budget diy cnc controller question

**andrew583** · 20-08-2014

Originally Posted by JAZZCNC

Ok well not getting into this debate again but will just pickup for the sake of others on the fact the board is NOT a controller. Mach3 is the controller.....

I apologise for incorrect use of terminology. You are correct of course :)

A couple of years ago when I first took an interest in CNC (for hobby purposes) this assembly was just what the doctor ordered. It did the business of taking GCODE issued thru MACH3 and made the 3020 router/engraver perform its merry dance. I learnt a lot from that. And that's why I am happy to give this the thumbs up for a new user who is not accustomed to setting up and using a CNC machine. It is low cost enough (in the region of $100) to be viewed as a throwaway purchase down the line.

What I do think is wrong is trying to persuade people NOT to invest in this "crap technology" (using your words), and instead save up to buy the full monty. Interests come and go, and if someone bought the full monty and then lost interest then they would have paid a shedload of capital - to discover that maybe it's a hobby they don't want to follow after all. Furthermore, when they do make the full monty purchase, having used this assembly they would be conversant with everything they would need in terms of a tick list.

I'm not pretending this assembly is the dogs danglies, because it clearly isn't. It does however provide the baseline of functionality to get started with a CNC project. Furthermore, in the event that the user decided they wanted something more powerful then they could auction this on ebay to recover some of their outlay. It has crossed my mind to do just that now that I have a CNC 6040. However I still have my 3020 which I will probably continue to use for smaller projects.

Sorry if I'm offending anyone, but realistically I don't think it is fair to poo-poo this assembly given that it does actually perform the job expected of it. I've had many hours of pleasure using it, and it has enabled me to get to grips with CNC - even if I can't manage to get the terminology just right :)