Controls comparison?

I've been trying to understand the differences between the following:

• Centroid
• Millpwr2
• Mach3
• Mach4
• LinuxCNC
• Other?

Here are a few questions (not an exhaustive list):

• Which of these is more mature?
• Do all have conversational programming?
• When selling a machine, which of these is the most desirable?
• When selling a machine, which of these will create issues selling it?
• Is Mach4 ready for prime time?
• If so, how much better/different is it from Mach3
• Is LinuxCNC on equal footing to Mach3?
• Are there any good CNC machine controls that use a PC motherboard yet don't run on top of Windows/Linux?
• If your application is to upgrade an existing CNC mill, what would be your criteria for choosing from the above list (or any other package)?

I am using a centroid control at PT job. Love it! No experience with the other controls that I know of LoL. I think if you retrofit a machine the centroid is a pretty solid bet. Of course, if your buyer only knows the mach4, for example, obviously the centroid doesn't hold as much value to them.

Centroid is actually a really cool platform. We did a conversion on a Hitachi Seiki slant bed turret lathe in 2013 and it has been running essentially daily since then. It is a very easy to use and configure control. I would say that it is a mature product. It does have conversational programming.

I'd love to convert more machines to it and am open to the possibility of doing so. It can be an intense project and I would not do so without a Centroid specialist there to do at least the PLC and a few other details. The cost was well worth it.

We have played with Mach 3 and it's neat. But it's a little more DIY, which is fine but it may not be industrial grade ready for the big time. Mach 4 may be but I'm not sure. Maybe a future project will tell.

Stay away from Mach3 unless you are a hobby guy with cheap hardware, in which case the hobby forums have a lot of info. You get what you pay for and $75.00 won't get you anything reliable/repeatable.

You can get Siemens retrofit kits too. In a different league compared to mach and such but good conversational programming, and the prices are not bad (IMO).

martin_05 said:

I've been trying to understand the differences between the following:

• Centroid
• Millpwr2
• Mach3
• Mach4
• LinuxCNC
• Other?

Here are a few questions (not an exhaustive list):

• Which of these is more mature?
• Do all have conversational programming?
• When selling a machine, which of these is the most desirable?
• When selling a machine, which of these will create issues selling it?
• Is Mach4 ready for prime time?
• If so, how much better/different is it from Mach3
• Is LinuxCNC on equal footing to Mach3?
• Are there any good CNC machine controls that use a PC motherboard yet don't run on top of Windows/Linux?
• If your application is to upgrade an existing CNC mill, what would be your criteria for choosing from the above list (or any other package)?

Click to expand...

linuxcnc is machine control software. if you want to do conversational programming you need other software. there is some basic linux software for free that does basic cam stuff. i got linuxcnc to control toy sherline lathe and mill, it works open loop. that is if stepper motor encounter resistance and does not move a step the cnc has no data monitoring actual position is not where it is suppose to be. there is no dro or digital readout sending position data back to cnc control.
.
a protorak mill monitor position, if i set for position drill X0. Y0. and i force the X axis to move overcoming servo motor as soon as i let go it will return to position. thats a big step up as a simple stepper motor cnc control if you forced or moved out of position it would not return when you let go of the handle

martin_05 said:

I've been trying to understand the differences between the following:

• Centroid
• Millpwr2
• Mach3
• Mach4
• LinuxCNC
• Other?

Here are a few questions (not an exhaustive list):

• Which of these is more mature?- none of the above
• Do all have conversational programming?- some of the above
• When selling a machine, which of these is the most desirable? - none of the above
• When selling a machine, which of these will create issues selling it?- half of the above
• Is Mach4 ready for prime time?- depends on the time slot
• If so, how much better/different is it from Mach3- ask mach
• Is LinuxCNC on equal footing to Mach3?- linux works... if you have the time to implement it
• Are there any good CNC machine controls that use a PC motherboard yet don't run on top of Windows/Linux?- why would you want to use something with a 3 year life cycle on a machine tool?
• If your application is to upgrade an existing CNC mill, what would be your criteria for choosing from the above list (or any other package)?- whether the iron is worth upgrading

Click to expand...

People complain about fanuc- fanuc sells a lot of controls and more or less set the standards for many years. pc controls- I have several types- they all have their pains to keep running, more so than a plc based dedicated cnc controller

I looked hard at linux- was going to redo a medium sized vmc- but in the end by the time I got motors and drives I could buy a new machine with a warranty cheaper. If you have big iron- costly to replace, with good motors and drives- it can pay out. in smaller stuff you can buy a running machine for less than you can retro.