Which post do I pick for my controller?
A post turns your nest into G-code in the dialect your controller expects. GCnester ships a library of post templates. Picking the right one, and proving it on your machine, is your job; this guide shows where the choice lives and what the labels mean.
Write down the controller make, model and version, whether it's plasma, laser or waterjet, and whether the controller owns probing and torch height control itself. Variants such as a Mach3 floating head, G28 touch-off or no touch-off make very different assumptions, so the brand of the table alone isn't enough to go on.
Under Machine Settings, fill in Machine Model, Process, Units, and for plasma the Plasma Unit and Plasma Torch (Refresh Units reloads the list). Tick the Capabilities that apply: Flatbed Work, Rotary Work, Tilt Head Work. Rapid Accel Allowance % and Pierce Cycle Seconds feed the time estimate. Cost rates are a separate Business feature, not part of choosing a post.
In Machine Settings, G-code Post lists every template by its name, any process note and its filename. A [Laser post] or [Waterjet post] tag means the template's process differs from the machine's, and (written for ...) means it targets another model. A choice that no longer exists on disk shows as Missing. GCnester lets you pick any post. A model mismatch is labelled in the picker and logged when you post, but it doesn't stop you, so the check is yours to make.
In Job Properties, under Machine, click Pick. Pick Machine lists Machine, Model, Capabilities and Torch. A machine without Flatbed Work is refused for a nest; that's a capability check, separate from post compatibility.
Create tool paths, then open the program. The header names the post and its version. That's different from the application version, and support may ask for both. Check the units in the program against a known dimension. Opening the program text and exporting it both need a paid license; the demo shows playback only.
Run the template through your shop's normal commissioning: a test pattern on scrap, checked against the drawing, with the controller's own height-control settings confirmed. A listed template isn't a certified controller. If it doesn't match, send support the controller details, the template name and version, the application version and a small example file.
Questions people ask
Open a ticket with the controller make, model and version, its process, a sample program it already runs well, and its documentation if you have it. We won't guess torch or height-control codes for a controller we haven't seen.