Whether you're an established Mach3 user or you're just starting out and all of your machine instructions are for Mach3, it can be daunting to make the switch to Mach4. Some of the buttons are gone or in a different spot than you're used to and even the configuration menus aren't quite the same. Whatever your level of experience is, there is going to be a learning curve when you start using Mach4. The worksheet attached is meant to ease the transition by helping you collect and organize your settings. Fill it out with with the settings you use in Mach3 and you will be able to use it as a reference when you make your profile in Mach4. It is meant to be used alongside the setup guide for your motion controller--as that will dictate which settings are configured in their plugin and which are configured in Mach4--and with the Mach4 configuration manual. It is written with the language and terminology used in Mach4 so you will know what you are looking for when you start applying your settings.

The worksheet should open in both Excel and Open Office. The first page is an introduction and the Worksheet tab on the bottom is where you'll actually fill out your settings.  Please PM me or submit a ticket at support.machsupport.com with any questions or for more information.

Happy CNCing!
-Bryanna

HI Bryanna,
What is truly needed is a way to pull as much of this data from a Mach3 XML file and auto populate your spreadsheet, then you will be onto something.
 Even better would be a Mach4 conversion Wizard that runs in inside of Mach4 and puts as many of the settings in place as possible and then prompts you for the rest of the information.


Mike

Hello everyone,
i am an inexperienced enthusiast and novice, no formal training in cnc, however very interested, i would appreciate assistance in choosing mach3 and learning how to navigate the software. i am also not very computer literate.
thanks, nick.

Hello Nick,

For more information on Mach3, I recommend creating a post in the General Mach Discussion topic. You will be able to ask questions and have more users see your post that way.
You can also send me a message with any questions or submit a ticket at our helpdesk: http://support.machsupport.com/

All the best,
Bryanna

Hello everyone,
i am a complete novice with regards to cnc, i need assistance and advice as i journey down this road.
i am however very interested to gathering skills to become proficient.
i am also not very computer literate,
thanks, nick.

Hi there, im a novice aswell. Hopefully,  I can get som guidance by this forum.

Hello all. I hope I'm posting in the right place. I'm a professional beginner. I've tinkered with Mach3 in the past on a 4 axis DoAll mill that I converted. Recently my computer imploded. My replacement machine will have Windows 7. Now I'm thinking this might be a good time to upgrad to Mach4. I was just wondering what kind of hurdles I might encounter in such a transition. Both hardware and setup/configuration wise. The old Mach3 configuration used the printer port. I know Mach4 supports USB but can I keep my PP breakout board and have (a less painful) Plug-n-Play, business as usual? I haven't done much with Gcode since the wizards in Mach3 usually do my jobs. Since Mach4 is a ground up rebuild does it have an array of wizards as well? This is a hobby machine. I've helped a few folks out but nothing commercial.
Thanks for whatever advise you might care to share.

Hi,
you can run Mach4 on a parallel port, the Darwin parallel port driver has a $25 licence fee. To be honest
Mach4 is ideally matched to external motion controllers, to use a parallel port with it is not really sensible.
Additionally a parallel port can ONLY be run with a 32 bit OS Windows7 or earl;ier.

The Gcode you have used before will still work but Mach4 doesn't have much in the way of wizards built in,
you can get them but you'll have to pay a licence fee.

Craig

Thanks Craig. What does the USB use instead of the PP breakout board?

Hi,
an external motion controller like a UC300 or PMDX-424 or an Ethernet SmoothStepper are connected
to the PC by either USB or ethernet.

The external controller takes numeric data (position/velocity/time   PVT) from Mach4 and converts it into pulse
streams for the motor drivers. They are way WAY clever! Provided you don't buy rubbish, a cheap one goes for
$120 and really good ones $600 plus.

Craig