thinking about buying a fineline Saturn

[ger21]

The Kronos Robotics is similar to a CNCRP Standard, or the cheap Fineline machines, as it uses the same skate bearing carriages that those machines use.

[difalkner]

Over two years ago when I was researching how I wanted to build our CNC the Kronos was in the final running. Until I found FLA and talked to Nate about the new Saturn he was developing. I chose to wait and get the prototype Saturn 2x4 and I am so glad I waited because this is one stout machine! And like Gerry said, no skate bearings on the Saturn. It's a serious machine with much more robust components.

David

[jram]

Over two years ago when I was researching how I wanted to build our CNC the Kronos was in the final running. Until I found FLA and talked to Nate about the new Saturn he was developing. I chose to wait and get the prototype Saturn 2x4 and I am so glad I waited because this is one stout machine! And like Gerry said, no skate bearings on the Saturn. It's a serious machine with much more robust components.

David

Thanks for the information. I am still waiting for a reply from him,

[Ntl]

I just got my tracking number today for my 2x4 Saturn from him. I can’t wait till it gets here and I get it set up I’ll start a build thread once it shows up. I may wait till it’s complete, but I have one going on the Centroid Acorn forum Gecko 203v wiring question/NEW ROUTER BUILD - Page 3 - Centroid Community CNC Support Forum so far it just has pictures of the stand I fabricated and it’s more about the electronics than the router.

Dan

[GME]

Thanks for the information. I am still waiting for a reply from him,

In case you haven't already done this, I suggest you keep bugging Nate. That's what I had to do. After four tries, I finally got a dialog going. You may have better luck with email. I know this seems counter intuitive when dealing with a seller, but that's just the way it is. Nate means well, but customer service isn't his strong suit.

[jram]

In case you haven't already done this, I suggest you keep bugging Nate. That's what I had to do. After four tries, I finally got a dialog going. You may have better luck with email. I know this seems counter intuitive when dealing with a seller, but that's just the way it is. Nate means well, but customer service isn't his strong suit.

Thanks, he emailed me today so I am hoping to make the order very soon....now I’m just hoping that the 2x4 is enough machine for me!

[jram]

I just got my tracking number today for my 2x4 Saturn from him. I can’t wait till it gets here and I get it set up I’ll start a build thread once it shows up. I may wait till it’s complete, but I have one going on the Centroid Acorn forum Gecko 203v wiring question/NEW ROUTER BUILD - Page 3 - Centroid Community CNC Support Forum so far it just has pictures of the stand I fabricated and it’s more about the electronics than the router.

Dan

Great! How long between the time you ordered and when you got the tracking number?

[GME]

I’m just hoping that the 2x4 is enough machine for me!

Unless budget or physical space are limiting factors, the 4x4 is the way to go IMHO. I've been working on some logistics (how do I get the machine from my driveway to my shop), but plan to order a 4x4 Saturn 2 in the next few days to replace my 4x4 Fineline kit machine. I'd kick myself if I went too small.

I have NEMA 34s on all axes am happy with them. I built my own electronics and got lucky. Everything worked first time without any hiccups. Many hours of worry, though. Oh, and spindles are great. I have a 2.2kw, which has been plenty of power for everything I've done to date. Others here have 3kw spindles. Not sure if 3kw is overkill, but if/when I have to replace the one I have, I'll probably upgrade to 3kw.

Best of luck,

Gary

[Ntl]

Great! How long between the time you ordered and when you got the tracking number?

Once I decided to order one, I paid for it and gave him a ship date and he shipped it on my ship date. I wasn’t in a huge hurry since I’ve been working on putting together the controller and building the stand. He has done everything I have asked for. I am very happy with everything and I can’t wait to see the machine and get the Acorn controller finished up and running. The centroid CNC12 software is legit. If you don’t have a controller picked out yet check out the Acorn, it’s basically a industrial controller with a hobby price, made by a company that makes high end controllers for oem as well as retrofits very well thought out and very professional.

Dan

[jram]

Once I decided to order one, I paid for it and gave him a ship date and he shipped it on my ship date. I wasn’t in a huge hurry since I’ve been working on putting together the controller and building the stand. He has done everything I have asked for. I am very happy with everything and I can’t wait to see the machine and get the Acorn controller finished up and running. The centroid CNC12 software is legit. If you don’t have a controller picked out yet check out the Acorn, it’s basically a industrial controller with a hobby price, made by a company that makes high end controllers for oem as well as retrofits very well thought out and very professional.

Dan

thanks for the info. I am taking a look at the acorn board and see the board for 299.00. I am assuming I would also need a power supply and motors and that’s it? I am leaning towards doing 5he electronics myself instead of the cncrp plug n play. I found this on eBay but have no idea how good it would be.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/DIY-CNC-Kit...sAAOSwvF1bdj3w

[Ntl]

thanks for the info. I am taking a look at the acorn board and see the board for 299.00. I am assuming I would also need a power supply and motors and that’s it? I am leaning towards doing 5he electronics myself instead of the cncrp plug n play. I found this on eBay but have no idea how good it would be.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/DIY-CNC-Kit...sAAOSwvF1bdj3w

I just dealt with exactly what you are dealing with. That said I decided to build my own since I wanted to use the Centroid board because I feel they have better control software than anything else in the price range. And it’s all new to me and I don’t want to be messing with software that I read a ton of complaints about. The total cost was $438 for the Acorn Board and the CNC12 mill pro software, you have to get the paid version since you need to slave one of the axis and it’s actually cheaper than a smooth stepper/Mach setup and from everything I read it’s way better. And then you need power supply, steppers, drivers, proximity sensors, estop, vfd/spindle, all the shielded cables for motors sensors and spindle, wiring,connectors and distribution blocks for everything and a enclosure unless you build one like I am. You could also simply it a bit by running Clearpath motors since the drivers are part of the motor and there are lots of guys running them with the Acorn Board. I personally went a different route due to the extra cost of the Clearpath motors. I wound up saving quite a bit doing it this way and got all the parts I wanted and none I didn’t. Time will tell if I made the right decision and specked everything properly lol.

Good luck with your project,
Dan

[wmgeorge]

If your an experienced CNC builder and know what you doing you can purchase odds and ends off eBay or direct from China. But if you need to ask basic questions about needing power supplies and motors, not to mention motor driver boards, its not the way for you to go.

Why Clear Path? There are thousands of CNC projects running just on good stepper motors and good motor driver boards. CNC Zone as I have said before is filled with sad stories about projects done by DIY builders that have never worked right.

The Acorn board is a good one and the software is great. Just make sure you understand what is needed before starting the build. You might want to Read this about the Acorn https://www.cnczone.com/forums/centr...are-forum.html There are pros and cons to every control system but with Mach3/4 support is wide spread and free.

FYI which I forgot about on the Acorn board the software only runs on Windows 10 Computer and a specified one at that, for that reason I would never go that route.

[ger21]

I found this on eBay but have no idea how good it would be.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/DIY-CNC-Kit...sAAOSwvF1bdj3w

Not that good.....

[Ntl]

If your an experienced CNC builder and know what you doing you can purchase odds and ends off eBay or direct from China. But if you need to ask basic questions about needing power supplies and motors, not to mention motor driver boards, its not the way for you to go.

Why Clear Path? There are thousands of CNC projects running just on good stepper motors and good motor driver boards. CNC Zone as I have said before is filled with sad stories about projects done by DIY builders that have never worked right.

The Acorn board is a good one and the software is great. Just make sure you understand what is needed before starting the build. You might want to Read this about the Acorn https://www.cnczone.com/forums/centr...are-forum.html There are pros and cons to every control system but with Mach3/4 support is wide spread and free.

Why not Clear Path? Do you have a personal experience with the motors you can share with us? I don’t have any experience personally. I have just read good things about the motors and the wiring is very simplistic. There are also quite a few oem table manufactures using them (jd2 mad series plasma table is one of them). That said I didn’t go that route as I stated I have Gecko drivers and leadshine Nema 34s.

And as far as the rant post you listed it sounds like that guy didn’t want to read/follow instructions. They have a whole forum dedicated to the support of the Centroid Acorn with factory techs that will answer all your questions if you are willing to listen. They also must be doing something right since they have been in business since 1979 and have a big chunk of the industrial controller market share.

I also agree that a pre wired controller is a much easier way to go. Candcnc and Flashcut are two good ones from what I have read, I got quotes from both of them and unfortunately they were just out of my price range. I personally wanted a semipro controller and the Acorn fit my needs. That’s the great thing about where the cnc market is these days, there’s a lot of different options for people who have different needs.


All I’m doing is trying to help out with some of the other options out there and share what I have learned with all my phone calls and research. I personally have done my homework over the course of a year and am very happy with the direction I decided to go.

Dan

[ger21]

Why not Clear Path?

Clearpath servos are designed to to be drop in replacements for stepper motors. This makes them very easy to use in a system designed to work with steppers. But they are not cheap.
If you are starting from scratch, AC servos offer much greater performance for the same or less money.

Each system has advantages and disadvantages.
That goes for controls as well.

FYI which I forgot about on the Acorn board the software only runs on Windows 10 Computer and a specified one at that, for that reason I would never go that route.

The fact that it will always run on the latest version of Windows is a big advantage to many people.3

You might want to Read this about the Acorn

You can find a bad review about anything. I can count on one hand the number of poor reviews I've seen for the Acorn
Fwiw, you'll find a LOT more bad things written about Mach3 than the Acorn.

[wmgeorge]

Dan, Thanks for posting that Chart and its a eye opener. I was lead to believe as posted elsewhere that WinCNC was the controller of choice for CNC Routers, and it looks like Acorn and Centroid are the ones to consider. Mach3 seems to have issues from some of the postings but I do not have enough time with it to make any comments. So if I have issues I will need to buy Windows 10 Pro and get an Acorn. Thanks again!!

[ger21]

Centroid and the Acorn are really new to the router field. Mainly just since router users started buying Acorns in the last 6 months.

That chart basically only covers metalworking machinery.

Almost all high end routers ($100K and up) use either custom proprietary controls (most common), or Fanuc.

In the $25K-$75K, Win CNC is probably most common. There are really only two major players here, Camaster and Shop Sabre, and they both use WinCNC.
ShopBot is in this same range, and uses their own proprietary language and control.

Most Chinese machines use Mach3, NC Studio or a DSP.

[jram]

Thanks for all the help guys. I have decided to go with the Saturn 2- 2x4 with the plug and play system for now . I will most likely be writing a grant for another machine in the spring and will go with either the 4x4 or a 4x8. One of our shops is very small so the 2x4 will work well in that space.I'll keep everyone posted on how it goes.

[wmgeorge]

Thanks for all the help guys. I have decided to go with the Saturn 2- 2x4 with the plug and play system for now . I will most likely be writing a grant for another machine in the spring and will go with either the 4x4 or a 4x8. One of our shops is very small so the 2x4 will work well in that space.I'll keep everyone posted on how it goes.

I think you made the right decision. I could just get a 4x4 machine in, maybe a 4x8 would fit but I have too much stuff!! I am looking forward to doing some of those Design and Make projects with mine and I also have a couple of orders lined up..

Gerry thanks for the update on the router control systems, very interesting.

[Ntl]

Centroid and the Acorn are really new to the router field. Mainly just since router users started buying Acorns in the last 6 months.

That chart basically only covers metalworking machinery.

Almost all high end routers ($100K and up) use either custom proprietary controls (most common), or Fanuc.

In the $25K-$75K, Win CNC is probably most common. There are really only two major players here, Camaster and Shop Sabre, and they both use WinCNC.
ShopBot is in this same range, and uses their own proprietary language and control.

Most Chinese machines use Mach3, NC Studio or a DSP.

I looked at the stinger series, Apex and Laguna prior to going with the Fineline. I also looked into Wincnc along with Flashcut and Candcnc they were all out of my price range and I honestly don’t see what they can do that Centoid can’t. I guess once the table is finished I will know lol

FYI
According to the attached article the Acorn is included in the chart I posted.
If the information is incorrect please let me know this was one of the things I based my decision off of. (I thought it was a reputable source?)

Thanks for the info and I’ll post some pics of my new router when it shows up and it’s cutting parts.

Dan