WinCNC, UCCNC or Centroid Acorn

[ger21]

Right now, having started looking into this, I would lean towards the UC100 and their software at this time.

I would recommend the UC400ETH. Ethernet has far better noise immunity than USB, and there ethernet controllers are more powerful. The UC100 has been around close to 10 years, while the UC400ETH is fairly new. The price difference is only about $25 or so I think.

[cnckeith]

Ah yes, "familiarity". AKA "resistant to change". That describes me when it comes to this sort of thing.

Let me tell ya, the folks who provide this stuff do not help to overcome that resistance.

Here is a for instance: I use a Gecko G540 and a smooth stepper (usb). <the G540 works great with Acorn,, we even have G540 auto config button in the setup wizard>>>

From reading through the techo babble I have no idea if any of their controllers are compatible or not, right down to plug level. Software I have no issue with until I read about one of them saying that their "free software" will only run programs up to 50Kb. These days that is a joke for anyone running anything except mechanical parts in the most rudimentary manner possible. One of them, for a mere $140 more will allow unlimited program size. < the Free version of Acorn CNC12 software is mostly for anyone can use it to see if it works for them, (think try before you buy) and the Pro version gets you a lot more than Unlimited file size, the list is very long of the Pro cnc features you get for $140.. check out the Acorn page for the highlights...most vectric users will benefit greatly just from the G code smoothing Pre processing feature that lofts arcs thru short vector gcode..>>> In addition to that one of them requires a touch screen monitor to run. The costs keep adding up. < Acorn does not require a touch screen, mouse and keyboard work just fine.. Acorn is touch screen compatible..>>

There are some drive controls that are pretty ubiquitous, Gecko drives being one of them. It would be handy if in addition to writing techno babble for the techies they wrote something like:

"If you are using a "________" drive control then you will need to purchase A,B and C. << this is exactly what we have done..see below>>

The idea is to make this easy for people just like me. I am not stupid, but I have better things to do than reading up on the latest chip developments, scouring long lists of specs that mean nothing to the average user. Sure, those things are important, but some of these folks need to provide the "Here is how you do it for Dummies." << that is exactly what we are doing with Acorn.. check out these resources. links below..step by step videos and easy wiring schematics..>>

https://www.centroidcnc.com/centroid_di ... guide.html


check out all the drives that we have created easy to follow hook up schematics for! all these schematics correspond to a radio button in the Acorn setup Wizard, simple wire drive to Acorn according to the schematic and press the Corresponding radio button and you are turning motors in minutes.

https://www.centroidcnc.com/centroid_di ... matics.zip


http://centroidcncforum.com/viewforum.php?f=61


http://centroidcncforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=61&t=1449

[TReischl]

Right now, having started looking into this, I would lean towards the UC100 and their software at this time.

I would recommend the UC400ETH. Ethernet has far better noise immunity than USB, and there ethernet controllers are more powerful. The UC100 has been around close to 10 years, while the UC400ETH is fairly new. The price difference is only about $25 or so I think.

Thanks Gerry for that info.

Let's see if we can get back to the original discussion.

How do you rate the motion of the UC400eth? I think earlier you wrote that it was decreasing run time significantly, like 20% or so. I noticed that the CNCDrive folks are not particular about computer horsepower which is a good thing in my book.

BTW, have you been reading my mind? One of things I wish I had in my current setup is multiple park positions available from on screen. When I am working with the vise I generally like to have the machine move a bit behind the vise for parking, but at the end of the day I like to park the machine with the head way back. That was a good call on your Screenset for the UCCNC.

This whole thing may tie in with the computer replacement.

I am thinking that all I will need to do is connect the cable from the UC400eth to the back of the G540 and plug the UC400eth into the ethernet connection and be good to go. Sure hope so, because if there is one thing I do not like doing is wiring.

[ger21]

How do you rate the motion of the UC400eth? I think earlier you wrote that it was decreasing run time significantly, like 20% or so. I noticed that the CNCDrive folks are not particular about computer horsepower which is a good thing in my book.

As I mentioned before, there is one minor issue, but if your machine has decent accel rates, you should find it to be much better than Mach3. While it may not be faster running identical code, it will generally allow you to run at faster speeds. The vast majority of people that go from Mach3 to UCCNC find it to be much better. And with all CNC Drive controllers, you can still run Mach3 if you wanted to , as they support UCCNC, Mach3, and Mach4. (Mach4 support may be limited).
Here's a comparison between UCCNC and Mach3 doing 3D carving.

Again, the main thing you need regarding PC support is OpenGL. The onboard graphics of most modern Intel processors should be fine, though.

I am thinking that all I will need to do is connect the cable from the UC400eth to the back of the G540 and plug the UC400eth into the ethernet connection and be good to go. Sure hope so, because if there is one thing I do not like doing is wiring.

I think you'll need a small 12V or 24V power supply for the UC400ETH, but yes, just plug the G540 into it. And you have the option of adding a second breakout board if you want/need more I/O.

[WNC_Ed]

Spectacular information guys!
I can't wait to get mine fired up.

[Sawman101]

isla, i am less than a year new to this cnc router world but rely on my machines for my income. we create custom wood signage. after many many random issues resulting in scrap ,with mach 3 on both machines, i have decided to try a new approach hoping to reach a higher level of reliability, repeat ability and just plain quality. a local here in tampa bay gave me the sales pitch for centroid and i did much research on my own afterwards. i am thinking that i will upgrade one machine first to the centroid acorn system and see how it works out before adding to the other machine. both are diy currently using mach 3 with smooth stepper. is there support online that would assist in the change over? thanks,db

[IslaWW]

Yes there is. The Centroid Acorn Forum: http://centroidcncforum.com/viewforum.p ... 1270f1249a
There have been over 2000 guys that are using the Centroid controller via the Acorn platform, the majority have swapped from Mach3, but the user base has experience from dozens of other controllers.

If you wish to shortcut the learning curve and reduce downtime, as a Centroid approved system builder, I can provide you with a turnkey control system. More info, pricing and available options for the "Basic" system is here: http://centroidcncforum.com/viewtopic.p ... 7&start=10

The basic system is a open loop stepper controller that is tested, calibrated and setup including a CNC-PC. Systems with closed loop steppers and Teknic ClearPath servos are also available.

[Dan m]

Just thought I'd throw in my two cents. I built my first cnc machine a year ago, I decided on going with a router instead of a plasma "original plan" since I work with wood as well as metal. More metal to be honest and a fair amount of aluminum sheet insert "router" . So any way coming from a what I guess you would say is more of a production invorment meaning the majority of my career I just have had shops build my products for me. So there's no sense in me investing in a million dollars if I had it spend on equipment when I have guys I use that have already done that. So I wanted something for myself for the home shop and I settled on the router for now. I feel good about the decision to skip the plasma for now since they are a mess and I have a hand torch that gets me by for now.

Anyway I spent over a year 2016 ish to 2018 looking at just about everything from turn key machines to little desktop junk and I settled on a kit, a fineline saturn 2x4. I wont get into the long road of getting the mechanics ironed out you can read about it on my cnc zone build thread if you want to. Long story kinda short after looking at "everything" controller wise from uccnc to masso and everything in between including custom built systems one of them was flashcut, I settled on Centroid Acorn.

I personally couldn't be happier with the choice and as a complete newbie it was by far the most painless part of the process. Was it overwhelming yes since I was having massive issues with the router vendor and the steep learning curve of building my first cnc machine. The end result was and is great quality of all the parts I've cut honestly surprisingly so and much of it I believe is attributed to Vcarve pro and the simplicity of the tool paths for a beginner. It's been a minute since I've cut anything due to life but I have a bunch of projects in the pipeline and I will post them as they are finished I think I've posted a couple of things I've cut on this forum. As far as speed goes that's a tough one due to the fact I don't have a different controller to swap out to compare it to. It's also a bit of a moving target since everything is different from machine to machine from tooling down to the tool paths so it would be difficult to compare apples to apples unless you did what Gary has done with his shopbot videos.

All I have to say on top of what has already been said is I'm a very happy customer and I feel like a hero that I made a good decision for my controller as well as going with Vectric. Surprisingly the software and electronics the two areas I knew the least about I made the best decisions with on the machine. If anyone wants to see my machine and or videos please let me know and I will post links to my build threads and upload some YouTube links as well. The only other thing I would like to mention is I feel like a lot of the problems some people have is due to not really understanding how to get chiploads right. As a rookie I feel like chipload chipload chipload if you know what I mean you know what I mean.

Hopefully I don't get destroyed for posting since I don't have much forum juice if you know what I mean.

Dan

[Adrian]

Hopefully I don't get destroyed for posting since I don't have much forum juice if you know what I mean.

Dan

This isn't that sort of forum so don't worry.

[WNC_Ed]

If anyone wants to see my machine and or videos please let me know and I will post links to my build threads and upload some YouTube links as well.

I for one would love to see pictures and videos.
Please share

[Dan m]

Thanks guys, I can't seem to upload anything from my phone very frustrating. So here's the link to my centroid build thread/lot's of questions, just skim through it to see the photos since it's going to be boring reading all the questions of a new cnc user. http://centroidcncforum.com/viewtopic.p ... &start=250

Here's a link to a YouTube video I did, I need to do some better ones but you'll get a idea of some of the system.

Not sure if any of these links work since I'm having a hard time using the forum on my mobile devices.

Dan

[ChrisInEstes]

Hey Ed, how'd did your upgrade project run out? What system di you end up with?

I'm starting work on upgrading my controls, too.

Chris

[WNC_Ed]

Chris,
Funny you should ask ... after all these weeks of refurbishing, I just cut the first actual "project" on the AXZY this morning.
Hello World ... I am very pleased to say that it lives.
I ended up staying with the AXYZ controller. It certainly isn't my first choice for controllers but this will get me making chips.
The WINCNC controller was my first choice, but having spoke with Gary C, he STRONGLY suggested swapping the table drives and that would increase the cost about 5x so figured get this making chips and see what my real needs are.
Next on the things to do - time to hook up the vacuum table.


BTW, we stayed in Estes Park one night last week on the way to Denver - absolutely beautiful place!

[ChrisInEstes]

Thanks for the update. I'm glad you're making chips!

The winCNC stuff looks good, too. There are so many choices that I'm basically lost. I want to update my control system, and also have a new lightweight & fast gantry on my mind. I think the controls update should be first.

When did you stay in Estes? Before the snow? That amount of snow doesn't usually get us till about 3-4 weeks later in the year.

Chris

[highpockets]

Estes Park is on our bucket list. Been all over Colorado, but somehow have just not stopped there...