It goes back to "fit and finish" and ease of configuration. In Mach3 the graphical configuration utility is integral, rather than a separate program or programs (pncconf, stepconf,etc) which vary depending on what setup you are using. In Mach3 the "I/O debug" is integral rather than several separate utilities (HALscope, HALcmd,etc). This makes it signifiantly easier and faster for a newbie to configure and tune a setup and get things running. Documentation is another issue, with Mach3 documentation full of clear examples and diagrams, while LinuxCNC documentation is quite disjointed, inconsistent and often incomplete.
Is LinuxCNC more capable and versatile than Mach3, certainly, but it is less "accessible" to the average person and those who try it may well give up on it after fumbling through the configuration for a while with confusing documentation without success. As it is, in my first attempt to use LinuxCNC (after testing EMC way back when and going with Mach3 instead), I found what appears to be a bug in pncconf, and despite posting on this forum for help and posting the config files produced by pncconf, it ended up that I found the issue myself. ------Original Mail------ From: "John Alexander Stewart" <[email protected]> To: "Enhanced Machine Controller (EMC)" <[email protected]> Sent: Wed, 22 Oct 2014 08:57:13 -0400 Subject: [Emc-users] part 2 - Mach3 to LinuxCNC I'm always interested to see how "the younger set" build things. Quite often they use Mach3 - here's an example: http://www.buildlog.net/sm_laser/drawings.html Charles and Co. are doing great things with Machinekit and 3D printers, but, how do we get the "younger set" to use LinuxCNC more? I don't know the answers, but I keep pushing LinuxCNC in my own quiet way. JohnS. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Comprehensive Server Monitoring with Site24x7. Monitor 10 servers for $9/Month. Get alerted through email, SMS, voice calls or mobile push notifications. Take corrective actions from your mobile device. http://p.sf.net/sfu/Zoho _______________________________________________ Emc-users mailing list [email protected] https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Comprehensive Server Monitoring with Site24x7. Monitor 10 servers for $9/Month. Get alerted through email, SMS, voice calls or mobile push notifications. Take corrective actions from your mobile device. http://p.sf.net/sfu/Zoho _______________________________________________ Emc-users mailing list [email protected] https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
