# CNC controller.  No PC.  Have you seen this?



## 7milesup (Jan 23, 2018)

Hi guys.  I was talking to Matt (from Precision Matthews) the other day about my new 833T mill.  The discussion of CNC came up and he asked me if I had seen a new controller called Masso-CNC. 

I looked it up, and quite frankly, it looks quite intriguing.  Their website is undergoing maintenance at the moment so there is limited info, but I guess NYC CNC has used it, so maybe more info on his site too.

https://www.hindtechnology.com/


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## magicniner (Jan 24, 2018)

Stand alone controllers are the coming thing, Mach3 went down the pan when it's originator sold it to a clueless bunch of disorganised developers who stopped work fixing the things they'd broken or made worse in Mach3 to tout the Vapourware that was to become a semi-functional Mach4 which they joyfully sold to any sucker for years before it was worth a red cent. 
IMHO ;-)


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## DAT510 (Jan 24, 2018)

Here's another website: https://massocnc.com/cnccontroller


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## FOMOGO (Jan 24, 2018)

Always good to see a better/cheaper mouse trap. Mike


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## Eddyde (Jan 24, 2018)

The thing is, you need to use their proprietary software. If it's not up to your needs or if you outgrow it you'll need to start over.


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## Ray C (Jan 24, 2018)

magicniner said:


> Stand alone controllers are the coming thing, Mach3 went down the pan when it's originator sold it to a clueless bunch of disorganised developers who stopped work fixing the things they'd broken or made worse in Mach3 to tout the Vapourware that was to become a semi-functional Mach4 which they joyfully sold to any sucker for years before it was worth a red cent.
> IMHO ;-)



LOL:   Try not to sugar-coat your true feelings there...   Might give yourself an ulcer keeping all that bottled-up inside you like that.

FWIW:  Mach 3 scared the pants off me one time too many so I went with Hurco/WinMax.


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## silopolis (Jan 24, 2018)

You can make it even cheaper and moooore open with a BeagleBone Black and Machine Kit !

Envoyé de mon A0001 en utilisant Tapatalk


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## 7milesup (Jan 25, 2018)

silopolis said:


> You can make it even cheaper and moooore open with a BeagleBone Black and Machine Kit !



That is actually pretty cool.  Not exactly a plug-n-play solution, but certainly an option.   Thanks for sharing.


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## rwm (Jan 25, 2018)

Brilliant. I'm interested.
Robert


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## spumco (Jan 26, 2018)

I looked in to one of these a year ago when they came out.  They look pretty awesome, and are essentially plug and play - motion controller, software, BOB, spindle control - all in one box.

I chose not to get one for the following reasons:

1. Software is (was) limited.  Check out the list of recognized G-codes in the user manual and see if there's something missing (spindle synchronization, probing, etc.) that you might need.  At the time I didn't see a way to add user macros for an ATC, 4th axis brake, or similar add-on equipment.

2. Step pulse output frequency.  This has a maximum frequency of 200kHz per axis.  Fine for steppers, but not fine for high-resolution servos unless you use electronic gearing and wind up losing the resolution.

These two items were deal killers based on my current and future CNC plans.  However - I'm sure they've improved since I looked at them, and if I were building a fairly simple stepper-based machine (lathe or mill) I'd seriously consider one.


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## Wreck™Wreck (Jan 26, 2018)

Something that will do everything that you require in two words.

Fanuc


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## spumco (Jan 26, 2018)

Wreck™Wreck said:


> Something that will do everything that you require in two words.
> 
> Fanuc



True, except if the Masso is suitable for someone it's a deal at about $500.  I'm not sure you can buy a Fanuc brochure for $500.


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## Wreck™Wreck (Jan 27, 2018)

spumco said:


> True, except if the Masso is suitable for someone it's a deal at about $500.  I'm not sure you can buy a Fanuc brochure for $500.



I believe that the entry level black and white brochure begins at $750.00, if you would like the English language version there is an upcharge.

Don't even ask about the colour supplement.


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## pdentrem (Jan 27, 2018)

Worst, the local Fanuc service rep retired and there is no replacement for the foreseeable future! Will have to pay big to get the next nearest to come to the plant.


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## thumper442 (Feb 3, 2018)

Check out Centroid cnc Acorn. Thank me later. Also a very good forum for them also.


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## JimDawson (Feb 4, 2018)

Is there any market for a mid-range (<$10K) retrofit package for commercial machines?  I think the pricing is out of the range of most hobbyists. There has got to be some of the older machines out there with dead controllers that are still mechanically OK, but do the owners want to resurrect them rather than just scrapping them and buying new machines.  The problem is that the controller is not cheap, but it's a full featured industrial motion controller.  There are no low end controllers that come anywhere close to the specs.

Controller features:

Dedicated inputs for Fwd, Rev, and Home limit switches for each axis
Dual encoder inputs for each axis, 22MHz input
Up to 80 uncommited I/O points available
6MHz per axis for step & direction output
+/- 10V analog control for servos

Supported Hardware:

4th Axis, up to 8 axis possible
Spindle Control, rigid tapping capable
Coolant Control
Tool Changer
Power Draw Bar
Manual Pulse Generator (MPG)
Touch Probe, Point cloud generator is coming soon.
Spindle Camera/Microscope
Other custom features can be implemented.

I'm just trying to figure out if I should pursue this adventure and develop the complete package, or just continue bumbling along as I have been.


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## middle.road (Feb 4, 2018)

Makes a gent wish he'd stay with Tool Engineering and CNC programing instead of taking the fork in the road over to systems administration. 
Going to need to get my groove back on... Can that be done at this late stage?


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## JimDawson (Feb 4, 2018)

middle.road said:


> Makes a gent wish he'd stay with Tool Engineering and CNC programing instead of taking the fork in the road over to systems administration.
> Going to need to get my groove back on... Can that be done at this late stage?



I think so, about 5 years ago I couldn't even spell CNC, I'm 69 now


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## pdentrem (Feb 4, 2018)

We have 2 machines at the shop with good motors but nothing to drive them. I am investigating this to see what is what as some say.


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## Karl_T (Feb 4, 2018)

JimDawson said:


> Is there any market for a mid-range (<$10K) retrofit package for commercial machines?  I think the pricing is out of the range of most hobbyists. There has got to be some of the older machines out there with dead controllers that are still mechanically OK, but do the owners want to resurrect them rather than just scrapping them and buying new machines.  The problem is that the controller is not cheap, but it's a full featured industrial motion controller.  There are no low end controllers that come anywhere close to the specs.



this is the market my control software, Camsoft, targets.  I must say almost no hobbyists pop for the price even though <I think> it is a great product . From what I've seen most of their sales are to small commercial shops. It is not a big market.


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## countryguy (Feb 4, 2018)

Good thread here guys!    And Dan....  Yep.  Never to late to wade into this pool.  come on up this summer and we can play on the haas and supermax! 
to me it came down to the kid picking this area as his future.   We bought that old supermax  with A 1980s Bandit Cnc Controller.   You tend to Learn A Lot quicker when Your cash is tied up in a non Functional machine.    We picked centroid. Now we are doing haas too. This Past Week, the open source arduino  marlin work      just takes time and each has their place

Small world as i just posted a  note about our low cost cnc arduino project we just wrapped up.   These solutions keep getting better!  We all win in the end!


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## footpetaljones (Feb 6, 2018)

Jim,

You are essentially describing Centroid's Oak board to a T. 

4 axes standard, expandable to 8
16 inputs/9 outputs, with a 64/64 I/O expansion board available
6 encoder ports, with an expansion board for 6 more
Probes and MPG available

Base price for the board is $1600. If you add in the expansion boards, things can get expensive, though (and take up a ton of room). I've always preferred to have the choice of options rather than pay for things I'll never use. 

The only other option I've seen in the same ballpark is Siemens 808D, but I'm leary of any controls made by Siemens.


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