[4lowie]

Hi guys

I have a couple of DIY machines that I've made that use Mach3, my router and a cnc quilting machine I built for the wife. I'd like to move on from Mach3, I know its reliable and easy to use but I'm worried my old PC is going to die at the most inappropriate time!

I brought a standalone controller from China, works well for what I need apart from not being able to get an overview of the complete tool path. I like to run to the limits of the code to make sure they align with my work piece.

GRBL looks good so I might head down this road, do you think this is a suitable step moving forward in the DIY world?

Thanks

[routalot]

I have been assembling my homebuilt router for a while and I am at the stage of calibrating the axes.I intended to use LinuxCNC as I have a fair amount of familiarity with some Linux distros and found it quite straightforward to download and install the software.Like Mach 3 is will work with a parallel port,but with Mesa card,you can run it from an ethernet port,which is probably what I will eventually move to when the elderly computer finally goes to the dump.I did experiment with an Arduino in case it was actually easier,but found myself in a confusing world of sketches and github repositories.To somebody familiar with that environment,GRBL may be an easy option and it certainly is an inexpensive one.

My suggestion is that you download the LinuxCNC iso and run it as a live DVD to see what you thing of it and to do the same for GRBL and then see which feels more comfortable.

[ger21]

GRBL would be a step backwards, imo.

Look at UCCNC. Very similar to Mach3, but more stable, better motion, and actively being developed.

[islaww]

I would suggest looking at Centroid Acorn. A totally different level of control than UCCNC at nearly the same price. UCCNC seems to have many of the same point to point motion problems that existed in Mach3. Made in the US

[OlfCNC]

I would suggest looking at Centroid Acorn. A totally different level of control than UCCNC at nearly the same price. UCCNC seems to have many of the same point to point motion problems that existed in Mach3. Made in the US

UCCNC works pretty good for me on 2 machines much better than mach3. I see no motion issues, it cuts steel sheets on my plasma as smooth as it can be. I'm using it for 1.5years approx.
The nice thing about uccnc is that you can customize it not like the acorn.

[dazp1976]

UCCNC works pretty good for me on 2 machines much better than mach3. I see no motion issues, it cuts steel sheets on my plasma as smooth as it can be. I'm using it for 1.5years approx.
The nice thing about uccnc is that you can customize it not like the acorn.

Just had a look at UCCNC and noticed 'stopless backlash compensation'. Does that mean that unlike Mach3 stopping and starting when compensating UCCNC doesn't keep stopping to compensate?

[OlfCNC]

Yes it means exactly that. I have a small backlash on the router and it works without stopping the axis.

[dazp1976]

Yes it means exactly that. I have a small backlash on the router and it works without stopping the axis.

Might try a demo at some point then.
I only have about 0.03 to 0.04mm of backlash in mine so stop/start just for that amount seems a bit daft and just slows everything down.
Luckily I don't do much in the way of circles so I leave it off in Mach3 and just add the amount to the part all the way around in the drawing.
Comes out the size I want it that way without the faff of constantly stopping/starting.

[tivoidethuong]

trying Linuxcnc with mesa card

[OlfCNC]

I used mach3 previously and it stops the motion when doing backlash comp. The uccnc is not.

[dharmic]

Be aware, as no-one has bothered mentioning the one glaring gotcha, you will need a UC controller card on each machine you want to drive with UCCNC. AFAIK it doesn't play with parallel port or mesa cards or anything like that. But, I guess if this is about protecting yourself against a computer failure and non-compatible replacement, you're going to need something other than a parallel port anyway and the UC400-ETH I have is a really nice bit of kit for not a lot of bucks. Very happy with it.

I was under the impression, though, that mach 3 still worked on the latest 64 bit machines and windows 10 - there was just one roll-back-able service patch that broke it.

[4lowie]

Thanks guys, I'll start looking at the ones mentioned.

Cheers Dave