Messages

181

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach3 on Parallel Vs UC100

« on: December 21, 2017, 09:44:45 PM »

Ok I got it. Motor tuning I can undefstand, just as long as the basic ports and pins are the same, and they should be if its a clone of a parallel port pin for pin. Thanks for the help.

182

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach3 on Parallel Vs UC100

« on: December 21, 2017, 09:33:16 PM »

So the settings I have now will work as is? Does Mach3 know about the controller or is it a Plug In that is loaded on start up?

183

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach3 on Parallel Vs UC100

« on: December 21, 2017, 08:20:48 PM »

whether or not you need a crossover cable depends on the ethernet adapter in you PC. Modern adapters don;t need a crossover cable, as they auto detect and do the switching internally. I don't use a crossover on either of my PC's.

Well I have the whole works on order I went with what info was given in the UC400 docs.    Cover is off the controller / PS box and voltage source located.  I am assuming since its pin for pin compatible with the parallel port all my present settings will work.   Zero documentation on configuring with Mach3/4 just about their own controller program.  So are you using 3 or 4 with your setup?   What pulse frequency?

184

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach3 on Parallel Vs UC100

« on: December 21, 2017, 02:38:45 PM »

Well the UC400ETH is on order, thanks guys.

185

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach3 on Parallel Vs UC100

« on: December 21, 2017, 01:44:01 PM »

So it looks like with the UC400ETH I need a CAT 5e  crossover cable to connect directly to my PC can someone confirm that so I can get all the stuff in one shipment.  Plus the parallel ribbon cable connector

186

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach3 on Parallel Vs UC100

« on: December 21, 2017, 12:40:34 PM »

Hi,
sounds like your dead set on a UC100 irrespective of what others say. In which case don't get a Chinese knock-off, they abound on EBay.
Buy direct from CNCDrive or their nominated distributor.

Craig

  Actually I am also  considering the UC400ETH just doing the research right now.  Not finding a whole lot of people using it vs the UC100.  Also finding out that Amazon is a guilty as eBay as having venders selling knock offs.  Found that out on Arduino boards.

187

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach3 on Parallel Vs UC100

« on: December 21, 2017, 10:05:46 AM »

Well I went into the Bio's and disabled the CPU and USB  ACPI modes and I am up to a little over 20,000 and very stable.  I am trying to keep this simple and running on my spare computer
   I also have two laser engravers to keep running, one a co2 40 watt and the other a Galvo fiber 20 watt machine for metals. Both those are on a Windows 7 Pro laptop and USB.

188

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach3 on Parallel Vs UC100

« on: December 21, 2017, 09:02:48 AM »

It looks like disabling ACPI also screws up the plug and play or device discovery, I would think that would cause more problems.

In most cases, ACPI prevents Mach3 from running properly, and changing to Standard will usually fix this. Both PC's I have will not run Mach3 in ACPI mode, but work fine in Standard mode.

Well the 400 seems like a lot of extra wiring and work for a benefit I do not need.

The UC400ETH require no more wiring than a UC100. It just requires a ribbon cable to the G540 instead of a parallel cable. About $5. And an ethernet cable instead of USB. $2.
Ethernet provides a more reliable connection, and is more immune to noise issues.

Mach3 runs just fine on my Lenovo laptop with ACPI and I ran an hour long very intensive VCarve gcode file without any issues what so ever. I even bumped the feed rate up 200% and the computer CPU was only using 30%.  The 400 would require mounting inside the power/controller box and adding a power source which I could do. I will switch over to Standard to see if changes things.

 So does Mach3 set the pulse frequency as needed?

   Did I mention that I am / was a master electrician and specialized in HVAC/R  controls.    Also have been working with and building computers as a hobby since about 1980, and also a licensed ham back when you had to know something to get your call sign.

189

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach3 on Parallel Vs UC100

« on: December 21, 2017, 08:26:45 AM »

Yes, but you may need to make changes to some or many of your settings.
And I'd recommend a UC400ETH over a UC100. It's about $25 more, but is newer, has more features, and has better noise immunity.

Well the 400 seems like a lot of extra wiring and work for a benefit I do not need. Plus by the time you factor in you need to purchase the needed cable its more like $50 more. I will change computer over to Standard, if no improvement then I will go with the UC100.
It looks like disabling ACPI also screws up the plug and play or device discovery, I would think that would cause more problems.

190

General Mach Discussion / Re: mach3 does not prompt for uc100 plug in

« on: December 21, 2017, 07:26:27 AM »

Thanks. I'll look for it.
tony

   I will be interested in hearing how this turned out, as I have more or less the same computer.  Old Lenovo T43 and using right now the parallel port, but not getting enough pulses.  More than likely going to the UC100.