Pro license binding and demo version

[cnckeith]

Thank you, Keith, for the offer. I may take you up on that in a few months. In the meantime, I've got to work on the retrofit and such. I was just trying to jump the gun a bit and to give my brother something so that he feels engaged in the project. In the end, I am either a sucker or a very nice sibling... I found the machine, bought the machine, have collected all the parts, will perform the retrofit, and then I'll deliver the machine to him. I think sucker is probably a more accurate descriptor.

The task is moving along pretty well right now. Most of the parts have been purchased, but I opted to use new closed loop stepper over what was there (this is an old Denford, by the way), which means new mounts have to be fabricated. I'm currently in the middle of developing a schematic. Once done, I will be able to layout the electrical and decide on the appropriate enclosure. I think that is the last more significant purchase. I also will be working on some Arduino projects for the mill in the future. One will be for the ATC once I figure out the I/F in the Acorn for the ATC. For the most part, all of the logic there will be handled by the Arduino (simple 3 position ATC that is almost not worth doing except for the fact that it is all there). The other will be a modification to a typical Chinese pendant. I can't really justify the Centroid pendant, and he won't need a display. So, the Arduino will function as a keyboard mapper. That will all be pretty basic programming. The only real reason for the Arduino is really to function as a keyboard controller so that we can have a USB interface. Oh, and the Arduino will map the MPG accordingly too.

Anyhow, I digress.... I/we may be contacting you in the future regarding your off (which I appreciate), but it will be several months out.

before you go Arduino route check out upcoming USB-BOB
https://centroidcncforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=67&t=9983

[PelagicFish]

I think sucker is probably a more accurate descriptor.

Ummmmm... no.

[DeckelHead]

LOL.... FWIW, "the brother" apparently is stalking me. Now I have to watch what I say.

Keith: Yes, I just learned about that upcoming product in a different post yesterday. I have to say that I was really happy to see some additional development of Acorn compatible products. I was *really* on the edge about whether to go with the Acorn or a DDCS Expert, but things like the USB-BOB makes me feel much better about the direction I decided to take.

I am definitely interested in how the BOB plays out. Ultimately, however, my decision on which direction I go will be a function of cost. An Arduino is about $10 and a little work (I program for a profession, and Arduino development generally goes pretty quickly). BUT, I'm also lazy... If the BOB works well and is at a price point that fits, then I'll go that way. Fortunately, I have some time before I have to make that decision, given that I'm only now generating the machine schematics.... I am keenly aware that I'm over budget on the conversion, but I do have some latitude there too I suppose.

Again, thank you for the callout on the USB-BOB. I eagerly await final pricing and more information on it.

[cnckeith]

hahaha. right on.

We have 8 USB-BOB alpha testers signed up and will be shipping the Alpha testers USB BOB kits next week.

DDCS? really ) You must enjoy pain?

[DeckelHead]

I'm the youngest of four.... I've only know pain and misery my whole life!

Ahhh.... Sign me up when you need Beta testers once those Alpha testers have been exposed to Gamma radiation.

As for DDCS... It actually has a decent set of reviews, and you cannot beat the price point. That said, I honestly was not looking forward to any type of support requests, if required. This isn't my first time to the rodeo on machine conversion, so I'm not really very worried about that, but I have dealt enough with poorly developed documentation to know that there is a whole new level of pain trying to figure out what "put wire inserted near pillow happiness" really means. That can just frustrate me to no end... The Centroid documentation, by contrast, seems to be pretty decent.

Interestingly, one of the negatives of Centroid was the pendant (specifically cost, as mentioned before). One of the positives was the touch screen. Why? Because I didn't need to figure out a HID console. Trying to find a way to house the DDCS was turning into a logistics hassle. Enclosures I found were often prohibitively expensive (to the point where the Centroid pendant was a far more attractive option), and were also quite large/heavy. So, there were pluses and minuses associated with both directions.

Ultimately, I think I'm happy with the path I've chosen, however, and I think Centroid will work well for me. Most importantly, Centroid has an history of improving its products with new software releases. Call me skeptical, but the longevity of product life in something like DDCS is very suspect to me. I can easily envision a situation where *something* doesn't work as expected, but the manufacturer elects to essentially ignore the problem, never releasing a firmware patch, etc, because they've moved on to a new product. Centroid's software (CNC12) is common throughout the product line , so it is much more likely that bugs will be fixed for a long time in the future.