[BOATDUDEGUY]

Hello back again i emailed and asked if the license i previously paid for would be good for 5 axis, they said it would
sooooo
back when i set up my first 3 axis machine there was a specific version, not much older, but not the newest version of mach3 that would run without bug issues

does anyone know of a specific mach i should download for the chinese 5 axis engraver im buying

also can anyone give me advice on how you would go about tuning the 4th and 5th axis motors, cause ive got no clue

thanks in advance for any and all advice

[BOATDUDEGUY]

i was reffered to 057 and 062 but i cannot find where they are

[ger21]

ftp://anonymous:[email protected]/

[neilw20]

ftp://anonymous:[email protected]/

make that
ftp://anonymous:[email protected]/MACH3/
All the versions are there.
Various versions, using 5 axis plus a slave axis (two for X), have sections that don't work correctly.
Lots of different flavors.
In some of the (later ??) versions you can have offset compensation OR homing on A and B work correctly, but not both. XYZ are fine.
I have not found a version where homing on A and B work, and backlash compensation does too!!

There are a few in the 043.04x that don't even have a page (that works) for some of the settings!!
Some in 043.03x range are fairly flaky, too.
And this was on a 12M x 5M x 2M 5axis machine, using smoothstepper. PITA, big time.

043.050 as advised for SS has many problems. 043.062 and 043.066 probably OK, depending on homing/backlash needs.

Using SS if you hit the ESC key then all turns to $hit as SS runs out of data., but the red onscreen RED RESET is OK.
It seems just stops data instantly, but the screen button and decelerate to a stop.

Above probably applies to just plain steppers too, without SS

Different versions of USB drivers may not work as expected, too. Don't make lookhead very large.
You might find some of the earlier versions, in the 30s work, but some are just bad.

It would seem, that as versions have progressed and things were fixed, or features added, that various other things got broke along the way.
Oops, here is a new version with a problem fixed, but some new problem.

Grr!!! Anyone??? know a good version that everything works? I have tried at least 20!

The bug list updates explain what was added or fixed, but as bugs crept in, nobody knows where, often.

[MuskokaMike]

I have to say Neil that I couldn't agree more with you on Mach3's issues.

To me, Mach 3 seems like it was written back in the 80s long before "user friendly" software was even considered. There are things in my version of Mach 3 that just don't work and it takes days of searching through forums to try and find a work around. Sorry, but there shouldn't be a need for any work arounds.

[BOATDUDEGUY]

You get what you pay for on a175 dollar licence

[MuskokaMike]

While I would initially agree with you Boat, still, $175.00 isn't chickenfeed. I live by the adage: if you can't do something well, no matter what the cost, you shouldn't do it.

I guess if you're into tweaking the software instead of actually producing finished items, then Mach 3 is right up your alley. On the other hand, I am trying to earn a living with my CNC so any screw ups, downtime, software issues means that I can't earn a living, and often, cost me money instead of making money.

Mach 3 reminds me of back in the day when home computers were first gaining in popularity. A buddy of mine was really into upgrading them, tweaking them, adding hardware to them, making them faster. I said: that's all find and dandy, but what do you use it for? What do you mean? he said. I said "I use my computer to edit photos, play video games, write letters, etc....what do you use YOURS for? Nothing. He rarely used this "tool" for anything. In other words, working on the computer is his "thing". Mach 3 is like that. If you want to constantly work on the "tool" it is perfect. If you want to use the tool for that with which it is designed for, it lags far behind.

I would pay triple the price to have a piece of software that does what it is supposed to, with no hassles or headaches, and produced with the end user in mind. I dunno, maybe I'm wrong to think that you shouldn't have to be a computer programmer or software engineer to use it....that's just me.

Here's a couple of my biggest beefs with Mach 3:
It changes settings all by itself. I can't tell you HOW many times I've had to reset the safe z setting when you hit stop. For some reason every once in a while it reverts back to default from "machine co-ords".....

My biggest beef is the program will run, it will show the spindle moving, up down, x y axis....and the cnc isn't even turned ON.....to me, that's the utmost in moronic. That's like getting into your car, pressing the gas peddle, the speedo showing you doing 60 mph and you haven't even started it yet! LOL......at least in windows when you go to print it will say whether your printer is turned on or not......

[Tkamsker]

Look at linuxcnc and gmoccapy Interface i like it and it is like cars you can modd it but you dont need to ..

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