Mach3 4th "A" Axis

[peter_tash]

Hello to everybody! My name is Peter and I am an CNC enthusiast. I rebuilt chinese cnc machines, using only their body construction. The job that I do with those machines is milling and engraving stone slabs - like granite, marble, limestone and etc.


A friend of mine is building different kinds of machines and he is going to build me a new cnc machine with my financial and physical help. The CNC will have forth axis - "A". So my question is:

- Should I make the machine with mach3, because of the customization possibilities and the third party software that you can install on the windows pc, or should I choose something else.

He told me that we can use DSP, Syntec, or Mach. He is more of a mechanic and less software guy. But he helps me a lot.

So to make it more clear.

What controller should I use for 4 axis cnc and should I use mach3 or maybe mach4 just for the customization that I can always make or should it be something else? Of course we are talking for cheap solutions...

Hope that I wrote it understandable.

Thank you all in advance!

Similar Threads:

• "Probe" and "Verify" not working - Mach3 & ESS
• Need help working out feed rate for "C" Axis and "Z" axis simultaneously.
• Feed Rate Issue- K2 says: "200 in/min max" Mach3 says: "Running at 800"
• Need Help!- 4th axis "C" rotary table on a mill and "C" axis on a lathe
• Problem- X Axis "Goes Off Pattern", "Awry", "Skewed", "Travels"

[ger21]

UCCNC is much cheaper, and the latest development version support G93 for rotary axis.
It's also every bit as customizable as Mach3, and even easier.

[peter_tash]

UCCNC is much cheaper, and the latest development version support G93 for rotary axis.
It's also every bit as customizable as Mach3, and even easier.

Ok. A brand new and interesting thing to try and get familiar with. At first sight the UI of UCCNC looks clean and very similar to what I am use to from mach3. Thank you for the reply.
I just need to check if UCCNC has some probing capabilities

[OlfCNC]

Ok. A brand new and interesting thing to try and get familiar with. At first sight the UI of UCCNC looks clean and very similar to what I am use to from mach3. Thank you for the reply.
I just need to check if UCCNC has some probing capabilities

Yes it's screen layout is cleaner than mach3's, it supports probing G31 code and it has a nice probing sceen in the latest development release.
I attached some printscreens for you.

[peter_tash]

Yes it's screen layout is cleaner than mach3's, it supports probing G31 code and it has a nice probing sceen in the latest development release.
I attached some printscreens for you.

Thank you for the printscreens. UCCNC look similar to mach3 and I am starting to like it very much.
So here is a simple question.

Lets say I decide to build the machine with a bit more money investment, put some nice servo, make the construction stronger. I just need to have good four axis control and probing for the uneven surfaces that I engrave.
So. What type of controller will you guys choose in this case?

[he1957]

This might be well worth a look and matches UCCNC for a nice bundle.

forum.cncdrive.com • View topic - New ethernet motion controller+breakout board combo release

[ger21]

I use a UC300ETH with a UB1 breakout board from CNC Room.

[OlfCNC]

Thank you for the printscreens. UCCNC look similar to mach3 and I am starting to like it very much.
So here is a simple question.

Lets say I decide to build the machine with a bit more money investment, put some nice servo, make the construction stronger. I just need to have good four axis control and probing for the uneven surfaces that I engrave.
So. What type of controller will you guys choose in this case?

I use a UC100 on my mill and using a UC400ETH on my plasma. Now I have the AXBB-E for the 3rd (under construction...) machine.

[peter_tash]

So it goes down to one last question.
For my four axis machine with uneven surface mapping capabilities, should I go with mach4 or with UCCNC?
What do you guys think?

[OlfCNC]

So it goes down to one last question.
For my four axis machine with uneven surface mapping capabilities, should I go with mach4 or with UCCNC?
What do you guys think?

I use UCCNC on both of my machines is what I can tell you. I have no experience with Mach4. but I'd 100% go with UCCNC if I have to select Mach3/UCCNC.

[peter_tash]

The important note to be made here is that I need 4 axis support and 3d mapping with touch probe. I see on the videos that UCCNC supports up to six axis, but I dont seem to find good video example of 3d mapping on uneven surface with it.

[OlfCNC]

The important note to be made here is that I need 4 axis support and 3d mapping with touch probe. I see on the videos that UCCNC supports up to six axis, but I dont seem to find good video example of 3d mapping on uneven surface with it.

What do you mean by 3D mapping? Please explain.

There is an autoleveler plugin in the UCCNC which measures the surface with probing points and then it adjusts the g-code Z height on the probed surface.
There are also the M40/M41 digitizing codes. They save the probed points into a point cloud file.

[OlfCNC]

Found a video for you of Autoleveling:

[OlfCNC]

And another one:

[ger21]

I also don't use Mach4. After I bought my Mach4 license, I decided to switch to UCCNC.

If you decide on Mach4, make certain that the controller you choose supports all of the functions that you need.

[peter_tash]

Great thank you! I see that autoleveler is a great tool and it is very good integrated in UCCNC. I just wonder How will I make different toolpaths that need different tools? Maybe there is some feature that can adapt second or third toolpath (with different tool) to the leveling you already made for the first toolpath.
I just ordered AXBB-E from CNCdrive. I will try it on my 3 axis machine. I have ordered omron touch probe. Maybe next week I will have some results.

[OlfCNC]

You can probe the tools to measure and align the tool lengths.

You asked about the UCCNC 4th axis capability and I just found this video for you:

[peter_tash]

This looks very nice. I like it! I was just thinking, is the rotation of the spindle "head" the "A" axis or am I making some mistake?

[ger21]

The spindle spins the cutting tool.

The rotary axis holding the part is either the A axis or B axis, depending on which way it's oriented on the machine relative to the X or Y axis.

[OlfCNC]

This looks very nice. I like it! I was just thinking, is the rotation of the spindle "head" the "A" axis or am I making some mistake?

The 4th axis is usually the A axis, because the first three are the XYZ and then ABC.