Cnc pcb engraver machine Review/ kindof...

[JuanPC]

I don't know if this belongs to the "Other Equipment & Products"
But since it's a machine for making prototype boards, is rather a kind of "Test Equipment".

Here is goes:
For a long time i wanted a machine to make pcbs without chemicals,
A Cnc engraver, cutter, driller.

From china to my country arrived like if the airplain crashed.


Im trying to figure out if the parallel port controller box is damaged or it's me

The machine does not have or i have not found a Mach3 configuration file, instruction, just a Shockwave video in chinese, i can barely understand...
The cd came also with a virus!.Spyware. Detected by Avira. http://www.avira.com/free-antivirus
Anyway...
Since all controller boxes & steppped motors can work different, im a bit confused how to configure the Mach3 software for the 4-Axis REDONDA www.DONGDADK.com CNC Controller Box i have.
I'm thinking to change the controller box to other brand/design because it's all smd, i like through-hole technology.
Anyway...

The Engraving Machine is model: TS-3040C-H80
It came with a Heavy Duty Power Tool TM-31A 500-20Krpm, compatible with Foredom Motor Tool.
But...
It's hard wired to AC = needs a variac to actually have variable speed,
Make shure you order the 110v version, or you will also need a step-up 220v transformer+the variac.
 , machines are by default 220v,
Controller Box has a switch inside, no big deal.
But the Motor Tool don't, so...
Variac + Step-Up Transformer or a new Foredom MotorTool. 
Don't know if this has ball bearings inside, the Foredom looks kind of tempting.

Also does not have an Emergency turn-off Master switch, so you also need to add those rack mounted outlet strips with a Big Red self-iluminated Master Switch.


Problem #1.
Mach3 does not work in Windows7x64
Problem #2.
Controler Box needs a Parallel Port.
Actually that's cool, the actual problem is that modern computers don't have a Parallel port anymore.
And there are many different pci/pcie cards available,
With different chips, and/or drivers.

I bought 4 to test...
3bumen
Encore
Others with unknown brand but interesting chipset.

I though pci is parallel, and pci-e is serial, and i need a parallel port, but pci-e is faster, so...
I bought 1 pcie & 3 pci cards to test.
From experience i know all USB2 cards perform very different,

To solve Problem#1 i thought to install Windows VirtualPC with XP Mode, and activate Intel Virtualization Technology in the Bios,
& So far Problem#1 is solved.

But that makes Problem#2 even harder to solve...
Some chipsets use an Emulation type drivers that do not get recognized by WindowsXP SP3 in "XP Mode".

Problem #3. is that; i don't know if i solved Problem#2 of if it's the controlled box that is damaged.

To solve It, i need to make a test circuit something like this:
http://www.hansotten.com/index.php?page=test-parallel-port

Or this:
http://www.xlentelectronics.nl/LPTTest/LPTTestUtilx64r.htm


If Problem #3 gets unresolved, i need to format a new ssd hd, with XP Sp2.
Or install Linux CNC software in other partition of the hd.

Problem #4. don't know how to configure the controller box to Mach3 software.
To solve Problem#4 i need help from another owner, with the same machine or analize the circuit & datasheets of every IC in the Parallel Input Controller card,& then analize each steper/pwm controler card, which is time consuming without schematics, so i need also to make the schematics.
 


Moddifications:



Videos that got me started in CNC...

[G0HZU]

Machines like this are very useful

I bought my first one secondhand about 10yrs ago. The original owner was Hewlett Packard but they hardly used it.

Mine is the T-Tech 7000S from the US and I bought a second 7000S a few years later. You can do much more than make PCBs with these things. eg you can make front panels for project boxes or engrave metal or even make basic tools or 3D shapes made from laminated shapes cut on the machine.

http://t-techtools.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=14_19&products_id=288

Mine is controlled via RS-232 and the Isopro software package although I had to slightly modify their software to allow it to be compatible with my older 7000S machine. The older 7000S machines were controlled by some pretty awful MSDOS software so I worked out how to mod the executable file in Isopro to work with my older machine. This transforms it into a really versatile tool although I prefer to use LPKF software to produce the isolation files and just use Isopro for controlling the machine.

http://t-techtools.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=15


I know of several people with the older T-Tech models and all agree that it's best to use an older (slow!) PC to control them.  I use an old Pentium P3 laptop although some people who have the parallel port interface use a PC made in the 1990s and they even do things like deliberately slow down the PC by turning off the internal cache memory. This makes the T-Tech machine run more reliably because otherwise it can sometimes make crazy errors on the table and trash the milled PCB with unwanted milling in the wrong parts of the PCB if the PC tries to send info to the machine too quickly

[JuanPC]

Machines like this are very useful

What really got me was that it could be converted to a Laser Plotter/Engraver.
DIY Laserplotter - UV-Laserbelichtung - Homemade Laser Exposer


The 4-Axis is Amazing...

***

Problem #5. When everything is working, i need to purchase somethig to do Repeatability Tests.

***

If tests are with-in specs, 
if not... new stepped motors or controller.

Love to see CNC in Action...

[jamesstaylor]

I know this thread is kind of old, so this is a little bit of a long shot.  Do you have the mach3 config file for this CNC machine?  I just bought an identical one off of CraigsList and would love to save some time and not have to probe out the controller.

Thanks,

JT

[MorgothCreator]

Hi, you still have an image of the CD? or the decumentation PDF?, I lost my CD, on the CD is a PDF with the MACH3 Darvin driver LPT pinout configuration, or someone have the Datashet?

Thank you very much.