Originally Posted by
GEBrown
PinkPanda,
I think you are getting good advice here, but I'd like to make a couple of observations:
Centroid makes more controllers than just the Acorn. They have been in the professional CNC business for 30 years and their industrial controls are well-accepted and used in commercial big machines. They are not just a software company, they have the Oak and AllinOneDC controllers which support up to 200+ inputs and up to 8 axes.
You admit that you are just starting out and assume that UCCNC will come out with a lathe screenset or that you can figure out a way to do that yourself. I don't read all the UCCNC forums, but has that functionality been announced as a future feature? Are people writing their own screensets or compiling their own PLC's for UCCNC? As you found, it is in the current build plan for Centroid. Modifying the PLC is supported and documented.
I ran Mach3 on Gecko G540's for several years before Windows updates and changes basically obsoleted that software - not saying it doesn't run, but there are no updates - the code is 5+ years old. So I have moved my lathe and my router/mill to Centroid and StepperOnLine closed loop steppers. Centroid comes out with updates about every 3-4 months with new features and bug fixes. They have added an 8-port relay module this past year and a 16 port input/output board is in beta testing.
I am happy with my decision to change and the future outlook of Centroid Acorn.
My 2 cents,
Gary