Quote Originally Posted by magicniner View Post
If there was money in the budget for it I'd be tempted to go for a Siemens 808D Advanced or other stand alone industrial controller rather than a PC/OS/Software Mash Up, you end up with something that has been developed with industrial requirement pressures rather than developed by a committee, many of whom have never worked in machining.
Yes, this and few other more industrial controllers are being considered. However, I'm pretty sure the Sinumerik controllers only work with Siemans drives and motors and it's not worth throwing 8K at the machine this Old. Also, Industrial controllers like Siemens, Fanuc, etc all have hidden costs because features like 4Th axis or Ridged tapping, etc are licensed.

Also, let's be fair the reality is they offer nothing any of the others don't, other than little more Bling.! . . . . I see it like Cheap kitchens.? . . . Good Kitchen fitter can make a cheap kitchen look Bling just using better quality fittings.!