CNC PC question

RDCustomCues

RDCustomCues

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Maybe this is not the proper area but since its Machinery Related Im posting it here.

For those CNC Buffs I am working on a standalone PC to runthe Mach3 Software I am tolf to optimize it so it has no extra programs and no networking.

Ok I have a older AMD 1800 1.53 ghz PC with Windows XP Pro DO you think with a Video Card 1 Ghz Ram this will run Mach 3 without a glitch. If not I will look for a faster processor. All design rendering will be done from another PC... This will be hooked to the new Gecko540 4 Axis Controller running the CNC Mill. If its suitable I will scavange an ATI Card from sons pc he doesnt need and invest in a new CPU Fan as this is starting to fail. If its not suitable no need to invest money in it
 
I think that would do it but probably just. The good thing about the way Mach3 runs is it takes over the OS right at from the core and gains first priority over resources so very little can disrupt it as long as your clocking is tight. Mach offers ways to check that during setup. If that's all it will do then I think I would give it a shot.

I run all my (home) CNCs on Mach3 with a PC I built from pawn shop parts and left overs. It's a 2.9g Celeron w/ 1G ram and runs it like a champ. I usually do my CAD and CAM (Gibbs) while it's running machines and have not had any issues.
 
Well I may steal one of the Boys PC's they are a lot faster and they only surf the net rarly play games so i may fix this for one of them to use. Time to go PC to PC and see which has the better specs. With 4 Boys we only have 3 towers and 5 laptops Most were handme downs when Me and the wife upgraded and aone tower is a Dell less than a year old I bet that has a decent processor. The Athlon Mentioned I build a few years back so its a bit outdated...
 
Fortunately , PC parts and memory are one of the few things today that are actually still getting better and better and/or getting cheaper to put together. That last one I put together I probably have less the $200 into it and that's with an , ableit small but , 15" LCD.

My issue at the time was we've all gone Laptop. We have I think 6 running around the house and not a single desktop put together anymore. Mach would only run on one of the older ones , an IBM P3 tank but it became a hassle to work with so I put together what PC parts I had and pawn shopped the rest. Turned out to be a pretty nice little PC tho.
 
I have been surprised at how little cpu you can get away with. AFAIK, the main thing you need to avoid is all in one boards, where the system memory is used by the built in video card.
On one particularly slow machine I had to disable the sound card.
Parallel ports are getting to be a rare item these days. Most laptops don't have them, so be sure you have that handled.
Mariss over at gecko is one of those rare individuals who goes out of his way to educate and coach his customers way beyond his responsibility.
The G540 looks like a way cool device.
 
Mach 3 asks for 1 gig mhz,but i have seen it run on a 333mhz without a problem.1.5 will be fine.
 
Masonh is right. Mach3 asks for 1 gig processor speed, but I run several machines with 750 to 900 mhz with no problems.

It never ceases to amaze me at how much dust a PC can collect and still not go nuts. I have had a pc be completely full of dust!

Royce Bunnell
www.obcues.com
 
RDCustomCues said:
Thanks for all the info guys I will go with the Atlon 1.53 and go from there
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As everyone else has said, it shouldn't be a problem with that processor and 1GB of memory to run Mach3. If you want to shoot me a PM when you get everything setup, I can walk you through turning off all the extra crap windows loads on startup. If all this will be is a standalone mach3 machine, you can turn off a bunch of things.

My other suggestion to anyone using windows is to turn off the computer and only turn it on right before starting your cnc runs. Windows is notorious for "nibbling" memory when it just sits there. Memory leaks cause windows to use more and more memory without releasing it for you to use, so it can become very sluggish.
 
RRfireblade said:
Fortunately , PC parts and memory are one of the few things today that are actually still getting better and better and/or getting cheaper to put together. That last one I put together I probably have less the $200 into it and that's with an , ableit small but , 15" LCD.

My issue at the time was we've all gone Laptop. We have I think 6 running around the house and not a single desktop put together anymore. Mach would only run on one of the older ones , an IBM P3 tank but it became a hassle to work with so I put together what PC parts I had and pawn shopped the rest. Turned out to be a pretty nice little PC tho.
Click to expand...

Laptops are a gamble as far as using the printer port since the 5v needed to drive stepper boards can be under powered. You can still use a product called smooth stepper (I think) that works with plug in for Mach 3 and routed through the usb port. I believe from everything I have seen that it would plug directly to the legacy printer interface boards. I believe we will see a change in this area over the next couple of years since printer ports are not found on new computers.

Jim.
 
Mc2 said:
Laptops are a gamble as far as using the printer port since the 5v needed to drive stepper boards can be under powered. You can still use a product called smooth stepper (I think) that works with plug in for Mach 3 and routed through the usb port. I believe from everything I have seen that it would plug directly to the legacy printer interface boards. I believe we will see a change in this area over the next couple of years since printer ports are not found on new computers.

Jim.
Click to expand...

3v will do on some controllers but it has to be at enough amps but yes , that is the primary issue with Laptops. The one IBM I have the does provide ample voltage is an absolute tank with the full array of outputs no longer seen on current models. PCMCIA adapters are an option for some but still , newer laptops just don't provide the amperage at voltage needed. I've had mixed results with SmoothStepper but it was still in deelopment back then , not to mention it's just a bit less $ than I have in my whole stand alone CNC PC.

Bottom line is for how cheap it is today to build a PC more than capable to do the job , why would you not. :)
 
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