Recent Posts

41

General Mach Discussion / Help needed with Mach 3 and spindle control

« Last post by Paladin1324 on August 04, 2026, 01:50:28 PM »

I have a Blue Elephant 1325 3 axis router and Mach 3 software. Connection to the XHC controller board in the cabinet is by USB cable and the installation came with the wrong (I assume older) version of the ncusbpod.dll plugin. I downloaded updated version from XHCs website, and now the Mach 3 software is talking to the machine, but I only really have control of the X,Y, and Z on the table. The spindle immediately spools up as soon as I open Mach 3...to what appears to be the minimum 6000 RPM (as set on the VFD) of the 6kW liquid cooled motor. I can change spindle speeds by typing, say "M3 S12000", but I can never stop the spindle. "M5" is completely ineffective. Only way to stop it is by closing Mach 3 or pushing "STOP / RESET" on the 7.5kW Fuling / Fulinn motor VFD.

I've tried getting help from various AI outlets but I get taken for a long loop that never goes anywhere or solves the problem. Is this a port / pins setting issue?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

42

PoKeys / Re: Need help for new lathe controller

« Last post by Holzwurm56 on August 01, 2026, 11:52:04 AM »

Hello Azalin,
thanks for your answer. I built lathe modell and will test the Pokeys57E and Mach3 with the modell. When this
is sucsessfull i will it install in my lathe.
Hans

43

General Mach Discussion / Re: Can Mach3 Drive a Rotary and X-Axis orientate like this?

« Last post by Tweakie.CNC on July 30, 2026, 10:31:08 AM »

Yes it can.

Tweakie.

44

General Mach Discussion / Can Mach3 Drive a Rotary and X-Axis orientate like this?

« Last post by Pompus on July 30, 2026, 07:54:41 AM »

Can Mach3 Drive a Rotary and X-Axis orientate like this?

45

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach3 Zero Tool

« Last post by NotAPort on July 29, 2026, 02:46:37 PM »

Hey Vandel,

Thanks for your response. We worry about cracking open the controller box, as it has a sticker that seems to serve as a marker so the company will know if we open the box.

Do you have any recommendations for generic USB drivers that we can test with?

Unfortunately, the company did not send us a good manual, so we were hoping to exhaust all possible software options before we move forward with cracking the box open.

Please let me know!

Thanks again!

46

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach3 Zero Tool

« Last post by vandel on July 29, 2026, 01:01:05 PM »

Since the Probe/Digitize LED never changes, I'd focus on the controller rather than the zeroing script. The probe itself sounds OK if it passes a continuity test.

I'd verify that the RnRMotionController ECO plugin supports the Probe input and that the correct input pin is configured in Mach3. If possible, try shorting the probe input directly at the controller. If the LED still doesn't respond, it's likely a controller or plugin configuration issue rather than the probe.

Have you checked whether the controller documentation specifies a dedicated Probe input instead of using the standard Mach3 pin settings?

47

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Canned cycle peck drilling stopped working

« Last post by Steve Stallings on July 26, 2026, 09:10:38 PM »

Version 5175 and a bunch of other Beta releases can be found here:

https://www.machsupport.com/ftp/Mach4/DevlopmentVersions/

Versions beyond 5036 are not officially supported.

48

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: Canned cycle peck drilling stopped working

« Last post by winsys11 on July 26, 2026, 07:56:51 PM »

hi,

Where is this version 5175? all i can see is 5036.

thanks,
mark

49

PoKeys / Re: Need help for new lathe controller

« Last post by Azalin on July 26, 2026, 04:54:42 AM »

Check the cnc4pc M16D. İt uses Pokeys 57E. I have a similar lathe you described. AC apindle servo (encoder input), limit switches (but I find them almost useless in a lathe). I use a shuttle pro for jogging and assigned function buttons. Makes everything much easier. The outer wheel for fast jogging and the inner wheel for fine moves. But I believe you can add two wheels as you want.

50

PoKeys / Need help for new lathe controller

« Last post by Holzwurm56 on July 26, 2026, 04:28:57 AM »

Hello,
I would like to retrofit my CNC lathe. Since there are no mechanical handwheels installed,
I need two electronic handwheels, outputs for two axes (step and direction for each),
limit switches, spindle index, program start/stop, E-stop, etc. Would this be possible with the PoKeys57E
and Mach3?
I noticed that it has four encoder inputs and step/direction signal outputs
for three axes. I am currently operating the lathe using Mach3 and two parallel port outputs.
Many thanks in advance,
Hans