Recent Posts

71

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Mach 4 Hobby Non-Business Use

« Last post by joeaverage on June 11, 2026, 10:29:01 PM »

Hi,
the thing is I seldom require support, and that I need has come from the forum. That is adequate......its not support I need, but capability, RTCP in particular.

This is largely a one-time investment. That is to say Mah4 owners, whomever they are, would engage three, four or five of their best developers, go hard at it for a month
or two, and sell the results. Aside from potential bug-fixes there should be no on-going development demand.

Lets say that the effort to code RTCP cost $50,000USD. Then MachMotion needs to recoup that at least and some more than that hopefully. Selling to hobbyists is unlikely to
generate that level of sales, and then as you so rightly point out then have to baby-step them through every step, a sure-fire money loser. Someone like me however will pay for the investment, be it
as a perpetual license one-time purchase or as a subscription, and beyond the initial set-up and learning curve not need any support. Naturally like everyone I want good value from any purchase,
but I'm not suggesting that MachMotion sell that capability cheap. That will pretty much preclude hobbyists but be an open invitation to serious CNCers. Pricing alone would suggest that only
serious CNCers would apply anyway.

My understanding was that Mach4 was to appeal to OEM manufacturers, and that New Fangled Solutions revenue stream would be dominated by that demand. How that panned out I don't know.
I do believe however that without RTCP then Mach4 will always lag other solutions.

Craig

72

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Mach 4 Hobby Non-Business Use

« Last post by cncmagic on June 11, 2026, 09:46:46 PM »

that would be true... but i think from what i see in the forums that there are more 'hobbyists' and simply people of all sorts simply playing around... time invested seems not to matter much.. most can't program and many don't seem familiar with G-Codes... many don't know anything about electrical... or steppers... or servos either... how in any remote fantasy world can anyone support them without a $10k invoice? There will be some that will benefit... but I'd guess a small percentage... once you start paying maybe $300-$500 for a subscription, that still really won't cover a lot of support. So then you need to charge for support also... at that point, and with all the time savings, you probably better off letting MachMotion do it as a turnkey, or purchase a CNC controller such as FANUC or SIEMENS. 

73

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Mach 4 Hobby Non-Business Use

« Last post by joeaverage on June 11, 2026, 08:30:16 PM »

Hi,

first, RTCP is nearly impossible under standard Windows

I am intrigued, as I believe that RTCP is rather like a post processor that 'processes Gcode' to accommodate the actual machine center being at some offset to the
nominal machine center about which the original (unprocessed) Gcode was composed by CAM. This does not require any realtime support, and therefore Windows would be highly suitable.

What is it that makes you contend that makes Windows unsuitable?

I don't believe MachMotion can generate sufficient capital selling Mach4.

I have long been of that opinion too, and that extends to the previous owners as well. That is why I suggest a subscription model as it provides a steady income stream which makes it worth while to continue
investment in Mach4. Unless there is a business case for investing in or growing Mach4 then Mach4 will not.

I recognise that most hobbyists will not engage in a subscription model, but full time users such as my self will.  Thereby MachPro (or any other suitable moniker) would become exactly as the name suggests.

Craig

74

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Mach 4 Hobby Non-Business Use

« Last post by cncmagic on June 11, 2026, 08:06:42 PM »

first, RTCP is nearly impossible under standard Windows... next.. I don't believe MachMotion can generate sufficient capital selling Mach4.. they are in the business of selling and installing entire CNC packages... so generating funds by selling s/w, and then trying to support this when the majority of users have only light knowledge of what is involved. If you charge for support, most users won't pay.. some will but at $150~$200/hr they will only get annoyed when their problem isn't resolved and their CC has a $850 charge on it... if you don't charge its a real losing battle... you can't sustain that for very long.
I emailed them with a problem I had with Mach4... I would pay for support but never received any response... I tried twice... support ain't coming at least for now.. so I told my client to find a different solution for 5~6 machines... something that is supportable. And we did.. and it didn't involve Mach4. 

75

General Announcements / Re: 2026 Developer roadmap

« Last post by joeaverage on June 11, 2026, 07:59:18 PM »

Hi,
to developers/owners of Mach,
I would dearly love, and pay for genuine RTCP. I have posted elsewhere, but despite my general aversion to subscription software were RTCP offered, I would pay $500USD/year to get in on it.
I'm serious about wanting RTCP, and would guess I'm not alone. I suspect hobbyists would baulk at paying for the investment that RTCP requires, hobbyists want everything for fee,
or near free as they can, and I used to be like that too, but these days I want RTCP and will pay to get it.

Craig

76

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Mach 4 Hobby Non-Business Use

« Last post by joeaverage on June 11, 2026, 07:44:29 PM »

Hi,
very concise reply, thanks Steve.

I must say I feel somewhat guilty in that I have a Mach4Hobby license I bought ten years ago, and I use that in just one machine, but for commercial purposes.
By comparison to the cost of the machine, north of 30k  USD by now, or even my yearly expense of carbide tools, about $750 USD/year, then Mach4Hobby is virtually nothing.
Its not that I'm doing anything wrong exactly, but the developers/owners of Mach4, whomever it is deserves credit for the excellence of their product.

I was very much opposed to subscription software until I subscribed to Fusion. I have, albeit reluctantly, come to consider the subscription model a very fair idea. I get, for my subscription,
a Pro level software that I could not afford to buy outright in a single purchase.

If any of the Mach4 developers/owners are reading this I would ask that they consider selling their 'best ever Mach4 variant' as a subscription. I would pay. Simply Mach4 gives me good value, and
it is MY BEST INTERESTS that the developers/owners of Mach4 get financial benefit of that. This would inspire further investment in the product. I note that MachMotion are making improvements to Mach4,
but excuse me for saying that the improvements are cosmetic, at least they seem so to me. I apologise if my ignorance has belittled others work, but it is my opinion at the current time. For this reason I have
not upgraded to MachPro.

I would pay, and pay well if Mach4 were to gain genuine RTCP. If Mach4, maybe as MachPro(industrial users), were to offer genuine RTCP, I would pay $500 USD/year as a subscription to be in on it.

I realise that Mach's roots are firmly in the hobby market, and most, if not all hobbyists would be appalled at my suggestion. Indeed ten years ago I probably would too, but now using Mach4
commercially inclines me to want Mach4 to grow and expand, and for that to happen there needs to be considerable investment in the product, and that in turn inspires my inclination to pay.....
as I've already said, it is in my best interests that I do.

Craig

77

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: RTCP for a XYZCA (five axes) CNC

« Last post by joeaverage on June 09, 2026, 11:57:08 PM »

Hi,

Mach4 Industrial supports 5-axis kinematics and RTCP, but much depends on the motion controller and its plugin

According to the published feature chart Mach4 Industrial does nor support RTCP or kinematics.....yet you claim otherwise. Please post your evidence for that contention.

This is the latest feature list from MachLabs........and no mention of RTCP.

https://www.mach-labs.com/software/mach-feature-comparison/

Craig

78

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: RTCP for a XYZCA (five axes) CNC

« Last post by ithingex on June 09, 2026, 11:42:39 PM »

Hi

Does Mach4 industry do the kinematics for 5 axes (RTCP)?

someone posted this very useful video of the explanation.

granny 1

Any tips are welcomed for programming and setting up the machine as I could not find too much posts about the topic or manuals.

Yes, Mach4 Industrial supports 5-axis kinematics and RTCP, but much depends on the motion controller and its plugin. My advice is to verify that your controller supports RTCP, carefully set the rotary pivot points, and start with simple 3+2 tests before attempting full 5-axis simultaneous machining. If you share your controller and machine type, you'll likely get more specific guidance.

79

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: RTCP for a XYZCA (five axes) CNC

« Last post by joeaverage on June 07, 2026, 07:33:30 PM »

Hi,

Yes, Mach4 is capable of 5-axis kinematics, including RTCP, but it's important to note that it usually requires the Industrial version

I don't believe that is correct. Neither Mah4Hobby nor Mach4Industrial have RTCP natively..........at least that is my understanding.

Were it otherwise then Artsoft/MachLabs would be trumpeting that capability for sure.......and yet they do not.

I have a five axis (trunnion/ rotary platter) device I can add to my machine. Mach4Hobby runs five axis no trouble at all, but it does not do RTCP.

Thus the CAM program (Fusion Basic + Fusion Machining Extensions) must generate the five axis Gcode, and the machine center point of the CAD/CAM model
MUST be coincident with the actual machine center. Thereafter the code runs fine.

What RTCP allows is for you to place material in the vice and touch off at some convenient location on the part, and RTCP will 'translate' the Gcode to reflect that the material
is at some offset from the CAD/CAM model zero center. RTCP is very nice to have and most, if not all industrial grade five axis motion controllers support RTCP.....at a cost!
It is a shame that Mach4 does not, and it is that one shortcoming that precludes it from competing with other industrial controls.

The truth is I use four and five axis so little that the extra cost of Fusion Machining extensions is not justified, and I've let the Machining Extensions subscription lapse, although
I use Fusion Basic daily, and could not run my business without it.

I've been using Mach4Hobby for ten years. At this time there is no inclination for me to upgrade to either Industrial nor MachPro. Were Mach4, of any version
to support RTCP natively I would upgrade in a heartbeat........at whatever cost that was demanded. Were however Mach4, be it MachPro or Industrial offer RTCP, even for
$2000USD I would take it up. I would encourage Mach4 developers and/or Mach Labs developers reading this to consider making the investment in RTCP.
I don't think that RTCP can realistically be priced to meet Hobby demand, but for those users whom value genuine industrial grade RTCP, such as me, will pay.

Craig

80

Finished Screens / Simple Mach3mill screen 1920x1080 ??

« Last post by Trebleplink on June 07, 2026, 08:43:56 AM »

I'm still using Mach3mill and it works fine.  The only thing I would wish for is the same stock screen but at 1920 x 1080 resolution.  Does it exist?