I  have a China 3020T CNC seems to be built ok my concern is the software that came with the CNC and Mach3 which I purchased. Do I have to uninstall the software that came with the machine to get Mach3 to work? Also how do I get the Spindle to turn on ?
I am a new born on this so go easy.

Hi,
what PC have you got to run Mach3? What operating system?

Download

Mach3 CNC Controller
Software Installation and Configuration

read it then read again!

Craig

The Mach3 manual can be found here: http://www.machsupport.com/help-learning/product-manuals/

Tweakie.

Let me ask another question, I am following Paul Campbell on U tube and cannot get the machine or software to do what he is telling me=====
Config>X-Y-Z- Axis Motor Movement Profile I follow the instructions to the letter yet a
when Paul mentions using the arrow key on the board nothing happens He does mention hearing the motors run but I have tried this with the controller off and on and I cannot make anything move. Only thing that moves is the cursor line when I use the sliders.
Steps per= 2000  Velocity=120  Accel=4  G's=0.000407904

Hi,
have you read the configuration and installation manual?  What PC are you using? What does DriverTest.exe report?

Do the basics first.

Craig

WILL mach3 work on a windows 7  64 bit computer? I purchased a computer on Amazon and the ad was for a 32 bit mach  and what I received was a 64 bit machine

Hi,
Mach will run on either 32 or 64 bit PCs but the parallel port driver will run on 32 bit only.

If your PC is 64 bit, which is pretty much the norm these days, then you'll need to use an external motion controller OR change
the operating system to 32bit  Windows 7 or earlier, XP being commonly used.

In the early days all Mach installations used a parallel port, it was the only choice within hobbyists budget. The parallel port is still
widely used but can be a bit of an act to get to work smoothly. It is VERY sensitive to other programs running and sometimes even
installed on the same machine. About ten years or so ago a number of manufacturers started making external controllers which have all
the critical timing circuits on board rather than using interrupt driven timers as in a parallel port. They result in very smooth motion and are very
much less inclined to stumble or fault as a result of PC load.

While some external controllers can be had for under $100 most are in the $100-$200 range and a few more up into $1000 or more for real
slick industrial grade stuff. A lot of people whinge and moan about buying an external controller AND whinge and moan about a parallel ports
quirks/weaknesses. They try to make up for it by buying real junky boards from wherever and then can't get them to work so they whinge and moan
some more! Don't buy rubbish...stick to the manufacturers who have a good name.

Craig

I purchased a UC100 USB to Parallel adapter which was recommended by someone on one of the forums do not remember which. When following Campbell on Utube everything goes along until we get to motor-tuning again I follow along but I cannot get the arrow keys to respond. I also found out what my X-Y-Z pins are X is 13,Y is 12 and Z is 11.
Jim

Hi,
the UC100 is much more than a USB to parallel adapter. There is in fact no such thing that works with Mach. Inside the UC100 is an FPGA
which generates the pulses required for the motor drives which makes it a genuine external motion controller. What it does have in common
with a parallel port is the pin numbering.

The pins capable of output are pins 2-9,1,14,16,17. The pins you mention are input pins, maybe home switches for axes X,Y and Z, but not
output pins.

Each axis requires two output pins, step and direction.
So for instance you may chose:
Xstep=1
Xdir=2
Ystep=3
Ydir=4
Zstep=5
Zdir=6
which leaves outputs 7,8,9,14,16,17 for spindle control, pumps, fans etc.

It maybe that the pinout of your machine restricts your choice, can you post the details of your machine control box?

Craig

Hi,
just a thought, a UC100 requires a software plugin, it sort of translates Mach to UC100. Do you have the plugin installed?
If you have the plugin you don't want the Machs parallel port driver installed, if you have a 64bit machine, no problems
it wont install anyway.

Craig