Alan
Mach3 is no longer supported by the developers. They have moved on to Mach4. I believe that the cost of Mach4 is $200.00
Mach3 is limited to a computer running XP and needs a parallel port.
I plan on running my machine using a Linux computer and LinuxCNC. Linux and LinuxCNC are both free and being update at regular intervals.
Mach3, Mach4 and LinuxCNC all give you far better control of you machine confi. and give far better GUI
Dave
From what I recall, the main difference between their Pro and Desktop versions is that the Desktop version is limited to a project space of 24"x24" (600mm x 600mm). Mach3 doesnāt work with grbl, and I donāt think Mach4 supports it yet.
And Iām not sure Iād sing the praise of Mach3ās GUI, unless itās still 2002ā¦ 
Here are some Arduino appropriate projects. An automatic, 10 day limnological nutrient conveyance system (fish feeder). and an IR blasting Laser tag pistol (each gun has a unique signature and a centrally mounted scoreboard keeps track).
I agree when I was running Mach3 on my converted HF mini mill I did not like the GUI. I changed the screen set to Mach Standard Mill, much better.
I also did not like the Mach3 screen set that my Tormach 770 came with so I also changed to the Mach Standard Mill screen set.
I do like the change to Linux and Path Pilot that Tormach made here a few month ago.
I would really love to figure out how to use the Path Pilot screen set on my X-Carve when I get it up and running.
Dave
Iām running Mach 3 on a windows 7 machine with an parallel port card. And the interface does look like a 1980 science fiction movie trying to guess what the future will hold. But it is sold, reliable and is infinitely more configurable than anything else I have tried. Millions of old codger machinists canāt be wrong.
Didnāt know it would work on a windows 7 box. When I compare mach3 to linuxCNC and path pilot running on my 770 it is like night and day.
Dave
Did you have any trouble switching? I donāt have much bandwidth for a learning curve and at this point, Mach 3 feels like an old friend. The switch to Mach 4 is disconcerting thoughā¦ I suppose I will have to make a move someday. Everytime you rebuild a machine, they have to send you a code for Mach3 that is specific to a computer. That is a drag too. Do you know of a good tutorial or demo videos for the linux based software you use?
As far as the conversion frm Mach3 to Path Pilot it was easy peasy. My CAM programs dealt with the change no problem.
Yes there are a lot of Youtube videos out on LinuxCNC and lots of info at Linux.com and linuxCNC.org
There is a learning curve when you are doing your own machine config. At 67 years old it does take a while for it to sink in.
Dave
David, I totally get the 67 sinking in thingy. In 17 days I turn 70 and I feel like Iāve landed on another planet reading some of these posts. Thankfully there are a lot of courteous guys posting here and willing to lend a hand up to us ferinerās. 
Hi @Earwigger, I just wanted to thank you for the information on the Dremel products. I received them yesterday and think they are just the ticket for this type of thing. Thank you!
Great to see, Sketch42!
Iām another Kiwi milling terrain with MeshCam - hereās Table Mountain on the Coromandel in a piece of swamp kauri:
My elevation contours are close to every 10 metres. The data came from the LINZ DEM files.Thereās certainly a lot to learn - and a lot to discuss - like artwork processes and MeshCam techniquesā¦as well as all the mill knowledge. I use as extreme waterline paths as I can get, and have gone away from full parallel paths to just doing the flat bits - plus/minus half a degree.
I wonder if thereās a PM facility here somewhereā¦
Yep there is a PM feature to this forum. Iāll send you one.
I can also recognize the landscape tooā¦ Table Mountain is a pretty easy one to spot and I can make out the the Pinnacles too.
A great hike.
Thanks Sketch42 - yep, Iām in Thames, I see Table Mountain almost every day. At the foot of the mountain is the Kaueranga valley, the road stops just at its base. It is a known place in Google Earth and is actually much steeper - I got the Z-axis scale wrong. The kauri piece milled to 20mm deep, shoulda been 35-ish.
The swamp kauri is of course hard to come by, but thereās everything else available here - Iām about to try some kaihikatea(?) and macrocarpa. The piece above is roughed with a 1/8th" spiral single-flute Vortex bit, and the finishing is 99% waterline cuts with a single-straight-flute 1/16th" end mill bit at 0.33mm stepdown to approximate the 10 metre contours. The last 1% is parallel-x cuts just skimming over the flatter terrain, done last and set a tad high.
Iām pondering how to persuade my mill to colour a carving in, a-la the NZ topo mapsā¦my mill is home-brew, about A2 size bed,+Mach3. And I have a confession: I donāt have any of the gear this website promotesā¦
Yep, a PM would be great, itād be good to meet over a glass of somethingā¦
Nice! Like it.
I completed the roughing pass for a larger terrain piece 330x136x32mm deep in an ellipse:
I stopped the main toolpath, loaded and executed the clearance cut to about half depth (the ridge is visible), then reloaded the roughing toolpath and started it at the break, using 'Run from Here". Extraordinary one can do this!
It took about 14 hrs total roughing, 3 hrs on the clearance cut, plus all the fiddling - about 20 hrs all up. Some gremlin in the mill caused the subsequent waterline cut to completely trash this piece.
But we all know āā¦itās the journey, not the destinationā¦ā
Today I learned that macrocarpa is a wood I had never heard of, and not in fact a CAD program that I had never heard of. Neat!
I need to move to a more interesting body of water! Today we circumnavigated all of Lake Minnetonka. I couldnāt help but think how cool it would be to do the whole thing like above - all the bays, channels, etc. I would have to take a week or two off work to prepare the file.
That thing is beautiful!
Thanks Earwigger. To get good clean elevation contours on terrain, one needs to use a small sharp endmill. I use both 1/16th and 1.2mm dia. The effect vanishes with a ball or bull finishing cutter.
Iām really inspired by sketch42ās terrain above, which includes some sea floor. Iām thinking of gluing some darker wood - maybe teak - under a lighter piece, with the bounday being sea-level/coast. Keeps me off the streetsā¦
