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Mach 3/4 vs UCCNC vs Linux CNC
Hello Everyone,
I just bought a VMC that i am going to convert and i am looking for opinions as to which software to use.
Features i am looking for
20 Tool ATC
Probing
Flood Coolant
4th Axis
Rigid Tapping (it has a spindle encoder)
Looking at the feature lists on all the different software, they are all capable of those, just looking for opinions on which one would be best suited.
Thanks
Mike
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Re: Mach 3/4 vs UCCNC vs Linux CNC
Linuxcnc will do all of that. (rigid tapping too..)
what vmc is it? Can you reuse the servos/drives?
sam
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Re: Mach 3/4 vs UCCNC vs Linux CNC
It is a 1985 Vulcan which is a re branded Kasahara Falcon K-1
Yes, i am planning on reusing the servos and drivers
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Re: Mach 3/4 vs UCCNC vs Linux CNC
in 1985 - assume they are analog input drives?
Linuxcnc/mesa has a kit that gives you 6 axis analog (+/-10v + diff/ttl encoder counters), 48i/o and is expandable....
https://mesaus.com/index.php?route=p...&product_id=79
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Re: Mach 3/4 vs UCCNC vs Linux CNC
If you need analog servos, then you'd need some step/dir > analog converters to use UCCNC. CNC Drive is working on an analog controller, but I have no idea when it may be available.
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Re: Mach 3/4 vs UCCNC vs Linux CNC
That is a good question, i dont know if it is analog or digital....
It looks like the previous owner did convert it to Mach 3, and right now it is running a DMC-4153 motion controller, i will have to check the servo drivers
I cant find a lot of information on the motion controller (meaning here on the forum) but it is a Ethernet motion controller.
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Re: Mach 3/4 vs UCCNC vs Linux CNC
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Re: Mach 3/4 vs UCCNC vs Linux CNC
Quote:
Originally Posted by
ger21
I think that's a Galil controller.]
Yes, the DMC-4153 is made by Galil, and reading it, it does look like it is analog
I can always replace the encoders with a digital encoder and switch to a digital servo driver.....
Thanks
Mike
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Re: Mach 3/4 vs UCCNC vs Linux CNC
The encoders should already be digital. The Galil controller will run analog or step & direction drives. The 4153 is one of the current production 5 axis controllers, and an excellent choice for CNC control. I have Galil controllers in 3 machines in my shop, and have installed about 50 of them all over the world. There is a Mach3 plugin that works, there are also other, better options.
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Re: Mach 3/4 vs UCCNC vs Linux CNC
Mach4 or UCCNC with UC300ETH would be good options for this. UCCNC can do rigid tapping using an encoder on the spindle and you can use this code for the tool changer macro:
https://cnc4pc.com/forum/projects/to...acro-for-uccnc
Arturo Duncan
http://cnc4pc.com
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Re: Mach 3/4 vs UCCNC vs Linux CNC
I like UCNC but it can't take advantage of the servos you want to use and AFAIK they still don't have their act together for 4 and 5 axis if you are going to go down that road at some point.
I personally wrote off LinuxCNC because of their need for interface cards which wouldn't fit in my laptop which I ain't upgrading for the sake of a router.
For me, it left Mach3. Which isn't rubbish, is fairly expandable to do a lot of automated probing etc, still has its limits and quirks but gets the job done. I wouldn't touch Mach4.
If you can dance to the LinuxCNC restricted card choice tune I'd probably go that way.
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Re: Mach 3/4 vs UCCNC vs Linux CNC
Laptop you say? Restricted?.. :)
https://youtu.be/mudZ739aWnQ
(This is an Ethernet solution - the laptop still needs to play well with real-time)
Quote:
Originally Posted by
dharmic
I personally wrote off LinuxCNC because of their need for interface cards which wouldn't fit in my laptop which I ain't upgrading for the sake of a router.
If you can dance to the LinuxCNC restricted card choice tune I'd probably go that way.
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Re: Mach 3/4 vs UCCNC vs Linux CNC
This pleases me, enormously!
What's on the other end of that ethernet connection?
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Re: Mach 3/4 vs UCCNC vs Linux CNC
That is a mess 7i92 - 2 printer ports worth of high speed i/o.. and almost unlimited expandability.
https://mesaus.com
Look at the Ethernet solutions.
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Re: Mach 3/4 vs UCCNC vs Linux CNC
Nice, and thank you. A little more expensive than the UC400-ETH I ended up getting by the time you add their breakout boards, but it would have opened up some doors for me in terms of software. Next machine, maybe :)
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Re: Mach 3/4 vs UCCNC vs Linux CNC
Hmm. I think similar hardware is cheaper...
Uc400-eth is 148.99 + 60 for software. (Replaces 2 printer ports of I/o)
7i92m is 89.00 (replaces 2 printer ports of i/o and expandable)
Or
7i92e is 200.00 which is 7i92+breakout board. It gives you 5 axis step/dir interface, 48 isolated I/o, spindle encoder interface and analog conrtol. (Also expandable)
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Re: Mach 3/4 vs UCCNC vs Linux CNC
Maybe, depends on whether a $5 eBay chinesium breakout works with their card, and whether their card (for crossing over convenience) supports Mach3.
But yeah, next machine for sure will take a much closer look at this. :)
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Re: Mach 3/4 vs UCCNC vs Linux CNC
Hi,
all development on Mach3 ceased five years ago. Lots of people still use it, it is one of the most popular Windows CNC programs
after all. The trouble is that its getting dated, what problems it has will not be fixed.
In recent times OS updates by Microsoft has caused problems for Mach3 users. To date there have been patches and workarounds to
restore Mach3's functionality but there will come a day when that is not the case.
I switched to Mach4 two years ago and find it light years ahead of Mach3...not that many Mach3 users agree with me...they don't want to
learn something new.
Craig
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Re: Mach 3/4 vs UCCNC vs Linux CNC
Quote:
I switched to Mach4 two years ago and find it light years ahead of Mach3...not that many Mach3 users agree with me...they don't want to
learn something new.
Or Mach4 is not the upgrade they were hoping for....
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Re: Mach 3/4 vs UCCNC vs Linux CNC
I’m looking for a similar solution. How does the Masso control work is it any good? Can it support the atc?
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Re: Mach 3/4 vs UCCNC vs Linux CNC
Quote:
Originally Posted by
dharmic
Maybe, depends on whether a $5 eBay chinesium breakout works with their card, and whether their card (for crossing over convenience) supports Mach3.
But yeah, next machine for sure will take a much closer look at this. :)
You can use most parallel port breakouts with any of Mesa's 25 pin I/O motion control cards including the 7I92.
You do need compatible firmware that matches the BOBs pinout, for example the 7I92 has these parallel port
compatible configurations available now:
7i92_5ABOBx2D For 2X $5 5 axis Ebay BOB
7i92_5ABOB_Enc For 1X $5 5 axis Ebay BOB + 5 encoders w index on second connector
7i92_BENEZANx2D For Benezan triple beast
7i92_C11x2D For CNC4PC C11 (old version with PFM spindle)
7i92_C11Gx2D For CNC4PC C11G (newer version with PWM spindle)
7i92_DMMBOB1x2D For DMM breakout
7i92_G540x2D For Gecko G540
7i92_MX3660x2D For LeadShine MX3660
7i92_MX4660x2D For LeadShine MX4660
7i92_R990x2D For Rutex R990 BOB
Different configurations can be created easily by changing one pinout file and re-compiling
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Re: Mach 3/4 vs UCCNC vs Linux CNC
Thanks for that. Going to stay with my UC400ETH for now, but next machine or next upgrade I'm definitely keeping this one in mind.
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Re: Mach 3/4 vs UCCNC vs Linux CNC
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Re: Mach 3/4 vs UCCNC vs Linux CNC
Yeah, caught that on the other thread. Thanks for making and sharing the video, samco - it's nice to see these things in context which is hard to portray from an online catalogue.
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Re: Mach 3/4 vs UCCNC vs Linux CNC
CSMIO/IP users can test simCNC control software full version for free for 30 days up to 3 months if they need it.
It would be great to know your opinion.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAW...852DLXecwDDQGg
https://en.cs-lab.eu/shop-cat/cnc-mo...trol-software/
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Re: Mach 3/4 vs UCCNC vs Linux CNC
Quote:
all development on Mach3 ceased five years ago. Lots of people still use it, it is one of the most popular Windows CNC programs
after all. The trouble is that its getting dated, what problems it has will not be fixed.
Today, it is easier to get mach3 board. Look at usb cnc mach3, ethernet cnc mach3. They all have various accessories such as handwheel and cheap and easy to set up. I have 1 ea usb cnc with handwheel, I have tried it on my lathe. Easy to wire and set up, so far I do not have problem with windows 10. But I also worried with my windows10, it is auto update.
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Re: Mach 3/4 vs UCCNC vs Linux CNC
I used Linux for years before building my machine.I bought a kit that included a really basic BOB which was intended for Mach 3-or so it said.I took no notice and made the connections that run the stepper controllers.It works.My reasoning was that the controllers see pulses that are converted to steps or micro-steps.The controllers do not have the ability to ask what operating system the computer is running,it is their function to send electric pulses to the steppers.The setup screen asks how many pulses per unit of travel for each axis and what functions are assigned to the connections on the BOB.As long as the BOB receives the correct voltage it should work and so should the machine.
The LinuxCNC community doesn't expend too much effort on being accessible,which is a great shame as there is a lot of knowledge there.It almost seems to be a matter of pride to make things harder than they need to be as a way to weed out the less hardcore enthusiasts.
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Re: Mach 3/4 vs UCCNC vs Linux CNC
Quote:
Originally Posted by
routalot
The LinuxCNC community doesn't expend too much effort on being accessible,which is a great shame as there is a lot of knowledge there.It almost seems to be a matter of pride to make things harder than they need to be as a way to weed out the less hardcore enthusiasts.
You must be looking in the wrong place. there is a very active Linxcnc forum and users really go out of their way to help newcomers. Linuxcnc is a large and versatile system developed over many years. The quality of the documentation once you know where it is (there is a link from the home page). Its certainly a lot simpler to install today then when I started 4 years ago.
There is a vast array of hardware and some of the complex retrofits done with it are amazing. Yes its complex but its worth taking the journey.