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Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Mach4 Lathe - which motion controller?
« on: December 15, 2020, 03:55:28 PM »
I have been using Mach4 since 2007. Prior to that I was using Mach3 via a parallel port. I drive two machines with the same software, one is a Boxford 125TCL (now 30 years old) the other is a milling machine that I converted into CNC by adding stepper motors to 3 axis - this also is quite old - I fitted ball screws in place of the old leadscrews because they had too much backlash in them.
For the boxford Lathe I had to replace the motor drivers in order to connect switches so that I could run either the lathe or the Mill separately. My setup is very basic (ie no limit switches) but it works well with windows 10 and Mach4.
I use the PMDX SmartBOBUSB Controller and this is great for my application but bear in mind I don't use screw cutting or such, just simple machining in 3 axis.
For the boxford Lathe I had to replace the motor drivers in order to connect switches so that I could run either the lathe or the Mill separately. My setup is very basic (ie no limit switches) but it works well with windows 10 and Mach4.
I use the PMDX SmartBOBUSB Controller and this is great for my application but bear in mind I don't use screw cutting or such, just simple machining in 3 axis.