STEPCRAFT and Mach3

Hi, I have Stepcraft 600 model and want to use with Mach3 software. Mach3 demo software downloaded from artsoft website and installed to the laptop. Laptop and device have USB port. Finally there is no communication between two. Need help please.

you need the parallel port

Mach 3 via USB with UC 100 Motion or UC 300 USB Motion controller firma CNC Drive
Link http://cncdrive.com/products.html

Wolfgang

Hello teknik,

I don't know if this will help you or not but you could give it a try.

After building my 420, I followed the "Getting Started" manual and installed WinPC-NC Starter software as the machine comes pre-installed with the USB module.

The PC and machine failed to connect so I had a look in the WinPC-NC Starter installed folder and found CDM setup file and ran that, this installed the drivers and it worked for me.

Then we took out the USB card that comes with the 420 machine and put the UC100 in and everything worked mach3.
My version of Mach3 came from StoneyCNC with a STEPCRAFT420 profile.

Best regards
Blan and Good luck

You need the STEPCRAFT machine configured with an LPT card - not with the WinPC cards.. The WinPC modules will not allow you to talk to Mach3. Once you have an LPT card in the machine you can connect the machine to a Desktop PC that also has a LPT output. However - we do not recommend this as there are well known issues with LPT connection with Mach3.

For best results you need to have a USB motion controller. The UC100 from CNC Drive allows you to control a CNC with your USB port. The UC100 will plug directly into the STEPCRAFT when a LPT card is loaded in the machine. The UC100 is a lot more than just a parallel to USB converter. the UC100 is a full 6 axis motion controller. All the communication between Mach3 and the controller happens over USB communication and then the UC100 itself generates the motor signals for machine control. therefore the machine can be controlled on a laptop as as-well as a desktop.

CNC Drive UC100
More info here

Once you have setup your Mach3 software and your UC100 drivers etc (As per the above videos) you will need the STEPCRAFT profile settings to import into Mach3.

WinPC-NCStarter-Howtoinstallthedriversuccessfully.pdf

Hello teknik,

I don't know if this will help you or not but you could give it a try.

After building my 420, I followed the "Getting Started" manual and installed WinPC-NC Starter software as the machine comes pre-installed with the USB module.

The PC and machine failed to connect so I had a look in the WinPC-NC Starter installed folder and found CDM setup file and ran that, this installed the drivers and it worked for me.

Then we took out the USB card that comes with the 420 machine and put the UC100 in and everything worked mach3.
My version of Mach3 came from StoneyCNC with a STEPCRAFT420 profile.

Best regards
Blan and Good luck

Great stuff Ian, this is a real help for the guys who might have an issue with the driver install for the winPC installer.

I have a rather strange situation happening - I have recently built the 420 unit with the parallel card and the UC-100 motion controller (first built and tested with the USB card and was able to use via WINPC much like the previous user) Then swapped out the USB for the parallel card and the UC100 device and after some significant changes to the setup on Mach3 I now have it working again - but with an exception that I cannot find a solution for - I can only run programs written in metric - the software "switch" for either metric or inches IS set to inches (have tried re-triggering this multiple times and it appears to operate as it should with a lighted indicator showing "inches" - but when a program is loaded (written in inches) it operates in metric. I have purposely added a "G20" line in the code in the beginning and it's also in the automatic string of characters that Mach3 looks at when it starts.

I believe this is probably a Mach3 setting issue but so far have been unable to find any solutions thru any of their resources as well. If you have any ideas of what might cause this I would be very interested to hear from you. Until then, I'm programming in English, converting to metric and watching the same things happen on an otherwise very capable system. Thanks.

Well done for configuring the machine with Mach3. It is not easy. We (StoneyCNC) give the full profile out with the machines we offer - so its simply a case of copying in the file. The profile has all settings and calibration values for metric operation.

Have you calibrated the machine? You need to calibrate the machine to sell it how many "steps per unit" it needs to see for inchs.

The UC100 operated using a Plugin made by CNC Drive who have coded the plugin to let the UC100 talk to Mach. I will ask CNC Drive if this could be a problem on their side.

To cofirm - this is a calibration issue. You need to calibrate the machine so it sees 10units (inches) as inches. You need to use the calibration function.

My hats off to Rory for going out of his way to help me out with this issue of getting Mach3 setup in inches instead of metric. Oddly enough I've worked in both metric and inches for a long time but prefer inches so what now seems pretty straightforward wasn't so much when I could not either remember or find the exact method and steps to get the machine to that status. Rory went out of his way to be clear and concise in his help and as a result I was able to run a test file today that took just over two hours and it went thru without an issue. Like most machines, there's the need to see it wiggle, move and actually do some "work" and when you're just starting to see that happen, your mind is on dozens of other small details but with some patience, time and persistence even the smaller details will get solved and the machine will run even better than it is today.

Some of the initial issues were in tightening the rollers too much when building the unit (This is a 420 system) - my concern was that it would be hard to get at some of those places when it was finally assembled and that a loose screw while moving would be a bad situation - but in the course of tightening things too much, I also created another problem with overtasking the stepper motor by also making the ballscrews too tight (you should be able to rotate all of them by hand) and then was trying to overcome that condition with software options in Mach3. From several exchanges with Rory, I was able to understand better what was needed and will do some "re-tuning" on the hardware first in order to get a smoother running system and he was right, it was all about the calibration!!!

The entire build up of the unit went very well with absolutely minimal issues. One thing that should impress almost anyone is that all of the parts (steel and brass) were uncommonly clean and finished. When you look at the multiple processes in machining that went on to make these parts, it's always easy to drop them in the box and ship it, but these parts were burr-free, exceptionally clean from a machining standpoint and dimensionally tested, proven and delivered. Sounds easy but it's never that way when you're making 1,000's of parts. The surface finishes are important from a standpoint of consistency - everything fit and functioned like it was intended to and for an assembly that is to be done from photo renderings, it's a really, really nice product. That's the sign of paying attention to detail and Stepcraft certainly has done so.

My thanks again to Stepcraft and to Rory for helping out with the Mach3 software details... no matter what you intend to make with this system, it's all about the details! Get them right and you're going to be a highly satisfied customer I'm sure.

Thanks.

- Wonstep (closer to the target than I was yesterday!)

Well done. Its a steep learning curve is places but its rewarding when it all comes together. Everyone needs to be careful when purchasing a CNC system. The support can be as important as the machine.

Now lets see some of your creations!

Hi everybody. I have a STEPCRAFT 420 with Mach3 through the parallel port. I'm trying to play a bit with the config.
I saw on 1 topic some really high acceleration. I tried them, but then, I saw a problem of accuracy.
Is there any method to set up properly Mach3? I don't know how to set up the backflash for exemple. or other shuttle timing parameters.
Is there someone who could provide me a working xml?

Hello, i'm new here and want to buy the S600. I have a stepcraft dealer next to my door (10km). I want to use Mach 3, but it seems that the stepcraft.xml for the settings only available is by stoneycnc in the UK. It's a little bit silly to buy a stepcraft in the UK to get the settings file when you live in the Netherlands and there is a dealer next door.
Is there another way to get this file, I hope somebody from stoneycnc is reading this message!

Think you guys both emailed us.. let us know you get on okay.