Sense checking my plan for 'moving' from Mach3.

Or you could try ethercat but it isn't a budget choice.
   

I'm told ethercat is an AUD $1400 option with Mach4

Parallel port WORKS perfectly well, on industrial machines, in use daily, all day long.
It works so good that i have a plasma cutter working for over 2 years with it using THCAD !!!
-
And stop comparing LinuxCNC to mach3, it is not the same thing, not under any conditions or use cases.
How many industrial machines use mach?????????
NONE!
-
Parallel port is extremely reliable, and extremely usable for machine control.
-Offer options and solutions and advice, not solutions nobody asked for, or out of reach of the person asking.
I am guilty of doing the same thing over and over again (not comparing to mach, never), so this is me getting older and wiser, i guess.

I didn't say it didn't work with parallel port what I said was if you are starting out with Linux and linuxcnc use an easier route. why make life more difficult than it needs to be

I think you will be surprised how many machines have used mach3 and use mach4.

it's just different. one is not better than the other, both have advantages and both have disadvantages.

First, Robert, what made you think this was directed at you? I wonder...
Well it was not, your advice was useful and with options, Rod was a bit off with the comparison and the Ethercat for a new user with parallel port. But the advice for a used PC was good as they are plentiful and cheap.

And Robert, i will not be surprised at all by how many use that cr@p (my opinion, ne, my conviction), but i am terrified at how many are willing to put up with the mess they do in use. It is the same thing with Windows et al.
Also, again not in the same ball park ... or planet, mach is barely usable for very simple machines, LinuxCNC is extremely reliable for extremely complicated machines, and versatile, and easily modified, and....
-
It just occurred to me, Robert is pulling me leg !
-
Still, i really, really hate the comparison,it is NOT the same thing.
Demeaning LinuxCNC just because it is free is not polite and is demeaning to all the contributors and developers and the entire LinuxCNC community.

I was trying to be balanced and diplomatic.

quite a lot of new linuxcnc users who go down the parallel port route seem to have issues (just an observation). Hence I'd suggest that they spent a little money and got some hardware to remove the base servo loop requirement, or at least unload it onto the hardware. As they would probably (in my opinion) have a better + easier experiance.

robertspark wrote:

I was trying to be balanced and diplomatic.

You are, always.
Most of the issues regarding parallel port are with add on cards, the built in port works always, except when the timings are set to low and that is almost always due to over rated specs for the drives, or with drives requiring charge pump, or wrong enable pin that is in most new drives disable pin. So mostly not users fault.
As for Mesa cards, right now i have over 20 here and 3 on the way (oh boy, a 7i95 is in there! ), and i sometimes feel like i am pushing to much towards them, but i do like them as for the money (keep in mind i have to pay at least twice the normal price to get any of them) there is nothing even close, reliability is top notch, and the support is the best in world, bar none.