Whats the low down on Mach Quantum ?

[thkoutsidthebox]

I only bought Mach3 a few months ago and haven't even figured out 5% of it yet.

Should I change to Mach4?

What are Mach4's advantages/disadvantages over Mach3?

Will my Mach3 license file give me access to a fully working Mach4 or do I have to pay more?

Does Mach4 work or are there still lots of bugs to sort out?

Will my LazyCam license, and my Newfangled Solutions license work with Mach4?

Is Mach 4 the upcoming thing, and will I end up using it eventually, so I'd be better off learning on it than having to change and re-learn everything later?

Thanks.

[ger21]

There really is no Mach4. There was at one time, but it was for Gecko G100 users only. However, it was dropped when Mach3 plugins were developed. The next version of Mach will be known as Quantum, but Will probably be at least a year away. There is a sample version of Quantum available for download that many are currently using. It's basically mach3 with a smoother accel and decel, called s-curve vs the linear acceleration in Mach3. I've heard that quantum will cost more when it's released, but again, expect it to be a long time. It's going to be a complete ground up rewrite. Current users should be able to upgrade for a small fee, maybe $50-$100 (just a guess).

You can download the test version and install it alongside Mach3, just don't try to run both at the same time. Also, there is a video on the Machsupport site you should watch.

[thkoutsidthebox]

Cheers ger, I thought that Quantum and Mach4 were the same thing. Sounds like I shouldn't upgrade to Quantum yet then. Might be worth a quick try just to see how smooth the steppers do run with it.....

[sdantonio]

Originally Posted by thkoutsidthebox Cheers ger, I thought that Quantum and Mach4 were the same thing. Sounds like I shouldn't upgrade to Quantum yet then. Might be worth a quick try just to see how smooth the steppers do run with it.....

I think I've heard a few people use then interchangable till the get corrected on this. One of the confusing things is that there is still a link to Mach4 on Arts site (as of the last time I looked which is a while ago).

So, it that all it is. Just smoother acc and dec curves? Not a huge incentive to change if that is all.

[Mike F]

Your Mach licence will work with Quantum so there is no reason not to download it and use it. Although I am not quite at the stage of cutting material, my machine performs much better and smoother with Quantum. Others, who are cutting, have said they always use it in preference to Mach3. The downside is there is no support just yet but, without a doubt, it will be a huge improvement - not that Mach3 is in any way flawed, just that with the S curve acceleration, things are soooooooo much smoother.

Just download it, put your licence file in the Quantum folder and have a play. Quantum and Mach will live quite happily together.

Also, look at the Mach forums there is a thread there all about Quantum.

Mike