CNC Win7/Mach3 PCI parallel port setup

[Scott Baker]

I recently purchased a CNC router and I'm trying to connect it to an old Win7 desktop computer (connected via a parallel port).

The desktop computer specs are:

Intel Sandy Bridge (4th gen core) running 32-bit Windows 7 OS

There is no parallel port on the motherboard so I'm using a PCI-to-parallel port adapter.

The Win7 Device Manager shows the PCI card driver setup as:

port config: LPT1

I/O range: 0xe000 to 0xe007  (this is fixed and not configurable in the driver)

The Mach3 port configuration shows:

port #1 enabled

port #1 address is set to 0xe000

When I put mach 3 into manual control and try to use the arrow keys to move the X,Y, and Z positions,

I see the Mach3 position display update, but the stepper motors don't move.

Does anyone with CNC/Mach3 experience see anything wrong with my port configurations or have any advice on what to try next?

[Scott Baker]

I connected an old HP LaserJet to the parallel port and Win7 had no problem printing to it.

I then retried the Mach3 manual control test and used a logic probe to check the parallel port output pins. I saw no signals on any parallel port output pin as I used the arrow keys to move the Mach3 X,Y, and Z values

So either I still have something mis-configured in the Mach3 setup, or the Mach3 printer port driver is not capable of working with this particular PCI-to-parallel-port adapter.

I guess my next step is to find an even older computer with a parallel port built in to the mother board.

[Jerry Biehler]

That looks right. I am going to say this, I had terrible, terrible getting a working system using Win 7. I would install XP if you can. There is just too much crap going on behind the scenes in Win 7 for it to run smoothly.

Second, I would ditch the parallel port and go for an external motion controller like the Ethenet Smooth Stepper or a Dynomotion KFlop (Which is what I use). This will give you much better performance and allow you to run a modern OS since the motion control is handed off from the computer to the controller card. The Kflop is pretty advanced and you will need to know a bit about C to get it going since it is configured with programs written in C which the KFlop interprets and runs internally. For the price the KFlop is very advanced. It can handle encoder feedback, rigid tapping, tool changers, pretty much whatever you want to throw at it.

-Jerry

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[Jason Barnett]

Scott,

Check the configuration in your BIOS.  There are multiple modes that an LPT port can operate in (ECP, EPP, or Bi-directional).  Try changing to a different mode and see if it helps.

[Neal]

Have you checked the status of the printer port "ready" status bits?

Good luck,

NealS

[Scott Baker]

Got it working !! :)

I ran a program in the mach3 home directory called drivertest.exe and that magically fixed something.

Now I can control X,Y,and Z axes under Mach3 manual control.

The next step will be to generate some simple G-code and try my first cut :)

Jerry, thanks for the info about the Dynomotion KFlop. I'll look into that for a possible future upgrade.

On Thursday, June 8, 2017 at 1:20:23 PM UTC-7, Scott Baker wrote:

[Jerry Biehler]

First lesson of CNC, never create your own G-Code. Use cam. Autodesk Fusion 360 has CAM built in and its free.

-Jerry

[Scott Baker]

I have some CAM-generated G-code examples (simple circle, smiley face, etc,) that I will use for first-level testing.

I also found this G-code interpreter that runs on an Arduino Uno:  https://github.com/grbl/grbl/wiki

It seems like a cool idea (simple, real-time, and no OS overhead in the CNC control loops).

On Friday, June 9, 2017 at 9:09:48 PM UTC-7, jerry.biehler wrote:

First lesson of CNC, never create your own G-Code. Use cam. Autodesk Fusion 360 has CAM built in and its free.

-Jerry

> On Jun 9, 2017, at 8:46 PM, Scott Baker wrote:
>
> Got it working !! :)
>
> I ran a program in the mach3 home directory called drivertest.exe and that magically fixed something.
> Now I can control X,Y,and Z axes under Mach3 manual control.
> The next step will be to generate some simple G-code and try my first cut :)
>
> Jerry, thanks for the info about the Dynomotion KFlop. I'll look into that for a possible future upgrade.
>
>
> On Thursday, June 8, 2017 at 1:20:23 PM UTC-7, Scott Baker wrote:
>
> I recently purchased a CNC router and I'm trying to connect it to an old Win7 desktop computer (connected via a parallel port).
>
> The desktop computer specs are:
> Intel Sandy Bridge (4th gen core) running 32-bit Windows 7 OS
> There is no parallel port on the motherboard so I'm using a PCI-to-parallel port adapter.
>
> The Win7 Device Manager shows the PCI card driver setup as:
> port config: LPT1
> I/O range: 0xe000 to 0xe007  (this is fixed and not configurable in the driver)
>
> The Mach3 port configuration shows:
> port #1 enabled
> port #1 address is set to 0xe000
>
> When I put mach 3 into manual control and try to use the arrow keys to move the X,Y, and Z positions,
> I see the Mach3 position display update, but the stepper motors don't move.
>
> Does anyone with CNC/Mach3 experience see anything wrong with my port configurations or have any advice on what to try next?
>
>
>
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