Hi,
I do think I am going to try out Mach4. It sounds like it has some benefits and should work with most of if not all of my hardware.
While Mach3 may not be broken there are many areas where Mach4 exceeds it. One particular example is the Modbus
plugin. I have used it in Mach3 but swore I would never use it again. The corresponding Mach4 Modbus plugin is a dream
to use by comparison. All the data ends up in non-volatile registers. That allows access by any means of programmatic technique,
be it a macro, a module, a PLC script or a PMC script. It's only when you use a feature and glimpse the power and flexibility
that Lua and the structure of Mach4 confer show how far advanced it is over Mach3.
I don't believe you will regret investing in Mach4. There is however an investment to be made. Firstly there is the purchase
of Mach4 itself, an ESS if you don't already have one, and a BoB or BoBs to suit if you don't already have them.
As I stated earlier I use a VistaCNC P1A pendant and have been very happy with it. I see the current price is still $160.00.
I think you could get your existing pendant to work but may involve some Lua coding on your part. Given that you are just
starting with Mach4 I suspect that adding that to the initial learning curve will hurt and possibly even sour your experience.
May I suggest it is wise to add the cost of a new Mach4 ready pendant as the 'potential bill' for making the change.
It may well be that later down the track once you have gained familiarity with Mach4 and Lua that getting your existing
Machmotion pendant working would be an interesting, learning and even fun or 'character building' experience. I know 'I've
got no character now.....and its too late to start now!'
So the investment required is the price of the software and I would recommend that you add the cost of a pendant, just as a
worst case scenario. You should also consider the 'learning curve', because there certainly is a learning curve associated with Mach4.
The forum is a great resource, but as is the human condition, we tend to learn by our mistakes. Mistakes with Mach4 are
time consuming and frustrating......and depending on how you value such things could be considered expensive.
Craig