My PM-940 CNC Modifications

cut2cut said:
Previously you mentioned that the Acorn wasn't realtime vs LinuxCNC. Did you resolve that it wasn't an issue since it has an onboard motion control CPU so it shouldn't incur any loss of "timing" ? I looked around for any comparisons on the subject and couldn't find any, which is why I'm asking. I do think the Acorn looks great and the company has been around the block a few times so they probably are putting out a good well thought out product and at great price point. I think Precision Mathews should consider using this as a controller, IMHO.

Thanks,

Jake
Click to expand...

I didn't totally resolve the realtime situation, however you are correct. Since the thing has a dedicated motion control CPU I think it works quite differently than these Chinese controllers that are "good enough". Also, it's very interesting how specifically they spec their computer, but they don't need a video card? Considering video takes up a HUGE chunk of the processing overhead int he computer, I'd be worried it would have the same issues I have now.

Bottom line: in a solid couple days of researching I cannot find anyone who is not really happy with their Acorn... and they make industrial equipment... AND THEY ARE IN THE US!

pburgh said:
Hey Guys, good to hear that your onboard with the Acorn. Hopefully you see this post. If you're going to go this route, you'll want to purchase the board and upgrade to the pro software now before jan 3 2018. They are going to be raising the price of the card and software. There is a post on the Centriod Acorn forum that I read today about it. I'll be posting some info to the forum about the 940 and the setup to be sure that i'm looking to make this change from the nMotion to the Acorn without any issues. So, keep an eye out for it and you'll probably get some questions answered too. Also I found info that they are developing a driver for a wireless MPG they are testing now (might already be good to go). Something I discovered going into this is that i'm going to have to purchase a 5vDC power supply for the LeadShine drives. Looks like the 5vDC is provided by the nMotion now. Well, here we go. I'm going to craft the initial post now. Hopefully this is helpful to everyone.
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Why do they have to go and do that right at x-mass when everyone is hurting for money?! Was there any indication of how much the price was going to increase?

Also, adding a 5v power supply can be very cheap if you have any old ATX computer power supplies laying around.

PZ
 
Actually they bump the price of the card and pro software up a little bit, but they reduced the price of their ultimate software. I originally purchased the Acorn with the pro software, but i'm probably going to upgrade to the ultimate once I get going on this.
 
Well hell, it's about a $100 savings... Guess I'm going to need to make the decision next week.

The response that your thread at Centroid is getting is awesome and quite encouraging!

PZ
 
Pull the trigger. I don't think you'll be disappointed.
Merry Christmas,
Doug
 
pburgh said:
Guys, I've been getting some very good feedback from the Centroid forum: http://centroidcncforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=60&t=1270
Check it out.

Regards,
Doug
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That’s great ! A good head start !! Note however, your wiring diagram and the one Orin created for you looks accurate, HOWEVER, MY limit and home wires are numbered different than what your manual shows ! Yours are 88, 89,90, etc , but mine ( on both my mill and my supplied manual are 35, 37,39, etc ! Thankfully my documtation is accurate but it’s worth noting for Phazer and anyone else that has a PM940 that they need to check as they obviously make running changes! AND you should double check that your home and limit wires are accurately labeled too!

And it looks like we will need to daisy chain our limit switches together with the EStop, but that shouldn’t be too hard.
Cheers,

Jake
 
Alright... It's done. One Acron and CNC12 Pro are headed my way...

This video is finally that finally sold me on it:

The fact that they are a pro level CNC retrofitter, make their own machines, and the computer software and controller are made by the same company were the prime reasons. Can't wait to get started... Though I have to order another $300 worth of computer parts before I can even consider getting off the ground.

And this is just funny (rough language, be ware if you're using speakers):

PZ
 
Sorry guys, i went dark for a few days with the holiday and some personal tragedy. I'm going to get started again to follow through with setting up the changes i need to make. I ordered a power supply that Marty recommended from Jameco and a jog switch for the reference limits setup. He put the link for the power supply in the Centroid thread, but i think they removed it. Here it is if you're interested: https://www.jameco.com/webapp/wcs/s...yzPSTU=&ddkey=https:StoreCatalogDrillDownView

PZ, i think you made the right choice. I also went with Centroid's recommendation and got a NUC with windows 10 pro from New Egg. they were going for a little under 500 with the os which i didnt think was a bad deal for something compact. Marty walks through setting up a fuller sized pc that would probably save a few bucks, but the NUC was worth it to me. Hope to come back soon with some progress.
 
Your thread is still up... It's just on page two.
http://centroidcncforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=60&t=1270

Yeah, the NUC is a good option, however I was worreid about getting all the bloatware off the factory installation of Windows. I have had the laptop that I am typing this on right now for just over a year and I STILL haven't figured it out. It's about to the point that I'm going to order a new copy of Windows 10 and start with that!

Anyway, I build computers pretty frequently so building one specialized for CNC is no big deal. I am going to re-use most of the old Mach 3 PC, and I am donating what I'm not using to my Dads CNC router project. I'm really looking forward to see your progress... You should start a new thread about it, so we can stop tying up Jacks thread!!

PZ
 
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