I only chose it because it will run that forth slaved axis.
Not sure Path Pilot will do that without being a linux guru.
I only chose it because it will run that forth slaved axis.
Not sure Path Pilot will do that without being a linux guru.
Lee
It's really a hard question to answer without somebody that is well versed in both to give an unbiased opinion. Besides just getting familiar with either one, one of the main differences is that the Acorn CNC control is on the board instead of the computer running the program. I bought 2 of them because I wanted encoders and rigid tapping on my lathe and mill and the solid reputation of Centroid. It's a matter of how conversational Intercon is compared to Path Pilot. Again somebody has to have had both to give an honest opinion. My son really likes his Centroid system but again that's all he's used. Once I get my Skyfire cranking I'll finish up the Lathe and at least give some feedback. I know it's not what your looking for but it will be something at least.
Jack
i just got my hurco up and running today with the centroid oak , so far I'm very pleased
I guess what I really want to know is how well does the acorn work. I always had weird issues with Mach 3. I just want something that works. A friend of mine has a Centroid and he seems quite happy with it but its not an acorn its one of the higher end boards. I really do not care which I use as long as its stable and predictable.
Thanks for the input km3p,
I'm leaning towards getting an acorn and giving it a go.
I can't believe it has been two years since I brought up this question. I recently bought an acorn and will be starting the install next week. I need to order a db25 breakout board then I can get started. I also ordered a Drewtronics probe so I'll see how that works out also. If anyone is interested I'll post the results. It looks like it will not be too difficult of an install.
Looking forward to seeing how this comes along. I guess Novakon is no longer pursuing the Acorn controller. I just ordered a 7I92 Mesa board so that I could install and test some of the QtPyVCP Virtual Control Panels some of the guys over at Linux CNC have been working on.
Steve
It will be interesting to see. I had considered the Acorn, but I want to mess around with additional functions and tools for my device and have decided on LinuxCNC instead. I'm planning on using a dual closed loop configuration with linear encoders.
Breakout board has arrived. I ordered one from Amazon. I'm sort of new to ordering things from Amazon. Its quite a treat to order something obscure in 2 minutes and then have it hand delivered for less than the cost of gas to go to town and look around for one. I have stripped out the old Novakon board and the smooth stepper. Time to mount the components in the cabinet and start the wiring.
I don't know if it has come up before so I will mention it, the basic software doesn't even do threading.
I just looked it up and it does mention being limited in the intercon mode to 20 lines. I think that it does do thread milling through CAM. Its not really an issue for me as I will be upgrading to at least the pro software.
Been a bit chilly up here so I have not been spending much time in my unheated shop. I have the X, Y and Z hooked up and running. Not calibrated yet but I don't anticipate any issues there it is already very close as measured with a ruler. I'll do the calibration soon. Next step is to set up the spindle. It would be a snap except I want it to work with the power draw bar. I have mostly figured out though and I think it will work. It seems the acorn uses Run/Fwd and Run/Rev instead of the Run/Off and Fwd/Rev it was set up with originally. Still reading to see if I am correct. I think the PDB will work with either setup. I'm also trying to figure out what input the PDB wants for the spindle enable signal. I probably should have measured it before I took out the original break out board.
So far my only complaint about the acorn is the lack of documentation. You have to watch videos and they do not always cover exactly what you want to know. I have not posted any questions on their forum yet as I have been trying to figure out things for myself.
X,Y and Z are calibrated. Spindle works as it should. RPM is slightly high but it always was. I'll set up the homing tomorrow. I did not hook up the coolant yet but there will be no issue with that.
Homing is set up and worked on the first try. Tomorrow I'll set up the coolant and maybe wire in the probe. Is anyone actually interested in these progress reports? If not I'll stop posting them.
Please keep them coming...
No doubt, please keep us updated. I've been reading all of these posts as well.
Coolant is hooked up. Calibration is done on all 3 axis. I think I will tweak it a little in the future though.
What mill do you have? What are you doing with the Novakon BOB?
Steve
I have a Torus pro stepper version. The BOB will not be going back in so I guess its for sale. Its a revision 5.2.
I am glad you have your Torus Pro up and running. Sounds like you did not have any real problems.
I am looking for a used Pulsar BOB for another project that I've been tinkering with.
I'm not sure if the machines use the same BOB or not. One of the things I was not happy with is the wizard on the acorn board. It is quite limited if you want to change things. Some research turned up a menu that you can change things from. I forget exactly what it is called. I was in there briefly and there are a lot of parameters in there. I need to learn how to work with those. That takes away the complaint I would have had. For the most part any information you need is available its just a little hard to find. Some times its in a manual, a youtube video or in the help forum. I'm pretty optimistic about it so far. Next thing to get going is the probe. I bought a drewtronics probe. I'm not a fan of edge finders. They work but are just slow. My pendant is unfortunately not compatible with the acorn.
The only thing left to decide is if I am going to use the power drawbar or not. I have been looking at other options and there seem to be a few that are far less cost than the novakon option. My original plan was to eventually get the tool changer. That is no longer in my plans. I have had problems a few times with the novakon drawbar not tightening enough. I was provided with a solution for that about a year ago but have not tried it yet. For the most part the mill has been in storage for the last year.
Looking forward to making some chips again.