[jaru-eri]

Will it be possible to connect a Gecko G540 controller with other connections than a paralell port? Are there any electronic converters that can be used for that purpose?

[awerby]

The UC-100 connects the parallel port input of the G-540 to USB, which plugs into any modern PC. https://www.cnc4pc.com/uc100-usb-motion-controller.html

[joeavaerage]

Hi,
many motion controllers like an Ethernet SmoothStepper are connected by ethernet to the PC and process the trajectory data (from the PC and Mach or similar) and generate accurately
timed high speed pulse streams.

These pulses are presented to the real world in an socket, in the case of the Ethernet SmoothStepper an IDC socket that's pinned out just like a parallel port, ie you could plug
your G540 straight into it with an IDC-to-DB25 cable.

The UC100 that's already been mentioned is USB connected to the PC and the output is a DB25 socket which you can plug in directly your G540. If you like that idea then make
sure you buy a genuine UC100 (by CNCDrive in Hungary) not one of the many Chinese rip-offs on Ebay and Amazon, they are not a patch on the real thing.

Craig

[jaru-eri]

Hi,
many motion controllers like an Ethernet SmoothStepper are connected by ethernet to the PC and process the trajectory data (from the PC and Mach or similar) and generate accurately
timed high speed pulse streams.

These pulses are presented to the real world in an socket, in the case of the Ethernet SmoothStepper an IDC socket that's pinned out just like a parallel port, ie you could plug
your G540 straight into it with an IDC-to-DB25 cable.

The UC100 that's already been mentioned is USB connected to the PC and the output is a DB25 socket which you can plug in directly your G540. If you like that idea then make
sure you buy a genuine UC100 (by CNCDrive in Hungary) not one of the many Chinese rip-offs on Ebay and Amazon, they are not a patch on the real thing.

Craig

Thanks for your answer.

Will the IDC to DB25 cable be a cheaper alternative than the UC-100? When I searced "IDC to DB25 cable" I got a lot of pictures of different flat cable connectors but none of them with an ethernet plug.

Can an Ethernet SmoothStepper controller be used in combination with Mach3?

[joeavaerage]

Hi,
the current price of an Ethernet SmoothStepper (ESS) is $190USD. You'd need an IDC to DB25 cable as well, the same company sells them for about $9.00.

I believe a genuine UC100 is about $120 USD.

The UC100 has 17 IO's and the ESS has 51 IO's. So the UC100 is cheaper but the ESS is more capable.

Both the uC100 and the ESS have both Mach3 and Mach4 plugins and could be used with either.

Craig