Hello Guest it is March 28, 2024, 05:52:14 AM

Author Topic: ESS and Mach4 current status  (Read 2718 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline SSPW

*
  •  26 26
    • View Profile
ESS and Mach4 current status
« on: August 19, 2016, 12:29:09 PM »
I look here and Warp9 and other forums for the state of ESS plugin with Mach4.
There are bits all other, but am i missing a master list or thread or webpage
 the shows whats bullet proof, whats kinda working, whats not implemented yet, relative to what we currently have with ESS and Mach3?
Re: ESS and Mach4 current status
« Reply #1 on: August 19, 2016, 02:12:27 PM »
I second this proposal.
Re: ESS and Mach4 current status
« Reply #2 on: August 21, 2016, 07:47:51 AM »
No, there is no list, you'll need to trawl through posts and complaints.

Most manufacturers won't provide such a list as it denotes deficiencies unfortunately that competitors can comment against.

A suggestion is to list all the Mach 3 and mack 4 g and m codes, and against such a list, ask for the manufacturer to confirm if their motion controller has been tested with and  can perform all of the nessesary functions to enable the g or m code to work (please note that the torch height control macros are custom in m3 and won't appear on the STD list of m codes in mach3 or mach4)

Some of the ones that I'm fairly sure are not yet implemented are:
- Spindle synchronisation
- Torch height control
- laser control (m62/m63 + blended tradjectory pwm output)
- There may be some issues still with probing and multiple probe inputs that mach4 supports.

- G04 may not work in both seconds or microseconds (but it only ever worked in one unit in m3, I forget which (recently moved on, memory fails me)

One can unfortunately only wait so long for m4 plus as motion controller development before moving on.  It's a fry up breakfast bacon and egg thing I suspect... the pig is committed and the chicken is involved in the breakfast.

Newfangled solutions/ Artsoft appear to be committed, only sell 2 ish products, without sales, company will flounder.

Warp9 appear to be involved.  Warp9 only produce 2 motion controller variants, each of which is provided with free software updates, hence they must be selling some serious volume to support a business on one product (usb / eth), hence I suspect that they do other things to pay the bills and warp9 is a sideline or subsidiary business.

I have supported warp9 for a long time, just become tired of the passing of commitments and deadlines and have looked at other cnc software and hardware solutions offered as a package from committed companies who run a tight ship and software is regularly updated along with comprehensive manuals which reflect the current software release, tested before release with hardware and software on multiple motion controllers (the days of the parallel port are dead!  Much better solutions are available that improve the final product cut which is what it's all about... speed and finish).

I think of mach4 as very fast and clean finished, a premium product at a medium to high cost (remember you need to allow for the motion controller too to get the best performance).  If they get their (artsoft + warp9) act together, I'll be back.

Note there are some motion controller manufacturers who do seem to work well with m4 such as pdmx (but don't think torch height control has been implemented yet), vital systems (thc does work I believe but it's a premium price product... not in the came cost league as the ess or uss), and cismo (although I think their plugin development has halted a few m4 updates back... until m4 is bedded in and out of development phase I read somewhere), and Pokeys I think is the new plugin (very low cost, but not sure how much is implemented yet of my above list, but they are always proactive at development (I have a Pokeys too + uss + ess + uc400eth)

Kmotion, and cnc drive (uc motion controllers) as well as the Chinese boards don't seem to be offering an m4 plugin.

There you have it... hopefully it's useful to consider, and I've not been too critical, but as m3 development halted what near 6 years ago, and m4 has been in development ever since, and there does not appear to be a motion controller on the market (except vital and possibly cismo) that can offer 100% of all the same functions as people have been running in m3, there is some frustration I'm sure about because we can see m4, we just cant get at it!!!

I truly wish it wasn't this way but it is at present.

(Yup, I did consider the vital before replacing my uss with an ess, then buying a Pokeys and then a uc400eth)
Rob

Albert Einstein ― “If you can't explain it to a six year old, you don't understand it yourself.”
Re: ESS and Mach4 current status
« Reply #3 on: July 26, 2018, 01:47:29 AM »
do you guys know if or when warp9 wil upgrade their ess smotth stepper in order to use a torch height control system like the proma with mach 4 software?......i build this bad ass plasma table but im missing the most important part, the thc........and i cant since i i use mach 4 and have an ess smoth stepper. fml

Offline Tweakie.CNC

*
  • *
  •  9,196 9,196
  • Super Kitty
    • View Profile
Re: ESS and Mach4 current status
« Reply #4 on: July 26, 2018, 02:09:55 AM »
do you guys know if or when warp9 wil upgrade their ess smotth stepper in order to use a torch height control system like the proma with mach 4 software?......i build this bad ass plasma table but im missing the most important part, the thc........and i cant since i i use mach 4 and have an ess smoth stepper. fml

It is my understanding that Warp9 are currently working on the ESS and Mach4 THC but it is not top of their priorities list so it may be a while before it is ready.

Tweakie.
PEACE
Re: ESS and Mach4 current status
« Reply #5 on: July 26, 2018, 03:02:09 AM »
Hi,
this is a thread from a month or two back......note in particular a potential programmatic means of implementing THC with much
reduced hardware support required....Steve Stallings contributed that gem.

http://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php/topic,37405.0.html

Craig
'I enjoy sex at 73.....I live at 71 so its not too far to walk.'