CNC Controller Question

Bumlak

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Within the week I will be purchasing a Storm CNC. If memory serves me, these were made through or by Lee at Brianna when it existed. The unit doesn't have a controller. What box would generally be best to order? I've heard Gecko, but am unsure of any specifics. Any help would be appreciated.

Erich
 

str8eight

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member

GBCues

Damn, still .002 TIR!
Gold Member
Silver Member
I want to tread lightly here, but Gecko G540 is not necessarily your best choice looking to the future. Don't get me wrong, I own 4 of them. Ferris/Farris (sp?) the owner/inventor of the Gecko line is a great guy and offers free/low cost repairs for his products. But there hasn't been much development in the Gecko G540 for a while and it is pretty much tied to use with Mach3, which is also lacking in new developments. Further, Mach3 is designed to be used with a parallel port. Unfortunately, Microsoft has abandoned support for parallel ports, so parallel ports don't exist on new computers. (Or maybe PC's abondoned LPT1:, so Microsoft followed suit - I can't say for sure.)
I am running Mach3 with a parallel port on a computer running Windows 7/32 bit. That is the most modern Windows OS you can use with a parallel port. Beyond that, you can use up to Windows 10 with a Gecko G540 and Mach3, but you must add a SmoothStepper or similar replacement for that parallel port. Again, I own both Mach3 and Gecko G540 and use them, but I have been exploring newer options.
There's a lot of buzz about the Leadshine controllers. I have to admit I don't know which software is recommended for them. I've also been looking at the Acorn CNC controller and the Centroid software. There's a lot on YouTube about them.
I hope you find some of this information useful.
Gary
 

aphelps1

Phelps Custom Cues
Silver Member
Welcome to the club. I have been running a Storm CNC for a number of years now.

Alan
 

JC

Coos Cues
I want to tread lightly here, but Gecko G540 is not necessarily your best choice looking to the future. Don't get me wrong, I own 4 of them. Ferris/Farris (sp?) the owner/inventor of the Gecko line is a great guy and offers free/low cost repairs for his products. But there hasn't been much development in the Gecko G540 for a while and it is pretty much tied to use with Mach3, which is also lacking in new developments. Further, Mach3 is designed to be used with a parallel port. Unfortunately, Microsoft has abandoned support for parallel ports, so parallel ports don't exist on new computers. (Or maybe PC's abondoned LPT1:, so Microsoft followed suit - I can't say for sure.)
I am running Mach3 with a parallel port on a computer running Windows 7/32 bit. That is the most modern Windows OS you can use with a parallel port. Beyond that, you can use up to Windows 10 with a Gecko G540 and Mach3, but you must add a SmoothStepper or similar replacement for that parallel port. Again, I own both Mach3 and Gecko G540 and use them, but I have been exploring newer options.
There's a lot of buzz about the Leadshine controllers. I have to admit I don't know which software is recommended for them. I've also been looking at the Acorn CNC controller and the Centroid software. There's a lot on YouTube about them.
I hope you find some of this information useful.
Gary

Is all this change just for the sake of change or is the new technology going to make CNC cutting better in some way? It sure seems like a lot of stuff in the computer world has been "updated" but not really improved in significant ways.

For instance software. A lot of it that is doing just fine and will for the long term gets kicked to the curb just to allow software engineers to do something it seems like.

JC
 

pdcue

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I want to tread lightly here, but Gecko G540 is not necessarily your best choice looking to the future. Don't get me wrong, I own 4 of them. Ferris/Farris (sp?) the owner/inventor of the Gecko line is a great guy and offers free/low cost repairs for his products. But there hasn't been much development in the Gecko G540 for a while and it is pretty much tied to use with Mach3, which is also lacking in new developments. Further, Mach3 is designed to be used with a parallel port. Unfortunately, Microsoft has abandoned support for parallel ports, so parallel ports don't exist on new computers. (Or maybe PC's abondoned LPT1:, so Microsoft followed suit - I can't say for sure.)
I am running Mach3 with a parallel port on a computer running Windows 7/32 bit. That is the most modern Windows OS you can use with a parallel port. Beyond that, you can use up to Windows 10 with a Gecko G540 and Mach3, but you must add a SmoothStepper or similar replacement for that parallel port. Again, I own both Mach3 and Gecko G540 and use them, but I have been exploring newer options.
There's a lot of buzz about the Leadshine controllers. I have to admit I don't know which software is recommended for them. I've also been looking at the Acorn CNC controller and the Centroid software. There's a lot on YouTube about them.
I hope you find some of this information useful.
Gary

Google to the rescue:

https://www.google.com/search?q=usb....69i57j0l5.40960j1j8&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Dale
 

Dave38

theemperorhasnoclotheson
Silver Member
I am using the smoothstepper and windows 10, and Mach3....the new rollout update for Windows 10 rendered Mach 3 unopenable. A patch from Mach3 fixed it. I am just a beginner and feel that what I have should do what I need for years....as long as some engineer doesn't f it up for the sake of them proving that they are still needed.....I don't like change unless it has a great purpose
 

GBCues

Damn, still .002 TIR!
Gold Member
Silver Member
Is all this change just for the sake of change or is the new technology going to make CNC cutting better in some way? It sure seems like a lot of stuff in the computer world has been "updated" but not really improved in significant ways.

For instance software. A lot of it that is doing just fine and will for the long term gets kicked to the curb just to allow software engineers to do something it seems like.

JC

Hi JC,
There is some merit to what you say, and to Dave's point what we do is mostly simpler tapering, pockets, and inlays. Newer software does give better graphics of your tool paths, supports newer more efficient clearing techniques, and supports newer motor technologies like Leadshine as previously mentioned.
My point was to say if you're just starting out, it might be worth considering newer software and hardware. But Mach3 and stepper motors are well known and you can get support here for them.
To the OP,if you're not familiar with CNCZone.com, check it out for all things CNC.
Gary
 

conetip

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I too am looking at other options, mainly because as the technology moves along, buying an replacement MB is either near impossible to get or is horrendously expensive. What interested me with some of the other systems is their software cam packages and their ease of use,(apparently), and the new cutter path options for both faster cutting and longer tool life.

+ Dale for the USB to RS232 or parallel port converter search. They work very well, was using one for a few years back in 04 is when we got a new PC with no RS232 port and it had no PS2 ports either.
 
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str8eight

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
The uc100 and the smooth stepper are great options.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk
 
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