Quote Originally Posted by Chaz View Post
Yep, tough to know which way to go. I was considering ditching the CS Labs setup for Acorn but cant really justify it on the basis that this remains good kit (generally). Its the control software that's the tricky decision with CS Labs.
yeah I'd discount the CS straight away if it wasn't for the closed loop, it's a shame they don't seem to be pushing simCNC hard enough either on development or sales to get people invested in it so they build up an active user base. Or maybe it just needs some people like me to take the plunge. The S curve planner with closed loop is an attractive combo on paper.

I've got a uc400eth+UB1+pendant in a box and some ac drives that will take step/dir, so that's a zero cost option.

To go CS I'd need threading and mpg modules, and simCNC, so £400.

I would really like to have both my little Denfords on the same control so I'm considering Acorn for the mill too, but I'd probably need the 1616 I/O board for the ATC, and once you add that to the acorn, pro license and their (nice) pendant you're looking at £1k.

I guess it comes down to whether closed loop makes much difference on a small mill that won't be pushed to its limits. I suspect not...