Mach3 Lathe Threading Struggles

[mondrota]

Okay, it's been a while, and this project was put to a side but now I'm back at it. I bought a cheap USB motion controller from eBay
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?m...2F163110531211
I plugged it in to my laptop for testing, connected some relays and they work okay, however I don't get any rpm readout! The index light comes on in the diagnostic screen but no matter what I do, the sTrue stays at 0 🤔
Is the controller supposed to tell mach3 what the rpm is?
Did I go wrong by going cheap?
Help!

[battwell]

you need a controller that will support threading in the controller. this cannot be done in software.
the index signal must be interupt driven- so its very fast.
software will always lag so you will never get the same start point for threading.
you also require spindle encoder - which can be 2 sensors 60 degrees apart
threading- and cheap- are never going to work

[magicniner]

I bought a cheap USB motion controller from eBay

Hmm, not narrowing the angle there! ;-)

[m_c]

From the top of head in no particular order, the following support turn/single point threading-
Pokeys
PMDX
KFlop
CS-Labs (although I think you may need the higher end controller with an MPG module, and not the cheaper controller)
Centroid


IIRC Pokeys (and possibly PMDX) will work with a basic single/multislot sensor, whereas the rest require a proper quadrature output encoder.

[magicniner]

Does anyone do a good Stand Alone Controller for lathes?

[m_c]

Does anyone do a good Stand Alone Controller for lathes?

When I was looking at the Chinese standalone controllers, I'm sure some were available in turn versions.

[battwell]

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Powe...caAi6yEALw_wcB