UC100 vs UC300ETH-5LPT

[Bad Wolf]

I have had trouble free operation from my UC100 with a cheap Chinese BoB that came with some stepper motors. The opportunity has presented itself to sell the UC100 and BoB, and I was looking at the UC300ETH-5LPT as a viable replacement.

I have kind of settled on using UCCNC since Mach4 wasn't previously available on the UC100 and now I am just used to UCCNC. So I have a couple of questions.


Firstly there is no point in replacing the UC100 if the UC300 isn't an upgrade, so I guess my first question has to be is the UC300 an upgrade over the UC100 and BoB?
Secondly I bought a UCCNC license for the UC100 can I use it with the UC300?
Thirdly do I need to / can I use a seperate BoB with the UC300 to improve it's performance?

I am currently using NEMA23 stepper motors, if down the track I want to go to servo motors will the UC300 limit this change?

Would appreciate any input especially from people who have had experience with both the UC100 and the UC300ETH-5LPT.

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[ger21]

1) Is it an upgrade? Yes and No. It's an upgrade in that you get more inputs and outputs, plus analog inputs and outputs, and faster max frequency. But it probably won't have any effect on your machine's performance.
2) No. The license is tied to the controller's serial number. Each controller needs it's own software license.
3) Unless you plan on wiring you're drives and switches directly to a ribbon cable, you need to use at least one breakout board with the UC300. It has 5 ports on it, so you could use up to 5 single port breakout boards. I use a 3 port breakout board with my UC300ETH, plus a simple DB16 breakout board for the analog inputs.
A breakout board doesn't really "improve performance", but it can add features. My breakout board has relays, speed control, and 24V inputs and outputs.

4) The UC300ETH is a better choice for servos, because of it's higher max frequency.

[Bad Wolf]

Thanks for the prompt response ger21. Bit disappointing that that I would have to pay for another license when I could use the same license if I went with Mach3/4. If I need to pay for another license perhaps I might be better off looking at the ESS / M4 package since UCCNC is lacking in features in comparison.

Do you have a link to the BoBs you use?

[Bad Wolf]

Does anyone know if UCCNC supports the Shuttle Pro v3 pendant yet? I have had one sitting in my garage for ages, waiting to use it.

[ger21]

Three UCCNC licenses are cheaper than a single Mach4 license. So you'd rather pay $400 for Mach4/ESS vs $60 for UCCNC?
What features does Mach4 have that UCCNC doesn't? I have licenses for Mach4 hobby and Industrial, but have no plans to use them as of right now. There's nothing that I'd need in Mach4 that UCCNC can't do.

I don't believe there's a Shuttle plugin for UCCNC, and I wouldn't expect one anytime soon, unless anotheruser writes one. You could always ask CNC Drive it they'd be interested in writing one.


I'm using the MB2 from CNC Room. It's designed for the ESS, but works with the UC300ETH.
MB2 ESS ethernet smooth stepper BOB breakout out board [MB2]

[Bad Wolf]

I don't currently have a UC300ETH-5LPT so the price difference is probably more like $220 to $400. Down the track I would maybe like a smaller 4th axis CNC so I would need to go with M4 to do that, and if I can work both machines off the one M4 license it kind of evens out. If I don't go 4th axis and stay with just one CNC then it would probably favour UCCNC. Still thinking I might stick with UCCNC since I have gotten used to it.

[ger21]

You can use a 4th axis in UCCNC right now. It just won't display the toolpath properly, and doesn't adjust the feedrate based on the diameter of the work. CNC Drive is going to start working on those features soon, and I'd expect to see them in the next year maybe? (Don't hold me to that, though).
When considering Mach4, you need to look carefully and make sure all the features you want are actually working, and that your motion controller supports them.

I bought my Mach4 license 3 years ago, thinking it would be 6-12 months until it's finished. It's still not there yet, imo.

[Bad Wolf]

Ok that makes the decision to stay much easier with UCCNC. Still in two minds about upgrading from the UC100 to the UC300 since I need a new license. Just hard to justify a big spend for little gain.

[OlfCNC]

Ok that makes the decision to stay much easier with UCCNC. Still in two minds about upgrading from the UC100 to the UC300 since I need a new license. Just hard to justify a big spend for little gain.

You want to sell your UC100 so what about selling your UC100 with the UCCNC license and buying a UC300ETH with a UCCNC license? Then you will not waste on a new license.

[Bad Wolf]

Because in the second hand market you never get full price back for anything including software, so it would have been nice to use the original license not to take a hit on the software as well as the UC100.

[ger21]

Whoever is buying the UC100 has to spend $60 for the software in order to use it, so it's fair to sell the license for $50, if not the full $60.

[Bad Wolf]

There is that, but it's not all about the money, there is some principal involved. I don't like the idea of having to rebuy the license at an even higher price to use it on the same CNC, on the same laptop, by the same user, just to change one part in the system.

The point of the post is to see if there is any kind of real upgrade to be had, because I can still simply stay with what I have and outlay no additional money to continue using the CNC. The UC100 eventually got a Mach4 plugin, I might be better off sticking with what I have until that happens to the UC300 and then make the move to Mach4, but as you have pointed out Mach4 is yet to live up to it's promise.

If I buy the UC300 and another license and decided to go to Mach4 then I am stuck with a dead license that can't be sold. Decisions, decisions.

[ger21]

If you really want to use Mach4, then buy a motion controller from a company dedicated to Mach4, that already has a 3 year head start working working with Mach4. There are a lot of people using Mach4 now, with a variety of motion controllers.

[Bad Wolf]

Found out today that Mach 4 uses the same trajectory planner as Mach3, and since UCCNC has a clearly better TP than Mach 3/4 I have decided to not even bother trying Mach4. I'm not even interested to try the trial version.

That said I am sticking with UCCNC even though I have to buy it again, which I am not happy about but such is life...

Now the only thing to decide is UC300ETH / UC400ETH. I see one has two parallel ports the other has five. I really don't know that much about parallel ports to begin with which one do I choose to have enough inputs for safety switches and spindle control?

There isn't a huge difference in price but I don't want to buy more just sake of it, but I also don't want to get caught short. Suggestions please.

[ger21]

Found out today that Mach 4 uses the same trajectory planner as Mach3, and since UCCNC has a clearly better TP than Mach 3/4 I have decided to not even bother trying Mach4.

To be fair, they've probably fixed all the bugs that the Mach3 planner has, so it's not exactly the same.

I really don't know that much about parallel ports to begin with which one do I choose to have enough inputs for safety switches and spindle control?

You're the only one that knows how many inputs you need.

You get 5 inputs per port on the UC400ETH, for a total of 10. The UC300ETH has 49 inputs.

The UC300ETH costs $11 more than the UC400ETH, so to me, there's no reason at all to buy the UC400ETH, unless you want the slightly smaller size.

[OlfCNC]

You get 5 inputs per port on the UC400ETH, for a total of 10. The UC300ETH has 49 inputs.

And the UC300ETH has analog IOs also .

[Bad Wolf]

The UC300ETH is currently $22.50 more than the UC400ETH but that really not here nor there. I really don't know how many inputs I need as I currently don't have any limit switches etc, so probably smartest to err on the side of caution and go with the UC300ETH.

[Bad Wolf]

Placed the order for UC300ETH and software and saved 5 Euro buying them together.

[Qicker306]

I'm tasked with making a similar decision for my 1st purchase. I have a Leadshine MX4660 that I will be using with my XZero machine, originally I just planned on using Mach 3 with a DB25 printer cable and an older 32bit Windows 7 PC dedicated to the machine. However with the prevalence of UCCNC and the ability to use my Windows 10 laptop for machine control along with a UC100 or UC300ETH-5LPT this seems like a more relevant choice. As far as I'm concerned the MX4660 covers all my needs for I/O (E-stop, VFD, spindle, limit switches, dust collection, Z touch plate) so I don't know that I would ever require any of the extra I/O that the UC300 would offer however the ~$60 price difference is pretty minimal should ethernet offer a better connection over USB.

[ger21]

A better comparison is the UC400ETH or the UC300ETH. I would not consider the UC100, unless you are just replacing a parallel port on an existing system, and don't want to change anything.

The MX4660 can use two ports, which the UC400ETH has, if you do need a little extra I/O.

The only other thing the UC300ETH adds is the analog inputs, which you can use for FRO or SO.