Taking the CNC Plunge

If twas me I think I would try win 7 32 bit, coarse it would be nice to see ifin the win 7 32 would run it but that's lots of work.
I wish they would up grade Mach 3 for 64 bit after digging into 7 64 pro it has some nice features IMHO.
Bill
 
bvd1940 said:
If twas me I think I would try win 7 32 bit, coarse it would be nice to see ifin the win 7 32 would run it but that's lots of work.
I wish they would up grade Mach 3 for 64 bit after digging into 7 64 pro it has some nice features IMHO.
Bill
Click to expand...

I went to the Mach 3 website to find out what they had to say about specific software and hardware requirements. I found that if using the parallel port for control 32-bit version of Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7 (64-bit versions will not work). However, if using an external motion device for machine control (options can be found on the Plugins page) a Desktop or Laptop with Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Windows 8 can be used. I'm using a UC100 motion controller which is listed on the Artsoft plugins page.

I've met Mach 3 requirements in that regards but the fact remains that I still can't get Mach 3 to reset without getting the UC100 error message. Without appearing to be stubborn I'd like to exhaust all other possibilities before changing operating systems. First item on the agenda is to reload the UC100 driver. I'm also looking in to a double shielded USB to UC100 cable with ferrite beads. Not sure if they make them but I'm looking. After that it's back to head scratching.

Tom S
 
Well I will be following your progress to see how it comes out as I would like to change over later but not till I have the panel with finished wiring and proper power feeds installed (and running like it should).
Good luck with your system and hope it falls into place for you.
Bill
 
Why not just jump to Mach4? They have a plug-in for parallel ports (even better, there is a beta plug-in now for the Ethernet Smooth Stepper).

This way you can use a modern OS, and have a modern GUI.
 
If you have or can borrow a pc with win xp I would give it a try. It will tell you if you have an os problem or a uc100/mach3 problem.

Jay
 
bvd1940 said:
Well I will be following your progress to see how it comes out as I would like to change over later but not till I have the panel with finished wiring and proper power feeds installed (and running like it should).
Good luck with your system and hope it falls into place for you.
Bill
Click to expand...

Thanks. Been trying different things trying to get Mach 3 and the UC100 to play together. Still not working but I'm not giving up.

Tom S
 
tmarks11 said:
Why not just jump to Mach4? They have a plug-in for parallel ports (even better, there is a beta plug-in now for the Ethernet Smooth Stepper).

This way you can use a modern OS, and have a modern GUI.
Click to expand...

I just purchased Mach 3 and haven't got my machine running yet. Putting out another $200 for software is not in the cards at this time. Everything I've read says that Windows 7 64 bit, Mach 3 and UC100 will work together and I'm determined to find out why it's not.

Tom S
 
jbolt said:
If you have or can borrow a pc with win xp I would give it a try. It will tell you if you have an os problem or a uc100/mach3 problem.

Jay
Click to expand...

I think I may have a faulty UC100 or cable. I reloaded the driver from the CNCDrive.com website but still getting the UC100 did not respond error and occasionally a UC100 not found error. I'm going to contact the UC100 vendor and ask if they will send me another one.

BTW - I'll ask around to see if anyone has a computer running XP. That will certainly answer several questions.

Tom S
 
I connected the UC100 directly to my laptop instead of through the USB hub and I'm no longer getting errors. Also ran some simple pocketing g-code and didn't get any errors. Guess I have a faulty USB hub. Now I can focus on cleaning up the wiring and learning Mach 3 and it's capabilities.

BTW - I put a 10mf capacitor on the SSR control signal feed and nothing happened. Still not completing the circuit.

Tom S
 
TomS said:
BTW - I put a 10mf capacitor on the SSR control signal feed and nothing happened. Still not completing the circuit.
Click to expand...

That is strange, I would love to look at the output of the wall wart with a scope and see what it looks like.
 
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