2017-420 Myford ML-7latne GNC comersion Part: Coniguring Mach 3 (Custom Search Search Myford ML-7 lathe CNC conversion - Part 4: Configuring Mach 3 Tony Jeffree Monday, 04 April, 2011 Introduction In parts 1, 2, and 3 of this series of articles, published in MEW issues 138, 139, and XX, I described modifications to the ML-7 leadscrew and cross-slide feed screw thrust bearings, the installation of stepper motors to drive the leadscrew and cross-slide, and building the stepper motor drive electronics. In this fourth article, I will describe the final pieces of the jigsaw - configuring a PC to drive the control hardware, using Mach 3 software under Windows XP. Choosing a PC With the mechanical conversion and the drive circuitry all in place, all that remains before the system is functional is to configure Mach 3 on a suitable PC. I'm not planning to attempt to write a tutorial on using Mach 3 as part of this article; apart from anything else, as this is my first venture into using Mach 3, I am very far from being a Mach 3 expert, so I will leave that to others for the time being. Mach 3 runs under Microsoft Windows; either Windows XP or Windows Vista, so the first problem is to find a suitable PC, with a parallel port, that runs XP or Vista, and that is reasonably powerful (a 2 GHz or better processor is advisable). It is also advisable to avoid PCs that have integrated shared memory" graphics functions, as these can be problematic with Mach 3, although as PC processor performance improves, this is getting to be less of an issue. The PC I bought for this exercise was a 3GHz MaxData desktop machine that came from Ebuyer, and was already loaded with Windows XP. If you can get hold of an XP machine, I would go for that rather than a Vista machine, as XP is rather more of a known quantity as far as running Mach 3 is concerned. If you can't find a PC with a parallel port, then it is still possible to add one if there is a spare slot on the PC's mother board. Some laptop computers will run Mach 3 successfully; however, particularly as laptops with parallel ports are becoming as rare as hens’ tecth, I believe that you stand a better chance of getting a working system if you start with a desktop machine than a laptop. rtp shwwjotoe.co.uk/pagesinI7-cnepar-tAlesimyferdenept.him ‘1282017-420 Myford ML latwe CNC conversion- Part: Coniguing Mach 3 It is preferable to start with a "pristine" machine when loading Mach 3; either a new machine or one that has had its operating system freshly reloaded. That way, you can be much more certain of getting a clean installation, and avoid any problems that may have been left around in the system by other software that had been loaded into the machine. Also, it is preferable to keep to the absolute minimum of other software on the machine you are using to run Mach 3; the last thing you want is for unforeseen interactions between Mach 3 and your other software to mess up the operation of the machine. In other words, regard the Mach 3 machine as a dedicated CNC system and nothing more; don't expect to be able to surf the web while you are cutting parts, any more than you would expect to be able to do that on a dedicated CNC machining centre from one of the big name manufacturers. In fact, it is advisable to disable any networking capability that the machine has, and rely on the use of disks or "memory stick" drives to transfer data between the Mach 3 system and any other PC that you may use for making CAD drawings, generating G-code, or downloading the latest version of Mach 3. As mentioned in Part 3, I bought a flat screen LCD monitor from Ebuyer with the computer system; the monitor doesn't need to be particularly high spec - I simply went for the cheapest LCD monitor I could find on Ebuyer at the time. It is possible (and very desirable too) to use a touch screen with Mach 3; however, these tend to be considerably more expensive than normal LCDs. You will also need a keyboard and mouse of some description; I decided to try a compact wireless keyboard that has a built-in "joystick"-style pointing device, as shown in Photo 1. This is a slightly odd beast to use, but can be used with the keyboard held in the hands, although the keyboard is just a shade too big to type with the thumbs; however, the "mouse" buttons can be operated by the left thumb, while the joystick is operated by the right thumb. This joystick function also has other potential advantages, as I will describe later on. I haven't bothered to list part numbers for these PC components, as the availability and specification of these devices seems to change too rapidly for that to be useful; best to see what is available on the market at the time. It is also worth bearing in mind that a PC that has been outgrown by the needs of the bloated and power-hungry software packages that we seem to get foisted on us these days may still be useful as a Mach 3 machine, especially after giving it an operating system re-load. rtp shwwjotoe.co.uk/pagesinI7-cnepar-tAlesimyferdenept.him 208Myferd ML-7 late CNC comersion- Part: Coniguring Mach 3 5 7 =, Photo 1: PC wireless keyboard with built in joystick/mouse Installing Mach 3 I would strongly recommend that you read the Mach 3 documentation before you attempt to install or configure Mach 3 on your PC. There is a lot of useful information to be found on the Mach 3 website, including a discussion forum where you can post questions and get answers from Mach 3 experts, and several "videos" that talk you through the use of Mach 3's facilities; however, the best starting point is a document called "Using Mach 3 turn" which can be found at http://www.machsupport.com/docs/Mach3Turn_1.84.pdf. In particular, this article contains sections on installation and configuration of the software; don't try to install the software before reading it, preferably more than once, so you are clear about what is required. As this document describes the installation process in detail, I won't repeat that description here, so the rest of the article will assume that you have successfully installed Mach 3 on your machine. The latest versions of the Mach 3 software and the various "plugins" and other software accessories can be found in the "Downloads" section of the Mach Support website. At the time of writing, the current "lockdown" version of Mach 3 is R2.63 and the current "development" version is R3.041. Mach 3 is undergoing pretty much continuous development as new features are added and bugs are fixed; the "lockdown" version is one that is supposedly stable, however, in practice, it has known bugs that have been fixed in the development version. Hence, the development version was the one that I downloaded and used. ripskwwjtoe.co.ukfpagesin|7-cnepar-éAlesimyferdenept.iin 328