The big question is WHY, would you even bother today?

Hey Guys, when a MAC II (68020 Processor, 8meg ram, 20meg HD, 14" color
Monitor, Ext. Keyboard) costs $7000 NEW, many years ago, and a PC wasn't that
much cheaper, you had an issue. Notice, that didn't include a printer, CD,
DVD, Modem, Scanner, either. Today, you can buy a NEW PC complete System
for $350 that will run 99.9% of the CAD/CAM software out there. You can
also, buy a used PC/MAC system off Craigslist, ebay, etc., for $100 that will
run 99.9% of the CAD/CAM software. You can run PC software on a MAC, if you
just have to. There are MAC to PC hardware options, and software options.

The big question is WHY, would you even bother today? Macs have been using
USB ports for many years. There are Serial to Parallel converters, and I
think there is Serial to USB converters also, and vice versa. I was a die
hard MAC guy from the beginning of the SE, SE30, MACII, MACIIX, on up to the
PowerMac G4. I haven't kept up on the newest MAC CAD/CAM Software today, but
there has always been very little MAC, CAD/CAM Software on the Market.
With some of the PC CAD/CAM Software either being FREE, to less than a $1000
total package.

Most hobbyist today use MACH3($175), with a CHEAP PC($100) dedicated to
each CNC machine. TurboCAD 2D/3D($200), so if you can't afford $500 for a
PC/MAC CNC setup, you shouldn't be in the hobby, because that's about as cheap
as it gets, unless you Pirate the software, and get the USED PC/MAC for
Free. I have seen the TurboCad/CAM version 14 package recently sell on ebay
for $200.

Even newer PC's without a Parallel port can have one added. The High Speed
Parallel card goes into a PCI slot. Cost $20.

Just my Opinion
Rich Gillen
Ames, IA

===========================================================================
1.1. Re: parallel port finally obsolete?
Posted by: "scyvt" scy@... scyvt
Date: Fri Feb 24, 2012 5:55 am ((PST))

Dave

My reference to the Mac was mainly to say that I am not intimate with PC
hardware and only slightly so with Windows. I have been lurking on the
sidelines of CNC for some years now, and there was a brief moment when it seemed
that motion control might become platform-independent, similar to (slow,
but ongoing) developments in 3D CAD. However, that never materialized, and I
accept that the PC dominates machine control.

A few years ago it did seem to me that there was a movement away from
using the PC as a pulse generator via non-sanctioned Windows trickery to
development of an external black box with USB and/or ethernet input and 4 or more
axes of step-and direction output, as well as various I/O. Pulse
generation would take place in the black box on hardware designed for the purpose.
It appeared that things were moving in the direction of plug-and-play, which
suited my Mac sensibility (or some may think, weakness). Motor drivers
might or might not be incorporated within the black box, depending on the
product, but that was largely irrelevant to the concept.

Having not been so closely following developments in the last year or so,
I was wondering if such a black box had been perfected, and if motion
control software had been adapted to it. From the responses so far, I have to
conclude that the answer current is: still in development, by no means
standardized; and furthermore not everybody sees the need - despite the
disappearance of parallel ports from new computers.

Steve






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