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  1. #71
    Quote Originally Posted by Neale View Post
    I'm not sure that I agree with that (I think that testing has the ultimate say) but that statement is only based on my experience and there's no theory to back it up...
    Ok I'll amend it to what was meant and say Ultimately Experience testing wins.!!. . .

  2. #72
    Jon.'s Avatar
    Location unknown. Jon. Last Activity: Has a total post count of n/a. Referred 6117 members to the community.
    My god i must be doing everything badly.. cheap ass 5m usb cable coiled up, wrapped around extension leads and all sorts and running off a laptop. I must be very lucky.

  3. #73
    Quote Originally Posted by JAZZCNC View Post
    Ok I'll amend it to what was meant and say Ultimately Experience testing wins.!!. . .
    I wasn't being very serious! My personal problem is that anytime someone talks about the value of experience, it reminds me of my father whose attitude was along the lines of, "That's the way I've always done it, so that's the way it has to be done!" Didn't leave him much room for improving anything... I cheerfully admit to stealing the results of other people's experience where they've been kind enough to publish it - which is why I have a CSMIO-IP/M waiting to be installed, complete with Ethernet connection and 24V differential signalling.

    Quote Originally Posted by JON
    My god i must be doing everything badly.. cheap ass 5m usb cable coiled up, wrapped around extension leads and all sorts and running off a laptop. I must be very lucky.
    FatFreddie said he had so many problems with USB and his 3D printer that he gave up using USB. I've been using USB with my 3D printer for more than 3 years now and I've never had a problem with it. There's nothing wrong in principle, it's just that the safety margins with respect to noise are much lower than with Ethernet. There are also issues if you rely on the 5V supplied via the USB port as this can be a bit flaky as well. My printer controller has a separate supply - maybe that's why mine is more successful? Don't know but it's a case where experience gives different answers depending on who you ask.

    As for theory versus experience - I use Ethernet-over-mains to get a network connection to my garage as the layout of my house makes the wifi signal a bit flaky out there. That signal goes through two ring mains, 3 MCBs, and an RCD. I wouldn't expect anything to get through that lot (based on the principles of high-frequency signals getting through a bunch of inductors), but I tried it, it works, and it's really useful for moving Gcode files around and that kind of thing. Stops working as soon as I turn on the router control box and VFD, though!
    Last edited by Neale; 09-06-2015 at 09:50 PM.

  4. #74
    Quote Originally Posted by Neale View Post
    I wasn't being very serious!
    Yes I knew that neil, I wasn't exactly being too serious my self.! . . . And regards your Father experience then I fully it get it.!
    To me it comes close or equal to "Can't teach Old Dog new tricks" in terms of irritation.! . . . .I'm so far removed from both it gets me in trouble at times But Experience applied with intelligence along with a good dose of common sense win every time over theory alone in my book.! . . . . But . . . . All my best ideas and achievements started with " In theory it should work" but it does take certain amount of experience to allow the theory to evolve.!! . . . .Chicken and Egg maybe.?

  5. #75
    Quote Originally Posted by JAZZCNC View Post
    Yes I knew that neil, I wasn't exactly being too serious my self.! . . . And regards your Father experience then I fully it get it.!
    To me it comes close or equal to "Can't teach Old Dog new tricks" in terms of irritation.! . . . .I'm so far removed from both it gets me in trouble at times But Experience applied with intelligence along with a good dose of common sense win every time over theory alone in my book.! . . . . But . . . . All my best ideas and achievements started with " In theory it should work" but it does take certain amount of experience to allow the theory to evolve.!! . . . .Chicken and Egg maybe.?
    Sadly I learned long ago that "common sense" is not so common!!! G.

  6. #76
    Hi all,

    Wow, this has been an interesting thread to read, I feel like I turned up a few years late and more dollars short. For anyone still reading this thread, I'm sure parallel, USB, and ethernet all have a role to play. I have found that USB is problematic in some cases, particularly with Stratasys industrial grade 3D printers, while ethernet works really well. On a CNC mill I had to maintain in a previous job, the reverse was true. In managing some laboratory instruments with stepper-driven actuators, parallel was the only choice because the instrument was made in 1987, and to "upgrade" to USB would cost the business over $80K USD... so we said "Windows 3.1, a parallel port, and some floppies are good enough for us thanks".

    I get that people want to express their experiences (who doesn't). I'm glad that each person here has a favourite. For me, building my first DIY CNC, I have chosen ethernet because it suits my situation. I'll be really intrigued to see how a Mesa 7I76E card goes. How that will play out... who knows. If it fails miserably, I have a dozen old computers laying about, the ability to crimp and test my own crossover cables, and a lot of networking experience. If all that fails, I have a USB Mach 3 card that I was given.... for reasons I will never understand.... when I was buying some shielded spindle cable. They sent the USB controller instead. When I contacted the seller, they sent me the cable I originally ordered and told me to keep the card.... <insert confused face and shrug here>.

    Anyway, thanks to all who have shared their views on the subject, but at the end of the day, we each must choose our own path. I'll let people know how my ethernet controller works out... but it'll take a while.

    Take care everyone!
    Hamish.

  7. #77
    A blast from the past.

    USB has improved because they have moved the parts that wear out away from the PCB and onto the cable so they are dead easy to replace.

    Ethernet is delightful, how could anyone disagree with four twisted pairs in a ready-made, cheap as chips, cable?

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