Mach 3 Post processor?

[bearcat]

Sam,

What ShopBot hardware were you running before then changeover and what Mach3 hardware are you now using?

Ed

[donek]

Sam,

What ShopBot hardware were you running before then changeover and what Mach3 hardware are you now using?

Ed

I haven't changed any of my shopbots over to mach3. I have an old PR that's been converted to a PRT box and a PRS Standard. I recently purchased a small machine running on Mach3 as a demo platform for our drag knife and so that I could learn more about Mach3 and support those drag knife customers using the software. While I am able to run that machine fine, I find the software bloated and cumbersome in comparison to the shopbot control system. In my production operation, everything is about efficiency and minimizing steps and extra work. Mach3 seems to add unnecessary steps. Without a custom screen set, I do not believe I could reliably teach someone to run a mach3 machine unless they were an experienced CNC operator.

[Brady Watson]

It's funny how Mach gets credit for the performance increase that is 100% attributed to better hardware. Take any 1/4 stepping drive and replace with a microstepping drive with morphing technology like a G203V, and it completely transforms everything about the tool. A factory 4G upgrade does the same thing on an old PR or PRT. Kool-Aid optional.

I'd also like to hear how Sam was "forced" to upgrade to Mach. I can't see a 4G upgrade being that much more than buying Geckos, a breakout, Mach license and whatever convoluted parallel port work around required to communicate with it on a new computer. There must have been someone standing there with a gun or axe while upgrading.

If you ever had to sell your machine for any reason, nobody is going to give you top dollar for a Mach converted ShopBot. It's a step child at that point & unless they already own a Mach machine, it is a tough sell. I've done pre-purchase inspections on a few converted machines and buyers are turned off by this sort of thing.

The bottom line is Mach is cheap @ only $175 (Even cheaper during the Master5 days...). It isn't popular because it is good; It's popular because it is cheap. End of story. I run it here in the shop on 2 non-production lathes because it is cheap and I don't want to put together a Linux or DOS box.

At the end of the day, it's your tool - run whatever you want...But don't be fooled by any hype that your ShopBot is going to run any better by changing control software & nothing else.

-B

[sam_harbold]

My machine is a PR9648 which I purchased new from ShopBot in the spring of 1999. Several years later I purchased a newer control box I think is was a prt box but can not be certain. It was an upgrade offered by ShopBot at the time where you bought the new box and then returned the circuit board out of the old box. Other than that my machine remained original until November of last year when I was in the middle of cutting a room of raised panel wainscot and my ShopBot just quit. I could smell burnt electronic parts coming from the control box. I called Shopbot and was told that there we no tech there but the person took my information and said someone would give me a call. 24 hours later I still had not heard from anyone so I called back and this time the techs were busy but I was put through to their voice mail. I left a short message giving the basics of what happen and ask what my options were. Another day went by with no response from ShopBot so I can only assume that because of a 10 year old system I am out of luck. It was a Friday afternoon and my customer was wanting an answer as to when I was going to deliver the wainscot. I went on line order MACH3 and a Gecko G540. I received the G540 Monday morning around 11:00am. Installed the G540 along with the power supply from the ShopBot control box and my 5:00 pm was back in business. Pulled my files up in Vcarve and changed the post processor to MACH save the cut files and finished my job that evening and delivered it to the lumber dealer the next morning.

My machine today is still the original PR9648 machine with the original steppers and belt drive gear boxes. My controller is a G540 with the Power supply I removed from the old ShopBot controller.

Sam

[donclifton]

This was one of the reasons I have converted so many shopbot PRT's to Mach and gecko drives. The old PRT's had all the drives on one board, if one died you needed to replace the board. the drivers on the board were only 1.5 amp chips and fail often. I alway replace them with gecko 203V drive which are unkillable. The last, my own PRT I used gecko 251 drives the same thats in a gecko 540 and has given me no problem. As far as Mach 3 goes its a choose of do you want something simple like a printer or do you want something that you can configure to your needs, its not about cost its about what you want to do with your machine.
Don

[Howley]

Ok...I'm just beginning my journey in to CNCs, I think I will stick with the original control software!

Thank you everybody for taking the time to answer my questions, I learn a lot from reading these replays!

My training and machine are both scheduled for middle October, wish me luck!

[donek]

This was one of the reasons I have converted so many shopbot PRT's to Mach and gecko drives. The old PRT's had all the drives on one board, if one died you needed to replace the board. the drivers on the board were only 1.5 amp chips and fail often. I alway replace them with gecko 203V drive which are unkillable. The last, my own PRT I used gecko 251 drives the same thats in a gecko 540 and has given me no problem. As far as Mach 3 goes its a choose of do you want something simple like a printer or do you want something that you can configure to your needs, its not about cost its about what you want to do with your machine.
Don

Have you created a friendlier screen set for those machines? I have one in the works. I'm happy with the cut screen, but have not really spent any time on the preview or other screens.

[donclifton]

I use screen4 to edit my screens. I often take features from different screen to make my own. I also use the 2010 screen set.
Don