Machsupport Forum
Mach Discussion => Mach3 under Vista => Topic started by: Ts on February 24, 2022, 03:39:18 PM
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Will the mach3 software run on windows 11? I have the mach software installed on the laptop that I bought specifically to run my router and I can’t seem to get the two to communicate
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You will need a suitable motion controller (such as the Warp9 ESS or similar).
The Mach3 software requirements are detailed here; https://www.machsupport.com/software/mach3/
Tweakie.
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I have the motion controller that came with the unit I’m using a USB to cat 8 adapter in my laptop the guy I bought it from was using mach3 to run it
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What is the make and model of your motion controller ?
Tweakie.
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It is a k2 cnc all of the components in the controller are CNC drive
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I tried to upload a picture but it won’t let me
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I don't really have enough information to go on but I would suspect that using a USB to Ethernet adapter is not going to work. A Cat8 adapter would have to be pretty smart to handle the specialised communication between Mach3 and the motion controller.
Do you have the software 'plugin' installed to interface Mach3 to your motion controller ?
Tweakie.
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Not sure what that is
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Hi Ts, I guess we are not being very helpful but we don't have a lot of information to work from!
First, I have recently upgraded to using Mach 3 under Windows 10 using CNC Drive components and it was fairly painless. I therefore think that Win11 should work. So hopefully there is light at the end of the tunnel for you!
From what you say you have a CNC Drive Ethernet motion controller (that is, the connection to your laptop is via Ethernet). Please could you tell us which driver you have? It might help to look at their website at http://cncdrive.com/products.html - it's probably either a UC300ETH or UC400ETH.
I would guess that you have a modern laptop that doesn't have an integral Ethernet port - this is quite common these days since the Ethernet connector is too high for thin laptops. So I would guess that you have USB-C ports, which are quite fast enough to support Ethernet up to 1 Gbps, and a USB-Ethernet "dongle". Is this correct? I can't see why this should give any problems, if it supports general Ethernet connections up to 1 Gbps I doubt that Mach 3 can throw anything it can't handle. (I have a Huawei Matebook Pro that is 2 years old and it doesn't have any Ethernet ports either, though actually I have a mini Win10 machine for the CNC.)
Now, where did the Mach3 software you have come from? As supplied (e.g. on a CD or downloaded from the NFS website), it has a "plugin" that converts commands from the main program into pulses to drive the stepper drives and output these through the parallel port. However modern PCs, especially laptops, don't have the old-fashioned 25-pin parallel ports; and they aren't supported under modern Windows either. So you need a separate motion controller (such as the one you have from CNCDrive) and a different Mach3 plug-in that outputs the commands from the main program over Ethernet (or, in a different version, USB) to the motion controller.
You can download the required plugin free from the CNCDrive website and if it's like the UC100 one it can auto-install into the right place in Mach. There is good documentation on this on the CNCDrive website.
So I suggest you check which moption controller you have and download the plugin and documentation, and follow the instructions to install it. You should then find when you launch Mach3 that it puts up a screen where you choose which plugin to use, the Ethernet one or parallel port, you choose the first, then things should start to work.
Try these things, then come back and tell us how you get on and whether you need further help.
John.
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OK looking at it this morning I believe it has the Ethernet motion control The only identifying mark on it is ESS rev2 which I believe is the warp9. Also the laptop I purchased has the Ethernet port on it but I was of the understanding that was for Internet use only is this correct? Sorry I’m not very computer savvy and trying to put this back together not knowing what I’m looking at is a lot like trying to build a puzzle without the box top. Thanks for your help
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OK, well you should be able to get the required plugin from the warp9 website I guess.
https://warp9td.com/index.php/sw
https://warp9td.com/index.php/documentation/doc-ess
Ethernet is general purpose - the physical port and the electronics behind it dont't care if you connect it to the Internet via your router or a CNC machine. It's the higher level software which tells the difference. One thing, you may need a "crossover" cable to connect. The documentation above should tell you. They have a "system configuration utility" which hopefully will do all the hard work of setting up Windows to talk to the unit.
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Yes I was able to download The drivers that I needed I now know that the motion controller and the computer are talking all the lights are lit up on the motion control it should be. The problem I’m having now is the motors will not move on the table itself these are servo motors with encoders and what I don’t know is how to determine what pins are being used so that I can make the changes in the Mach3 software
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Also I did get rid of the USB to Ethernet adapter and was able to plug into the Ethernet connector
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Well progress anyway! You will probably have to trace the wiring between the connectors on the ESS board, the "breakout board" (if there is one), and the motor drivers.
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Yes it has the C 35S breakout board another question do I have to put any value in for the encoders? If so where might I find that information
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The encoders are presumably part of the servos and will feedback position to the associated motor driver. Mach3 has no knowledge of encoders as such, it just assumes that the machine is driven by stepper motors, even if those "steppers" are actually servos. If it sees a command to move a certain distance, say 1mm, it just uses its knowledge of how many steps are needed for the axis in question to move 1mm. This is set by the "steps per unit" parameter in the config motor tuning menu box. If you know the resolution of the encoders/servos, the ratio of any gearing between the motor and the screw, and the screw pitch, this can be calculated. But there is also a convenient wizard somewhere which can measure and configure it for you.
In case you don't have it download a copy of the Mach 3 manual from the Newfangled Solutions website - this covers all of this stuff.
If you are still in touch with the guy who sold you the machine, ask him if he still has a copy of the xml config file (see the manual to read about this) that he was using. This file contains all the setup information, ports/pins/steps etc, and is backed up every time Mach3 runs. If you can get a copy of this you should be able to just copy it into the correct folder and it will configure the machine for you.