[steve_p]

I’m about to retrofit a small denford mill and a lathe, I have a Uccnc board I could use in the mill but I like the idea of having the same control in both, and Uccnc isn’t really ready for turn. The acorn kind of looks perfect, apart from its low I/O count (both machines have atcs)

But I can’t find many reviews of the acorn online by people who have actually fitted one.

Anyone here with good/bad experiences?

[mactec54]

I’m about to retrofit a small denford mill and a lathe, I have a Uccnc board I could use in the mill but I like the idea of having the same control in both, and Uccnc isn’t really ready for turn. The acorn kind of looks perfect, apart from its low I/O count (both machines have atcs)

But I can’t find many reviews of the acorn online by people who have actually fitted one.

Anyone here with good/bad experiences?

Look on YouTube there are lots that are using Acorn, this is one that is using it on mills and lathe he has many videos

[ger21]

You might also want to read through Acorn's own support forum.

[liefer]

I think the basic Acorn software does not do threading. Not much good for a lathe.

[Marty_Escarcega]

I think the basic Acorn software does not do threading. Not much good for a lathe.

Incorrect. Centroid CNC Acorn has a built in encoder port for a real encoder. Acorn with the Pro license can do threading, Constant Surface Speed and rigid tapping on a lathe, and rigid tapping on a mill.

[ger21]

I think the vast majority of Acorn users pay the ~$100 for the software upgrade, to gain access to a lot more functionality.

[Ntl]

I’m about to retrofit a small denford mill and a lathe, I have a Uccnc board I could use in the mill but I like the idea of having the same control in both, and Uccnc isn’t really ready for turn. The acorn kind of looks perfect, apart from its low I/O count (both machines have atcs)

But I can’t find many reviews of the acorn online by people who have actually fitted one.

Anyone here with good/bad experiences?

I'm a actual user and I looked at everything prior to going with Centroid Acorn. I have zero complaints and it was very easy to get up and running and I had zero CNC experience. Do yourself a favor and sign up for their forum as it's the place to have all your questions answered. I'm not using it for a lathe I have a router. I am however looking to build a bench top CNC retrofit lathe and will be using a Acorn for that machine as well. There's a lot of guys using Acorn for their lathes and I haven't seen anything but happy customers. Here's a video of my machine running on Centroid.



Dan

[Shawn_M]

I too am an actual user of the Rev 4 Acorn board. I can second everything Ntl stated. I recently (within the last month) converted a Chinese Blue Elephant 6090 CNC router I bought used on Craigslist over to the Acorn board and I'm completely satisfied with their hardware and software. The support on their forum is second to none and there are tons of videos and support documents for the Acorn on their site. The ease of setup is childsplay. Why I ever considered Mach3 or UCCNC is beyond me. This is truly a "prosumer" system and it's constantly being worked on and improved, if that's even possible. Very soon you'll be able to customize the screen layout and buttons with an all new "router" version that's coming. For $299 and FREE shipping you get an ethernet control board, a 8 position relay board, dual power supply (5 & 24 volts) and a shielded ethernet cable to control your entire system. Oh and their basic control software also. No mix and match controller with BOB's to get your system working. Forget all the other hardware out there and BUY the Acorn.

[Mini-MillX2]

I just completed an upgrade to my DynaCNC 4'x8' router table. I couldn't be happier. I think the Centroid Acorn is hands down the best value in DIY CNC. I built a new control box around the Acorn 4 board and with the Video's, schematics and documentation I had no issues getting my existing GeckoDrive 203V drivers, my HY VFD and Spindle working with my machine. Not one issue. Everything just works. I looked at Uccnc, Masso and all the different combinations I could do with Mach 4 and picked the Centroid Acorn in the end. The fact that it was an all in one solution, that was backed by a company that builds OEM controls, not just DIY controls made it an unbelievable deal at $299 for the motion control board with built in break out board, 8 relay board, power supply and the software! I had originally planned to upgrade my machine from Mach3 to Mach4 and use Smooth Stepper along with PMDX boards to try to get as close to a "professional" solution as possible but in the end, that would have cost me 3 times what I paid for the Acorn. I saved so much money I bought a touch screen monitor, the wireless pendant (worth every penny!) and upgraded to the Mill Pro software. The Acron V4 board required zero special configuration, worked out of the box. Just had to enter the motor turning information that I got out of Mach 3, told it what inputs I was using for my switches and it just works.

[Marty_Escarcega]

I’m about to retrofit a small denford mill and a lathe, I have a Uccnc board I could use in the mill but I like the idea of having the same control in both, and Uccnc isn’t really ready for turn. The acorn kind of looks perfect, apart from its low I/O count (both machines have atcs)

But I can’t find many reviews of the acorn online by people who have actually fitted one.

Anyone here with good/bad experiences?

Finishing up refitting two Denford Orac lathes. One with a turret. Ill do a video overview on it once complete. Centroid and I fleshed out the PLC to get the turret working with its 3 bit gray logic encoder and using the original turret motor. Watch my YouTube channel martyscncgarage for the upcoming video.

[upnorth]

I converted a Novakon mill to an acorn this summer. I have not used it a lot but from what testing I have done so far it has run flawlessly. I switched over from mach 3. I think the conversion was worth the money.

[tom o]

Hmmm I went to amazon Us and it was $299.00 + $56.00 Shipping, On the Canadian site it was $664.00 shipping included! So WTF! Lets see $355.00 Us x the exchange = $461.50 Canadian, $664.00 Canadian = $510.76 Us at $1.30 exchange!
So always shop around!

[blitzer]

I read up a lot on Acorn vs mach3 vs UCCNC etc. Feedback with Acorn was that it just worked...period. No caveats, not excuses, no extra drivers, no special circumstances, no ... "why is it doing that" type of thing I see with mach3 and other boards. Also, I just did not want to mess with older parallel port BS computer interfaces. I was not going to install windows 7.

I then bought the Avid pro mill machine kit and hooked it up with Acorn. **** just worked and has never missed a beat. Support has been good as well. I enjoy a modern computer as well.

[OlfCNC]

I read up a lot on Acorn vs mach3 vs UCCNC etc. Feedback with Acorn was that it just worked...period. No caveats, not excuses, no extra drivers, no special circumstances, no ... "why is it doing that" type of thing I see with mach3 and other boards. Also, I just did not want to mess with older parallel port BS computer interfaces. I was not going to install windows 7.

I then bought the Avid pro mill machine kit and hooked it up with Acorn. **** just worked and has never missed a beat. Support has been good as well. I enjoy a modern computer as well.

Those what you read mostly were written by Centroid employees and contractors.
You have never used mach3 and uccnc is clear from your writing. Both softwares have much more features than the Acorn and does not need any special things like you think.
For example I have an AXBB-E which is a similar board as the Acorn, it has the motion controller and also the breakout board functionality. The software side is also simple to set up and if you are an advanced user then you have much more customisation possiblities with mach3 and the uccnc.

[mactec54]

Those what you read mostly were written by Centroid employees and contractors..

Again you don't know what you are talking about the are no Centroid employees or contractors in this thread

Its the centroid software that make it the best high end control, even at the Acorn level, the hardware is nothing special but the software is way ahead of everyone else

[OlfCNC]

Again you don't know what you are talking about the are no Centroid employees or contractors in this thread

Its the centroid software that make it the best high end control, even at the Acorn level, the hardware is nothing special but the software is way ahead of everyone else

Sure Centroid employes and contractors making those threads, CNCKeith, NTL, Gary Campbell and their friends.

Talking about software: What I see is a non-customisable DOS looking UI of the Acorn which looks like it is from the late 80's. While all the other options UIs, Mach3/4, UCCNC, LinuxCNC are customisable and flexible.
Talking about hardware: It is nothing special, a Beagleboard microcomputer with some breakoutboard function.

[Dfwilbanks]

Again you don't know what you are talking about the are no Centroid employees or contractors in this thread

Its the centroid software that make it the best high end control, even at the Acorn level, the hardware is nothing special but the software is way ahead of everyone else

I am a Acorn can and owner, but to say there are no Centroid employees or contractors on this forum is more then a little naive. I don't remember being asked to promise that I was not during registration.

[JerryGarcia]

I landed on UCCNC after running Mach3 for years (with ESS), then demoing Mach4, LinuxCNC, and Acorn as I tried to move into a modern platform. My neighbor has a machine with LinuxCNC that I taught him how to run, I see no major benefits of LinuxCNC at this point, in fact for my (computer illiterate) neighbor it’s been a bit of a nightmare.

Mach3 can run very reliably. I’ve run it for days on end without issue. I do have an IT background and perhaps I’m more able to troubleshoot than many.

I was tired of Mach3’s tired interface and tricky update cycle in regards to Windows updates. I run Linux everyday, I run OSX everyday, and I run Windows everyday. I can build any PC I want with any OS I want.

What sold me on UCCNC? Windows interface. I want to run Fusion on my controller. Then it was the ability to customize. UCCNC beat out Acorn there.

It’s that simple for me. Motion control on my mill was good with Mach3, it was better with all the newer softwares.

For the record, I regularly operate a Haas VF2, not that it’s a great machine by modern standards, but it blows my hobby machine out of the water. The motion control isn’t something I’m worried about, even comparing it to the Haas, but my hobby machine has bigger issues than motion control.

For the record, I have no reason to fight for any controller software. I pay for everything I own. I don’t work for any of the mentioned companies, I’m not sponsored or emotionally invested. What works for you is a personal choice and I think its really dumb to spend your time advocating for a company that you’ve paid to use their product. In summary, this is the most honest assessment I can provide.

[ericks]

I have never tried Centroid so i can not comment on it. I have used Mach3 for a long time and Mach4 recently....not a fan of Mach4. My own machine uses uccnc and i am reasonably happy

[mactec54]

I have never tried Centroid so i can not comment on it. I have used Mach3 for a long time and Mach4 recently....not a fan of Mach4. My own machine uses uccnc and i am reasonably happy

I have all of these controls plus others that I constantly run or are testing, Eding cnc has not been mentioned being a jump above all of these, he has a high price which will stop a lot of users , but to date he still has the best control