Anyone using a Masso CNC controller? Thoughts

[rcmcdee]

I'm about to build my first machine based on FLA's Saturn 2 and ClearPath servos. I am on the verge of ordering my electronics and just became aware of this controller. I have searched the forums and found a bit of talk beginning around this time last year but it all dies down in the last few months. The Masso controller looks like a great idea but I am concerned that there doesn't seem to be much adoption.

I'm very interested in any and all comments - both pro & con.

Thanks in advance,
Robb

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[ger21]

http://www.cnczone.com/forums/diy-cn...ml#post2110446

[wizard]

You have to look a little harder as there is a recent thread right here in this forum.

I'm about to build my first machine based on FLA's Saturn 2 and ClearPath servos. I am on the verge of ordering my electronics and just became aware of this controller. I have searched the forums and found a bit of talk beginning around this time last year but it all dies down in the last few months. The Masso controller looks like a great idea but I am concerned that there doesn't seem to be much adoption.

That is a bit of a chicken and egg problem. People need to be a bit adventurist in this hobby because other wise a lot of innovation would never of happened. The good thing here is that there is a lot of indications that the engineer involved in this project is in fact supporting his hardware and software well. This is important as in the end nothing new here is 100% trouble free.

I'm very interested in any and all comments - both pro & con.

Thanks in advance,
Robb

[woffler]

If you have not bought this already i would hold off , it is at best a very crude system ! it might be best to look else where at the moment .
My reasons for saying so is ,no continuous jogging , every thing must be done from the key board or from the pendant they sell and it will drive you nut's trying to position any thing with it .

Post processor is limited to a Fanuc generic post but there is no information on what its requirements are for the post arcs radius and other items that are required .

Yes you do not need a PC but ,it severely limits function to calling things from Macros and unless your good at modifying post's and writing Macros i would stay away from it .

G code is limited as far as canned cycles no G76 or turning cycles at all ,i bought it to replace Mach on my lathe and i wish i had not!

[woffler]

I have been going down threw threw the install of the masso ,serious problems still exist , backlash is broken and will cause x axis not to function properly, will make first x move and then go into a loop and keep repeating the first cut ,only way to get out of it is to disable backlash.

The tool post selection is reversed in the software front is rear and causes the wrong WCS + - offset to be applied to the tool and x dro.

I have no idea about the mill functionality someone with mill would have to offer a opinion on it ,a far as i can see this was not ready for release, another controller that should not have been brought to market until the basic features they claim to offer are ready and functioning.

[ger21]

far as i can see this was not ready for release, another controller that should not have been brought to market until the basic features they claim to offer are ready and functioning.

And the fact that it's been for sale for about 2 years now, and still has all of these issues, is mind boggling.

[wizard]

And the fact that it's been for sale for about 2 years now, and still has all of these issues, is mind boggling.

Those are major issues no doubt but when you consider the state of other solutions it isn't a major surprise. Mach 4 took forever to come to market and even then I'm not sure it is as stable as older versions. LinuxCNC was out for years with a serious bug before someone came out with the data to diagnose it.

In this case Masso should probably be described as experimental for lathe usage. This assumes the issues are lathe only. Note im not trying to justify marketing dodgy products just that at the hobby level people have put up with a lot of short comings over the years.

[ger21]

Those are major issues no doubt but when you consider the state of other solutions it isn't a major surprise. Mach 4 took forever to come to market and even then I'm not sure it is as stable as older versions. LinuxCNC was out for years with a serious bug before someone came out with the data to diagnose it.

This is a standalone hardware control that's $500+, not a software only control. And LinuxCNC has always been free.
I've yet to see a review that didn't point out issues, for both the lathe and mill versions.

The sad thing is that if this worked as advertised, they could potentially own the market.

[SchortBus]

I have been going down threw threw the install of the masso ,serious problems still exist , backlash is broken and will cause x axis not to function properly, will make first x move and then go into a loop and keep repeating the first cut ,only way to get out of it is to disable backlash.

The tool post selection is reversed in the software front is rear and causes the wrong WCS + - offset to be applied to the tool and x dro.

I have no idea about the mill functionality someone with mill would have to offer a opinion on it ,a far as i can see this was not ready for release, another controller that should not have been brought to market until the basic features they claim to offer are ready and functioning.

I can get more info / some pics - but I run a MASSO w/ Gecko 203v on a Bridgeport conversion. Sweetest thing since sliced bread really. Support is quite helpful but obviously bit overwhelmed. Most issues I had were because I couldn't believe it was that simple to wire / set up. Especially after fighting Mach4.

Any jog issues I had were resolved during setup - in my case dialing back the accel / max feed rates and calibration did the trick - 2 balls w/ 5 twists may calibrate to .199983 on the Masso. Also in my case I tweaked the speed settings until found a nice sweet spot - not a rocket ship but it's still just a 2hp knee mill w/12"x17" travel too. Only so fast the feed can go anyways. As with any setup - Taking a few minutes to calibrate / validate saves alot of headaches. Jogging with keyboard is a nag, but at same time USB keyboards are $2 at goodwill. I just got used to using the MDI for setup and stashed a few backup keyboards. Keeps machine running all day - which is more than I could ever say about Mach, My biggest gripes are the wizards / onboard editor, useful and useless all at same time if that makes sense. If your post processor enters slew of G codes, try using just G20 / G21. Notepad++ or EdytorNC are much better editors.

It's not absolutely perfect in every way - but it's dang good IMO.

[msimpson99]

I did extensive testing of the MASSO and my KRMx02 builds. Found a ton of bugs. Many they did fix, others they did not. Just that the more I used it the more issues I found.

I did a write-up here:
MASSO Introduction — Kronos Robotics

Bottom Line is it has some issues, especially if you are using R&P drives or 5 start screws. They keep working on new features without really fixing whats broken. I felt the jogging was the absolute worst of any controller system I have ever used.

I ended up sending the unit back.

[grg_p]

I’m using masso on my router and have found technical support excellent. They get back to me with answers with in 24 hrs and are more than willing to help or look at my ideas. If you want something better than what you already have you need to be patience, expecting it to be everything from the start is not going to happen. Everyone thinks that there the only one that matters and masso should drop everything and work on there request first. I receive up date constantly which tells me they are working hard on making there product better for the little guy. If you want a bug free system there are commercial products out there. But don’t expect a guy starting from scratch to be a full commercial company everybody starts small unless they have unlimited funds. I will be starting my mill soon and will be using masso. Everyone told me my router wouldn’t work and not knowing any better I did listen to them and built it anyway. Building something new means encountering problem unforeseen. But in the end you will have something better than you started with. Sorry for the rant

[msimpson99]

As I stated in my write-up. IF you are just starting out into CNC and have never seriously used a mature CNC controller, The MASSO may work out ok for you. Otherwise it is seriously lacking and buggy.

One area that is major issue that I dont see them ever resolving is the Gcode load time. Its ok for simple parts, but I found that complex Gcode, takes it forever to load. I had one Gcode program that took it over 5 minutes to load.

If you have a PC, any kind of PC. Get UCCNC or Mach3, and a UC100 controller. They both run circles around the MASSO and are cheaper. That combination will work on any version of windows (even Windows and a Mac). Dont think you are not going to need a PC somewhere in your workflow. You will need one to process your drawing files and create your Gcode.

Im not saying the MASSO will never be a good choice, its just not ready now. They need to stop working on new features and get back to the core fix and tune some things. Once they do that, I will be more than willing to give them another try.