Machsupport Forum
Mach Discussion => General Mach Discussion => Topic started by: DICKEYBIRD on January 19, 2013, 12:12:04 PM
-
I noticed the splash screen when Mach starts loading says "CNC Controller for Windows XP & 2000." I just took an old Dell small case P4 900 with W2000 Pro out of service and was wondering if it'd run Mach well enough to control an old, slow MicroMill I have. It has 80 in/oz steppers and goes maybe 12-15 IPM on a good day so speed isn't a big factor. ;)
The small form factor Dell box is just right to fit nicely in the available area. Reckon 2000 would work OK or should I wipe it clean and throw XP on it?
-
I ran my machines for years on an ancient 540MHz/512KB machine. Never had a single problem that could be tied to PC performance. The only way to know if it'll work is to try it.
Regards,
Ray L.
-
2000 works well as does XP, later versions of Windows I have not liked, so never used. 2000 takes less resources than XP so is probably a better choice on a lower end computer.
Test your Dell by installing Mach and doing the driver test, if it has a nice smooth line with no spikes then it should work well. If it doesnt then you could always get one of the external controllers available.
Hood
-
Awesome! Thanks gentlemen, I'll do the driver test and see how it goes.
I forgot that it has integrated video so I'll need to look around in the graveyard for a video card that'll fit. At least I don't have to worry about a parallel port on the old girl.:)
-
It may be fine with integrated video, just depends, some are ok some not. One thing however is I have seen mention that some Dells with integrated video do not work well at all even when using an external video card. You will likely see if that is the case however as you will see blips in the driver test every so often.
Hood
-
Hmmm, took a while but finally got the ol' gal up & running after supper with a fresh W2000 install. Installed Mach fine but the driver test shows some spikes every so often with max variation in the low 20's with the occasional spike up to 29 uS. Waste of time going any further with it?
I didn't find a separate video card yet...d'ya think one would help or is it probably just a Dell m/board issue?
-
Hard to say, seems Dells can be problematic, I am sure it was Rich that tried just about everything to make one work but couldnt so had to go with a Smoothstepper to get it working.
If you find a card lying around give it a try, if you have to buy one to try then I would say its probably not worth spending money as it may not work.
Hood
-
Well cr@p! I copied over my license file and the 2 .xml's from the PC that works well with the ORAC and the MicroMill but for some reason the W2000 box won't work with either of them. Anything else come to mind I should have done?
-
You have the correct port assigned?
Hood
-
Thanks Hood, I'm looking at that sort of stuff right now. I thought it was an E-stop config thing but it wasn't.
-
That's strange, if I hook up W2000 box to the ORAC, the spindle control works fine by clicking on the icon or by MDI input so that tells me the PP is working OK I guess? The spindle speed DRO even works.
Still no stepper motor action by jogging or MDI though. The DRO moves from either input but motors don't say nuttin'.
Gotta be sumthin' stoopid I'm overlooking. ::)
-
Have a look in the BIOS and see what mode the port is in. Been a while since I used the PP so cant really remember which is best but EPP rings a bell.
Hood
-
You are GOOD Robin! That's exactly what was ailing it. Changed to EPP mode in the BIOS and she's happy now. (...and me as well!) ;D
As we say down heah in the Tennessee: "Anybody don't like Hood's a sumbitch!"
-
LOL I have a feeling there are a lot of "sumbitch!"'s around in that case ;D
Hood
-
Just curious: What problems do the spikes in the driver test cause? I wasted 3 or 4 hours of my life yesterday (I'm old, stubborn and a tight bastid) trying to get an old Ati video card to work just to see if it would help smooth things out.
Never got it to work due to frustrating driver issues. I took it back out & played around with the mill a bit using the integrated video and it seemed to work normally. I assumed the spikes would show up as audible glitches as the steppers move around? Haven't cut anything yet to see if sumthin' shows up there.
Couple guys at work have some old video cards they're gonna donate to to try out later this week.
-
You will likely lose position if they are bad enough. I think Rich reported he could hear his steppers tick when he used the Dell via the parallel port and the ticking occurred at the same frequency of the spikes he observed in the driver test.
Hood
-
OK thanks, I'll monitor it more closely and see what happens.
I might borrow the shop "Chassis Ears" & clip the pickups to the stepper motors and run some code. It's a 4-channel amplified audio rig with headphones we use to pinpoint wierd mechanical noises in cars we work on and should make it easy to hear any funny stuff going on.
I could also rig a DTI to the axes and run some repeating codes to see if it returns to the same spot each time. Don't wanna wear out the teeny little leadscrews & nuts though. They have a very finite lifespan::)
-
Brought the thing to work with me today and one of the guys got the Ati video card working in about 2 minutes ::) I then re-ran the driver test and the same spikes are there so I guess it's just a Dell mobo thing. I'm still going to test it actually running the mill later on. I think it'll do fine for my needs.
I posted 'cuz I hate to leave a question unanswered. Ya' just never know when some other tight bastich comes along trying to get an old steam-powered PC working and stumbles onto this thread.
-
Hopefully it will work for you seeing as you are as tight as a ducks **** ;D
If not then two options, try another computer or get an external controller.
Hood
-
Hopefully it will work for you seeing as you are as tight as a ducks **** ;D
Hey, I resemble that remark! SWMBO says I'm so tight I take my glasses off when I'm not lookin' at anything.;)
My answer is to her is always "I have to be the way you spend money!"
-
;D
-
tight as a ducks **** ;D
........ so tight I take my glasses off when I'm not lookin' at anything.;)
:D ;D :D,
Thanks
:)