Thanks for the responses, sorry I haven't responded sooner. Life be crazy...
It would perform very similarly. It is possible that the commercial control might be slightly better optimised for wood routing.
Good enough for me. There really aren't a lot of software based options in this space. I'm just looking at this to see if this is something I can build off of. The software based option appeals to me the most because I can do things like integrate with my project system, create a labeling system, and possibly use it for other things such as material handling. My imagination is outpacing my current abilities, but I think I can get there. Just have to work on my maths...
No, LinuxCNC _is_ a motion controller.
Cool. I thought as much, but wasn't sure. It is compared to Mach 3, but I don't think they are on the same level at all. I can't figure how Mach 3 could act as a realtime controller on Windows. I don't know if they have their own kernel mode driver and that's why it required a parallel port.
You might want to consider buying such an item of orphan hardware and installing LinuxCNC on it.
This is definitely an option as well. I've been looking at used hardware based off of what Todd Zuercher wrote and I can see this as a definite possibility. Old hardware is usually made to last.
What machines are you looking at in the $125,000 price range?
Nothing from Laguna. I was looking at machines from Thermwood or C.R. Onsrud. I don't have pricing information from them, so the $125,000 was more of an upper bounds guestimate on my part. Something like this is interesting:
Personally, I am a big fan of buying a better quality higher end used machine for the same price as a lower end new one for the same price.
I agree. Our edgebander is a used holzher machine and the only real difference between the newer ones of the same caliber is you can modify settings at the panel instead of getting behind it.
As to your basic question as to if Linuxcnc is as good as a commercial control. It all depends, on A.) what your compairing it to, and B.) The quality of the Linuxcnc install. (such as how well you integrate safety features, and other things like tool changer implementation...)
I'm mainly looking to see if LinuxCNC would ever be the bottleneck in development and maintenance on the machine. This is a pretty interesting project for me, but in the end, if the machine is down a significant amount of time or required endless tweaking, it probably isn't an option.
A: I mentioned Laguna because looking at what they offer I think I can produce something at least on par with what they are.
B: This is probably something I would play around with quite a bit before jumping in and purchasing everthing I would need. I think I will be doing a lot of planning and asking a lot more questions here before I move forward and begin the build.
