How to slow down pentium computers

[Martinco]

Well this could be one for the books !

Does anybody know how and if one can slow down the processor on the older pentium computers ?

Let me explain..........as in previous posts of mine I explained that I use the older generation machines to to CAM and they run on DOS.
One of the functions of the wire cutting machine is to be able to, after doing its cutting job, to return to its original starting point e.g. x axis =0 and y axis = 0 but the speed at which the stepper motors get driven is controlled by the speed of the computer processor/clock or whatever. If the speed is too high then the stepper motors cannot keep up with the pulses and misses steps with the result that the machine does not return to its "0" point although the computer shows "0"

Your help would be greatly appreciated !

[twinscythe12332]

Well this could be one for the books !

Does anybody know how and if one can slow down the processor on the older pentium computers ?

Let me explain..........as in previous posts of mine I explained that I use the older generation machines to to CAM and they run on DOS.
One of the functions of the wire cutting machine is to be able to, after doing its cutting job, to return to its original starting point e.g. x axis =0 and y axis = 0 but the speed at which the stepper motors get driven is controlled by the speed of the computer processor/clock or whatever. If the speed is too high then the stepper motors cannot keep up with the pulses and misses steps with the result that the machine does not return to its "0" point although the computer shows "0"

Your help would be greatly appreciated !

normally you'd be wanting to go into the BIOS, take a look around for the CPU clock settings and put them down or up. I know overclocking tends to cause more heat and uses a higher voltage, but underclocking... this is a new concept to me. anyway, take a look at the BIOS, and try find that option.

[duncan drennan]

For an older machine, you are probably going to have to change some jumpers on the motherboard, and you'll need the motherboard manual to figure that out. If you know what motherboard it is you might be able to download a manual, and see from there.

[Dave A]

Or programme the cut task back to 0 rather than just let it auto-zero?

[SilverNodashi]

as said before, if the motherboard can do so, change the clock multiplier in the BIOS to it's lowest value.

Failing todo that, another option is to install Linux (get the easiest one you're comfortable with), and then install FreeDOS to run the DOS stuff. This will also "kill" the CPU a bit, and may help a lot.

[duncan drennan]

I think Dave is the one with the smart solution. Just add one line at the end of your CNC programme, and your done. ALL programmes will need this, but that might not be a big issue.

[Martinco]

I think Dave is the one with the smart solution. Just add one line at the end of your CNC programme, and your done. ALL programmes will need this, but that might not be a big issue.

Under normal circumstances Dave's suggestion can work but you get the situation where the wire breaks during a cutting operation and to re-feed the wire correctly one needs to go back to the start point and this is where the problem comes in as I cannot insert further cutting commands once the program has started and loaded into memory. The cutting slot is only 0,22 mm wide and the wire 0,2 mm ! so to try and feed such a small and flimsy wire through a 0.22mm slot is quite a job especially if the steel being cut is 120mm thick !
I have however surfed the net and have come up with a program that will slow down the processor to what ever you want.
I shall try this today and keep you posted.

[Martinco]

Yep !
Works like a dream. You can slow down any Dos or even Win programs as much as you like. ( written for older PC games )
I have obviously only tried the Dos version by inserting an additional command line in the autoexec.bat file and this makes the machine as slow as you like it or till it works correctly.

Thanks for everyone's suggestions.

[duncan drennan]

Glad you managed to fix it! Wire cutting is an expensive process and you don't need your machine slowing things down.

Would you mind posting a link to the software in case anyone else might need to make use of it in the future?

[Martinco]

Herewith the link to the program I found.
It is interesting to read the .DOC files to see how it gets done.

These are others one can use to slowdown Windows as well but I only use Dos.

http://community.compuserve.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?tsn=1&nav=libraryMessages&webtag=ws-VintageComp&tid=135359&redirCnt=1