Centroid 4 axis Acorn DIY CNC motion controller kit (REV 4) with CNC software, replaces MachMotion,WinCNC,Mach3,EMC2,KCAM4,Smooth Stepper

This is an absolutely fantastic controler! I have purchased it on Sept. 09, 2019 and in the time I've spent with it, the little board and software did not fail to impress me. It shows that the company that made it (Centroid), also makes industrial grade CNC controllers. A lot of this experience rubbed onto the Acorn. The software is also made by the same company, and because of that, there are extremely few glitches. If you do not know how valuable this is, try the Mach 3 or 4. Not trying to bash, but sometimes you just want something that darn works, and not sitting all day debugging or fiddling around with plugins. The software/hardware development around Acorn is very active, which is always something good and shows company's commitment to the DIY market. The setup was a breeze! Just connect the power to the Acorn controler, and then connect it to the CNC PC via Ethernet cable. The controller is going to be lit like a Christmas tree!!! Do not worry, this is GOOD! Start the software installation on the PC and when finished, you are greeted with a minimalist interface, which I love. From this point on, you can move the axes (virtually), or you can connect motors (via drives), spindle (via VFD), pumps, sensors, etc. All is a breeze! I am very impressed of the system's reliability! Disclaimer: I am not involved in any way with Centroid (the manufacturer of the Acorn controller and software). I just love the product(s) and think it deserves credit when credit is due.

Quite a fantastic piece of equipment, the integration between the hardware & software is just so slick. Hooking it up took me a single day thanks to the detailed and easy to read schematics + videos online. My old school K2 machine has never been happier! I took the multiple suggestions online and got the ASUS touchscreen, it is amazing with the interface. I can go on and on about how easy this thing is to set up. I just completed first cut, and it's only been a few days since I started this project! Fantastic. Fusion 360 worked very well with the software, selecting Mach3 as post processor. The one thing I did not know was that in order to run "paired" axes or master w/ slave axis I needed to purchase the CNC12 "pro" software. Luckily it was not very expensive at all, and the staff at Centroid was very responsive and cut me a license file the same day that I ordered. Well done, Centroid! I am really happy with this product :)

With this controller I was able to once again bring life to my cnc. Yes it does require different software from mach controllers, but to be honest the difference makes it worth it. This controller was able to communicate with my win 11 pro pc… something that was missing in my old mach 3 controller. I have a couple other cnc’s that i just may be upgrading very soon and if i do that i will be buying the acorn again. Very good buy!!!

Bought this originally to upgrade from a Mach 3 controller, but ended up using it to run an upgraded machine. It includes basic software for free, or upgraded software for a fee. Their support forum is very good, as is their documentation, which makes it viable as a DIY-type installation (although some companies like Avid use it in their retail CNC controllers too).

The software us unpleasant to use. Some things work great but I find I do not want to use it due to quirks. The support is combative and I would not try to provide them any feedback. It is unwelcome. Their way or you don't know anything. To sum it up, if you started with GRBL and open source software you should expect a steep learning curve, spending hours watching long verbose videos to try to get an understanding of terms definitions and quirks. For example, what is "overall turns ratio". I can guess, and I did figure it out, but it was not easy and I don't think I could explain it to someone else. Another example is that the software expects to run on a touch screen display. Don't expect to alt-tab or easily use other apps (like your browser when searching their forums for answers) without having to fight the UI. Another example is that the "wizard" doesn't seem to actually pull the parameters from the controller. I tried to switch to a touch screen computer and all the settings were back to defaults copying various setting.xml files seemingly had no effect. I'm not going to ask on the forums because they will likely tell me I did something wrong and to watch a few more hours of videos. Final example is that "save configuration" from the wizard does not work when you are in MDI mode but it just crashes with no error. I am sure I did it wrong and I should have known to restart the app everytime I made any change to anything. It has the feeling of windows 3.1 UGGGGGGGGGGGGGH. To be fair, the spindle sync works good and the hardware was pretty easy to setup. If you are running a lathe expect to upgrade (pay) for the pro version of the software. Some tips: if you are running a lathe plan on buying the correctly wired DB9 spindle sync cable or a db9 breakout board and parallel port(db25) breakout. If you are using hobby grade stepper drivers be aware the 5v signals are not opto isolated like the 24v signals are and you may want to try to find a breakout with isolation if you have lots of noise. I am running a consew servo motor on my lathe which seems to be low noise. You also need a differential encoder not the 4 wire type. For endstops check out the HiLetgo 3pcs ME-8108. They are big and beefy and work decently for little$$. I would also suggest you download the "centroid lathe operators manual for cnc12" and read it before you buy. It should be the first search result with those keywords.

The hardware is great Really not to hard to get going The documentation on how exactly to connect and setup the control is not so good Its mainly youtube videos that are sometimes over complex and to long. If they did a series of short videos that covered one aspect of the setup wizard at a time that would be helpful All in all a great product not pro level but premium diy I plan on buying it again for a lathe