Hi,

Now this one is tricky.

I bought a 4 axis CNC machine from a Chinese vendor, and it came with Mach 3 installation files. At a guess it may well be a pirated copy. How would I know if it is or isnt?

Hi Alayax,

Welcome.

Install everything as per the vendor's instructions.

When you open Mach3 go into Help / About Mach3... if it says Licensed to: Demo Version then everything is OK. If it has a name and that name is not your name then you have installed a Pirate license.

If you have installed a Pirate license then the file   Mach1Lic.dat   must then be deleted from you Mach3 folder before you continue to use the Mach3 software.

Tweakie.

Thanks for that, I will take a look, and if need be, buy either Mach 3,  or Mach 4 if my hardware is up for it.

Leon.

I just bought a Chinese made 6040 (Ebay) It came with a software disk that purported to have the demo Mach 3 as well as other software as well as instructions on how to avoid having to purchase the license. The disk would only show Chinese characters so I opted to go to Artsoft and download the real Mach 3 to be sure.
At least the machine appears to be well built and solid.
Fred                                                                             

I purchased my table from Wright CNC about a month ago.
My table was received last week.
Shipping was a little slow, but the table looks nice.
Anyway, I realized that my mach 3 license reads " MaoA Dtonar"
I researched it and found that the license with that name is used pretty heavily.

I was told that the table included a license, but I assumed it would be a legal
one, coming from what seems to be a legit company.

See for yourself on a new video they have posted on their facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/WrightMetalWorks/

I also looked at the Sheetcam licenses and it does not have our name their either.
Checked with Sheetcam and they said that it is not a legit copy.

We paid for both licenses after we discovered the rip off.

Just wanted to let others know BEWARE.  Make sure they give you a legit license.

The table itself could use some adjustments and enhancements to make it into a
better running CNC, but nothing my guys couldn't handle with a little thinking,
welding and rewiring.  

Was it worth $6500.  Nope, but its already a done deal.

Hi CNCFlavor,

Thanks for posting the information on this shameless CNC manufacturer / dealer.

Tweakie.

Something I should perhaps mention here but I will not disclose full details...

If anyone is using an invalid, cracked, hacked or known Pirate License, Mach3 may intentionally corrupt your data so as to not perform as expected. Beware !.

Tweakie.

Good to know, although after a glance, it is obvious that the more economical route is to pay the very reasonable license fee and get the real deal.  i just need to scrub my drive and make sure as I can that there are no remnants of the corrupt program.
As a 9 year user of PlasmaCam, I am accustomed to hearing users fork out $998 for each upgrade, so $175 is a true bargain.
Still just getting started.
Fred

When you open Mach3 go into Help / About Mach3... if it says Licensed to: Demo Version then everything is OK. If it has a name and that name is not your name then you have installed a Pirate license.

If you have installed a Pirate license then the file   Mach1Lic.dat   must then be deleted from you Mach3 folder before you continue to use the Mach3 software.

Tweakie.

Hi Tweakie,

I bought my mach3 from Rockcliff Machines several years ago.  Saw this thread when I was searching for info on setting up my rotary table.

I went to about and saw that the license is registered "Rockcliff Machine Inc. Serial:8121000".  I believe Rockcliff Machine is a authorized dealer of sort.  But how do I change the license to have my name showing instead?

Wong

Hi Wong,

Many Mach3 licenses were sold by authorized dealers under a Serial number system rather than the Name system that Artsoft used when selling directly to their customers.
I don’t believe there is currently any system in place for changing a license, however, your serial number license will work perfectly as it is and you have no need to be concerned.

Tweakie.