Smooth Stepper Upgrade is a DREAM!
Posted: Sat Sep 23, 2017 6:19 am
I got a Smooth Stepper for my CNC SHARK PRO last year -September 2016 - and thought I'd drop a note to you guys to tell you it is DEFINITELY the trick for MACH2/MACH3 driven CNCs!
I bought my CNC SHARK PRO in Spring of 2007, and it was controlled by a PC running Mach3 via the printer/parallel port. Ran it for almost a decade on an old 2002 era Celron, no problems. When that computer died, I found that the new computers' parallel ports had power/interrupt issues due to the new power-saving requirements. My poor Steppers made heart-wrenching grinding-like noises when I tried to operate them on several "newer" PCs.
The Smooth Stepper I bought has an Ethernet connection to the PC - There's a USB option, too - and it was pretty easy to install. Not cheap, they run about $185.00, but it seemed the best option available to me to keep my Shark running with Mach3. It's smooth as silk, and I still have full control over my mill. There are break-out boards available too, to take even more advantage of Mach2/Mach3 capabilities, which I will take advantage of when I upgrade my power-plant and do some upgrades to my 10-year-old machine! I bought mine on Amazon, because it was the easiest way to go.
I do mostly concept-to-prototype work on my machine, and I didn't want to have to spend time learning a new system that could be better spent designing my next project. Hope this helps somebody!
I bought my CNC SHARK PRO in Spring of 2007, and it was controlled by a PC running Mach3 via the printer/parallel port. Ran it for almost a decade on an old 2002 era Celron, no problems. When that computer died, I found that the new computers' parallel ports had power/interrupt issues due to the new power-saving requirements. My poor Steppers made heart-wrenching grinding-like noises when I tried to operate them on several "newer" PCs.
The Smooth Stepper I bought has an Ethernet connection to the PC - There's a USB option, too - and it was pretty easy to install. Not cheap, they run about $185.00, but it seemed the best option available to me to keep my Shark running with Mach3. It's smooth as silk, and I still have full control over my mill. There are break-out boards available too, to take even more advantage of Mach2/Mach3 capabilities, which I will take advantage of when I upgrade my power-plant and do some upgrades to my 10-year-old machine! I bought mine on Amazon, because it was the easiest way to go.
I do mostly concept-to-prototype work on my machine, and I didn't want to have to spend time learning a new system that could be better spent designing my next project. Hope this helps somebody!