Re: 5-axis machine controller

[Ray <rehenry-at-up.net>]

On Mon, 18 Dec 2000, John S wrote:
> Do any of  the emc users have sufficient productiion experience with the
> emc 
> controller to give an opinion on the reliability  of the emc controller
> in an industrial 
> production environment?  How would the emc controller compare to the 
> performance of  a GE-FANUC controller  or other similiar commercial
> machine
> tool control?  I am very interested in your input .

Bear with me for a minute here guys.

Good questions John.  In fact if you read this list, the developer, and
the cad_cam, you will get the impression that EMC barely works at all
except for a bunch of "geeks" who fiddle with it when they have nothing
better to do.

The reason for this impression is that these lists are THE place where
bugs, installs, enhancements, and such, are worked out.  There is no back
room where problems are fixed without public knowledge.  No one here has
signed any non-disclosure agreement concerning the EMC system.  And there
is no spin doctor working to control public opinion about the EMC.  

But there are a bunch of very quiet folk (me excepted) who have been and
are using parts or all of the EMC motion control system to do stuff.  If
you look at the archives of this list, you will see posts that come in
bunches from different places around the world.  They last a few days and
then get quiet. I think they've had their questions answered.  

I will just give three production type examples.  I never heard of Frank
Hess until he posted a question about circular milling with tool comp.  I'd
been on this list for maybe 6 months at that point.  I posted a reply. 
Turns out Frank owns Matt's first machine and says that he uses it every
day in a shop environment.  At that time, Matt didn't even know that.

Jan from Antwerp Belgium has posted a few questions, comments, and
thoughts.  Since he said that he has machinists working on the shop floor,
I sent him a trial gui that I was working on.  He gave the EMC and it to
one of his operators and watched and listened as the fellow tried to
figure out how to make it work.  I got some awesome feedback from that,
and English is not their native speech.  

I  just got a last minute chance to visit Germany over the holidays, so I
contacted a few people around those parts to see if I could arrange some
visits.  Jan's reply is instructive.  I hope that he doesn't mind my using
a snippet of it here.

-----Jan-----
Of my initial 3 projects there is one finised.  A pick and place
-plastic welding machine to put  magnets on a chocolate mould,  full
automatic. Featering Emc with Ray's Enhancements on Mandrake 7.2. 
-----eom-----

You get the point.

And Dan -- He runs two or three EMC powered machines in a dusty, (no
reflection on his shopkeeping) environment, daily for hours on end.  And he
grins all the way to the bank.  So does Tim, I think!

Case closed.:)  But I'm as curious as all get out about the Chek Republic,
Hong Kong, Pakistan, etc.  You get the idea.  We tend to share our
problems and are modest about our successes, or just to busy when we get
it running to say much. or are not comfortable enough with English or
American to brag using those languages.-- 

Ray


PS - Considering the number of users in the EU, and its and EMCs current
rate of growth, I hope that we can get some kind of occasional users
convention going someplace there.  

PPS - I wish I had the time and cash for a 1,000 k radius around
Frankfurt de tour.  But if you're within 500k, I'll try.