Description
PoKeys57CNCdb25 is an USB CNC controller replacing LPT (parallel port)
There are a lot of older CNC controllers with only LPT (parallel port) based control signals input connector. PoKeys57CNC is an USB CNC controller replacing LPT port. Moreover it allows a quick migration from LPT to USB CNC controller replacing LPT. Although small, the device is adjustable and as such requires no complex knowledge on device programming.
PoKeys57CNCdb25 can control up to 4 STEP/DIR signal driven motors (stepper motors, servo drives, etc.) in various applications. The device features 12 digital outputs and 5 digital inputs in total. Four of the digital outputs can be configured to operate as PWM (pulse-width modulated) output.
Features of LPT CNC controller
- Compatible with USB 1.1/2.0 HID standard,
- standard USB keyboard simulation (with triggering support for up/down keys),
- 12 digital outputs (8 are used for step/direction output signals)
- 5 digital inputs with pull-up resistors
- high performance 4-axis 125 kHz pulse engine,
- up to 4 high-speed fully configurable PWM outputs (25MHz PWM timer)
- fail-safe support in case of communication interruption,
- intuitive and user-friendly software,
- third-party support via communication DLL library and extensive protocol specification document that allows porting to other systems.
PoKeys USB products integrate support for virtual USB keyboard and USB joystick. Emulation of the standard USB keyboard is integrated. Digital input pins can be mapped to virtual keyboard and joystick keys. Configuration is simple by using our intuitive graphical PoKeys configuration application. Above all each function can also be tested.
Requirements:
- USB connection between host computer and PoKeys57CNCdb25 device
- Included software requires Windows 2000/XP/Vista/Windows 7/8/10 with .NET framework 3.5 installed
Software
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PoKeys software package contains
– PoKeys configuration software PoKeys software can be downloaded in the ‘Downloads’ tab. |
Tutorials and instructions on using PoKeys57CNCdb25 LPT CNC controller with Mach3 and Mach4
PoKeys57CNCdb25 is compatible with Mach3 and Mach4 CNC software. Check the instructions below on how to prepare the PoKeys57CNCdb25 device for CNC operations.
| Mach3
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Mach4 |
PoKeys57CNCdb25 with Mach3Mach3 tutorial with PoKeys – first stepsMach3 setup tutorial – first movementsMach3 limit switch tutorial with PoKeys |
PoKeys57CNCdb25 announcement and Mach4 setupMach4 CNC Controller Software with PoKeysMach4 motion controller – PoKeys57 CNCMach4 tutorial – Custom signal mapping |
| Related downloads:
User manual USB driver, optional Mach3 plugin |
Related downloads:
User manual USB driver, optional configuration software for advanced features Mach4 plugin |
Check also the following blog posts:
PoKeys tutorial – getting started with PoKeys57CNC
USB CNC controller by your needs
5 reasons to switch your CNC from LPT to USB
DIY vacuum table tutorial
PoBlocks tutorial – Pulse engine, custom PoIL code
Auggie – CNC machine controller software for PoKeys
Support for PoBlocks graphical programming software
Third-party application developers that are adding the support for PoKeys devices, are encouraged to use the supplied communication DLL that can be simply used in the different .NET framework based applications and various other programming languages that provide support for ActiveX interface. There is even an open-source cross-platform C library available at https://bitbucket.org/mbosnak/pokeyslib.
For developers who wants to communicate with PoKeys directly, extensive documentation about device communication protocol is avaiable for download free of charge from on product webpage.
