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bCNC vs Control

Discussion in 'CAM' started by JustinTime, Mar 6, 2021.

  1. JustinTime

    JustinTime Veteran
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    I had used Control and moved to bCNC. I haven't used bCNC much at all, just surface skimmed it, so far.

    My first impression is: Hats up to @Peter Van Der Walt! His software is so much nicer to use that bCNC in what I have seen so far. Especially if you are a Novice. You have to be experienced in order to use bCNC where as Control is much more new user friendly. Having the forum here to answer questions about Control is so nice. I had questions about bCNC but couldn't find a place to ask except maybe github.
    The wizards in Control are so important, in my view. I had them in Mach3 too and they are so handy. Couldn't find any wizard in bCNC. Most importantly, to me, is the calibration wizard. Doing it manually in bCNC is tedious and a pain in the backside. But the surfacing wizard in Control is nice too. I used it to surface my spoil board.
    I complaint about the jogging in Control (too small button) but in bCNC it's even worse. So far I couldn't find a 'continuous' option, only step. You can do continuous using the keyboard but not the GUI and mouse.
    Changing the grbl setting is easier in Control. In bCNC you have to either know, or look up, what $xx means and what change you have to make and the list is way longer in grblHAL than in grbl.

    If there is one thing I don't 'like' in both is the lack of GUI bling! Mach3 GUI was much blingier (new word?) IMO. I would like to be able to make both Control and bCNC less austere, if I could. :D

    That' MNSHO and $0.02. Take it for what it is and what you paid for. LOL
     
    Peter Van Der Walt and sharmstr like this.
  2. sharmstr

    sharmstr OpenBuilds Team
    Staff Member Moderator Builder Resident Builder

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    Depending on what you mean by bling, you can modify the ui with javascript macros. I make several changes to it and with the new "run macro at startup" I dont have to remember to run it.
     
    Peter Van Der Walt likes this.
  3. Peter Van Der Walt

    Peter Van Der Walt OpenBuilds Team
    Staff Member Moderator Builder Resident Builder

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    CONTROL is definitely focussed on easing the learning curve as much as possible. I like bCNC too, its a solid recommendation for more advanced use cases. Different people have different needs, one cannot always please everyone if you want to stay true to the goals you have to be aiming for :)
     
    sharmstr likes this.

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