Experience with Vital Sysyems ArkPro controllers

[N2 Welding]

Was looking at this sight for controller and THC options.

https://www.vitalsystem.com/portal/purc ... ?id=77E4AN

Other options they have

https://www.vitalsystem.com/portal/cnc/ ... plasma.php

[sonbakler]

I ran across those in my searches but have no experience with them. I am leaning towards the Centroid electronics for my next build https://www.centroidcnc.com/centroid_di ... oller.html

[N2 Welding]

Thank you sonbakler I had seen them and considered them as well. On the Acorn set up they use proprietary software for machine operations/movements from what I could see. Not sure if that is a plus or minus. ATM no support for my TD 60i but said they are working on and testing out being able to support Thermal Dynamics. Then the software is still in beta testing and now and only runs on win 10/11 assuming for touchscreen but win7 has touchscreen support so makes me wonder why no win 7 support. See FAQ at the bottom of the page you linked.

[robertspark]

Vital tend to be quite expensive (IMO) and everything requires an unlock paid upgrade (some things on centroid can be like that too).

have a look around as there are many offerings about before settling on just one as you will be stuck with it for a while

[N2 Welding]

I noticed that as well and that is one of the reasons I was looking at the Gecko G540 but that still leaves me with figuring out what to do for THC

[sonbakler]

All good info, thanks guys

[robertspark]

I would highly recommend that you at least consider linuxcnc + QTPlasmaC as it works.

Mach3 I would not recommend as it's no longer developed and there are other offerings that can do things better now.

Mach4 is an option, as is UCCNC, but you would end up with a separate THC device

There is also the https://www.masso.com.au/ but its similar to centroid and Hicon where you pay for the extra features to be unlocked.

[N2 Welding]

Thank you rob. In theory my head says I want to build it piece meal and thus the PC is separate from the controller etc and if/when any thing dies it can quickly and easily be swapped out for a new working component. Do you know if my computer is a fast one will it make any difference in the machine movements?

If the Masso or any other expensive multi all in one units die out of warranty then it could be not only be costly to repair or replace if still available but could also extend down time. For some reason I am stuck on G540 atm because of it’s compactness and easily swappable drivers. I am aware that if I use different/better controllers I can get faster smoother movements on the gantry etc. Lot's to digest.

My biggest fear of Linuxcnc is not being familiar with linux and when I do research on it I get frustrated.

[robertspark]

Linux + LinuxCNC does take some time to learn / understand (IMO).

But once you get it, then there is literally no stopping you with what it can do.

The others you are always reliant upon their hardware or software development.

I started off with Mach3 + USB Smooth Stepper, then Ethernet Smooth Stepper, then Mach 4, then UCCNC with a UC400eth, then after a hardware upgrade I switched to LinuxCNC mainly because I wanted lathe support / a turning application that WORKED!.

I was lucky that I had Mesa hardware to hand as I've dabbled with LinuxCNC for a number of years but was not committed to it. Now that I have changed to LinuxCNC for3 or so years it makes a lot more sense.

Yes I've probably installed Linux a hundred times, but practice makes perfect.

I always suggest getting a basic PC / thin client {not a laptop!} and install LinuxCNC from the ISO via a usb memory stick.

http://linuxcnc.org/downloads/
http://linuxcnc.org/docs/2.9/html/plasma/qtplasmac.html

Windows run CNC can be great to just get up and running but after a while I realised that there were other options and I was not reliant upon software or hardware any more.

Each to their own.

I have a spare PC setup just in case the one I run fails and it's just plug and play..... + you can clone them too if you buy a couple of cheap thin clients such as an dell thin client.

good luck on your choice

[N2 Welding]

I have several older systems to use. My brother God bless him left behind a nice gaming Republic of Gamers Asus Laptop with a dual or quad core intel " can't recal atm " has an Nvidia gtx 770 in it and 1tb ssd and I want to say 4gb ram. Then there is a lot of older ddr2 and ddr3 systems i have multiples of from back in the day. 3x foxconn destroyer mobo, 2x MSI NF980- G65, 2x ASUS M2N32 SLI Deluxe. A couple DFI NF4 SLI DR boards. And ram and cpu's are cheap. Everyone is saying to stick with ssd's even if they are only SATA SSD's. Yeah Linux scares me. I have used a linux live cd a couple times to clone or remove os passwords etc but nothing to detailed.

[robertspark]

laptops don't like linuxcnc and the latency requirements of a real time operating system kernel