Hi ,
I am building a small 3 axis cnc router for pcb milling and engraving and want it control with a laptop witout printerport .
Can I use pokeys55e ? What do I need ? PoKeys55E , Mach3 , The Plugin or an additional software ?
Why are only 17 pins in use ? What is safety charge pump 5 khz output ?

Many thanks for every answer

Hans

Hi, Hans

Probably you meant PoKeys56E. If you are looking for a compact solution, I would suggest going for the PoKeys56U. It is among others USB-powered external motion controller that works beautifully with Mach3 plugin.
You will need:
- Mach3 development version (latest available version online)
- PoKeys Mach3 plugin (available at poscope.com under downloads for PoKeys56U device)
- PoKeys56U device with Pulse engine (you will receive an activation code for this)
- 3x motor drivers ('power' interface between STEP/DIR signals and your stepper motors) with appropriate power supply
- Emergency stop button
These are optional:
- Limit+, limit-, home switches for each axis

You can get all electronics needed at poscope.com
- PoKeys56U: http://www.poscope.com/pokeys56u
- Motor drivers 3pack: http://www.poscope.com/postep25
- Power supply: http://www.poscope.com/popower24

The charge pump output is usually used for safety - if the computer encounters an error and Mach3 stops working correctly, the power electronics (that supports charge pump input) is automatically disabled. This prevents the machine to move at startup, at reset or if any other program starts using LPT port. It is similar in PoKeys56 devices - this can be used to disable power electronics when Mach3 shuts down.
There are only a few dedicated pins for supporting the pulse engine (motion controller). You can use the other for various inputs or outputs.