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Author Topic: Mach3 not for sale in a year or so ???  (Read 12406 times)

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Offline BR549

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Re: Mach3 not for sale in a year or so ???
« Reply #10 on: July 16, 2015, 07:19:18 PM »
I just pulled out the notes where I tested it in the past AND it is a VERY basic controller software  no where NEAR as functional as Mach3.  IF all you cut were very basic shapes with cam generated Gcode maybe.  Programs are very slow to load what loads in M3 in 2 secs takes 30 sec in UCcnc. The toolpath panning is terrible compared to mach3 etc,etc. NOT SAYING it cold not be fixed but WILL it get fixed ??

I would not be in too big of a hurry to jump from the frying pan into the fire. There would be needed a LOT of FUNCTIONAL testing needed to confirm the UCcnc.

(;-) TP

Offline beefy

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Re: Mach3 not for sale in a year or so ???
« Reply #11 on: July 16, 2015, 07:45:18 PM »
Quote
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.


Here's the wording on the website:

Mach4 Hobby – A full featured software version to be marketed toward those interested in using CNC machinery for their own personal /non-business use. End-user support is limited to e-mail and online forums. Add-ons, expandability, and updates will be available. This version is the direct replacement for Mach3. The price is $200.

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

Keith.
« Last Edit: July 16, 2015, 07:47:36 PM by beefy »

Offline derek

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Re: Mach3 not for sale in a year or so ???
« Reply #12 on: July 16, 2015, 08:57:40 PM »
I just pulled out the notes where I tested it in the past AND it is a VERY basic controller software  no where NEAR as functional as Mach3.  IF all you cut were very basic shapes with cam generated Gcode maybe.  Programs are very slow to load what loads in M3 in 2 secs takes 30 sec in UCcnc. The toolpath panning is terrible compared to mach3 etc,etc. NOT SAYING it cold not be fixed but WILL it get fixed ??

I would not be in too big of a hurry to jump from the frying pan into the fire. There would be needed a LOT of FUNCTIONAL testing needed to confirm the UCcnc.

(;-) TP

I loaded up one of my larger patterns. Right around 150,000 lines of code and didn't have any noticeable issues with it loading. This was the newest version though. I only do cam so the lack of wizards isn''t an issue for me. I did notice there is a cam tab plugin but I didn't even click on it. I never really use the tool path display because controlling it in mach was always a hassle for me.

I'm going to be carving a straight 6 valve cover pattern next week so that should be a decent test. Maybe you can come up when I get it loaded and you can see it running.

I agree that for some people mach3 still may be a better choice but for me I'm over it. I have to start going in a direction away from Mach and I may as well see if this will work for me considering I have 4 of his controllers:)

Offline derek

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Re: Mach3 not for sale in a year or so ???
« Reply #13 on: July 16, 2015, 09:08:01 PM »

[/quote]

Here's the wording on the website:

Mach4 Hobby – A full featured software version to be marketed toward those interested in using CNC machinery for their own personal /non-business use. End-user support is limited to e-mail and online forums. Add-ons, expandability, and updates will be available. This version is the direct replacement for Mach3. The price is $200.

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

Keith.
[/quote]

Probably that most people will look at that as a "suggested use" as opposed to a hard line in the sand. If they really think people are going to pay 10 times the cost for commercial use they are really delusional. I imagine most people will buy the 200.00 version and do what ever the hell they want to with it.

Offline BR549

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Re: Mach3 not for sale in a year or so ???
« Reply #14 on: July 16, 2015, 09:19:57 PM »
Hiya derek, I just did some more testing and there is a great deal of the Gocde side that does NOT work (;-)  #vars ,G41/42, G31 would not run in demo,there are many Gcode programs here that will not even LOAD but run fine in Mach3.

I agree there is a time when you have to move on or starve.

Let me know when it is a good time to drop by.  I would like to work with the UCcnc more to rattle the bones around.

I looked at the macro side and he made it MORE difficult than it really needs to be. Too much non human verbage in the script language BUT that is programmers for ya.

It is REALLY going to depend on IF Balaz is agreeable to changes for the better to make it MORE mainstream CNC compatible Gcode wise. It looks VERY EMCish in nature.
(;-) TP

(;-) TP
« Last Edit: July 16, 2015, 09:21:58 PM by BR549 »

Offline derek

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Re: Mach3 not for sale in a year or so ???
« Reply #15 on: July 16, 2015, 09:37:20 PM »
Hiya derek, I just did some more testing and there is a great deal of the Gocde side that does NOT work (;-)  #vars ,G41/42, G31 would not run in demo,there are many Gcode programs here that will not even LOAD but run fine in Mach3.

I agree there is a time when you have to move on or starve.

Let me know when it is a good time to drop by.  I would like to work with the UCcnc more to rattle the bones around.

I looked at the macro side and he made it MORE difficult than it really needs to be. Too much non human verbage in the script language BUT that is programmers for ya.

It is REALLY going to depend on IF Balaz is agreeable to changes for the better to make it MORE mainstream CNC compatible Gcode wise. It looks VERY EMCish in nature.
(;-) TP

(;-) TP

Well I didn't think that G41/42 worked very well in mach 3 anyway so I never used it. He has probing macros that call G31 so that must work.

I think Balazs main initial market is probably the hobby CNC crowd. But the fact that they implemented rigid tapping shows that they must have an eye towards power users like me who are running the UC-300.  I'm in the catbird seat because UCCNC will do everything I need on the 2 routers right now. If I can  get some probing macros, an expanded tool table and a new ATC macro  I can run it on my mills.

At least if 2 of my 4 machines are't driving me crazy I've reduced it by 50 percent:)

Offline ger21

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Re: Mach3 not for sale in a year or so ???
« Reply #16 on: July 16, 2015, 10:12:19 PM »
Quote from: beefy
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:

Quote
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:
Quote
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.
Gerry

2010 Screenset
http://www.thecncwoodworker.com/2010.html

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http://www.g-forcecnc.com/jointcam.html

Offline derek

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Re: Mach3 not for sale in a year or so ???
« Reply #17 on: July 19, 2015, 09:15:47 AM »
I started a post about migrating from mach to UCCNC at cnczone if anyone is interested.

http://www.cnczone.com/forums/uccnc-control-software/276670-software.html#post1733980

Derek

Offline bowber

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Re: Mach3 not for sale in a year or so ???
« Reply #18 on: August 05, 2015, 03:27:05 PM »
I've just changed to a UC100 and found the change over very easy and smooth apart from a little problem with the a axis not working at first.
I've also bought UCCNC to try but not had much chance yet and also most of my work involves using the wizards in Mach, stuff like thread milling and keyways is easy with the wizards. I guess I could write the same code by hand but I'm an occasional user so forget bits.
I'm not sure if I'd change to mach4 either, 3 seems to work for me at the moment and I'm not seeing any problems with CV on my mill.
However I'm thinking of changing over to UCCNC on my router as that is only used with CAM and goes much faster so I gess it'll take advantage of the better CV in UCCNC.

Is there any stand alone programs you can get that would replace the wizards in Mach?

Steve

Offline derek

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Re: Mach3 not for sale in a year or so ???
« Reply #19 on: August 05, 2015, 03:41:41 PM »
I've just changed to a UC100 and found the change over very easy and smooth apart from a little problem with the a axis not working at first.
I've also bought UCCNC to try but not had much chance yet and also most of my work involves using the wizards in Mach, stuff like thread milling and keyways is easy with the wizards. I guess I could write the same code by hand but I'm an occasional user so forget bits.
I'm not sure if I'd change to mach4 either, 3 seems to work for me at the moment and I'm not seeing any problems with CV on my mill.
However I'm thinking of changing over to UCCNC on my router as that is only used with CAM and goes much faster so I gess it'll take advantage of the better CV in UCCNC.

Is there any stand alone programs you can get that would replace the wizards in Mach?

Steve

Can't you run mach without a motion control selected and use the wizards in mach while UCCNC is open? Just do an edit save as from mach and save it to a directory where you can grab it from UCCNC.

I'm running UCCNC on 2 routers right now and I won't be switching back to mach at this point. The CV is just so much better.