recently i bought a 6040 router from ebay and im having some difficulty getting the spindle to work. Whenever I put in a # for the spindle speed box it says the same number in the S-ov box and in the rpm it says zero and doesn't start.

you have to set the correct code to start the spindle i think its m6 or press the start button with your mouse in Mach 3 or even an on/off switch on the spindle.

which program do you do the toolpaths in? i think this is called a Cad/Cam program

I use vcarve to create my toolpaths

did any of the three things i mentioned work?

press F5?

have you got any movement of the spindle motor?

check in ports and pins/motor ouputs/spindle?
check in ports and pins/spindle setup?

regards Ford

M3 is forward
M4 is reverse
M5 is spindle stop

Go to your MDI screen and type in S1000 M3 in the command line the spindle should start and run at 1000rpm, If not as suggested check your config and wiring.