# CnC Router glitch



## Thomas C (Jan 11, 2020)

Hello Guys n Gals

I am new here, and to the cnc world. 
I recently bought a used CNCRP/AVID router. I am currently making parts for my products, and they are coming out great but I have a little glitch and I really need some help. 
I made a video and hopefully I can post it, or share a link and see if any of you have ever had this issue.
I am new so I will try and answer or respond your questions/suggestions as best as possible to help with my problem.


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## sreilly (May 22, 2018)

Welcome aboard Thomas. The CNC guys will likely chime in shortly.....


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## MEBCWD (Jan 14, 2012)

Welcome to the Router Forums Thomas.

You can post pictures if they are on your computer, I'm not sure about the video.

You will need 10 post to be able to post links so you could tell new members welcome for just post a few explanations of the problem you are having. I have an idea what the problem might be but I'd like more information before I jump in with something that doesn't have anything to do with your problem.


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## roxanne562001 (Feb 5, 2012)

Welcome to the forum Thomas !!


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## difalkner (Jan 3, 2012)

Welcome to the forum, Tom! Add your first name to your profile to clear the N/a in the side panel.

That is an odd situation, especially like you mention in that it doesn't affect your work. Fwiw, I run Win7 32 bit and Mach4, no issues but I'm using ESS so no parallel cables.

Here's the video to make it easier for folks to find it (and thank you for shooting it widescreen like videos should be - I won't even watch videos shot in portrait mode :grin





David


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## Thomas C (Jan 11, 2020)

Thanks everyone for the greetings. I am really stumped by this issue, I haven't wasted too much money on it yet as far as spending with no positive results lol, but I think it could easily go that direction without getting some help. 
I am a carpet cleaner by trade and have made a few tools for my industry. Wanting to be able to produce some of the parts for them to bring them back in house is why I started looking into cnc equipment, I just happen to come across this machine in a local sales group, asked my buddy if a cnc router would work and he said yes. 
I cut PVC, aluminum, and soon Teflon.
The Teflon is going to need to be as close to perfect as possible so I want to get this bug figured out, I don't lose steps, but what does happen is when it bumps like that is causes the bit to make a slightly deeper cut not bad and not enough to do any harm on my current parts.
I had to replace a Gecko g540 and I don't know if this was the cause of it or that my big compressor was on the same breaker and causing the power to fluctuate and that caused the issue.


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## BalloonEngineer (Mar 27, 2009)

That’s an older machine running Mach3 via parallel port. If you are bugged, the best solution is to upgrade to a hardware motion controller. Right now, the computer is generating the step/direction pulses internally, via code, and transmitting them via parallels port. The parallel port is limited in how fast it can go, the 25khz or so, is that speed. At the same time, it is updating the screen and lots of other background things going on (polling keyboard, monitoring USB bus for mouse, etc.). That is why there is a slight amount of variation in timing, what you see as “glitching”. A hardware motion controller takes over that function and does it via a dedicated, real time hardware. Most are capable of faster pulse generation than the computer. The cheapest one is a uc100 (~$110). It connects to the computer via a USB port, and has a parallel port plug on the other end. It is capable of 100khz, and will work with your Mach3. I use one called an Ethernet SmoothStepper, it can generate 6 axis motion at 4Mhz (4,000,000 steps/second), you can also use it with Mach3 (I use Mach4 on my homebuilt machine, it is what Avid is now using on newer machines as well).

Mach3 is deprecated, has not been updated since 2012 (and never will be in future), has trouble with newer versions of windows, has a poor 3D planner and cv implementation compared to Mach4. But if you have it working, you can continue to use it, switching to a hardware motion controller will make it work more smoothly. But it is hard to recommend changing a system that is working to produce good parts. 

Updating to a motion controller will allow you to use newer computers (most nowadays don’t even have parallel ports) and newer versions of Windows. I believe in having a dedicated computer as you do, and leaving it offline, with no updates, is ideal for a machine controller. But being able to easily replace the computer if it fails, without having to go through hoops to find and install an older, unsupported version of Windows also has advantages.


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## Thomas C (Jan 11, 2020)

Thank you Richard.

I went and looked at the warp 9 website. I will just do the usb port setup as I don't think my computer has a ESS output. I will report back to you all my results.


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## PhilBa (Sep 25, 2014)

Thomas C said:


> Thank you Richard.
> 
> I went and looked at the warp 9 website. I will just do the usb port setup as I don't think my computer has a ESS output. I will report back to you all my results.


ESS stands for ethernet smooth stepper - it uses, unsurprisingly, ethernet for it's connection. I'd be surprised if you couldn't use it. While USB is fine, it is more susceptible to electronic interference. Ethernet gives you a bit more freedom in where you site your PC. My current machine uses USB and every so often I have to deal with connection errors. My next machine will use ethernet for the connection. The ESS is used in a lot of machines and has a very good reputation.

Another ethernet controller to consider is the AXBB-E which for a smallish CNC machine doesn't require a breakout board, thus lessening your cost. it also seems to get high marks from users. I'm leaning towards that for my next build.


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## Thomas C (Jan 11, 2020)

Hey Guys n Gals,
Just a update I got the router glitch fixed
https://youtu.be/u6dNHG_-rZM 
Video is easier than typing. Just wanted to say thank you to the people that replied


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