Man, I'm telling ya!

As you all know by now, I have a Mach4 Industrial license and a Mach4 Hobby license. I have both installed, both working with the same screen and same profile, copied to the proper place in each, of course.

In Industrial the Touch button did NOTHING, much like MDIing T1M6 from my previous post today. I quit, start Hobby, it works. Hmmm..... Much sleuthing, screen editor, check button script, same. I see it's calling mcTouchOff.lua. File exists in both Modules folders, but the size in industrial is like 7k, the one in hobby is 292k!! I open them both in NP++, they're VASTLY different belying the 285k file size difference ! Hmmmmm.....again. Rename file in Industrial, copy in Hobby version, run Industrial, Touch button opens the interface.

So now, of course, I'm wondering, will it work or does it require other stuff that isn't there? And isn't the ONLY place to set the probe tip diameter in the Touch interface, it can't even be set in the Probing tab, right?? So I NEED the Touch module?

And I'm wondering why use Industrial at all, thanking my lucky stars I own Industrial thanks to Brian's early offer to us Mach3 users. If I'd paid $1400 I'd be more than simply perplexed.

If my Industrial license entitles me to support, I'd sure like to know why it's so different from Hobby, other than the places it's SUPPOSED to be different, like MACRO B and a fancier screen editor. And what do people who actually paid $1400 think? Or don't any users use Industrial other than a purchased OEM machine that's all configured for them? If I hadn't had Hobby to fall back on/compare, I'd have never figured out this Touch button thing.

Tom
0 days since last modification!

If you paid $1400 for industrial, you will get support.  The kind of support that almost anything in the industrial world gets.  Because time is money in that world.  Now, this doesn't mean Artsoft is going to wire the machine up for you.  Or help you make a VFD from vendor x work.  Or retrofit the control at all.  We expect that has already been done by some OEM.  What it means is if a working machine suddenly has a problem, Artsoft will help diagnose the problem so that a resolution can be affected as quickly as possible.  That is where the majority of cost is born.  Otherwise, you just get the industrial features.  

Industrial also has the "capability" of running multiple planners to run things such as screw machines and mill/turn machines.  The GUI for these machines will be different and will most likely be developed by the OEM.  

Industrial, being for the industrial market, will not have the hobby touch modules installed by default.  The industrial world uses Macro B routines for probing which are supplied by the industrial probe manufacturer (Renishaw, Blum, etc...).  So to "hobby-ize" industrial, one would have to copy the hobby screen sets AND modules to the industrial installation.  

Most machines running industrial are definitely from an OEM.  The OEM would then be the first line of support to the customer.  And Artsoft would support the OEM.

For the hobbyist, Mach Industrial doesn't have any advantages over Hobby unless your hobby machine is a screw machine or you want to play with Macro B or make a prettier screen set.  I have Industrial on my machine because I have Renishaw probes (that cost MORE than Mach Industrial!!!) and want to use them with the Renishaw Macro B routines.  

Steve

Thanks, that solves it for me. Hobby it is.