Linuxcnc will do all of that. (rigid tapping too..)
what vmc is it? Can you reuse the servos/drives?
sam
Mach 3/4
UCCNC
Linux CNC
Hello Everyone,
I just bought a VMC that i am going to convert and i am looking for opinions as to which software to use.
Features i am looking for
20 Tool ATC
Probing
Flood Coolant
4th Axis
Rigid Tapping (it has a spindle encoder)
Looking at the feature lists on all the different software, they are all capable of those, just looking for opinions on which one would be best suited.
Thanks
Mike
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Linuxcnc will do all of that. (rigid tapping too..)
what vmc is it? Can you reuse the servos/drives?
sam
It is a 1985 Vulcan which is a re branded Kasahara Falcon K-1
Yes, i am planning on reusing the servos and drivers
in 1985 - assume they are analog input drives?
Linuxcnc/mesa has a kit that gives you 6 axis analog (+/-10v + diff/ttl encoder counters), 48i/o and is expandable....
https://mesaus.com/index.php?route=p...&product_id=79
If you need analog servos, then you'd need some step/dir > analog converters to use UCCNC. CNC Drive is working on an analog controller, but I have no idea when it may be available.
Gerry
UCCNC 2017 Screenset
[URL]http://www.thecncwoodworker.com/2017.html[/URL]
Mach3 2010 Screenset
[URL]http://www.thecncwoodworker.com/2010.html[/URL]
JointCAM - CNC Dovetails & Box Joints
[URL]http://www.g-forcecnc.com/jointcam.html[/URL]
(Note: The opinions expressed in this post are my own and are not necessarily those of CNCzone and its management)
That is a good question, i dont know if it is analog or digital....
It looks like the previous owner did convert it to Mach 3, and right now it is running a DMC-4153 motion controller, i will have to check the servo drivers
I cant find a lot of information on the motion controller (meaning here on the forum) but it is a Ethernet motion controller.
I think that's a Galil controller.
The only other analog Mach3 controllers I know of are ViItal Systems and CS Labs.
Ethernet Motion Controller, Mach3 Mach4 CNC Retrofit, Machine Tools, .Net C# CSharp Library
CSMIO/IP-A | 6-axis Motion Controller (+/- 10V), Ethernet - CS-Lab
Gerry
UCCNC 2017 Screenset
[URL]http://www.thecncwoodworker.com/2017.html[/URL]
Mach3 2010 Screenset
[URL]http://www.thecncwoodworker.com/2010.html[/URL]
JointCAM - CNC Dovetails & Box Joints
[URL]http://www.g-forcecnc.com/jointcam.html[/URL]
(Note: The opinions expressed in this post are my own and are not necessarily those of CNCzone and its management)
The encoders should already be digital. The Galil controller will run analog or step & direction drives. The 4153 is one of the current production 5 axis controllers, and an excellent choice for CNC control. I have Galil controllers in 3 machines in my shop, and have installed about 50 of them all over the world. There is a Mach3 plugin that works, there are also other, better options.
Last edited by Jim Dawson; 11-03-2017 at 10:07 AM.
Jim Dawson
Sandy, Oregon, USA
Mach4 or UCCNC with UC300ETH would be good options for this. UCCNC can do rigid tapping using an encoder on the spindle and you can use this code for the tool changer macro:
https://cnc4pc.com/forum/projects/to...acro-for-uccnc
Arturo Duncan
http://cnc4pc.com
I like UCNC but it can't take advantage of the servos you want to use and AFAIK they still don't have their act together for 4 and 5 axis if you are going to go down that road at some point.
I personally wrote off LinuxCNC because of their need for interface cards which wouldn't fit in my laptop which I ain't upgrading for the sake of a router.
For me, it left Mach3. Which isn't rubbish, is fairly expandable to do a lot of automated probing etc, still has its limits and quirks but gets the job done. I wouldn't touch Mach4.
If you can dance to the LinuxCNC restricted card choice tune I'd probably go that way.
This pleases me, enormously!
What's on the other end of that ethernet connection?
That is a mess 7i92 - 2 printer ports worth of high speed i/o.. and almost unlimited expandability.
https://mesaus.com
Look at the Ethernet solutions.
Nice, and thank you. A little more expensive than the UC400-ETH I ended up getting by the time you add their breakout boards, but it would have opened up some doors for me in terms of software. Next machine, maybe
Hmm. I think similar hardware is cheaper...
Uc400-eth is 148.99 + 60 for software. (Replaces 2 printer ports of I/o)
7i92m is 89.00 (replaces 2 printer ports of i/o and expandable)
Or
7i92e is 200.00 which is 7i92+breakout board. It gives you 5 axis step/dir interface, 48 isolated I/o, spindle encoder interface and analog conrtol. (Also expandable)
Maybe, depends on whether a $5 eBay chinesium breakout works with their card, and whether their card (for crossing over convenience) supports Mach3.
But yeah, next machine for sure will take a much closer look at this.
Hi,
all development on Mach3 ceased five years ago. Lots of people still use it, it is one of the most popular Windows CNC programs
after all. The trouble is that its getting dated, what problems it has will not be fixed.
In recent times OS updates by Microsoft has caused problems for Mach3 users. To date there have been patches and workarounds to
restore Mach3's functionality but there will come a day when that is not the case.
I switched to Mach4 two years ago and find it light years ahead of Mach3...not that many Mach3 users agree with me...they don't want to
learn something new.
Craig
Or Mach4 is not the upgrade they were hoping for....I switched to Mach4 two years ago and find it light years ahead of Mach3...not that many Mach3 users agree with me...they don't want to
learn something new.
Gerry
UCCNC 2017 Screenset
[URL]http://www.thecncwoodworker.com/2017.html[/URL]
Mach3 2010 Screenset
[URL]http://www.thecncwoodworker.com/2010.html[/URL]
JointCAM - CNC Dovetails & Box Joints
[URL]http://www.g-forcecnc.com/jointcam.html[/URL]
(Note: The opinions expressed in this post are my own and are not necessarily those of CNCzone and its management)
I’m looking for a similar solution. How does the Masso control work is it any good? Can it support the atc?