# Trouble starting Mach3



## nvenezia (Jan 10, 2012)

Looking for any help. I am from the Boston area.I am a carpenter/furniture maker from the 60's trying to enter the 21st century. I bought a zen cnc 12X12 complete kit. I assembled it but am having problems navigating Mach3. I would appreciate any assistance I can get. Thanks in advance Nick


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## geotek (Mar 4, 2012)

I guess we whould need to know where you are on the project. To get Mach3 going you will need to define the inputs and outputs of the parallel port. This setup information is in the pdf on the Zen site:
3AxisTB6560_Instruction.pdf

Mach3 is just a G-Code interpreter, meaning its job is to take the G-Codes generated by a design program and use those codes to drive the machine. To generate the G-Codes you need a CAM program. I reccomend CamBam, it is easy to work (compared to others), and will probably do most of what you want to do. They have a generous trial period, and it only costs $150 (cheap compared to others).


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## nvenezia (Jan 10, 2012)

Thank you. I have been tying to run my maachine from a Sony vaio laptop. I am picking up a desk top and will refer to the videos and pdf from the zen web site. Hopefully my next thread will declare my success. I am a bit confused on the limit switches and ther installation. I would appreciate any information. NIck


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## geotek (Mar 4, 2012)

I checked on Craig's List and found a local guy selling used computers. He buys them from local schools and colleges then refurbs them. I got a Dell Pentium4 3GHz with Windows XP (important if you run Mach3) for $70. It's a great machine that has been working perfectly. Most new computers do not have either a parallel port or Windows XP.


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## nvenezia (Jan 10, 2012)

Thank you, I too picked up a Dell with Window XP. I unfortunately paid double. I am awaiting its arrival. Hopefully that will solve my problem.


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