Machine control software

[dazp1976]

You are/ have been very lucky
Mach3 is well renowned for doing silly shit but if it works for you and you can live with all the bugs in it that will now never be fixed then carry on using it
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Personally I reckon it's down to running it on a dedicated PC using the old WinXP.
I still have my retail discs from back in 2004.

I will admit, I did not get Win7 working right.

[depronman]

Running on a stand alone pc tried xp win7 and win10 and seams to do the silly shit on them all
Also tried it all on a different pc same results
My conclusion is it mach3
I’ll get to upgrading it to linuxcnc then all three machines are on the same plus I have faith in it as development is still ongoing
Plus Linux is sooo much more stable than windows

Paul


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[A_Camera]

Ah yes.
However. Their controllers run Mach too so you just switch back to it as and when needed. Simple.

By the way.
UCCNC TURN forum:
https://www.forum.cncdrive.com/viewforum.php?f=20

Yes, but personally I have not used Mach3 ever since I switched to UCCNC.

[dazp1976]

Yes, but personally I have not used Mach3 ever since I switched to UCCNC.

Well. I hope UCCNC is as good as it sounds...
I've just bought...
A UC300ETH, 2* UCBB boards, extra cables, and a license.
IDC26 and IDC16 screw terminal boards.
Some 8 channel relay modules.
Some multi channel optocoulper modules.
And various other bits and bobs.

That'll keep me busy for a little while sorting all that lot out
Have loads of boxes stacked on the sofa, mrs keeps looking at them with a bit of a frown

[A_Camera]

I wish you good luck with it. I am also using the UC300ETH and never had any issues.

[Kitwn]

I've just switched from using LinuxCNC running on an old PC with a parallel port and using a cheap Chinese breakout board to UCCNC running on a windows 10 laptop and an AXBB-E controller card. If you are on a tight budget then a reclaimed WXP computer, an equally cheap parallel breakout board and the free LinuxCNC software will certainly get your machine up and running for the lowest possible cost.

I was very happy with the LinuxCNC software and mainly changed because the dedicated but rather old Linux PC was becoming unreliable as well as electrical interference problems which may have been associated with the parallel interface. Rather than spend money on a new dedicated computer I decided on a complete change to the forum's current favorite equipment. Moving to an Ethernet interface and having the flexibility of driving the router with any Windows computer, especially a laptop, is a plus for the AXBB-E as is the better pulse timing that results from a dedicated controller rather than the somewhat variable timing from the old set-up. Whether the new software/hardware combination proves more reliable will take time to asses (it's just worked perfectly so far, but I've yet to do any long cuts) but I hope to do some tests soon to see if the maximum acceleration and/or rapid speeds I can use have been improved by the more accurate pules timing.

Kit

[JAZZCNC]

I've had 1 glitch with Mach in 4 years.
When I transferred a file to the Mach pc into the same folder a program was running from.
That's it!

Well, you can pick my next lottery numbers because you must be the luckiest man on the forum if you have gone 4yrs without mach3's bugs biting you.

[depronman]

Well, you can pick my next lottery numbers because you must be the luckiest man on the forum if you have gone 4yrs without mach3's bugs biting you.

That is certainly my experience


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[Neale]

I'm using Mach3 with an Ethernet SmoothStepper on a commercially-built mill. I probably get about one Mach3 crash a week - error message always associated with ESS buffer problem or unexplained ESS problem. Hasn't yet broken a tool or written off a workpiece but I'm sure it will happen. And the Mach3 "run from here" is a nail-biting thing to use...

I'm now putting the ESS docs and UC300 docs side by side to look at the difficulty of doing a brain transplant. I have a feeling that with some custom cabling, it might not involve major reengineering.

[Hood]

I never have issues with Mach3 and when I say never I mean that. I have had issues but that was hardware failing such as the SmoothStepper eventually dying (it was a beta Ethernet SS)
I did switch to an SZGH on the lathe and love that for a lathe but for Mill and plasma I probably wouldn't go that route. I still have Mach3 on the Chiron FZ12, Beaver NC5 and the plasma.
One of the most common problems I encountered with users having Mach doing weird things was because they were using a pirate licence. Now before people flame me I am not saying everyone that has problems is using one, I a simply saying it was the most common.