|
I would like to replace the current pc (with a parallel printer port) to a faster. machine, probably a workstation (USB’ no parallel printer port).
My 3D router is a simple configuration, X, Y, and Z axis drives, cutting motor speed control, and associated end stop for the axis movement, jogging handset and motor driver (independent of Mach3) display.
Can you give me recommendations for the motor driver controller replacement? They would be very welcome and acknowledged.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Stephen Gould
|
Stephen, If you have the option to use ethernet it is a much better choice. It is galvanically isolated.? USB is sensitive to groundloops and electrical interference. When I got a new controller for Mach-4, I initially was using USB with it.? I had a lot of noise problems.? I am an electronic engineer, and usually know what I am doing, but that controller was very sensitive to noise.? I changed from USB and instead used the network port on the controller and all the problems went away. Bertho ? ?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
From: [email protected] < [email protected]> On Behalf Of Stephen Gould Sent: Saturday, March 19, 2022 6:49 AM To: [email protected]Subject: [MachCNC] Replace/upgrade parallel port driver with/to USB ? I would like to replace the current pc (with a parallel printer port) to a faster. machine, probably a workstation (USB’ no parallel printer port). My 3D router is a simple configuration, X, Y, and Z axis drives, cutting motor speed control, and associated end stop for the axis movement, jogging handset and motor driver (independent of Mach3) display. Can you give me recommendations for the motor driver controller replacement? They would be very welcome and acknowledged. Looking forward to hearing from you.
|
You could consider using a UC100 adapter (parallel to USB) which is what I did when I changed my PC.
I have had no issues with my old setup but don't be tempted with knock off versions at a low price as they don't seem to work (so I am told)
Matt
|
On Sat, Mar 19, 2022 at 5:49 AM Stephen Gould <stephen_gould@...> wrote:
I would like to replace the current pc (with a parallel printer port) to a faster. machine, probably a workstation (USB’ no parallel printer port).
My 3D router is a simple configuration, X, Y, and Z axis drives, cutting motor speed control, and associated end stop for the axis movement, jogging handset and motor driver (independent of Mach3) display.
Can you give me recommendations for the motor driver controller replacement? They would be very welcome and acknowledged.
Following on from Bertho's advice you may want to look at ethercat. This is something that works on an ethernet connection and speeds up things. Very useful for high speed interfaces and actions. I'm not an expert on bloody well anything in this area (networking) so its not like I KNOW what I'm doing just know that its the newest out of the possible connection systems/protocols. HTH
|
Stephen,
I’m no expert but I purchased a Chinese CNC router about 5 years ago and had several problems. ?I rebuilt the thing with new motors, better proximity sensors on X,Y, and Z. ?I’m currently building a new CNC router from scratch and this is what I’ve experienced and learned so far. ?I can’t tell from your note if you are currently using Mach 3 to control anything or not.
1) You can replace your PC with an older model like the Dell T3500 with a decent Hard Drive, 8GB of RAM and a good video card that is easily procured for less than $200 on Ebay, Amazon or Discount Electronics. ?They come with Windows 7 or 10, both of which run Mach 3 very well. ?I like Windows 7 better than 10 but that is solely a personal preference. ?It doesn’t have to be a Dell but you’ll want a decent amount of RAM. ?Lots of folks use laptops.
2) You will want a motion controller like Warp 9’s Ethernet Smoothstepper. ?There are other manufacturers out there as well that I’m not familiar with but the Smoothstepper eliminated the missed steps I was experiencing as well providing a smooth stream of signals to the motors. ?As others have noted the Ethernet connection is superior to USB and available on a myriad of older PC’s and laptops.
3) For the retrofit of my old machine I purchased the controller box from Avid CNC. ?Its a four axis control box that had good motor drivers, big power supply, ample proximity switch controls, an input for a spindle VFD and included the Ethernet Smoothstepper as well as inputs/outputs for controlling things like a vacuum system and coolant. ?Their products aren’t cheap but its good stuff and the folks there are very helpful. ?Its a plug and play system that works well with Mach 3 and Mach 4 through which you can control everything including a spindle.. ?You can check out their stuff on their website.
Don’t know if that helps but there ya go.
B.
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
I would like to replace the current pc (with a parallel printer port) to a faster. machine, probably a workstation (USB’ no parallel printer port).
My 3D router is a simple configuration, X, Y, and Z axis drives, cutting motor speed control, and associated end stop for the axis movement, jogging handset and motor driver (independent of Mach3) display.
Can you give me recommendations for the motor driver controller replacement? They would be very welcome and acknowledged.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Stephen Gould
|
Same, here, had all sorts of problems with USB which went away
with ESS. Now I am trying a Masso which is al in one so other than
being careful to avoid ground loops and shielding the VFD to
spindle cable there is no one to be responsible for noise but
Masso.
Anyone else have experience with Masso? I will be moving my old
setup to a little mill I had abandoned so will still be a Mach4
user.
On 3/19/2022 4:17 AM, Bertho wrote:
Stephen,
If you have the option to use ethernet it
is a much better choice. It is galvanically isolated.?
USB is sensitive to groundloops and
electrical interference.
When I got a new controller for Mach-4, I
initially was using USB with it.? I had a lot of noise
problems.?
I am an electronic engineer, and usually
know what I am doing, but that controller was very sensitive
to noise.?
I changed from USB and instead used the
network port on the controller and all the problems went away.
Bertho
?
?
?
I would like to
replace the current pc (with a parallel printer port) to a
faster. machine, probably a workstation (USB’ no parallel
printer port).
My 3D router is a
simple configuration, X, Y, and Z axis drives, cutting
motor speed control, and associated end stop for the axis
movement, jogging handset and motor driver (independent of
Mach3) display.
Can you give me
recommendations for the motor driver controller
replacement? They would be very welcome and acknowledged.
Looking forward to
hearing from you.
--
Best regards, Spencer Chase
67550 Bell Springs Rd.
Garberville, CA 95542 Postal service only.
Laytonville, CA 95454 UPS only.
Spencer@...
(425) 791-0309
|
I like little solid state computers like the ones Lenovo makes.
You can get them for well under $300. They do not have big cooling
fans if any fans at all so do not drag in wood dust etc. Quiet as
if that matters when your spindle is screaming and boot really
fast. Some come with ethernet which is useful but I like to
disable it when running the machine.
And smoothstepper is appropriately named. I first got it when
running Mach3 and the machine got much smoother. Not sure it would
improve smoothness with Mach4 because it is probably very smooth
on its own.
On 3/19/2022 9:11 AM, Barry Albin
wrote:
Stephen,
I’m no expert but I purchased a Chinese CNC router
about 5 years ago and had several problems. ?I rebuilt the
thing with new motors, better proximity sensors on X,Y, and Z.
?I’m currently building a new CNC router from scratch and this
is what I’ve experienced and learned so far. ?I can’t tell
from your note if you are currently using Mach 3 to control
anything or not.
1) You can replace your PC with an older model
like the Dell T3500 with a decent Hard Drive, 8GB of RAM and a
good video card that is easily procured for less than $200 on
Ebay, Amazon or Discount Electronics. ?They come with Windows
7 or 10, both of which run Mach 3 very well. ?I like Windows 7
better than 10 but that is solely a personal preference. ?It
doesn’t have to be a Dell but you’ll want a decent amount of
RAM. ?Lots of folks use laptops.
2) You will want a motion controller like Warp 9’s
Ethernet Smoothstepper. ?There are other manufacturers out
there as well that I’m not familiar with but the Smoothstepper
eliminated the missed steps I was experiencing as well
providing a smooth stream of signals to the motors. ?As others
have noted the Ethernet connection is superior to USB and
available on a myriad of older PC’s and laptops.
3) For the retrofit of my old machine I purchased
the controller box from Avid CNC. ?Its a four axis control box
that had good motor drivers, big power supply, ample proximity
switch controls, an input for a spindle VFD and included the
Ethernet Smoothstepper as well as inputs/outputs for
controlling things like a vacuum system and coolant. ?Their
products aren’t cheap but its good stuff and the folks there
are very helpful. ?Its a plug and play system that works well
with Mach 3 and Mach 4 through which you can control
everything including a spindle.. ?You can check out their
stuff on their website.
Don’t know if that helps but there ya go.
B.
I would like to replace the current pc
(with a parallel printer port) to a faster. machine,
probably a workstation (USB’ no parallel printer
port).
My 3D router is a simple
configuration, X, Y, and Z axis drives, cutting motor
speed control, and associated end stop for the axis
movement, jogging handset and motor driver
(independent of Mach3) display.
Can you give me recommendations for
the motor driver controller replacement? They would be
very welcome and acknowledged.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Stephen Gould
--
Best regards, Spencer Chase
67550 Bell Springs Rd.
Garberville, CA 95542 Postal service only.
Laytonville, CA 95454 UPS only.
Spencer@...
(425) 791-0309
|
I tried one before getting the ESS. It worked really badly got
all sorts of noise and false steps. That was probably because of
the DC servomotor on the spindle. It makes tons of noise and even
using a well shielded and grounded to the common ground cable it
still was terrible.
On 3/19/2022 3:55 AM, Matt Harrington
wrote:
You could consider using a UC100 adapter (parallel to USB) which
is what I did when I changed my PC.
I have had no issues with my old setup but don't be tempted with
knock off versions at a low price as they don't seem to work (so I
am told)
Matt
--
Best regards, Spencer Chase
67550 Bell Springs Rd.
Garberville, CA 95542 Postal service only.
Laytonville, CA 95454 UPS only.
Spencer@...
(425) 791-0309
|
The ESS is the Ethernet smooth stepper.? The Usb version is different while the ESS has been perfect on my big servo driven mill. Dan Mauch
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of spencer@...
Sent: Saturday, March 19, 2022 10:04 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [MachCNC] Replace/upgrade parallel port driver with/to USB? I tried one before getting the ESS. It worked really badly got all sorts of noise and false steps. That was probably because of the DC servomotor on the spindle. It makes tons of noise and even using a well shielded and grounded to the common ground cable it still was terrible. On 3/19/2022 3:55 AM, Matt Harrington wrote: You could consider using a UC100 adapter (parallel to USB) which is what I did when I changed my PC.
I have had no issues with my old setup but don't be tempted with knock off versions at a low price as they don't seem to work (so I am told)
Matt
-- Best regards, Spencer Chase 67550 Bell Springs Rd. Garberville, CA 95542 Postal service only. Laytonville, CA 95454 UPS only. Spencer@... (425) 791-0309
|
I was about to give up until I got the Ethernet Smooth Stepper.
There may be other ethernet devices now but I can find no fault
with the ESS son that is what I would recommend for a new
installation. I think I had a few questions when I got it and
support was great.
On 3/19/2022 10:43 AM, Dan Mauch wrote:
The
ESS is the Ethernet smooth stepper.? The Usb version is
different while the ESS has been perfect on my big servo
driven mill.
Dan
Mauch
?
I tried one before getting the ESS. It worked really badly
got all sorts of noise and false steps. That was probably
because of the DC servomotor on the spindle. It makes tons of
noise and even using a well shielded and grounded to the
common ground cable it still was terrible.
On 3/19/2022 3:55 AM, Matt Harrington
wrote:
You could consider using a UC100 adapter
(parallel to USB) which is what I did when I changed my PC.
I have had no issues with my old setup but don't be tempted
with knock off versions at a low price as they don't seem to
work (so I am told)
Matt
--
Best regards, Spencer Chase
67550 Bell Springs Rd.
Garberville, CA 95542 Postal service only.
Laytonville, CA 95454 UPS only.
Spencer@...
(425) 791-0309
--
Best regards, Spencer Chase
67550 Bell Springs Rd.
Garberville, CA 95542 Postal service only.
Laytonville, CA 95454 UPS only.
Spencer@...
(425) 791-0309
|
Might be a little late to this thread, but I made the move and am super happy with the result. I went from a generic "Mach3" branded controller to a PMDX-126 with an Ethernet Smooth Stepper (ess). As part of the upgrade, I removed a lot of bits and bobs from the mill that were available on the PMDC board. Another bonus is that I was able to transition from Mach3 to Mach4. If you are thinking of making the move, clear your schedule and go for it!
Joe
I was about to give up until I got the Ethernet Smooth Stepper.
There may be other ethernet devices now but I can find no fault
with the ESS son that is what I would recommend for a new
installation. I think I had a few questions when I got it and
support was great.
On 3/19/2022 10:43 AM, Dan Mauch wrote:
The
ESS is the Ethernet smooth stepper.? The Usb version is
different while the ESS has been perfect on my big servo
driven mill.
Dan
Mauch
?
I tried one before getting the ESS. It worked really badly
got all sorts of noise and false steps. That was probably
because of the DC servomotor on the spindle. It makes tons of
noise and even using a well shielded and grounded to the
common ground cable it still was terrible.
On 3/19/2022 3:55 AM, Matt Harrington
wrote:
You could consider using a UC100 adapter
(parallel to USB) which is what I did when I changed my PC.
I have had no issues with my old setup but don't be tempted
with knock off versions at a low price as they don't seem to
work (so I am told)
Matt
--
Best regards, Spencer Chase
67550 Bell Springs Rd.
Garberville, CA 95542 Postal service only.
Laytonville, CA 95454 UPS only.
Spencer@...
(425) 791-0309
--
Best regards, Spencer Chase
67550 Bell Springs Rd.
Garberville, CA 95542 Postal service only.
Laytonville, CA 95454 UPS only.
Spencer@...
(425) 791-0309
|
Ditto on the 126 and smoothstepper.
Nearly 8 years and 1000+ runtime hours without a single hiccup?
... well besides those created by the operator? :-)
Still running Mach 3 on XP machines over ethernet. My CNC table
as well as my mill/lathe
7:49 minute mark (PMDX126 board)?
ptegler
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On 3/20/2022 6:34 PM, Joe Andolina wrote:
Might be a little late to this thread, but I made
the move and am super happy with the result. I went from a
generic "Mach3" branded controller to a PMDX-126 with an
Ethernet Smooth Stepper (ess). As part of the upgrade, I removed
a lot of bits and bobs from the mill that were available on the
PMDC board. Another bonus is that I was able to transition from
Mach3 to Mach4. If you are thinking of making the move, clear
your schedule and go for it!
Joe
I was about to give up until I got the Ethernet Smooth
Stepper. There may be other ethernet devices now but I can
find no fault with the ESS son that is what I would
recommend for a new installation. I think I had a few
questions when I got it and support was great.
On 3/19/2022 10:43 AM, Dan Mauch wrote:
The
ESS is the Ethernet smooth stepper.? The Usb version
is different while the ESS has been perfect on my
big servo driven mill.
Dan
Mauch
?
I tried one before getting the ESS. It worked really
badly got all sorts of noise and false steps. That was
probably because of the DC servomotor on the spindle.
It makes tons of noise and even using a well shielded
and grounded to the common ground cable it still was
terrible.
On 3/19/2022 3:55 AM, Matt
Harrington wrote:
You could consider using a UC100
adapter (parallel to USB) which is what I did when I
changed my PC.
I have had no issues with my old setup but don't be
tempted with knock off versions at a low price as
they don't seem to work (so I am told)
Matt
--
Best regards, Spencer Chase
67550 Bell Springs Rd.
Garberville, CA 95542 Postal service only.
Laytonville, CA 95454 UPS only.
Spencer@...
(425) 791-0309
--
Best regards, Spencer Chase
67550 Bell Springs Rd.
Garberville, CA 95542 Postal service only.
Laytonville, CA 95454 UPS only.
Spencer@...
(425) 791-0309
Attachments:
--
Paul Tegler
ptegler@...
|
I have a PMDX_125 + USB SS on my WIN-XP MACH3 CNC Router.? It's like walking up to my 1939 Delta Bandsaw and flicking the switch to cut something. ? I liked the PMDX_125 enough to buy a PMDX_126 for the CNC Mill conversion.? I did try the USB SS from the CNC router on it with WIN-XP. ?But ultimately an Ethernet MESA 7i92H with two parallel port outputs on LinuxCNC was cheaper than upgrading to WIN-10+MACH4+Ethernet SS. ? But if I were to have stayed with MACH I'd have picked up an Ethernet SS in a heartbeat. ? John ? ?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Paul Tegler via groups.io
Sent: March-20-22 6:00 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [MachCNC] Replace/upgrade parallel port driver with/to USB? Ditto on the 126 and smoothstepper.
Nearly 8 years and 1000+ runtime hours without a single hiccup? ... well besides those created by the operator? :-) Still running Mach 3 on XP machines over ethernet. My CNC table as well as my mill/lathe
7:49 minute mark (PMDX126 board)? ptegler ? On 3/20/2022 6:34 PM, Joe Andolina wrote: Might be a little late to this thread, but I made the move and am super happy with the result. I went from a generic "Mach3" branded controller to a PMDX-126 with an Ethernet Smooth Stepper (ess). As part of the upgrade, I removed a lot of bits and bobs from the mill that were available on the PMDC board. Another bonus is that I was able to transition from Mach3 to Mach4. If you are thinking of making the move, clear your schedule and go for it! ? I was about to give up until I got the Ethernet Smooth Stepper. There may be other ethernet devices now but I can find no fault with the ESS son that is what I would recommend for a new installation. I think I had a few questions when I got it and support was great. On 3/19/2022 10:43 AM, Dan Mauch wrote: The ESS is the Ethernet smooth stepper.? The Usb version is different while the ESS has been perfect on my big servo driven mill. Dan Mauch ? I tried one before getting the ESS. It worked really badly got all sorts of noise and false steps. That was probably because of the DC servomotor on the spindle. It makes tons of noise and even using a well shielded and grounded to the common ground cable it still was terrible. On 3/19/2022 3:55 AM, Matt Harrington wrote: You could consider using a UC100 adapter (parallel to USB) which is what I did when I changed my PC.
I have had no issues with my old setup but don't be tempted with knock off versions at a low price as they don't seem to work (so I am told)
Matt
-- Best regards, Spencer Chase 67550 Bell Springs Rd. Garberville, CA 95542 Postal service only. Laytonville, CA 95454 UPS only. Spencer@... (425) 791-0309
-- Best regards, Spencer Chase 67550 Bell Springs Rd. Garberville, CA 95542 Postal service only. Laytonville, CA 95454 UPS only. Spencer@... (425) 791-0309
Attachments:
-- Paul Tegler ptegler@...?
|
If you can, go with Ethernet for the following reasons:
- USB shares the grounds, so you can end up with the PC sharing the ground with your CNC.? This can give you noise issues and eventually damage the motion controller or the PC. Keep in mind that the ethernet connection is capacitive, it is designed to connect hugh networks with very low voltage signals.?
- USB devices run as Windows Devices, if there is any glitch in the communication, you will lose the device.? Ethernet Devices run on a client-server connection, so, if there is a glitch in communication, it can recuperate and continue running.
One last thing to keep in mind is to stay away from the chineese motion controllers, as they do not control discrete I/Os in real time as they are handled by the control Mach3/4.? Good motion controllers delegetate all real time functions to the external motion controller.? So when you try to use real time functions, like probing, homing, or THC, they are not accurate.??
A good USB motion controller is:
Good Ethernet Motion Controller is:
https://www.cnc4pc.com/uc300eth-ethernet-motion-controller-b.html
Arturo Duncan
|
I recently upgraded my mill CNC with Mach4, ESS and the MB3 interface card from .? MB3 was delivered very promptly, makes for a neat installation and has so far performed faultlessly together. Keith?
|
I have been using Arturo’s uc100usb motion controller on my large BPT Series II CNC mills for around 5 years. I have never had a problem with them. These Bridgeport’s are cutting just about every day. That should speak to the dependability of the board. Plus it’s a quick installation. Just label all of your wires before you disconnect your old BOB.
Terry Wellman
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Mar 21, 2022, at 7:22 AM, arturodu < aduncan@...> wrote:
If you can, go with Ethernet for the following reasons:
- USB shares the grounds, so you can end up with the PC sharing the ground with your CNC.? This can give you noise issues and eventually damage the motion controller or the PC. Keep in mind that the ethernet connection is capacitive, it is designed to connect hugh networks with very low voltage signals.?
- USB devices run as Windows Devices, if there is any glitch in the communication, you will lose the device.? Ethernet Devices run on a client-server connection, so, if there is a glitch in communication, it can recuperate and continue running.
One last thing to keep in mind is to stay away from the chineese motion controllers, as they do not control discrete I/Os in real time as they are handled by the control Mach3/4.? Good motion controllers delegetate all real time functions to the external motion controller.? So when you try to use real time functions, like probing, homing, or THC, they are not accurate.??
A good USB motion controller is:
Good Ethernet Motion Controller is:
Arturo Duncan
|
Maybe unrelated rant;
For some mysterious reason most small SBC's have the USB 0V connected to shield. This is demented. I don't know if the uc100 is like that but I usually break the connection on the USB cable shield. The pads are right next to each other on the USB SMD plug and a bridge is too difficult to undo.
On a PC and any PCB of consequence, 0V is separate to chassis and if shorted together creates havoc with PC switching power supplies. It's fine if the SBC is sitting on your desk, but not if you've interfaced it to a CNC machine or a grounded metal enclosure.
<end of rant>
On Mon, 21 Mar 2022 at 14:22, arturodu < aduncan@...> wrote: If you can, go with Ethernet for the following reasons:
- USB shares the grounds, so you can end up with the PC sharing the ground with your CNC.? This can give you noise issues and eventually damage the motion controller or the PC. Keep in mind that the ethernet connection is capacitive, it is designed to connect hugh networks with very low voltage signals.?
- USB devices run as Windows Devices, if there is any glitch in the communication, you will lose the device.? Ethernet Devices run on a client-server connection, so, if there is a glitch in communication, it can recuperate and continue running.
One last thing to keep in mind is to stay away from the chineese motion controllers, as they do not control discrete I/Os in real time as they are handled by the control Mach3/4.? Good motion controllers delegetate all real time functions to the external motion controller.? So when you try to use real time functions, like probing, homing, or THC, they are not accurate.??
A good USB motion controller is:
Good Ethernet Motion Controller is:
Arturo Duncan
|
Bertho
