Hello all.
I'm looking at converting a G0705 clone (a King Canada KC-20VS Power Tools, Woodworking and Metalworking Machines by King Canada) and I've been looking for conversion kit options. I'd like to, as much as is practicable, do one-stop shopping.
So I've found this kit: G0704 CNC Conversion kit with Electronics and watched his install videos. The process of installing the ballscrews makes sense to me and seems simple enough. I get that he keeps the cost down by maximizing the use of stock parts (so the stock handwheel bearings) and I like the idea of retaining the handwheels. The mechanical side of the house here seems solid.
My questions are more on the electronics side. The shop computer is running Windows 7 64 bit, and I might maybe upgrade it to Win10. My understanding is that Mach 3 won't work on 64 bit so I'd need to run Mach 4, but Mach 4 is still in development so maybe it won't work with these electronics.
I have the ability to build a dedicated Linux machine to run LinuxCAM, but I don't want to - the shop layout works really well with a single machine, and that is the CAD / CAM station anyway, so it makes a ton of sense to keep it as the CNC controller too.
Can someone comment on the nature of the electronics that come with this package, and how to get a Win7 / Win 10 machine to drive them?
Thanks.