LinuxCNC vs GRBL

BeagleBrainz wrote: Na Linuxcnc is flexible, but you have to spend time learning.

I can not recal anything more usefull in my life that i learned and used every day, and i learned a lot, i still do, but now :
Powered by Linux !
Nevermind, i used strictly Linux for nearly 2 dekades, so i am biased, a lot, especially after owning 3 computer shops for nearly 6 years working for some of the biggest organisations in the world as an IT admin, and loosing my health and sanity dealing with all the cra................

Thanks for all the replies!

Looks like there are a ton of great features on LinuxCNC, but nothing that would really benefit my CNC. I'd love to have an ATC,closed loop and tapping, but its not in the cards for now. Alot of the features (probing, tool changes, tool compensation, coordinates systems, 4th/5th axis) can all be handled by some of the grbl forks or the g-code senders as well.

I'm also looking for a plug-and play system, I don't want to spend my time customizing or mucking with the software.

You don't "need" to do any customization. Especially for a simple mill or router. (It is just nice to have the option when there is that one little thing that you want that doesn't fit the "norm".) Besides you can't beat the price, when all you need is some old PC you probably have gathering dust in a corner (or can dumpster dive) and a $5 parallel port breakout board. I think setting up a basic parallel port stepper system in Linuxcnc isn't much different or more complicated than doing the same in Mach or GRBL. The difference is that you aren't locked into just that one simple way.

jaguar36 wrote: Looks like there are a ton of great features on LinuxCNC, but nothing that would really benefit my CNC.

You are probably right.
If your requirements change then LinuxCNC will still be there.

Nobody here has any vested interest in "selling" LinuxCNC to you. But be aware that this is not necessarily the case with other controllers.

Folk here have a natural tendency to push others towards LinuxCNC to validate their own choice, just like with any other similar choice (Windows / Mac / Linux, or brand of vehicle) but if GRBL is currently doing all that you want and it is working, then sticking with it it probably the rational choice.

Very well said Andy.

Have to agree with Andy. I had a router that ran on GRBL, and swapped over to linuxcnc. I did this only to gain knowledge on linuxcnc before taking on my cnc mill conversion. There was no real performance inprovement, but running linuxcnc is so much more feature packed. With linuxcnc i now have probing cycles, wireless pendant and a great gui. But i really dont think it machines any better.