Messages

1841

General Mach Discussion / Re: windows 7 confusion clarification please

« on: July 18, 2015, 10:41:22 PM »

You need to use old fashioned workgroups, and not the new Homegroups.

Also, I've found that I can't map the XP drive with 8.1, because it wants to constantly look for it, and it really slows down the PC when the XP machine is not on, which is most of the time.

I'm not a networking expert, but this is what works for me.

1842

General Mach Discussion / Re: windows 7 confusion clarification please

« on: July 18, 2015, 10:32:18 PM »

The OS needs to be 32 bit.

I have my XP machine control on my network, and copy files to it from my Windows 8.1 machine.

1843

General Mach Discussion / Re: IF you had a NEW controller whta would it do/not do ?

« on: July 18, 2015, 03:59:01 PM »

You're equating hobbyist with beginner or basic user. Unless that's exactly who you're targeting??
I would think that many hobbyists tend do be very serious or hardcore users.
Pick any hobby, and you can find multi million dollar industries that cater to the whims of these "hobbyists".

They don't want the basic entry level setup. Because they chose it as their hobby, they really like doing it, and will want the latest and greatest, with as many features as possible.

1844

General Mach Discussion / Re: IF you had a NEW controller whta would it do/not do ?

« on: July 18, 2015, 11:35:35 AM »

The simple answer? A bug free Mach3 with the Tempest planner.

Seriously. What features are lacking from Mach3? (If everything worked correctly)

The vast majority of users that are moving on from Mach3 are doing so because of bugs that they can't workaround.

OK, let's see.

I think the ability to customize screens is very important. Unfortunately, the people writing control software have show that they are not very good at GUI design.
And no matter how well thought out the GUI is, there;s a good chance that someone else can improve on it.

G41/G42 -  To me, this is mandatory. Anyone that's ever run a "big iron" router knows that using G41/G42 is very common. In our shop, I have at least $500-$1000 in 1/2" router bits. After sharpening, none of them are 1/2" anymore. We often run hundreds of unique programs every day, and being able to program for a 1/2" bit for all of them saves an incredible amount of time.
What if I program for a .489" bit one day, and it get's dull before I can run my part? The new bit is .474". without G41/G42, I have to go back and redo all my programs. With G41/G42, just change the diameter in the tool table and start cutting.

Having worked this way fro 20 years, why would I want to go backwards

G43 - Imo, not needed unless you have an ATC, and even then you can work around it. Thousands of people are letting Mach3 automatically zero tools during toolchanges with my screenset and other macros with similar functionality. G43 might be a little faster with a lot of tool changes, but requires a method to have fixed length tooling, which most routers do not have.

Macro or scripting support - I could live without this if the features I'd use scripting for were native functions.
What I need is support for two independent Z axis, via a SwapAxis() type function
Auto Zero during tool changes.
Customizable homing.
User definable park positions.

If all these were native functions, then I wouldn't need scripting.

I don't use offsets very often but they are needed in some situations.

Actually, a bug free Mach3 with Tempest would be all that I'd really need.

1845

General Mach Discussion / Re: IF you had a NEW controller whta would it do/not do ?

« on: July 18, 2015, 11:02:48 AM »

The main reason that a lot of hobbyists don't use a lot of features is because nobody has ever taught them how to use them.
No offense to hobbyists, but a great number of them are doing things very inefficiently, and would be utterly amazed if they spent some time learning from someone that really knows what they're doing.

5 or 6 years ago, if you asked a question on a CNC forum, chances were very good that's you'd get a good, informative answer, and you'd learn something.
Today, the chances are very good that you'll get a lot of answers from fellow hobbyists that are either flat out wrong, or not the best way or most efficient method.
There's a lot of the "blind leading the blind" going on in hobby cnc today.

A group of some very skilled and well known users are getting together to try to rectify this situation, by possibly offering training and a new forum where questions will be answered by knowledgeable people.

What Art is describing is a control targeted strictly at hobbyists. There's probably a lot of money to be made in that market right now. Look at the success of small turnkey machines like the Nomad from Carbide3D. And the ShapeOko and X Carve.

But what happens when these people start learning and want to do more? You're catering exclusively to entry level users.
To some extent, Vectric does the same thing. While they are constantly adding new features, plenty of really good features have not been added, strictly because they don't want to add too much complexity for their hobby users. Ease of use has often trumped more power with them.

Sorry for the rant. Next post will be about the control.

1846

General Mach Discussion / Re: missing gcode

« on: July 17, 2015, 02:48:47 PM »

Do you have licensed copy of Mach3?

1847

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach 3 Profile selection on Windows startup?

« on: July 17, 2015, 02:11:44 PM »

try:

 /p Profile1

not -p

1848

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach3 not for sale in a year or so ???

« on: July 16, 2015, 10:12:19 PM »

Hmmm, that seems to very clearly state non-business use. What am I missing.

Keith.

Here's Brian's reply to me on the Yahoo Group:

Anyone that would like to use Mach4 Hobby for money is welcome to do so. But they need to get a license for each machine. Now if you would like to have an industrial version you can get one! I have two new support guys starting this week and the 1000 version is to get them to support you. We are trying to make a version that is made to support business when time is critical.. Hobby is supported as they have time, Like a hobby should be . So it is not that we have changed anything, we have added a new level!

And here's his reply when I mentioned clarifying the website:

I think it is more a misunderstanding of what a business is and what we think it's needs are. Mom and pop shops are welcome to use the software per normal Mach3 licensing  in Mach4 Hobby. I can tell you that there have been many people upset that we put Hobby on the screen. We feel this was needed to keep the software to the users it was intended for. We are simply trying to get people to buy what fits there needs. Simply telling them to go cheap is not the best for everyone.

I will talk to the web guys but I think you will see a change to the FAQ's more then a webpage change.

1849

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach3 not for sale in a year or so ???

« on: July 16, 2015, 04:33:45 PM »

A friend of mine already converted the macros from the 2010 Screenset to work in UCCNC. He posted them on CNC Zone. his username is Banduramaker.

1850

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach3 not for sale in a year or so ???

« on: July 16, 2015, 12:01:10 PM »

The $200 version is for hobby use only, no profit making.

That's not true. I brought this up to Brian a few weeks back, asking for clarification on the wording on the website.
He said the license for Mach4Hobby is basically the same as the Mach3 license, and you can do anything with Mach4Hobby that you can do with Mach3.

He also felt that the website was clear enough???

You can find the posts on the Yahoo group, but I think I re-posted it here somewhere as well.

You only need to buy Mach4 Industrial if you need the extended support that will come with it.