[NickLatech]

Is there an alternative to mach 2? free, I hope. But I'm open to shareware.

Nick

[cncadmin]

Nothing that is better IMO, but you can use Turbocnc, but that is dos based or Ya also dos based but is not free.

[ger21]

Mach2 IS free, for up to 1000 lines of g-code.

TurboCNC is NOT free, it's $60

[BigDaddyG]

Nick,
Not only is it free for 1000 lines, it is the most powerful software for the money than anything out there! Get the free download, save a little money every week and make the purchase, you will not be sorry. It is just not worth, in my never to be humble opinion, to switch from one software to another. Get one, learn it and learn how to machine with it, then compare with the knowlede base and learn what so many others have, it is the best value going.
Regards,
Glen

[cncadmin]

With many of the programs I have seen and used Mach has the best documentation I have seen, well worth keeping and paying for it. It's IMO the best program out there.

[santiniuk]

I just purchased Mach2 this week. Thankfully it looks like the right decision

I was dreading someone posting saying its not too good....

The manual seems really good. I just need a completed machine to give it a run out but so far very impressed.

[lerman]

EMC -- runs on Linux. Free. Open source.

Ken

[strat]

one of the real nice things is once your reg. your updates are free not a pop of $$ here and there to keep it up to date

[chris69randy]

I just purchased Mach2 this week. Thankfully it looks like the right decision

I was dreading someone posting saying its not too good....

The manual seems really good. I just need a completed machine to give it a run out but so far very impressed.

hi mate

how much did you pay for mach2 and where did you get it.

thanks
chris

[aghobby]

www.artofcnc.ca

[MrBean]

You can find Mach2 here: http://www.artofcnc.ca/
I've had Mach2 for a while. I think it's $149 the details are all on the website.
You can pay by Paypal.

Regards Terry.....

[Bubba]

Hey guys,
I will agree that Machx IS a good program, BUT I don't trust "winders" and I personally prefer DOS! My personal preference is TurboCNC because:
1) Its DOS (OK, MY preference) and it allows me to use everybodys cast off computers. I have gone through about 3 of them in my shop mainly do to my stupidity and let coolant/swarf get into the box while I was trying to tweak some things.
2) Once registered, it is "open source" as I have the source files and can/have modified it to suit my personal desires! (Try that with Machx)
3) Turbocnc is free to use (NO crippling) and only $60 to reg now.

Nuff said!

[sp00k1e]

Mach 2 is $149 only about £78 and is the best program ive found. One of the features ive just been playing with is the wizards, you can cut circular or rectangular pockets, linear, rectangular or radial drill patterns , text engraving and others without leaving the program.
At the current exchange rate this is a steal, the only cheap part of diy cnc in this country, ( when is mcmaster carr opening a branch in Cardiff?)

[ynneb]

Is there an alternative to mach 2? free, I hope. But I'm open to shareware.

Shoot, I dont suppose you realise that 150 bucks for a program like Mach2/3 is the bargain of the century.
For what it does and the support you get, I am surprised you even ask.

I must admit I dont like buying software and finding out it is a dud, but I had no problems parting with my bucks when it came to Mach2. It will take a lot for me to ever want to change to another driving program.

Note: The fact that we are doing a promotion for Mach3 at this moment, does not effect my opinion. I would say if I didnt like something.

[carlnpa]

I recently started on Master5 due to computer on 98SE. This past weekend I upgraded to 2000pro and installed Mach2 (P3 450mHz). Guess what? I was cutting again in 1/2 hour, very easy to set up and good documentation.

[WP1]

I've been testing both EMC and Mach2 side by side (well, on a KVM switch) on the CNC router I've been building.

Although EMC does work acceptably, I have found Mach2 to be much more refined and vastly better documented.

While Mach2 may not be open source, it includes all the tools needed to fully customize it. In particular is "screen designer" which let's you completely rebuild the screen display buttons captions etc. to suit your machine, all without having to code anything.

I've been running them on suprlus Dell P3/733 PCs that I get for <$100 and both run well on that level of PC.

Despite the Mach2 setup costing about $350 for Mach2 and Windows vs. $0 for EMC and Linux I'm going to go for the solution that is refined, well documented, easily configurable and well supported.

I'd recommend testing both side by side yourself since that can be done for free. I think you'll come to the same conclusion.

Pete C.

[Rance]

At least for my first machine I'm sure I don't want to spend more than $60 (and that's a stretch) for just initial tinkering. So for the 'cheap' guys like me, how would you compare EMC with TurboCNC? TIA.

Rance

[Bubba]

Rance,
From what I have read, if you are NOT comfortable with Linux, it will be a pain to setup EMC. If you are, it should be a good program.
If you are halfway comfortable with dos, turbocnc is fairly easy to setup and the "trial" version is not crippled in any way. If you decide to download the package from the DAK site, please be advised that you should also join the yahooo group and in the files section, you can then download the latest "hotfix" version that has the latest updates.
Let me know if I can help.

[ger21]

At least for my first machine I'm sure I don't want to spend more than $60 (and that's a stretch) for just initial tinkering. So for the 'cheap' guys like me, how would you compare EMC with TurboCNC? TIA.

Rance

If you missed my earlier post, you can use Mach2 for FREE, as long as your g-code files are less than 1000 lines. If you have a PC with Win2K or XP, try it out.

[Rance]

Gerry,

No I didn't miss it. 1000 lines seems rather limiting though. However, having NEVER ran a cnc job I don't have any experience to go on.

So what's the average # of lines in a g-code file for etching, say, a 2" x 3" PCB? Or tell me what you would have not been able to mill if you had a 1000 line limit? I know, I know, these are VERY subjective questions but someone try to give me an answer anyways. Thanks.

Rance

If you missed my earlier post, you can use Mach2 for FREE, as long as your g-code files are less than 1000 lines. If you have a PC with Win2K or XP, try it out.