Quote Originally Posted by Shrimp View Post
I'm not a non-technical person. I have a self designed and built 3-axis pipe profiler using the ESS. Regardless of the demo mode debacle I was still informed that I would need to put the spindle into manual mode, manually set the RPM's of the lathe spindle, and then try to run the threading cycle to get it to work. Maybe they suggest that because the PC supplied with the machine can't keep up with with cycle. My new setup runs it just fine allowing mach3 to control the spindle. I'd rather not try to convert this machine to an ESS as it's not that important.
The reason for manual mode is because the parallel port is robbing from the CPU. It doesn't matter what PC you have, there is going to be a delay due to shared resources. If you read the Mach 3 turn manual they discuss this. If converted to SS, the machine has the resources available to keep accurate time of the spindle. I've read both Mach manuals several times. IMO it is a must to understand machine capabilities.