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Author Topic: Advice sought on a version upgrade of Mach3  (Read 4188 times)

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Advice sought on a version upgrade of Mach3
« on: February 24, 2010, 08:34:36 AM »
Hi, I have a small CNC mill using servos that I bought 2nd hand on eBay.  It uses Mach3 release 2.45 and I am wondering about upgrading to the current version.   

Are there any things to bear in mind when doing this?  Pitfalls?  Could any files or settings get lost?  I am a newbie in machine control.  I should add that the mill does have a problem, I think that one of the axes is not initialising properly, and I'm thinking that it's better to investigate using the current version, 3.042... 

Any thoughts for or against approach that would also be welcome.
Re: Advice sought on a version upgrade of Mach3
« Reply #1 on: February 24, 2010, 10:15:41 AM »
Generally you should use the latest version.

Make a complete backup of your existing Mach folder this can be in the form of renaming the folder to something like OldMach2

Then just install Mach3, and copy over any files you need, some settings may have changed but i wouldn't know what

Plus the fact it would be better, as a new user to learn Mach3 rather than 2, but Rev4 is coming soon.  ::)

Phil
The Good Thing About Mach3, Is It's very Configurable

The Bad Thing About Mach3, Is It's Too Configurable
Re: Advice sought on a version upgrade of Mach3
« Reply #2 on: February 24, 2010, 11:00:16 AM »
I would definitely run it with the current version for a while to get familiar with it before jumping to the latest version.

Getting Mach setup correctly on a mill can be a little tricky, and since someone has been through that already I'd take advantage of that and get used to how the machine works with the current version. As suggested, backup the current version before installing the new one, and if you have an extra PC lying around, I'd keep the 2.45 running on the old one and bring up the latest Mach on the 2nd PC to make it easy to swap back and forth during the setup process.

Good luck-

Paul T.

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Re: Advice sought on a version upgrade of Mach3
« Reply #3 on: February 24, 2010, 11:24:31 AM »
Rename the folder like Phil suggested then install Mach to the default C:\Mach3 and then you can copy over your xml and that will put all your settings in. If there are any custom things like screens or macros you can then copy them over as well.
Hood
Re: Advice sought on a version upgrade of Mach3
« Reply #4 on: February 28, 2010, 12:12:59 PM »
ah thanks, that's helpful.  I take it that I should install the new software in c:\Mach3 (I had put it in a folder in Progam Files) and just copy in the xml files from the old to the new.

I'm concerned that I could overwrite or lose the configuration information.  The previous owner had set up the servos etc. and I would not like to lose his settings if possible. I haven't been able to find where that is kept.

Any help is most appreciated.  :)

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Re: Advice sought on a version upgrade of Mach3
« Reply #5 on: February 28, 2010, 12:59:31 PM »
The xml for the profile you use is where the majority of the settings are stored. Example, if the profile you use is Mach3Mill then the file your settings are in will be called Mach3Mill.xml, if you have a custom named profile then the xml will have that name.
 The other settings such as tool table and fixture offsets are stored in the folder named after your profile in the  macro folder. Any custom macros will also be stored in there and any brains you may have will be in the Brains folder.

Hood