Machsupport Forum
Mach Discussion => Mach4 General Discussion => Topic started by: Larsaf on December 29, 2016, 04:01:24 AM
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Hello,
I'm from Germany and english is not my native language. When I looked at the different screen set I noticed that there is a screen for "routers" and a screen for "mills". Can anyone explain in a few words the difference between routers and mills.
best regards from Germany
Klaus
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In the USA the name "mill" usually refers to machines which have a stationary
spindle and are capable of cutting metal.
The name "router" is used for machines in which the spindle moves over a
larger table and are typically used for cutting wood and plastic.
The difference in the screen sets is minor and concerns only support for some
customary setup practices such as location of the work piece. In reality
either screen set can be used to run either type of machine.
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Hello Steve,
and thank you for you answer :)
best regards
Klaus
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Another thing to note about the router screen Vs. mill screen.
Some of the supporting macros and output descriptions are only in the default router profile.
For example: one of the buttons on the router screen is for Dust Hood Up/Down (M114/M115). In the outputs list of the router profile you will find an output named M114/M115. In a mill profile that output is named Output #52. Also, the router profile has the m114 and m115 macros already so the output for the dust hood can be turned on and off from Gcode.
Not that any of this can't be done in a Mill profile, all of it certainly could be. But none of it will be in the default Mill profiles. To use them in a mill profile (or any profile for that matter) you would need to do some customizing. The default router profile (which uses the default router screen) includes tested and working examples.