Hi,
in Mach the Gcode describes the position and movement of the controlled point. Thus a move like:
g0 x100 y100 z100
will cause the machine to move in a linearly interpolated fashion to 100,100,100. Mach will produce numeric data to the motion controller in millisecond time
slices, and the motion controller will generate three pulse streams, one to each of the X, Y and Z motors.
But what happens if you don't have separate X,Y and Z motors? Say a robot arm will usually have a rotating joint at the bottom followed by two 'elbow' joints,
followed by another rotating joint. So how would Mach deal with that?. It just produces numeric data describing where the controlled point should be, it does not
know how to calculate how to get there with so many complex joints and the ranges of movement. That's where you need a motion control that can calculate on the fly
how to move the individual joints but in coordinated fashion that the controlled point moves the required path, that's called kinematics.
In Machs case you might say that it has kinematics of a particular type, 'Cartesian Kinematics', but it does not have kinematics to do robot arms.
Mach3 will never do that, all development ceased seven years ago, it is what it is now forever. Could Mach4 end up with kinematics (other than Cartesian)?
I suppose its possible but I rather doubt it.
Craig