mach 3 going mad. Should i try turbocnc?

[jasminder]

hello folks,
this mach3 thing is bugging me now. My pc was restarting without giving any errors or beeps so i got a new one that worked well for a couple of months and now the same situation. It is also restarting automatically when running mach. It behaves strange sometimes. For example, it automatically starts the spindle or the cycle start button even if i haven't touched their external buttons. When i saw the diag screen i see that the spindle output is not active still the spindle relay was on.

I think that too much conductive dust is shorting my pc's board or lpt ports. But i regularly use air blower on it when i am going to turn on the machine. BTW i am planning to give turbocnc a try. Mach3 is just bugging me. I want a very stable cnc controller that should keep working as it is configured (at least for a couple of months) could it be the  noise from the electronics like PSU, stepper drivers etc??

jasminder singh

[fixittt]

changing software is not going to solve anything if the hardware you have it on is faulty.
mach 3 is very very very stable.  I have been using it for years!  I have 6 cnc machines in my garage alone running on mach 3.

Everything from printer port operation to smooth stepper mills and lathes.  I even have mach 3 running from a acer netbook with a smooth stepper.  Get your computer lined out first and formost otherwise your not going to have luck with anything.

[BR549]

THE absolute worse thing you could do is blow the PC/electronics  out with an Airhose IF conductive dust is the problem. It just drives the dust deeper into the board and connection points.

Rule #1 protect your electronics  from the dust.

Just a thought (;-) TP

[jasminder]

changing software is not going to solve anything if the hardware you have it on is faulty.
mach 3 is very very very stable.  I have been using it for years!  I have 6 cnc machines in my garage alone running on mach 3.

Everything from printer port operation to smooth stepper mills and lathes.  I even have mach 3 running from a acer netbook with a smooth stepper.  Get your computer lined out first and formost otherwise your not going to have luck with anything.

i would appreciate if you can suggest me a way to do so. Any place for panel AC? the fans and filters are not gonna work here. I have a lot of casting iron being ground every day around the machine.

thanks for your help,
jasminder singh

[jasminder]

THE absolute worse thing you could do is blow the PC/electronics  out with an Airhose IF conductive dust is the problem. It just drives the dust deeper into the board and connection points.

Rule #1 protect your electronics  from the dust.

Just a thought (;-) TP

i was a dumb till now...thanks for your suggestion.
i will air tight the cabinet and put some peltier plates in the PC for cooling. Any other cost effective way to keep it cool and air tight.

[budman68]

I think some simple 120mm 12 volt PC fans and filters sucking and blowing out of the case would do just fine. Just keep them, clean regularly and close up any other vent holes that would allow dust to get in

Dave

[RICH]

I have a lot of casting iron being ground every day around the machine.

That grinding dust goes everywhere. You shouldn't have a cnc machine let alone a PC near it. The grinding area should be vented properly.
RICH

[ger21]

I use automotive air filters to keep the dust out. They're cheap, very effective and still let you use lots of fans.

[jasminder]

I have a lot of casting iron being ground every day around the machine.

That grinding dust goes everywhere. You shouldn't have a cnc machine let alone a PC near it. The grinding area should be vented properly.
RICH
[/quote]

today i did a bald but working trick to the control PC. I laminated its hard disk, mb, pci cards etc with some polythene and cello tape. Just the PSU and processor heat sink is bare naked. And wow it worked. Today i ran it for a couple of hours but it didn't do any stupid or unwanted move neither it restarted automatically.
I will see if this setup can work for an 8 hour shift and will post the result.