Getting started and already confused

Hi all I am having a bit of a problem with my new setup, its not doing anything...

I have done what I think is wright but so far I have a glorified paperweight and nothing more.

I have:
Pentium 4 XP terminal with a demo version of Mach3 I rebooted when installed.

CNC 6040 from Germany

USB to Parallel Port connecter

I have not done anything in BIOS as far as I can tell with XP it should already be default settings for the ports.

I have these screen shots to show my settings I have done which I obtained from internet.

Am I missing something else? please advise and thank you for your time.

You can't use a USB to parallel port converter you must use a motion controller like the UC100 or something similar, or use the parallel port of the PC directly.

From your other thread -

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Originally Posted by Palletlad

oh on a side note I just seen a thread about the parallel ports and it was mentioned that a parallel port to USB connector will not work... I am confused because the machine came with a Parallel port to USB connector?

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A standard usb to parallel port adapter won't work. The timing for a generic parallel port is not that strict, and is not good enough for motion control. There are however adapters that look very like a standard adapter, but are in fact dedicated motion controllers in a standard case (UC100 & PMDX-411 are two from reputable sources).

What drivers were supplied, and what does the adapter show up as when connected to the PC?

Sorry just re read your response and seen the last line, I will get back to you tomorrow with the answers to your questions as its late and the garage is all locked up now.
I brought an lpt lead thinking I can overcome this problem but realised I have the incorrect male connector on one end and not two female connectors.

Back to basics : Does your computer have a parallel port? And, if so, does the cable you bought allow you to connect the computer parallel port to the CNC controller?


(it's probably easy and more confidence inspiring if we can get you working on the default parallel interface before worrying about the motion controller).

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Originally Posted by Doddy

Back to basics : Does your computer have a parallel port? And, if so, does the cable you bought allow you to connect the computer parallel port to the CNC controller?

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Not forgetting a 32 bit version of Windows as parallel port support has been "retired" by microsoft in the 64 bit versions.

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Originally Posted by magicniner

Not forgetting a 32 bit version of Windows as parallel port support has been "retired" by microsoft in the 64 bit versions.

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32bit desktop PCs are getting cheap as owt, because a hell of a lot are going to recycling.

For CNC I only use a 32bit machine, plenty powerful enough for Mach3 and I also use the onboard LPT port and a PCI parallel port card. The Internet gateway is disabled on the CNC computer, but it can still access the Internet enabled LAN network storage box to store working files, so I can get to my files from anywhere (private cloud !)

This discussion is confusing as it is split over two threads !!

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Originally Posted by cropwell

This discussion is confusing as it is split over two threads !!

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Is there an echo in here? :D

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Originally Posted by magicniner

Is there an echo in here? :D

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Stop posting in both threads then :courage:

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Originally Posted by magicniner

Is there an echo in here? :D

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Echo Echo Echo Echo

Hi guys apologies for the multi thread post I originally started this one and then later found the sub category thread which I was meant to use for my questions.

I took a plunge in buying the 6040 thinking all I needed to do was buy the machine, buy mach3 and buy/get cam software and off I go making stuff without realising (researching enough) that there was a lot of things I needed to learn.

I appreciate the help and advice so far and I know the Echo has gotten very loud so will officially close this thread and will continue on my other once I thoroughly go through all the manuals, youtube videos, your input from both threads and trouble shoot where I have gone wrong and hopefully wont give you guys any more headaches with idiot questions.

PS THREAD CLOSED