hello all,
this is my first post here.
first of all thanks art for providing such amazing software.

i have some dumd doubts to clarify.pls don't mind
so in our normal lpt ports we have
pin 2-9                  -- inputs
pin 1,14,16,17       -- inputs
pin 10,11,12,13,15 -- outputs

we have the above setting as all those pins are  in unidirectional config.but what abt the port with bi-directional pins.we can config them as required right(pins 2-9).is this really possible.will mach recognize it?

and what abt using parallel port expander and extenders.

http://www.geocities.com/dsaproject/computers/lpt_extender_expander.html#LPT_EXPANDER
http://www.doc.ic.ac.uk/~ih/doc/par/pportexp/pportexp.asc
http://www.beyondlogic.org/spp/parallel.htm

little help here guys.
thanks and regards

You are wrong with your pins - There are 5 inputs - 10,11,12,13,15  Outputs 1,14,16,17.  and 2 - 9

These are the in/outs as fixed on the standard LPT1 printer port by IBM when they first invented the IBM PC.

If you get extra boards, and they fit in your computer, then (and you MUST read the paperwork with them) some can be programmed to be inputs or outputs, just as you wish.

Some CANNOT and they are made to be the same as the LPT1 port - you must check before you buy one.

Mach 3 can use either board.

oops my mistake.i typed it wrong.
that 15 will go in to inputs list.

what i red on internet is,all new parallel ports come with bi-directional capability.so what if we can use some outputs as inputs.

yes

you might have read that on the internet, what I am saying is check BEFORE you buy it.

If it is truely bi-directional you will have no problems. All pins can be inputs or outputs.

Depnding on how much you want to spend, you might consider getting a Smooth Stepper which has all the inputs and output ports you will need, and also has the pulse generators for your stepper motors/servo motors and saves your computer all the work of generating the pulses itself - leaving your computer free for other things.

It plugs into a USB port and so will save you the problem of taking your PC to bits. It drives the stepper motor cards through a breakout board, or directly.

If you are looking for extra digital I/O then have a look at the PoKeys, its a USB device that has 55 I/O  that can be configured as either Inputs or outputs, 5 can be programmed as analogue although thats not supported in the plugin yet. Also Boris is working on encoder inputs and if thats a success it will mean you can asign some of the pins for hooking up MPG
 At the moment however as I said only the digital I/O are useable in Mach .
Hood

thanks for the reply guys.
yes i had smooth stepper in my mind.as it is completely supported by mach 3.

the only problem with smooth stepper is,it is still in beta releases.iam waiting for the final stable release.i know updating it with new firmwares will make it stable,but what if some hardware modification came.

what do you ppl say can i go for the beta version itself?

oops my mistake.i typed it wrong.
that 15 will go in to inputs list.

what i red on internet is,all new parallel ports come with bi-directional capability.so what if we can use some outputs as inputs.

Hi,

Have a look at the ModIO I sell. It allows you to add additional I/O via Modbus.

http://homanndesigns.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2&products_id=4


If you have any questions, just ask.

Cheers,

peter.

thanks for the reply guys.
yes i had smooth stepper in my mind.as it is completely supported by mach 3.

the only problem with smooth stepper is,it is still in beta releases.iam waiting for the final stable release.i know updating it with new firmwares will make it stable,but what if some hardware modification came.

what do you ppl say can i go for the beta version itself?

The SmoothStepper hardware will not change at this point, only plugins will change as things like soft limits and spindle sync are completed.
 In the future there may be other revisions of the SmoothStepper which are hardware changes but it is more likely that it will be in a form of an aditional board that will connect via the expansion port on the SmoothStepper.
Hood