Motion controller with built in USB support?

[Matt Clara]

Seems like the Gecko 540 is the most popular board discussed on this board these days, yet the Gecko is only parallel port compatible, in spite of the fact that new computers don't come with parallel ports. The "solution" to this problem is to spend another $150 for a device that needs to be soldered into your Gecko board. That's not a solution that just anyone can use. I'm a woodworker. Haven't touched a solder gun since I was a teenager over 20 years ago.

What else is out there?

[TOTALLYRC]

Originally Posted by Matt Clara Seems like the Gecko 540 is the most popular board discussed on this board these days, yet the Gecko is only parallel port compatible, in spite of the fact that new computers don't come with parallel ports. The "solution" to this problem is to spend another $150 for a device that needs to be soldered into your Gecko board. That's not a solution that just anyone can use. I'm a woodworker. Haven't touched a solder gun since I was a teenager over 20 years ago. What else is out there?

What else is out there depends on which software package you want to run.
If using Mach3 then the Smoothstepper is a viable option as it is usb.
You could just as easily add in a p-port card into a pci or pci express slot.
If you are not married to Mach3, Deskcnc works well with a usb to serial adapter.

Mike.

[ger21]

$20pci (or pcie) parallel port card.

[Matt Clara]

I don't know why, but I was under the impression that pci parallel ports didn't work with Mach 3--my mistake. The smooth stepper page indicates that some people report smoother/faster passes with the usb/smooth stepper combo. As popular as the Gecko boards and Mach 3 seems to be, I'm going to guess this is a non issue for the most part?

I have an older/slower computer (currently running ubuntu--I know I'll have to put XP back on it)--should I load it up with ram and not worry about it? It has a parallel port, but it's slow enough I was thinking about rebuilding it with an Athlon X2. Those motherboards don't come with parallel ports, which got me looking at what my options were.

[ger21]

I use a 1Ghz Pentium 3, and it works fine for me.

[Jesse B]

1) That computer will be fast enough for Control Software.
2) If you really want to upgrade it, buy a $20 PCI Parallel Card.
3) If you want to keep running Ubuntu you could try out EMC2 rather than Mach3.

[Matt Clara]

Originally Posted by Jesse B 1) That computer will be fast enough for Control Software. 2) If you really want to upgrade it, buy a $20 PCI Parallel Card. 3) If you want to keep running Ubuntu you could try out EMC2 rather than Mach3.

So the pci card parallel port would be superior to the one built onto the mother board?

[ger21]

The only way to know for sure is to try it. The built in port may be perfectly fine.

[H.O]

Hi,
I've been playing around with this "PC CNC" stuff for about 10 years now and since the day I started people have been saying that "tomorrow" it'll be impossible to get a computer with a parallel port - yet many (but not all) still comes with them.

And even if the actual DB25 connector at the back isn't there it's still quite likely that there's a parallel port and all you need is a bracket with the DB25 connector and a piece of ribbon cable for $5.

If there's still no parallel port you can, as already been mentioned, get a PCI card for very little money. Putting in an add-on PCI-card won't work better than the on-board port per se. But if the on baord port is a 3.3V one and your hardware doesn't support that then adding a PCI-card with 5V port should make it work.

If going USB is what you want then then the Smoothstepper is probably the easiest way, but the lack of development there during the past 18 months or so have left a few people hanging waitning for promised features. There's also some hardware from Dynomotion available that works with Mach3 but it's a little more "high end" stuff.

If simplicity, plug and play, and straight forward is what you want then stick with the LPT-port, if your computer really doesn't have one - get a PCI card. That's my €0.02...

Sorry for the rant ;-)
/Henrik.

[Matt Clara]

Originally Posted by H.O Hi, I've been playing around with this "PC CNC" stuff for about 10 years now and since the day I started people have been saying that "tomorrow" it'll be impossible to get a computer with a parallel port - yet many (but not all) still comes with them. And even if the actual DB25 connector at the back isn't there it's still quite likely that there's a parallel port and all you need is a bracket with the DB25 connector and a piece of ribbon cable for $5. If there's still no parallel port you can, as already been mentioned, get a PCI card for very little money. Putting in an add-on PCI-card won't work better than the on-board port per se. But if the on baord port is a 3.3V one and your hardware doesn't support that then adding a PCI-card with 5V port should make it work. If going USB is what you want then then the Smoothstepper is probably the easiest way, but the lack of development there during the past 18 months or so have left a few people hanging waitning for promised features. There's also some hardware from Dynomotion available that works with Mach3 but it's a little more "high end" stuff. If simplicity, plug and play, and straight forward is what you want then stick with the LPT-port, if your computer really doesn't have one - get a PCI card. That's my €0.02... Sorry for the rant ;-) /Henrik.

Not at all--I found it very informative and concise. Thanks.