To usb,or not to usb,that is the question.

[m_c]

I just seen the replies in your intro thread, about the planet-cnc boards (zapp are selling the ready made planet-cnc stuff)
I've seen them mentioned, but can't think of seeing any build threads where they've been used. I'd suggest having a search over on cnczone, to see who's used them, and what they think of them.


The two major DIY CNC machine control packages are Mach and EMC (linux based and free, but only has parallel port support), and the support for both is high, in both community support and additional features, with Mach pretty much being the most popular.
I'd personally be hesitant to venture from Mach, because it has a lot of expansion potential, an excellent support base, and is very flexible, but it is extra cost (unless you can manage to stay within the demo limits - no run from here, and limited to 500 lines of code are the two main limits).


However, as Jonathan says, the parallel port is cheaper. You just need an older computer, and if the PP and Mach doesn't work out for you, then you can quite easily add a SS with minimal effort.