Originally Posted by
cbickell
Thanks for the reply Andrew.
Last night, I noticed that MicroProto makes an adapter board for the Phase control systems that will update to Step/Direction. That board costs $100 and is a simple DIY installation which I'm fully capable of.
That would make my system fully compatible with Mach 3 and the other modern CAM packages.
However, I've been reading up on the Gecko G540 and it seems like a very solid controller. Can I "simply" install the G540 into my existing MicroProto box/power supply and use my existing steppers? Obviously the process is more involved than that - please let me know if I've missed a huge "gotcha!".
I understand it's not plug and play, but that's never stopped me before. It just seems that for an extra $150 - $200, I can take a HUGE leap forward and also gain an extra axis for future enhancements.
For the computer, I have a very capable PC desktop that I'm currently demo-ing CamBam and ViaCad with. It works just fine for those needs - and with a new parallel port added, it should run Mach 3 or any of the other control software programs.
SuperCam works, and Dennis has been very helpful in getting me up and running. I may give his new version a day in court, but I'm not limiting my choices.
Thanks again for the input - hope you don't mind the new round of questions.
Chris