In all honesty, this should not be terribly difficult to do. The differences between additive manufacturing and subtractive manufacturing as far as the machine is concerned, is not that different. The ability to use outputs specifically for heaters, through a Solid State Relay @110 or 220 (or 120/240, whatever it is) or through 24v is really like the biggest thing other than supporting the proper G/M-Codes.
Being able to use additive manufacturing like FFF/FDM (thermoplastic extrusion) with the use of BLDC instead of the common stepper motors is a HUGE advantage in that type of 3D printing. So long as the Slicers like Netfabb, Cura, Slic3r, and Simplify 3D as well as Autodesk HSM for machining (obviously) (Fusion 360, Inventor, and HSMWorks all use the same Autodesk HSM) are supported to be able to output to your controller then hybrid manufacturing could be a huge cost reduction for manufacturing. Being able to 3D print a part and then bore, finish mill, drill/ream/tap and bringing additive manufacturing up to 5 axis?
That would be pretty epic. I use optical end stops, Nema 17 Steppers (some geared), and silicone encased carbon fiber wire heater mats with RTD style thermocouples, PT100 & PT1000 and cheap Solid State Relays.
Being able to make the jump to high-end servo and stepper solutions (mainly interested in BLDC) would be a game changer. It is worth noting though that the good 3D printer controllers are moving toward 32 bit and providing much nicer looking UI and flash storage.
I think if Masso stepped up and made a controller with a much nicer GUI, Ethernet, USB3.0+ (USB type A or C), and just generally just stepped up to make a nicer more modern version of what they make now but for 2018/2019...they could do...quite...quite well.
I am a CNC Machinist and am a 3D printing enthusiast. I do not own one of Masso's controllers, I am hesitant to buy one as it does still seem like the product and software is young (I am not suggesting it has stability issues whatsoever, I have no experience with it personally) and it appears to lack features that I tend to take for granted when I use our Haas VF2 with a Renishaw probe or our ST10 lathe with a probe and a parts catcher.
I understand these are production machines, these features actually aren't as difficult as I once thought they were.
HDMI and 2.4/5G networking is not too much to ask today. Even if you just have a Raspberry Pi, any of its many variants or an Android App to interface with it, it would make it look 10x better...I think Google Chrome and have it be a server would be much easier though. Adding support for ip cameras (even if it is setting up a separate server for those and using that ip address to plugin to the Web control would be a huge benefit).
Don't do it, doesn't matter to me. I just think you should capitalize on it, but don't do it if you're not going to put a LOT into it.
Being able to use additive manufacturing like FFF/FDM (thermoplastic extrusion) with the use of BLDC instead of the common stepper motors is a HUGE advantage in that type of 3D printing. So long as the Slicers like Netfabb, Cura, Slic3r, and Simplify 3D as well as Autodesk HSM for machining (obviously) (Fusion 360, Inventor, and HSMWorks all use the same Autodesk HSM) are supported to be able to output to your controller then hybrid manufacturing could be a huge cost reduction for manufacturing. Being able to 3D print a part and then bore, finish mill, drill/ream/tap and bringing additive manufacturing up to 5 axis?
That would be pretty epic. I use optical end stops, Nema 17 Steppers (some geared), and silicone encased carbon fiber wire heater mats with RTD style thermocouples, PT100 & PT1000 and cheap Solid State Relays.
Being able to make the jump to high-end servo and stepper solutions (mainly interested in BLDC) would be a game changer. It is worth noting though that the good 3D printer controllers are moving toward 32 bit and providing much nicer looking UI and flash storage.
I think if Masso stepped up and made a controller with a much nicer GUI, Ethernet, USB3.0+ (USB type A or C), and just generally just stepped up to make a nicer more modern version of what they make now but for 2018/2019...they could do...quite...quite well.
I am a CNC Machinist and am a 3D printing enthusiast. I do not own one of Masso's controllers, I am hesitant to buy one as it does still seem like the product and software is young (I am not suggesting it has stability issues whatsoever, I have no experience with it personally) and it appears to lack features that I tend to take for granted when I use our Haas VF2 with a Renishaw probe or our ST10 lathe with a probe and a parts catcher.
I understand these are production machines, these features actually aren't as difficult as I once thought they were.
HDMI and 2.4/5G networking is not too much to ask today. Even if you just have a Raspberry Pi, any of its many variants or an Android App to interface with it, it would make it look 10x better...I think Google Chrome and have it be a server would be much easier though. Adding support for ip cameras (even if it is setting up a separate server for those and using that ip address to plugin to the Web control would be a huge benefit).
Don't do it, doesn't matter to me. I just think you should capitalize on it, but don't do it if you're not going to put a LOT into it.