Originally Posted by daisydog  Hello I have tried a the Mach3 on my new router and cannot get it to function. The support has been prompt and but ineffective. Over 3 weeks and many hours and e-mails it still does not work. The latest suggestion is to add another piece to the puzzle, the Smooth Stepper. I realy don't want to spend any more money unless it is a sure fire cure.
I have a Win Cnc on my other router and other than a few problems that were fixed it is easy to run and very efficient.
I am ready to spend the money and get a Win to replace the Mach. First a few questions, the Mach uses windows for the g-code as well as the motor signals and is totally dependant on windows for it's performance, this does not fill me with confidence. Win on the other hand has it's own boards. Does this mean that Win is not using windows for the motor signals and therefore is only using windows for the g-code and the ugi, or is Win using windows for the signals and is also very dependant on it for accuracy.
I am willing to spend the extra cash if it means a controller that is not Windows dependant. The extra security is worth it.
Thanks,
Joe |
Two things come to mind.
1. When using the smooth stepper or other external motion controller it takes away your windows concerns as the motion is generated on the external board.
2. The other thing to consider is the standarization of all the machines in your shop.
Having two different controls means more support and having to know how to program two different software packages.
Having said both things I have settled on Mach3 as my one control software. At some point in the future I will convert my router over.
When I had my Taig mill, it took me an afternoon to get it up and working using mach 3 and the pport so it shouldn't be 2 hard to make it work.
During the 3 weeks of trying to get it to work I hope you swapped out computers just to be sure it wasn't the computer or the pport itself giving problems although Scott is pretty through.