Hello Guest it is March 28, 2024, 06:46:45 PM

Author Topic: computer requirements for mach 4  (Read 4377 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

computer requirements for mach 4
« on: November 05, 2017, 12:33:01 PM »
I am a hobbiest and have been happily running mach 4 for some time now on a dell optiplex 780 with 4GB of memory and windows 7 pro.  Just found out that computer has gone belly up and need to figure out what I can do.   Very bad timing as I have been hit with a bunch of unforseen expenses this month, so I am looking for a cheap way out.  I have a  2gb Win XP machine that I retired some time ago and was wondering if that machine will run Mach 4.  Anybody know the minumum machine requirements for Mach 4
Re: computer requirements for mach 4
« Reply #1 on: November 05, 2017, 12:50:59 PM »
Hi,
Mach4 can be run on very modest computing platforms and they do just as good a job as some whizz bang gaming PC with muscles on its muscles!

I run my mill with a miniITX board with a dual core Atom CPU and on chip graphics similar to:
http://www.mini-itx.com/store/?c=47#D2550HN
It runs fine but can be very slow to load and draw large Gcode files but has otherwise proven to be very good. I know smurph describes the graphics as 'excerable'
but I have no complaints there either.

If I were buying again I would look for a bit more grunt, not a lot but some. If you have an external controller like an ESS the consider:
http://www.lattepanda.com/ which has Windows10 activated already....great value....or:
https://www.udoo.org/udoo-x86/
The ultra version with a 2.6 GHz Pentium 4 G RAM and 32 G Flash, you could get away without a hard drive is great value but any of them would work.

Craig
'I enjoy sex at 73.....I live at 71 so its not too far to walk.'
Re: computer requirements for mach 4
« Reply #2 on: November 05, 2017, 10:53:40 PM »
Hi,
yes I think your XP box would work. Why don't you try it out. If you don't load a motion control plugin you can run
as Demo no probs. Even if you load a plugin it will still run for 5-6 minutes before it needs to be reset.
Long enough for you to work out whether its worth getting a new licence for it.

Craig
'I enjoy sex at 73.....I live at 71 so its not too far to walk.'

Offline Mauri

*
  •  328 328
    • View Profile
Re: computer requirements for mach 4
« Reply #3 on: November 06, 2017, 08:20:36 PM »
crchisholm,
XP PC with ESS and 2GB will work, however it will take time to load large G-Code files and will not display all the Toolpath Profile.
So if that is not an issue and you have ESS you are good to go.
If you use HiCON then you will need Win7/10.
Regards,
Mauri.
Re: computer requirements for mach 4
« Reply #4 on: November 07, 2017, 06:58:51 PM »
For what ever reason, the win 7 machine rose from the dead.  I may have to revive this question later but for now, I’m good.  Thanks for the responses.

Joeaverage: I must say that the idea of running a win 10 sbc intrigues me though.  I looked at the lattepanda sbc.  It does not seam to have a VGA connector, so I am unclear if I would have to replace my existing monitor with a different type. 

Thanks. 
Re: computer requirements for mach 4
« Reply #5 on: November 07, 2017, 07:34:22 PM »
Hi,
sorry VGA is in the 'recently fossilised' category. You'll need an HDMI monitor/TV...

Great little unit otherwise and for less than we used to pay for a CPU on its own and Win10 thrown in...
hard to complain at that value.

Craig
'I enjoy sex at 73.....I live at 71 so its not too far to walk.'
Re: computer requirements for mach 4
« Reply #6 on: November 18, 2017, 06:30:43 PM »
Craig:  I bought the LattePanda 4G and managed to download and run Mach4 demo mode ok.  I currently have M4 running on a win7 pc.  I would like to try cutting something running M4 on the LattePanda.  I don't want to give up the licensed version that I have on the PC until I am reasonably sure that the LattePanda would work for me.  According to the licensing agreement, I can not run M4 on two machines at a time.  Do you know if unlicensed M4 can be used for testing before I move the license over from the PC?

Offline ger21

*
  • *
  •  6,295 6,295
    • View Profile
    • The CNC Woodworker
Re: computer requirements for mach 4
« Reply #7 on: November 18, 2017, 07:21:03 PM »
You can run Mach4 on multiple machines as a hobbyist.
Gerry

2010 Screenset
http://www.thecncwoodworker.com/2010.html

JointCAM Dovetail and Box Joint software
http://www.g-forcecnc.com/jointcam.html
Re: computer requirements for mach 4
« Reply #8 on: November 18, 2017, 07:38:17 PM »
For Mach4, the unlicensed DEMO mode will run with all features active, but is
run time limited to somewhere around 5 minutes before requiring a shutdown
and restart. As such it is fully capable to testing with a real hardware motion
controller during the demo time or for unlimited time with the simulator..

If you have a registered license, you can go the with Machsupport.com web
site and log in to use the License Maintenance button to issue additional
licenses to yourself for up to a total of 5 computers for hobby use. These
are fully functional licenses, but you do need to supply the PCID for each
computer in order to generate the license. Simply loading the existing
license onto a new computer does not work.

Steve Stallings
www.PMDX.com
Re: computer requirements for mach 4
« Reply #9 on: November 19, 2017, 01:43:35 AM »
Hi Charlie,
sounds like fun. As Steve points out you can get a licence for the LattePanda jn addition to your existing PC. Do report back as to how it goes.

I suspect that with largeish (5Mb plus) Gcode files it might be slow to load and draw the toolpath but think it will go great guns otherwise.

Craig
'I enjoy sex at 73.....I live at 71 so its not too far to walk.'