# Mach 3 processor platform...



## Ray C (Jan 24, 2014)

Folks,

I need to setup a controller platform that will run Mach 3 software.  I'm not fond of bringing my higher-end laptop into the shop and it just so happens I have a couple Intel DN2800MT Atom Motherboards.  The little Atom is a dual core (up to 4 threads) runs at 1.86 GHz and can hold 4GB of DDR3.  I've used these boards extensively for other dedicated purposes (doing intense FFT for audio analysis along with a lightweight web server and SQL db) and they work great especially when outfitted with a nice SSD.  I've never run Win7 on them but, they run full blown Fedora Desktop with ease.

Does anyone have any guesses about how suitable of a platform this would be to run Win 7 and Mach 3?  This platform would not be used for general purpose computing -just a dedicated platform for a Mach 3 CNC machine.


Ray


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## xalky (Jan 24, 2014)

I'm not sure if you saw the requirements here: http://www.machsupport.com/software/mach3/

On my CNC plasma table, the controller manufacturer reccomends not running anything but Windows XP. minimum 1.6ghz processor. Eliminate all background apps in xp. No interrupts whatsoever. It really should be a dedicated machine with nothing else on it. Disable the network card. I can dig up the whole setup for you if you'd like. You want this thing to be bare bones and lean, with all resources going to controlling your platform.

Mine wouldn't run right on windows 7. Some guys have gotten it to run. XP is pretty bullet proof for this application.


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## dave2176 (Jan 25, 2014)

Ray,

I've seen several people running Atom processors successfully.  Mach says you need a dedicated video card so the processor doesn't have to do video. Win 7 32 bit is fine.

Dave


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## Ray C (Jan 25, 2014)

@Xalky:  Thanks.  I see the SW specs say 1GHz and 512k RAM...  I think the Atom will do fine at 1.86GHz and 4 GB RAM.  And yes, I plan to do a minimum installation and shut off all but the necessary background services.

@dave2176:  Thanks...  It's reassuring to know others are getting away with it.  XP huh?  Geeze, I'm not a Microsoft expert but, if memory serves, Microsoft stopped supporting XP several years ago.  I actually thought it was the best OS MS ever had.  Do you know if you can even still get a copy of XP anywhere?

I noticed that Mach3 only requires Open GL3.0 or higher.  That is an ancient version of GL which pre-dates any software use of the hardware GPGPU accelerator cores.  At least this is a sign they're not using the graphics processing power to offload mathematical calculations from their normal software processing.   A GPGPU can crunch math a couple thousand times faster than the normal CPU.  It's obvious they're not relying on the GPGPU so, a slightly faster CPU should be OK.

Anyhow, I've got two of these motherboards and all I need to make them functional is an enclosure and a hard disk.  The small sized SSDs are dirt cheap and have really snappy performance...  I'll let y'a all know how this turns-out.

Ray


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## Joe0121 (Jan 25, 2014)

Ray C said:


> @Xalky:  Thanks.  I see the SW specs say 1GHz and 512k RAM...  I think the Atom will do fine at 1.86GHz and 4 GB RAM.  And yes, I plan to do a minimum installation and shut off all but the necessary background services.
> 
> @dave2176:  Thanks...  It's reassuring to know others are getting away with it.  XP huh?  Geeze, I'm not a Microsoft expert but, if memory serves, Microsoft stopped supporting XP several years ago.  I actually thought it was the best OS MS ever had.  Do you know if you can even still get a copy of XP anywhere?
> 
> ...


Windows XP with SP 3 is in fact still supported by Microsoft due in large part to the federal government and hospitals. There are a large number of client side application used in those industries that wont run on anything newer. Or upgrading the OS would require upgrading the hardware which is $$$ those organizations don't want to spend. I still see Microsoft server 2000 still in production in places.

You could almost get away with a Raspberry Pi Model B with the Proc Overclocked to 1GHZ. I have mine at 900 MHZ and it is stable. Personally I'd buy a cheap laptop of CL.

- - - Updated - - -



Ray C said:


> Folks,
> 
> I need to setup a controller platform that will run Mach 3 software.  I'm not fond of bringing my higher-end laptop into the shop and it just so happens I have a couple Intel DN2800MT Atom Motherboards.  The little Atom is a dual core (up to 4 threads) runs at 1.86 GHz and can hold 4GB of DDR3.  I've used these boards extensively for other dedicated purposes (doing intense FFT for audio analysis along with a lightweight web server and SQL db) and they work great especially when outfitted with a nice SSD.  I've never run Win7 on them but, they run full blown Fedora Desktop with ease.
> 
> ...


BTW Linux Mint 16 KDE > *

Fatdog also runs like a dream on the Atom CPU's.

Also here as an option with a bit more horsepower than the PI:

http://beagleboard.org/Products/BeagleBone%20Black

- - - Updated - - -



Ray C said:


> Folks,
> 
> I need to setup a controller platform that will run Mach 3 software.  I'm not fond of bringing my higher-end laptop into the shop and it just so happens I have a couple Intel DN2800MT Atom Motherboards.  The little Atom is a dual core (up to 4 threads) runs at 1.86 GHz and can hold 4GB of DDR3.  I've used these boards extensively for other dedicated purposes (doing intense FFT for audio analysis along with a lightweight web server and SQL db) and they work great especially when outfitted with a nice SSD.  I've never run Win7 on them but, they run full blown Fedora Desktop with ease.
> 
> ...


BTW Linux Mint 16 KDE > *

Fatdog also runs like a dream on the Atom CPU's.

Also here as an option with a bit more horsepower than the PI:

http://beagleboard.org/Products/BeagleBone%20Black


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## xalky (Jan 25, 2014)

Ray C said:


> @Xalky:  Thanks.  I see the SW specs say 1GHz and 512k RAM...  I think the Atom will do fine at 1.86GHz and 4 GB RAM.  And yes, I plan to do a minimum installation and shut off all but the necessary background services.
> 
> @dave2176:  Thanks...  It's reassuring to know others are getting away with it.  XP huh?  Geeze, I'm not a Microsoft expert but, if memory serves, Microsoft stopped supporting XP several years ago.  I actually thought it was the best OS MS ever had.  Do you know if you can even still get a copy of XP anywhere?
> 
> ...


 I'm guessing that the higher cpu speeds required for plasma cutting has a lot to do with the speed at which these things cut thin materials at. plotting all the curve points at high speed and all the stepper points requires a higher speed processor. You likely wouldn't encounter half those stepper speeds when machining. When cutting 22 guage material, my plasma likely goes about almost as fast as a pen plotter. It's cool to watch. 

Marcel


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## woodguy (Jan 25, 2014)

I use an atom based 1U computer running XP and it works just fine. The system does use a smoothstepper though to offload the pulse generation.


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## Ray C (Jan 25, 2014)

As for different platforms...  I already have two of these motherboards and they've already depreciated to zero value.  Initially, there were three identical units purchased for a prototype and used for regulatory testing.  One was incinerated (intentionally) and the other two survived the tests just fine and I used them on my desktop for experimental things for many months afterward.  -They're fine.  These are the original Intel boards.  Intel no longer manufactures boards and *all *motherboard production is now outsourced to a Taiwan manufacturer...  They're actually 10 bucks cheaper per board now and I was buying them for $119 in lots of 250.

I just bought two sets of cheap enclosures, 120GB SSDs and WiFi network adapters all for under $160 bucks.  I also dug-up my original purchased copy of Windows XP.  I'll need to convert the image to a USB bootable but, that's easy.  I hope it will still properly register with Microsoft.  I had a 3 license kit and probably only used one of the licenses...  We'll see.  I also have a 5-pack of Win7 licenses with 2 or 3 copies left.  I'll try that on one of them to see how that goes.

EDIT:  As far as I know, Mach only runs on Windows-based OS's...  I've got a fairly good handle on computer hardware but, really didn't know how much of a dog/hog Mach is.  Crappy software is just that -and not even a super-computer can make it seem to run well.  I have ZERO background with Mach and needed a reference point for what kind of platform is necessary for it.

Ray


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## dave2176 (Jan 25, 2014)

Yes Mach 3 only runs on Windows so the Linux variants are out. Did your mill come with a smooth stepper for USB control? If I was running USB I would run Windows 7 and not even think twice about XP. If I had 32 bit Windows 7 or any XP I would drop the memory to 2GB. XP support ends in April so no security patches after that. If your Atom platform has an available slot I would buy a cheap video card to offload video from the CPU. Mach doesn't require much for video.

Linux CNC is an option which is a mix of Ubuntu and the EMC control software and is available at no cost but it only supports parallel ports. The story is that they will never support USB because it takes control of motors away from the software and turns it over to different hardware thereby entering unknown behavior. I still have it dual booting on my platform since it is parallel based so I can test it as I move forward in the testing phase.

I would stay away from a laptop.  They claim the lower power control in their hardware can cause issues with Mach.

Dave


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## Ray C (Jan 25, 2014)

Thanks, Dave.

I really don't know what the machine comes with as I haven't picked it up yet.  I was going to this week but, we got hit with a terrible cold spell here and in my area, when this happens, the natural gas lines drop pressure and my furnace must be manually reset when that happens.  -As such, I'm stuck at home until this cold snap passes.

Anyhow, I know the machine is USB controlled but don't know if it has this "smooth stepper" -which I presume is a buffering technique to smooth-out data transmission over the USB wire.  I once did a lot of USB serial programming.  -Basically, USB works but, "ain't real pretty under the hood".  As long as you don't have too many devices pushing the limit of the standard (of which there are way too many variants and half-implemented devices out there) -and as long as the internal hub controller in your computer is fairly stable, it works ok.  From my own experiences, it doesn't pay to purchase dirt-cheap, no-name USB hubs and unshielded cables.  

I've heard that Ethernet controllers are the way to go.  For now, I'll use what it comes with.

I appreciate the info about Linux CNC vis-à-vis parallel port only support.  I get it.

I have still not purchased the CAM program yet as I'm waiting to take a free online tutorial offered by MecSoft (who is the partner for Geomagic/Alibre CAD).  I've decided to get that package but, won't spring for the cost until everything is setup.  

As for laptop vs. desktop machines...  Even the most expensive laptops contain the "Mobile" version of the CPU.  A Core i5 or i7 laptop processor, operating at the same speed will only have about 40% of the processing power of an equivalent desktop version of the same processor model.  The mobile versions have vast numbers of internal features disabled.  Also, laptop motherboards typically do not have as sophisticated of a system controller chipset.  The net effect is that desktops will beat the pants off a laptop hands-down -almost universally.

That said, I use HP EliteBooks almost exclusively and they're outfitted with dedicated micro-graphics cards.  As such, they ain't cheap -and I don't like bringing them into the shop.

Ray





dave2176 said:


> Yes Mach 3 only runs on Windows so the Linux variants are out. Did your mill come with a smooth stepper for USB control? If I was running USB I would run Windows 7 and not even think twice about XP. If I had 32 bit Windows 7 or any XP I would drop the memory to 2GB. XP support ends in April so no security patches after that. If your Atom platform has an available slot I would buy a cheap video card to offload video from the CPU. Mach doesn't require much for video.
> 
> Linux CNC is an option which is a mix of Ubuntu and the EMC control software and is available at no cost but it only supports parallel ports. The story is that they will never support USB because it takes control of motors away from the software and turns it over to different hardware thereby entering unknown behavior. I still have it dual booting on my platform since it is parallel based so I can test it as I move forward in the testing phase.
> 
> ...


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## Ray C (Feb 3, 2014)

OK...  Finally got around to putting the controller platform together.  I believe it should be adequate to run Mach III and when that is not in use, it will make a handy shop computer.   I'll use this thread to talk about the controller and Mach III software and in a few days when the PM45 CNC mill actually arrives, I'll create another thread to show the uncrating and initial setup.

...  The Mach III controller platform consists of:

Intel DN2800MT Atom Motherboard (Dual core, multi-threaded, 1.86 GHz), 4 GB Ram, 120GB SSD (Flash drive), TP-Link 150Mbps wireless adapter, Win 7 Home Premium 64 bit.

I don't remember where the enclosure came from but, they were $29 on Amazon.  I've used this processor platform in a production product running Fedora 16 and hardware-wise, it's very strong.  I know from personal experience, the onboard USB controller is very good.  So far, it's running Win 7 very well; however, it took 4 hours to download and install the 138 initial upgrade packages after the base installation.  During that time, the overall processor showed an average of 28% CPU utilization.  It peaked at 3.9 GB of memory utilization.

The WiFi network adaptor is a USB dongle and will be covered by the front cover.  I bought and installed fans but, they're really not necessary because the motherboard is only 12 Watts.





The perforated enclosure is almost completely open and there won't be a heat problem.  Mach III installed without a problem but, it's not driving anything yet as the USB is not connected to anything.




...  We'll see how this goes.  It think it will be OK.  I'm told Ethernet is a better way to control the motors but the PM-45 CNC comes setup for USB so, we'll go that route.  Naturally, I plan to use a very good quality, shielded USB cable.

Stay tuned and pretty soon, I'll start another thread to show the actual mill setup.

Ray


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## Rbeckett (Feb 3, 2014)

Ray, 
Get with Steve (Jumps4) because he does a ton of stuff with Mach and has converted a number of machines and know a lot of trick and saves with that system.  He is working on a fairly large project so it may take him a day to respond but he is my go to guy for that software and what hardware works good with it.

Bob


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## jumps4 (Feb 4, 2014)

hi Ray
if you start having problems with your setup and running certain software's suspect windows 7 64 bit first. I have helped a lot of people all over the world set up mach3 and their controllers and 64bit can be a nightmare. usb and Ethernet controllers do not use the internal cpu clock from the pc, instead they buffer the g-code to their own processor and memory . G-code is a text document and windows does not consider a common text document to be high priority. that should be fine except if windows decided at a given moment one of its internal operations should have higher priority like sending everything you are doing and using on the pc to itself over the internet connection your installing ( they say to improve the customer experience ). then the packets of code arrive to slow for the controllers processor and they loose sync and stop or just go nuts. also you may find that some of the cad and cam software's will not work in 64 bit also. smooth stepper itself says 64 bit either works great or won't work at all.
 even the cad and cam software's will jump on the internet if the see any connection to keep themselves updated they say, but they stay connected and use processor speed and memory and can take priority away from mach3 to update..
 Microsoft has not built a stable software since xp and the government and medical industry is fighting them to keep xp maintained into the future so they will not have to change their operating systems.
 from what I have learned over the years working with mach3 ,doing anything else on a pc that is running a machine while the g-code is running is dangerous. the head on your zx45 weighs 300lb and can reach speeds of 200ipm with no problem screaming down towards your table or you. 
 XP is the preferred system for mach3 and everything else is a work around, may work, may not work, may not do everything right, worked yesterday wont work today. I read the yahoo mach3 site from the new owners of mach3 and the original author daily like the morning paper and I see it every day.
 I'm not trying to tell you what to do, just where to look if something goes wrong.
happy chips
steve


added note: using any type of wireless controllers like keyboards ,mouse or hand held pendants are not advised, starting a drill or any other electrical device can send a false radio signal triggering mach3 to stop or move on it's own.  my home phone interfered with my wireless internet and had to be replaced.


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## Ray C (Feb 4, 2014)

Steve,

10-4.  Now I have a favor to ask...  Tell me what you really think of 64 bit Win 7?  :lmao:

All kidding aside, I'll take that well under advisement and will keep a watchful eye.  I did in-fact try to install XP on this machine since I still have a few licenses from a 5-pack that I purchased a long time ago.  Sadly, it would not install properly on this Atom motherboard...  Actually, XP installed OK but, it would not recognize the graphics chip and the Ethernet adapter was glitchy.  The graphics would only run in 800x600 mode and Intel does not support an XP-32 bit driver.  I got the latest network adapter driver from PC-Link and it still dropped the connection on & off.  -That settles that...

BTW:  Just to share a thought process... I intentionally installed Win7 Home and not the Professional or Enterprise version because, the latter versions have all kinds of crap and services that are totally not needed for this application.  Hopefully, that will reduce the load on the CPU.  Absolutely, I have no intention of running anything else when Mach is doing it's job.  With a system at idle, the CPU utilization shows between 0 and 1%.

We shall see how it goes and if problems arise -I'll do what I always do...  -Solve them.

Ray


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## jumps4 (Feb 5, 2014)

this pc is 64 bit and when I was making videos showing how I use emachineshoop and d2nc, it would not work right for anything. I had windows 7 32 bit installed on my laptop and everything runs perfect. I haven't had a problem with any of the cad or cam software's or the screen capture software either. 
steve


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## Ray C (Feb 5, 2014)

jumps4 said:


> this pc is 64 bit and when I was making videos showing how I use emachineshoop and d2nc, it would not work right for anything. I had windows 7 32 bit installed on my laptop and everything runs perfect. I haven't had a problem with any of the cad or cam software's or the screen capture software either.
> steve




Steve, I really think it's a double-edge sword.  Older operating systems have a hard time running on new hardware and vise-versa.  I ran groups of software engineers and we developed highly sophisticated programs (doing audio analysis) that had to run on high-end desktop or low-end server platforms.  I've bumped into these issues one or two times before .  It's a real pain when things like this happen -but at least now, I've got a heads-up to keep my eyes wide on the horizon.

If it makes you feel any better, this computer will only run Mach III.  I've got other (fairly high-end) laptops and desktops that are running the CAD/CAM software, quickbooks -and a million other things.

I was surprised to hear that RF interference causing LAN/WiFi dropouts would cause the machine to go nuts.  ANY program worth a nickel that causes a crash because the network drops out is clearly at fault.  Programs are supposed to be written to assume communication links will fail mid-stream -and they should be robust enough to not crash in horrible ways.   This is a fundamental principle of programming 101.  Similarly, transmitted communication protocols across a wire (such as USB) should have error detection/correction.  If these kinds of crashes are characteristic of Mach then, frankly, I will look for a different controller.

I've spent a lifetime developing hardware (and software) that can function under the worst possible conditions such that it always fails-safe.  If Mach and the supporting hardware interface modules aren't built to reasonable specifications, I will eventually get rid of it and replace it with safe/adequate software and equipment.


Ray


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## jumps4 (Feb 5, 2014)

I'm sorry I am getting the feeling we are getting off on the wrong foot here, my replies were in direct response to your question and I'll quote

 " Does anyone have any guesses about how suitable of a platform this would be to run Win 7 and Mach 3?  This platform would not be used for general purpose computing -just a dedicated platform for a Mach 3 CNC machine.
 Ray "
 after stating you would only use the pc for the machine you showed you had internet capability installed also
 your knowledge is far greater than mine on pc and software and I was just relating the problems I had encountered with other people trying to use windows 7.
 I'm hoping you find a stable answer and there are a lot of other people also interested. please post your findings
steve


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## Ray C (Feb 5, 2014)

Steve,

No way are we on the wrong foot...  I positively thank you for opening my eyes a great deal.  I now have a much better idea of the framework of the software/hardware involved.  It seems like it's Caveat Emptor and I thought things were more robust than that...

Thank you!  

Ray




jumps4 said:


> I'm sorry I am getting the feeling we are getting off on the wrong foot here, my replies were in direct response to your question and I'll quote
> 
> " Does anyone have any guesses about how suitable of a platform this would be to run Win 7 and Mach 3?  This platform would not be used for general purpose computing -just a dedicated platform for a Mach 3 CNC machine.
> Ray "
> ...


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## xalky (Feb 5, 2014)

While we're on the subject of "archaic but stable". A Parrallel port is the way to go for this application for the stepper signal from the PC to the motor controllers. Steve knows what he's talking about, I learned most of this stuff the hard way, and he confirms everything about running Mach 3 with a PC, that I learned. I too thought I had a better solution, and had to redo a lot of my setup because of it. Plus I had some big time problems trying to use a Chinese plasma cutter that emitted so much EMF that it burned up 2 power supplys on my PC, and that was with a tremendous amount of shielding and grounding. In my quest to straighten out the RF problem, I spent days and weeks reading about setting this thing up properly. I learned a lot of information not directly related to my RF problem... stuff that just sort of trickles in while looking for answers.

You have a milling machine which won't have nearly the RF problems associated with plasma cutting, but, spend some time over at CNC zone, You'll learn about what works and what will cause you lots of grief. 

Marcel


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## Ray C (Feb 5, 2014)

Guys... My head is spinning...  LOL:  I take this all in good stride but something really seems messed-up here.  -And yes, it's my fault for not being "in-the-know" and doing more research.

Anyhow, Parallel vs. Serial...  In the old days (I love saying that) serial was invented to allow signals to be transmitted longer distances while being less prone to external interference.  Transmission rates were initially quite a bit slower and the processing protocol was slightly more complicated (due to start and stop bits etc) but, immunity was a million times better than parallel transmission.  -I couldn't begin to tell you how many P->S and S->P devices I made in the early part of my career...

Anyhow, I don't doubt a word you guys are saying -and I thank you immensely for opening my eyes to what looks to be a very interesting upcoming time for me.   What I really want to know is how come the state of hardware and software is so immature in this area?  Who is developing this junk and does it go through any kind of product regulatory/safety testing before they ship it out the door?  I've only worked in medical devices and laboratory grade electronics equipment all my life -and last I heard, anything electronic you sell in the USA requires some degree of regulatory testing that includes some degree of product stability/failure analysis.

Hmmm, maybe there was a reason I stuck to manual machining all these years...   From what you guys are telling me, I'm not so sure I want to even plug this thing in...

Ray


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## xalky (Feb 5, 2014)

I'm no electronics guru by any means. The new computer hardware is designed for mutitasking. These Mach 3 setups are designed for 1 thing, doing CNC. The parrallel port works because it's super simple. Each wire in the connector sends out the pulse for its particular stepper. There's no special decoding necessary., and there's no feedback coming thru on the same wire. The simplicity of it, is what makes it reliable. All the background operations in XP basically get shut off. The machines sole purpose has to be to run your machine...and thats it. When your running G-code, the milling machine doesn't care if the PC is sending a datapacket over the internet, or asking you if you want to update your software....It's gonna crash a tool because it didn't think to wait.:rofl:


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## Ray C (Feb 5, 2014)

xalky said:


> I'm no electronics guru by any means. The new computer hardware is designed for mutitasking. These Mach 3 setups are designed for 1 thing, doing CNC. The parrallel port works because it's super simple. Each wire in the connector sends out the pulse for its particular stepper. There's no special decoding necessary., and there's no feedback coming thru on the same wire. The simplicity of it, is what makes it reliable. All the background operations in XP basically get shut off. The machines sole purpose has to be to run your machine...and thats it. When your running G-code, the milling machine doesn't care if the PC is sending a datapacket over the internet, or asking you if you want to update your software....It's gonna crash a tool because it didn't think to wait.:rofl:



Oh boy, this is going to be interesting...  -All I can say...

Ray


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## dave2176 (Feb 5, 2014)

Ray,

I'm sure you can get Windows 7 to run your smooth stepper over USB. Matt has been doing it successfully or he would be selling them with a C10 parallel controller.  I think what you need to look at is what can you do to keep Mach 3 from tripping over Windows.  Turn Windows update off so it doesn't try to look for patches until you decide on maintenance day. Shut down any unnecessary service like print spooler and a mess of others. Disable wifi while Mach runs.

If you see behavior problems during testing,  is there a slot available for a cheap video card? Mach says that integrated video can cause skips because the processor is worried about video when it should be paying attention to Mach. Try dropping memory to 2 GB to ensure Mach is using address space in the signed integer range where 32 bit lives. Try 32 bit Windows 7 with 2 GB ram.

Grab some test g-code and run it in air through increasingly complex steps using a piece of drill rod instead of a costly end mill while you watch. Once satisfied get some machinable wax and run the same code with an end mill in it. Gather the wax up and melt it back together to try again. While I think you should proceed carefully,  stay with the controller setup Matt put together and fix your computer to be compatible. 

EMC software was created by the government back in the '60s as I recall and many years later was turned over to open source.  LinuxCNC grew out of it.  I don't know if Mach did an initial port to Windows as a starting point or built from scratch.

Congratulations on your new mill.
Dave


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## jumps4 (Feb 6, 2014)

I confess I use usb control on my zx45 mill. it is a uc100 running under windows xp, it runs at 100khz allowing me to use a higher microstep of 1000 pulses per revolution and really making the motors smooth. but if I forget to shut down any programs I had running like my cad or cam software the uc100 will loose communication and stop working. that's probably a lack of available memory.
 A good test g-code file is the roadrunner that comes with mach3, with lots of constant velocity moves, any loss of steps will show up If the machine does not return to exact zero when the code has completed. I use a marker to mark the ways with a fine line, run the program at 60ipm and then see if the lines come back to complete alignment. if they are off at all the machine is loosing steps.
 not every version of  mach3 works for every application. If you find a version of mach3 that works do not update, they tell you that on their site. machines shipped from cnc venders with mach3 are shipped with older versions and ask you not to update stating the version the machine was shipped with is the only stable version they suggest. hence the mach4 version they are trying to get running now.
 mach3 has never worked correctly for threading on a cnc lathe, some get it to work some don't and that is a major reason for the different platform mach4 is being written in. mach3 cannot maintain sync with the spindle pulse for long thread lengths, it looses track an the next pass will destroy your thread. if you stay under about an inch and a half it works most of the time.
 uc100 usb does not work for lathe either, it cant send real time spindle sync through usb without lag. I worked with the company for months beta testing and no answer was found as of 8 months ago. I haven't tried the last update I just went back to parallel port control on my lathe.
 my point in all of this is mach3 is not stable for every computer and any version, add to that different versions of windows different bios, processors, motherboards ect and the problem becomes clear. " which one of all of these is causing the problem??? "
my lathe is running the version ending in 22 my mill is running 66 but there was a version I was using that was better. I lost track of what one it was when beta testing uc100 and swapping my controller from the lathe to mill. I think it was 44.
 the problems in mach3 are not instantly apparent, sometimes it takes months before a certain order of code causes a problem. there are tons of vaguely covered settings people will tell you to set to this or that, but what works on your pc may not work on theirs. 
 once you have your machine is stable I'd suggest to leave it alone and not try tweaking.

I'm not knocking mach3 it is just great. I can't afford a Haas  and without mach3 I would have never gotten into cnc.
Ray if you do get your pc to work with win7 64 bit a lot of people will want to know how, but your solution may very well not work for them.
Haas and other manufactures have an advantage over what we are doing, they use a computer to do only one thing. run their software on their machine and that is all it was ever intended to do.
my 3 cents )
steve


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