As a prospective hobby -  some fairly basic woodcarving  ideas in mind - I've just bought a cheap (£500) "off the shelf" CNC machine & mini controller, Dell Pentium 4Gb  using windows 7 prof. 64 bit. Machine comes with USB cable. I've downloaded the Mach 3 trial software and have been trying to learn the ropes from Mach 3 set up tutorials. So far so good, but I can't actually make the machine move !!!!     What am I doing wrong, what do I need to do to make something happen ? Any replies need to be as lo-tech as possible please    Thanks, Stan.

Hi,
what sort of controller are you using?

That PC will run Mach3 fine but you will need an external controller.....hooking your control box up with a parallel cable is not an option for you.
The controller you were supplied should have a software plugin that needs to be installed in Machs plugin folder. Was it supplied and have you
installed it?

Craig

It sounds like you need a Mach3 plugin for your USB controller. Did you receive a disc with the machine?

Thanks for replies so far. As for the controller, it has no branding other than "mini CNC controller". An on/off switch for drive, on/off switch for spindle, an emergency stop button and a spindle speed controller. I received no disc with the machine ?  Does any of that help ?   Stan.

Hi,
you need to get a lot more information from whomever you bought it from. You'll need at the very least the software plugin for your controller.
You'll also want a manual for it so you know what to hook up where.

Any replies need to be as lo-tech as possible please  Smiley  Thanks, Stan.

Are you really sure, this is Computer Numerical Control we are talking about....lo-tech is not how I describe it.

Craig

Hi,
how about some screen shots of the controller at least.

Craig

Stan, if this machine was sold as a working unit i.e. plug in and play, then seriously, go back to the seller and request either....

Full setup instructions and software
Or
A refund

Without one of these and a lot of knowledge, you are into a world of pain IMHO

OK, messages received loud and clear. Thanks, I'll get on to it !

Hi,
by the way....do you consider 500GBP cheap.....when it doesn't work?

Even if it were 50p and it didn't work I call that expensive. At 50p I would probably write it off as a dumb choice but 500 I'd be seriously pissed if it did not work as advertised.
We all moan, whinge and lament the Chinese and the massive trade imbalance in their favour yet we continue to buy their crap.

Craig

In relative terms £500 is pretty cheap - you could not build one, even a small one for that price, BUT they are very good at glossing over the pitfalls. I can almost guarantee they will now offer a partial refund in exchange for good feedback, then offer some more, in the end it nearly always ends up being a struggle with the card company or Paypal, the Chinese suppliers do not care one bit, all they want is their positive feedback.

I bought a laser cutter, a big one, and it had some broken bits etc plus the tube was not as listed (lower power) I argued and in the end (2 months later) I had about a 50% refund and still kept the machine. Its still running today as i had some knowledge of CNC so could fix it up, one thing they are good at is building chassis and frames out of thin metal so the cabinet was good, I just fixed the busted parts and fitted new mirrors and lens.