Originally Posted by
Crashbox
Mr. Werby, thank you for all of the information you provided. My Win 7 PC does have an EPP port to drive my 1996 vintage HP5P printer (built the PC myself) and of course my old XP machine does... excellent idea about dedicating the old PC to run the Taig. Certainly do-able. Great to hear that Mach3 will run on Win 7 just in case I do go that route. I'll probably hold off on LinuxCNC at least for now, until I actually get the mill and thoroughly understand the interfacing protocols.
[I admire people who manage to keep their treasured old workhorses running, and out of the glue factory. As long as your old XP box has a processor that can run at 1 ghz or faster, it should be able to run Mach3 just fine. ]
I'll research more into CAM vs. manual coding; I figure knowing G-code is beneficial for me as a foundation, but that's just my opinion.
[You're right - knowing how to write G-code by hand is a valuable skill, and it will help you in using CAM intelligently, just like it helps to have run a manual mill before jumping into CNC.]
I'm definitely one step closer now to snagging a DSLS 3000 mill. Thanks again.