6040cnc controller

[RichardR]

I have a 6040Z machine which although is not the best it suits my needs, however after years of not being able to use it , when Covid reared its ugly head I had a lot of help from members one in particular and managed to set the machine up to the Mach3 programme, Unfortunately my control box has the old style printer ports and I can only use an old computor with windows 98.
I used inkscape to design my projects and then JScut to convert to G code, which again took me a long time to understand but I managed.
I Joined a mens shed to increase my understanding of a different programme, they are using Pixelcnc which is a lot better than Inkscape and JScut combined.
I would like to be able to run my cnc machine with Windows 11 but will need a new controller, can anyone recommend a complete controller as I do not wish to build one, presumably it will have a USB control lead between the computer and control box.

[Neale]

Look at the UC100. Plugs into PC using USB and control box plugs in using existing printer plug. All works with Mach3. Designed for exactly your situation! While there may be cheaper options, this is probably the easiest.

[RichardR]

Thanks I did start looking after I posted my question and found a thread about the adapters, they are pricey so I was going to see what replies came up and then ask if the UC100 was any good and who supplies the best one

[Neale]

The answer to who supplies the best one is either CNCdrive (who make them) or, in the UK, CNC4YOU. CNCdrive have an active support forum available if you need any help. I use a couple of the big brothers of the UC100 (in fact, UC300) and they just work. Never had any problem with them.

You will also see UC100 advertised on various other web sites. Be aware that there are a lot of fake versions around that nearly but not quite work. There are also a lot of "USB motion controllers" available via eBay and other places. They may work as advertised. I don't personally have any experience of them, and there is a fair chance that there is no technical support available from the supplier. On the other hand, there seem to be some available for less than a tenner, so maybe it's worth a gamble! Double-check their power requirements if you do go down that route - the one on my screen at the moment needs a 24V supply, apparently, and I have no idea if this is available in your system.

You can also find "USB to parallel port" converters. These are designed to work with printers, not CNC systems, and are very unlikely to work in your system.

[RichardR]

Thanks I will have a look, I now need to get to grips with pixelcnc, not easy to understand via tube, as it is too quick for an old timer like me, even though they are tutorials they assume they you know what there doing plus the menus that pop up are too small to see clearly and disappear too quickly.
I went to the men's shed this afternoon hoping to get some hands on tuturing but the right guys never came. Back to tube 😁