collet, higher torque.

Travel X/Y/Z~50 × 40 × 30 mm
A / B range-35° to 135° · ±360°
Spindle40k RPM · ER20
Kinematics JSONtemplate
Phase 0

V2-50CHK

Penta Machine Company · CHK variant

High-rigidity frame, tool-length probing.

Travel X/Y/Z~50 × 40 × 30 mm
A / B range-35° to 135° · ±360°
Spindle40k RPM · ER20 + probe
Kinematics JSONtemplate
Roadmap

Phased. Honest about where we are.

Pentacad is young. The scaffold is in place. The strategies, post-processor, simulator, and bridge are each phased deliverables with clear exit criteria.

Done

Phase 0 · Foundations

  • Module scaffold
  • Machine JSON schema
  • 3 machine defs (V2-10, V2-50CHB, V2-50CHK)
  • Bridge protocol spec
  • Strategy registry (12)
Done

Phase 1 · CAM core

  • Real 2D Contour + Pocket + Drill + Face
  • Adaptive Clear + Chamfer + Bore/Thread
  • Full G-code parser + modal executor
  • A/B forward kinematics + soft-limit
  • Pentamachine V2 post-processor
  • Setup manager + operation list UI
In progress

Phase 2 · Live bridge + 3D finishing

  • Kinetic Control WS bridge (protocol v1.0 spec live)
  • Python daemon reference implementation
  • Jog · stream · DRO · pause · abort
  • Parallel / Radial / Scallop / Projection / Flow (3D)
  • Stock-removal rendering in simulator

Ship chips. Not file exchanges.

Open Pentacad in the browser. Import a cycleCAD part. Generate a toolpath. Simulate. Post. Stream.

Launch Pentacad → Try the live simulator → View on GitHub Talk about a pilot
Pentacad is licensed AGPL-3.0 (commercial dual-license available). Part of the cycleCAD Suite. Built for the Pentamachine V2 family of desktop 5-axis CNC.