I've long thought that an embedded system design makes sense for a CNC like the MechMate. When my almost endless supply of junk computers and firesold parallel port cards runs out, I'll be looking hard at PC104 based designs.

See http://www.pc104.org/ and http://www.pc104.com/ .

Choosing one vendor at random, WDL Systems makes the eBox-3851 which seems to have a nice set of specifications for driving a MechMate.

For folks that insist on using laptops without parallel ports, or dual core processors, has anyone tried a flashcutcnc.com controller? Any ideas on cost? Do you still need the Gecko's to drive the steppers? ... Just curious.

I heard that you can now use Mach3 with it, but I do not know that for sure.

IMHO, dedicate an old/cheap computer to the machine and you will be better off, but that is must my perspective.

No, you can't use Mach3 with it. I think it's about $1000 for the software and signal generator. No drives, so you'll still need Geckos and power supply.

Gerald,
Will this Expresscard34 to Parralel converter work with the PMDX-122 BOB?

http://www.synchrotech.com/products-...r_pcie_01.html

or maybe this one,

http://www.synchrotech.com/products-...dapter_01.html

As I am using a Dual core 2 ghz, 2 gig ram laptop, and dont reaaly want to buy another computer.

Anton

I have no experience of those converters. Suggest you ask at:

http://machsupport.com/forum/index.php

or

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mach1mach2cnc/

Anton,

I have not tried it but you have to be careful using a Laptop computer. It has been suggested that the power management programs that run in the back ground are a problem.

When you go to the Mach forum you might want to ask that question as well.

Thanx guys's. I am blowing my budget a bit. Bit hey, might as well score a new desktop out of the project. Are there any maximum specs recommended for the computer that runs the Mach 3 program, and any other requirements recommended to have when choosing a computer?

Much appreciated,
Anton

Anton,

Mach takes a very minimum amount of disk space, processor and memory. I purchased an old Pentium III with 256 or 1 gig memory and I think it has 80 gig drive. I don't use it to do any thing else but to run the MM on it. I have a laptop that needs to be upgraded to do my CAD and CAM work. When I am ready to cut, I transfer to a memory stick and take it to the machine.

Looking at those two converters, the first one has the correct specifications to potentially work; as a PCIe interfaced device, it's very much the same as a traditional motherboard or add in card parallel port. Of course, not all parallel ports work well, so it would need testing. The second is USB based, and almost certainly will not work. As mentioned above, you also face the challenge of disabling the power management features of the laptop. This is often a combination of BIOS level settings and OS level settings.

One more note to the adventurous , laptop parallel ports do not have very strong bus drivers (the chips that drive the parallel port) on them. This is to save power when running on the battery. In the past when using other parallel devices, I frequently ran into laptops that would not operate devices that would work off of a desktop parallel port. This may or may not be true of the add on card you mention but I would test it first if possible. :)

[QUOTE=

So, as Gerald pointed out - DON'T - use a wireless ethernet card.[/QUOTE]

Does the decidated PC that runs the Mach3 software for the MM, need to be connected to the internet for the machine to function properly, or is it just for updates, etc. ?

Robert

Bob,
You do not need the computer connected to the internet for anything at all. Some people like to have it connected to their network so they can transfer files. I like to keep computers that are used for specific tasks like the MM free of internet connections and only use it for the purpose intended. If you start using it to browse the web, and run other stuff, you will eventually find clutter building up that will affect the running of your machine at some point.

Its a preference.
I use dedicated PC for the Mechmate without LAN connection because
1) I can use recycle old PC or low spec + low cost PC in the shop a.k.a. dusty, environment.
2) I prefer to work on the PC in a comfortable location other then to squat beside the machine. A nice cup of coffee + ciggy are mandatory.
3) I'm from the stone age, I feel awkward to turn on a machine that has a wall between us.
4) Internet is an distraction :p

BTW, contrary to many believes, new PCI parallel port are freely available in my part of the world & they are in production. Price ranges from US$10~30 off the shelve, give me a shout if you need help to source some.
5) All-in-one => All problem happen at once...

I'm running an intel Atom based motherboard, they have parallel ports as standard. A really nice feature is that the whole board, drivers and processor and 1 gig of ram costs under usd $100.00. I believe it is also possible to run a compact flash card rather than a hard drive though I've not tried it. Boards come with onboard video and many usb ports. There are also "smaller than a cigar box" cases that will house it.

No problems running Mach and VCP. Solid.

Chuck

Chuck,
Most people do not know that compact flash cards are really just another ide device. Yes thats right, get the right adapter and you can hook up a compact flash card just like an ide hard drive. Solid state disks just use the same pricipal, and give you higher capacities than you can get from one compact flash card. Some industrial computers come with the CF socket already hooked up to the ide port for you to use as a HDD. Cheper than a SSD. :)

Chuck,

Do you actually have one of these Intel Atom boards driving your Mechmate? You don't get stalls when jogging at max speed? Would you be so kind as to share the specific model number to the board you are using? I had a lot of problem with modern machines with their "advanced" power saving features built into the hardware. I ended up using a older celeron machine instead of a more modern Core Duo machine.

Thanks,

David

David even my machine runs on the single core Atom, day night and day :) no hick ups

its the actual intel based gclf board. I think you should get the single core atom -

Liaoh,

Yes, I have the most basic one, I'm thinking its the 945GCLF but don't have the box handy to verify. I'm running windows XP, on Mach the kernel speed is 45KHZ. I gig ram. I've never had problems with stalls or any other glitches.

Be sure and disable things like instant messenger and other non essential items in windows and for sure you don't want anything like wireless lan running. Like Javeria says, I'm using an Intel brand board with a single core processor.

Chuck

How important is the kernel speed for running Mach3? Is it better to run the computer on high speeds or is also 25 tHz enough? What if you run it on 100 tHz?

Claus, it is my understanding that the faster the pkernel speed, the faster mach3 can send pulses to your B.O.B. (Break out Board). Naturally, the speed requirements will depend on your setup. If you have geared motors or a belt drive, then your need for higher RPM will go up along with your gear ratio. If you don't have any reduction, then 25K is adequate. For example: You have ungeared steppers - you only need 200 pulses to get one revolution from your motor. However, if you are running the recommended O.M. 7.2 motors, you will need 1440 pulses to get that same one revolution on your motor. Basically, the faster Mach3 sends pulses, the faster your motors will turn. This in turn will require a higher speed pulse train to achieve a descent max speed.

The single core Atom board you are talking about should be D945GCLF, it's max ram is 2Gig. I'm using a 8Gig thumb drive as hard drive, power consumption is below 35W with this set up... BUT I run EMC2, I use up about 2.4Gig for installing the Unbuntu OS & the EMC2 on the thumbdrive.

This board has plenty speed for running either Mech3 or EMC2.

Regarding the kernel speed, I'm in the learning process like you, but I'll have a crack at it. Please do not hasitate to point out my mistake, I won't learnt if I don't make mistakes.

Kernel speed is important for high speed machine. and this has many factors.
1stly how fast can you driver handles the control signal sequence. i.e. your step time, step space, direction hold time & direction setup. by the sequence timing of your stepper motor driver, step holding time go. add the maximum jitter period on top of the signal sequence period & you can determine the maximum speed the control+ driver system can handle.
2ndly, your max stepper motor speed & acceleration w/o slip.

Kernel speed is the number of steps/sec that Mach3 outputs. 25Khz = 25000 steps/second, for each axis.

Higher kernel speeds require more processing power. It's my understanding that most PC's are not capable of running at 100 Khz.

The recommendation from Artsoft has always been to run at the lowest kernel speed needed for your particular application. However, some users report better results at 35 or 45Khz than 25 Khz. It really depends on the PC, and some trial and error testing.

new laptop with adaptor
 

Could i work with a modern laptop, connect the old printer adaptor to USB port? Will Work good same or there are problems?Thanks

USB to LPT adapters dont work with MACH3

thanks

...but you can buy a smooth stepper that allows for USB input and outputs to parallel.

Thus, a work around for some of the new breed of desktops without PCI slots or LPT ports.

Sean

Laptop HP amd Athlon 64 3200 +
 

Hi, i have changed my desktop pc with laptop pc amd Athlon 64 3200 + and WINDOWS XP
but don't work, is it case-fault because CPU is an amd Athlon 64 ? (I 've sent by attachment laptop picture) Thanks

OS in the picture does not look like windows xp, its vista or 7, maybe thats the problem? What exact problem do you have with mach3 or smoothstepper usb?

OS system is Windows XP CPU amd Athlon 64 3200 +
printer port 25 pin, I haven't problem with desktop, working with HP picture laptop don't work, mach3 write: abnormal condition axis, and 3 red led of gecko drive are on, laptop working fine with other programs, is it a problem of amd 64 bit ? Thanks

Renraku,

the problem is the laptop. The issue is that a laptop tries to conserve as much as energy as possible. For this the industry created something called 'SMI' (System Management Interrupt) It's a system within a laptop (desktops have it to) that can just interrupt any process to do system tasks, this can be management of temperature of the CPU, check RPM of a ventilator and control. This usually takes a millisecond orso, but long enough to mess up the realtime tasks of Mach3.

So there ya go, this is the issue... the laptop!

The RTAI team (EMC2 uses RTAI Real Time OS) solved this by creating a little tool called setsmi. I don't know what Mach3 uses to garantee real time performance, I thought it was bit banging, but I am not sure... Ask on the Mach3 forum if they have tools to disable SMI.

Ahhh... and one note SMI might break your computer!

What I do before I disable SMI on EMC2 controlled Mechmate is to turn on all ventilators to guarantee that my CPU stays cool, remember after SMI is turned off, no software OR the CPU can control anything. Only then EMC2 and RTAI guarantees real time control and generate good and even pulses.

Ries

What Motherboard and CPU for new build.
 

I'm looking at this thread and what comes to mind is number 1, it's old and 2, I think what would help is for the guys that are up and running to give your specs as to what works.
I'm starting my build with gathering the electronics to start on the kitchen table project. I have an old PIII computer at home but it isn't a 1GHZ capable machine.
What I want to do is to get some solid information on whats working and then hopefully those motherboard/CPU combos are still obtainable. As cheap as some of these old P4 boards and CPU's are then a person could buy two and then have parts for backup. It seems the newer boards don't work as well and the PIII boards and CPU's are getting scarce where the P4 boards and CPU's are plentiful on ebay Of course if the PIII's are solid machines and that is what's working the best then I will just have to do a little more scrounging and get extra parts to put away for a rainy day.
Also not clear....onboard parallel port or separate card and onboard video or separate card?
TIA
Dan

Just adding to the thread...as an example on ebay there are more than 10 available of the ASUS P4B MB's with socket 478 - 1.6Ghz processors for $15 ea so I'm pulling the trigger on 3 of them as I think based on what I have read that they will work for what Mach 3 needs in a MB/CPU combo.

Hi all.

I found this in the mach suport forum.

http://www.machsupport.com/forum/ind...1;sa=showPosts

What are your coments ??

Ess
 

So.. i purchased the ethernet smooth stepper from Metalhead and now i need ot find a ethernet card for my older pc i was planning on using for running mach 3 anyone have a link? sorry if this is posted somewhere else i can't find a reference.

You will LOVE the ESS. Documentation was a little sketchy when I hooked mine up, but its been flawless ever since.

Mojo you can get something like this if your motherboard has no integrated ethernet port

http://www.amazon.com/D-Link-DFE-530...599195&sr=1-24

Anyone tried a thinclient to Run Mach3 and operate MM ?
http://www.cnet.com/products/dell-wy...954361l/specs/
Wyse R90LW
Running Sempron 1.5Hz processor
2GB Ram
65GB SDD
Embedded Win XP 2009 or even Win7
Purely Mach 3 machine control - cut files compiled on another PC and transferred via USB

Only thing a thinclient can run is a Remote Desktop to a central server
in basic its a terminal with Microsoft Windows Embedded not XP or win7

so no, it wont run Mach3

Danilo
I understand the standard use and working of thinclients . . . Change bios to boot from SSD with XP as O/S it becomes a basic PC ? RAM and processor specs above minimum spec so could work ?

Depending on how it delivers the LPT port functionality (which chipset etc) it might or might not work correctly. They also usually don't have a hard drive but boot from a flash.

Cheap Dell, Fujitsu etc core2duo desktop workstations are small reliable and up to the any task, in my opinion experimenting is not worth while these are 50-60 usd on the used market.