Hi everybody.  It's been a while since I've visited.  Sorry about that.  I've used Mach 3 for a long time now.  I started out with my Taig way back on a Windows 98 machine.  I still have one machine with a Windows XP machine as its controller.  I pretty much found Windows 7 Pro 64 on a dual core processor with plenty of ram and plenty of video memory worked great for my Mach 3 applications.  I've run millions lines of code (some have run more I am sure) in a single file unsupervised except for tool changes, several hundred thousand lines of code every week and sometimes every day, and over a million not infrequently.  I've found a long as I don't mess with the computer while its running code those W7Pro64 machines run just fine.  Even all day cutting millions of lines of code.  It took me a long time to get there, and I credit most of it to finding the right combination of OS and computer that I could afford. 

I'm getting ready to start a new retrofit.  I picked up Bridgeport Series 1 R2E3, and I am considering trying Mach 4 on it convert it to PC control with new servo controllers.  It seems that Mach 4 supports a more complete instruction set, and I have come to rely on some of those instructions on another non-Mach machine I am running in my shop. 

I am also thinking an upgrade is in order for that old Windows XP box running my other retrofit machine. 

What I am looking for is some guidance in picking PCs for those retrofits with the intent to run Mach 4 on them for the more complete instruction set.  I am kinda leaning towards the mini PCs you see around these days.  Not state of the art super gamers, but much more powerful than my current W7 boxes.  The thing is they mostly come setup with W11.  Is w11 good for a motion control box? 

Oh, yeah.  All my PCs running Mach 3 currently are using an Ethernet Smooth Stepper as the motion controller.  I'd like to go the same way if I go with Mach 4 on these new retrofits. 

I would be a Mach 4 newbie, but I have been working on machines, and cutting parts on them since the mid 2000s. 

Looking at something like this:

CHUWI HeroBox Mini PC Gaming Desktop Computer, Windows 11,256GB SSD 8GB RAM, Intel 12th Gen N100 Quad Core Processor(3.4GHz),Dual WiFi/BT/Gigabit Ethernet/VESA / 4K UHD/USB 3.0/Up to 2TB SSD

Yes, you can run Mach4 on a SmoothStepper on a Win 11 PC.

I have worked with brushed servo drives from MachDrive. Their BRE model has worked well with the stock motors on the R2E3. Like most older brushed servo motors, these should be checked for commutator problems or winding shorts before use.

Do be aware that the encoders on the original motors on an R2E3 worked together with tachometer feedback to provide smooth motion. Using these low resolution encoders with a driver that does not accept tachometer feedback will result in servo tuning compromises. The R2E3 that I worked on was usable as is, but could have been much better with higher resolution encoders.