chinese 3040 3 axis cnc router

Hi I bought a chinese 3040 3 axis machine in february i have mach 3 installed on a windows xp computer the router contoller is connected to the pc by a usb b connection on the controller to a usb port on the computer in can move the axis motors in mach 3 on screen using a keyboard but i have yet to get any of the axis stepper motors to actually move on the machine can anyone help me out

It is quite possible that the usb port on the controller is for loading a gcode file.I know nothing of Mach3 as I use LinuxCNC.Have you checked that it doesn't expect you to use a parallel port to drive the machine?I believe a usb connection might be challenging for Mach3.Maybe you could ask over at CNCzone as they have a global user base.

Mach3 by itself can only talk to a machine via the parallel port. If you use USB, you need an additional plug-in which allows Mach3 to communicate via USB. This plug-in is generally specific to a particular motion controller. Did your router come with any software? For example, I know one machine that had a memory stick hidden away in the packaging that included both the motion controller plug-in and the configuration file that was needed to tell Mach3 which pin/port was which. Once these were installed, everything started to work.

The other problem is that cheap Chinese routers often come with hacked (pirate, illegal) copies of Mach3 which are often unreliable but you will generally get some movement before you start to discover problems.

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Originally Posted by Neale

Mach3 by itself can only talk to a machine via the parallel port. If you use USB, you need an additional plug-in which allows Mach3 to communicate via USB. This plug-in is generally specific to a particular motion controller. Did your router come with any software? For example, I know one machine that had a memory stick hidden away in the packaging that included both the motion controller plug-in and the configuration file that was needed to tell Mach3 which pin/port was which. Once these were installed, everything started to work.

The other problem is that cheap Chinese routers often come with hacked (pirate, illegal) copies of Mach3 which are often unreliable but you will generally get some movement before you start to discover problems.

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Hi thank you for your help the machine did not come with any software just a zipped file with mach 3 on it i have installed it and it seems to work on the screen but i cant get the motors to physically move i have posted what the diagnostics page looks like

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Originally Posted by wulliepie1

it seems to work on the screen

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Mach3 does that, it runs code perfectly, even when it's not connected to anything at all.
As has been stated above you must have a Plugin installed to run a USB connected machine, plugin configuration is somewhere you should look.

Are there any markings on the controller with the USB socket in the router? it might be possible to track down a suitable plug-in if it's one of the common controllers.