USB Update

[Mark A Johnson]

Has anyone heard anything about Tormach switching to USB connectors for their electronics.


Thanks,
Mark

[justgary]

Mark -

I have not heard anything about it, but judging by the delay in USB I doubt that it will happen without a major change in the way Mach 3 works.

Mach 3 essentially hijacks Winders, running its machine control loop at roughly 25 KHz or so. To run USB you would probably have to build a dedicated controller board and pass the toolpath over to it.

I don't usually read the Mach forum. Is somebody pushing USB, or are you just not wanting to use a parallel port?

Regards,

- Just Gary

[zephyr9900]

No, have you, Mark? USB connection would require a pulse generator (SmoothStepper, ncPod, etc.) to be built into the Tormach electronics, because USB is a serial protocol and the current control scheme (the PC sending out step and direction signals directly) requires the parallel interface.

Randy

[seanreit]

Pardon my ignorance, but would there be any benefits to going to a USB and pulse generator?? Other than the simplification of being able to use the newer computers that don't' come with parallel ports?

[ger21]

Originally Posted by justgary Mark - I have not heard anything about it, but judging by the delay in USB I doubt that it will happen without a major change in the way Mach 3 works. Mach 3 essentially hijacks Winders, running its machine control loop at roughly 25 KHz or so. To run USB you would probably have to build a dedicated controller board and pass the toolpath over to it. I don't usually read the Mach forum. Is somebody pushing USB, or are you just not wanting to use a parallel port? Regards, - Just Gary

The Smoothstepper USB pulse generator was developed specifically for use with Mach3. It's rapidly becoming very popular. www.warp9td.com