Hobby vs commercial, was RE: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Re: Flashcut

It's interesting that this topic is slowly (or not so slowly) attempting to
define the difference between a commercial or hobby application.

As I see it -

Commercial Application
1. Generally, the user has little time to develop and test
2. Generally, the user is willing to spend the bucks for a turn-key
application
3. Generally, the machines in question are 'full sized' as opposed to
desktop
4. Generally, the systems are purchased with fifty-cent dollars (tax
advantages) at no sales tax, so asking price isn't actual price.
5. Generally, the user doesn't want to be bothered putting kits together.
6. Generally, the user wants support that most part-time vendors are unable
to supply
7. Generally, the user wants a 'set it and forget it' system. Once working,
it's not changed!

Hobby Application
1. Often, Computers & CNC become as large a hobby as making parts
2. Often, the user has more time than money
3. Often, there's no business income to offset for tax purposes.
4. A minority of this class have large enough incomes to afford the
commercially oriented systems
5. Generally, the user is willing to live with slower internet based support
as a tradeoff for lower overall costs.
6. Trying out several different G-Code interpreters often becomes part of
the hobby.

Before you ask questions of the group, it may be useful to stop and ask
yourself where YOU fit into the equation, and share this information so our
recommendations are applicable to your situation. Also, tell us what your
experience level is. My EE and computer background made adding CNC to my
Sherline tools a snap. It might not have been quite as easy had I a
different background.

When I was employed, I routinely used Computmotor products that cost about
$10,000 for three axes. These systems were for projects that had to run in
an 24x7 environment. Now retired, I'm looking at the other end of the scale
and am using Camtronics kits and am enjoying tinkering with the software.

And, remember, DOS is not dead and Windows is not junk. Both have their
place, as does Linux. Right now, I'm seeing the hobby market moving to a
Windows based front end with some kind of a real-time back end on a
different processor to actually drive the machine. I'd not be surprised to
see DOS sitting on that machine, possibly in a ROM. And, once these
configurations become 'normal,' I'd expect to see someone start integrating
the CRT back into the controller, but this time, the computer will be
optimized for the factory and not for the office as the ones we're all using
now are.

A final thought... Please note that I've used 'generally' and 'often' in the
descriptions, as there are exceptions to any category.

-- Jerry


|hi
|
|true, but i need a stable, "commercial", and supported system today...
|for myself, as a hobbyist, i would definitely use m1, m5, ya, dak or
|whatever.