ebay score dwt cnc router

**irving2008** · 28-01-2010

When you say plotter Jase, do you mean your existing plotter or the new CNC router? I am assuming you mean the latter.

The only purpose for the software provided (PC-NC) , as far as I can make out, is to interpret G-codes and send the required step information to the stepper controllers (in the box presumably). It does support HPGL too so argualbly can take output files direct from design programs, although how you deal with toolpaths etc I have no idea.

MACH3 will replace this for G-Codes (it doesnt support HPGL AFAIK). There is a Windows version of PCNC called WinPCNC although it is not clear if it is exactly the same (and it appears to be 149euro, although there are economy and light versions).

The only tricky thing for using MACH3 instead of PCNC will be identifying the pinout requirements on the controller box, i.e. which pin is X-Direction, X-Step, etc. This should be documented somewhere... the rest is just tuning and testing...

**j4son** · 28-01-2010

this is realy helpful i'm reading the manual now for the pc-nc and see what i come up with

**j4son** · 28-01-2010

does anyone know what the little back box is that the cables go to between the driver and the steppers see pictures below

**John S** · 28-01-2010

Is this a step4 router ?

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**j4son** · 29-01-2010

yes it appears where talking of the same

Originally Posted by John S

about as intuitive as the co pilots seat in a V1 doodlebug.

type of machine i didnt know it was one of those said machines, but after doing a search on the step4 router in the above post i'de found your post on the very similar machine and with the same problems you encounted.
problem is now ive paid a got it here infront of me, and before i start ripping it to peices and addressing the many mechanical flaws it has.
i just have next to no knoledge on the software/driver/elctrics on it.
this is were i need help what would you advise. preferably not on the lines 14lb sledge hammer

**John S** · 29-01-2010

No nothing as drastic as a 14lb hammer, they are not that robust, a 2lb one will do.

Check your Personal messages

**j4son** · 08-02-2010

Back again with more questions,
Since last on here I had gave up after your chap’s advice with the laptop and brought a nice cheap recon dell desktop with parallel port and optical drives and all the rest of it.

Tried going down the route of using the PC-NC dos software that came with it and the further I got/looked into it thought sod that.
So I’ve down loaded the trial mach3 and cut2d software’s so I can see it run before I spend any more money on it.
But now I’ve got a few questions I’ve followed the tutorial on the wing component and also sent it to mach3 and opened it up in mach so far so good but I was wondering if there is any tutorial on haw to do the following.

1. Change the size of the screen it at present is real small and if I drag the window bigger it remains the some just adds grey background.
2. A step by step tutorial on everything to get my router up and cutting and making that little cut2d wing component
3. How to set up this pin location the PC-NC book tells me what is what but I have no idea what to do with mach
4. Set my limits I’ve got a rough idea that mach has soft limits how do I set them up as I don’t want for the first time I switch it on for it to crash into one of its ends
5. Anything else you think may be beneficial without bogging me down as a armature hobby cnc router

Please help me with the above list as I’m struggling and I would be very great full of the help