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1

General Mach Discussion / Locked motors

« on: July 29, 2019, 08:15:38 PM »

Although I registered awhile ago, I haven't been able to play with my CNC.  Quick background: I bought a cheap Chinese CNC years ago, with the promise that it worked over USB.  Well, that was a lie.  To get it to work, it said I needed a hacked version of Mach3.  I don't like the sound of that, so I bought a Gecko unit to act as a controller, and bought new motors to boot. 
I really don't know what I'm doing, so don't judge too harshly.  At one point, I was able to get the motors to jog using the arrow keys.  I was never able to load G code or get the computer to even make a circle or square on its own.  Now, when I turn on the computer, the motors, which I can spin by hand when the power is off, get locked up and make a squealing noise.  The jog control arrows don't work.  Can anyone point me in the right direction, or let me know what I have to tell you to help me?

Thanks

Phil

2

FAQs / Should (Can) I buy Mach 3

« on: April 27, 2017, 11:29:38 AM »

I'm jumping in to CNC as a hobby.  I've settled on Fusion 360 for my CAD/CAM, and bought an entry level 4 axis CNC from China.

I chose Fusion 360 because I'm a Mac guy, and I can design parts when I'm traveling for work.

The computer I have for the CNC is running Windows 10 Pro, with an Intel Core i5-4460, 2.90 GHZ.  It has 4 gigs of RAM, and a 444 gig hard drive.  It has no WiFi.  What makes it complicated is that my workshop has no internet.  To download Mach 3, I will have to drag the computer in the house, and hard wire it to my router.  Then, the computer will go back in the workshop to run my CNC.  My questions are:
1.  Will Mach 3 work on this computer
2.  Will I have problems if the computer isn't hooked to the internet?
3.  Will Mach 3 work with Fusion 360 (I'm assuming yes on this one.)

I don't want to spend the money and the hassle of installing Mach 3 if it won't work for me.

Thanks

Phil