Centroid vs Mach3

[Captain Midnigh]

I see on the Ajax website that two types of retro kits are available. A Mach3 and a Centroid. Are any of the conversion talked about here, done with Mach3? Is the Mach3 conversion any good? I have a Milltronics Partner 4 with Centurion 4 controller I am going to retrofit.

[pimpbike]

I'd like to hear about this also. Price and specs looks good.

[converterk]

I am installing this control on a 40x20x24 bed mill. I will be able to run the Mach 3,Ajax linux and the Ajax windows software. I will post the results. Terry

[Captain Midnigh]

I went ahead and bought the Ajax Mach 3 conversion. I've been working on it for a couple of months, and can't get it working.

[pimpbike]

Which package did you go with? The Kit With 3-Axis DC Servo Drive or the Kit For 3rd Party Drives? I spoke to Scott at Ajax, and he is very knowledgeable and friendly to speak with. Captain Midnigh, What kind of problems are you having? What experiences do you have with mach and servo drive setups? I'm actually looking forward to buying this kit but waiting to see what other think about it before I go for it.

Dan

[Captain Midnigh]

The Kit With 3-Axis DC Servo Drive. I am suposed to be able to use my original encoders, but they don't seem to work. Scott has been great. Documentation is poor and vague. This should be a simple install, but its like pulling teeth trying to get install details. They need a good installation manual. I get a message saying encoder error, so how do I fix it?

[pimpbike]

You might be able to use the older encoders, but sometimes the old ones draw more current than the new drives can supply. When I was retrofitting my Hurco tm-5, I found a PDF document with the specifications of the encoder I had. Unfortunately that was after we had already changed the encoders to some US Digital models. We couldn't get the old ones working and didn't know why. The current ended up being a lot higher on the old ones than the new US digitals. I wish I had found the info prior, because mounting the new encoders required drilling and modifying the old encoder cases. I'm probably better off in the long run that I do have new encoders though. You might have to run an external 5v supply if the old encoders are drawing too much. Check with Ajax, ask them what their drives can supply for current to the encoders.

[please no smoke]

I am also looking at the Ajax kit. One difference in the kit is that Mach 3 seems to be an easy to use "pretty interface program", the centroid software, which is a bit more money is kind of clunky and old school, kind of like our old machines. I have downloaded it and while i like it, you have to use F keys to control it instead of the mouse like mach. However the centroid program does have shop floor programming capability that is supposed to be pretty good. They will get you an evaluation copy if you ask.

I am thinking I will go with the third party drive option. I am a little scared of using their small looking integrated drive.

[ajaxscott]

Originally Posted by please no smoke I am also looking at the Ajax kit. One difference in the kit is that Mach 3 seems to be an easy to use "pretty interface program", the centroid software, which is a bit more money is kind of clunky and old school, kind of like our old machines. I have downloaded it and while i like it, you have to use F keys to control it instead of the mouse like mach. However the centroid program does have shop floor programming capability that is supposed to be pretty good. They will get you an evaluation copy if you ask. I am thinking I will go with the third party drive option. I am a little scared of using their small looking integrated drive.

Hi No Smoke,

FWIW You can use a mouse to select the buttons instead of the F keys if you like.

Regards

Scott

[please no smoke]

Scott.

It's been a couple weeks since I tried it but I swear I could not use my mouse, is there something I need to select or is it my system?

[ajaxscott]

Originally Posted by please no smoke Scott. It's been a couple weeks since I tried it but I swear I could not use my mouse, is there something I need to select or is it my system?

If you have a control running on our Linux platform, make sure your mouse is plugged in, press alt-F6 to drop to a command prompt and type "addmouse" -without the quotes- and press enter. Then restart the control.

If you are in Windows with a mouse already working, just dbl click the Fkey labels on the screen or the field you want to change.

[pimpbike]

Originally Posted by please no smoke I am also looking at the Ajax kit. One difference in the kit is that Mach 3 seems to be an easy to use "pretty interface program", the centroid software, which is a bit more money is kind of clunky and old school, kind of like our old machines. I have downloaded it and while i like it, you have to use F keys to control it instead of the mouse like mach. However the centroid program does have shop floor programming capability that is supposed to be pretty good. They will get you an evaluation copy if you ask. I am thinking I will go with the third party drive option. I am a little scared of using their small looking integrated drive.

About 10 years ago I was thinking about retrofitting my Hurco mill and what stopped me was the price. Their retrofit guy wanted $20k to do the retro and my machine is just a simple 3 axis mill with no tool changer. Not only that, if you wanted "special" features like multiple Work Coordinate Systems it was big bucks, if you wanted unlimited lines of code it was $$$$ it all added up to being way too high that I could not justify the price. I once thought Centroid and Ajax were 2 separate companies, well maybe they are, but their addresses are the same. Phone numbers are different though. When I spoke to Scott about the Mach3 CNC Kit With 3-Axis DC Servo Drive he said it will run their 40 in-lb servos which should be fine for most knee mills with a common 2:1 belt drive. Apparently if you want to go to a 3rd party drive option in the future it is also doable. Speaking of their small looking integrated drive, I know a guy that has ran a knee mill on Gecko drives for years

YouTube- CNC driving the knee for the Z axis instead of the quill

YouTube- CNC driving the knee for the Z axis instead of the quill

and it runs fine. The only thing I would rather have is 3 separate drives so you don't have to replace the whole thing if you blow out 1 axis.