Hi all,

I am relatively new to this forum so go easy.

Basically I have bought myself a Boxford VMC with tool changer. The machine came with discs (flppy discs). But I have no floppy drive. I have heard the best option is to upgrade these machines to run on mach3.

So my first step is to purchase a Smoothstepper - Ethernet option (as I understand this reduces interference and gives more input flexibility). Now my first question is would I also need a breakout board with the Smoothstepper or does it just plug right into the controller board?

Assuming I do need a controller I understand the best one for the smoothstepper is the PMDX-126 as this give plenty of flexibility. Am I on the right tracks?

I now understand I should be able to get the machine running under Mach3, however I can upgrade the stepper drivers to ones from Gecko. Now I need to confirm the amperage of the drives but assuming they are 2.5A on this machine I assume I go for say 3.5A stepper drivers. Are my assumptions all correct?

I did build a simple small CNC machine many moons ago but it was very basic and I bought the stepper motors and the driver board as a kit and just plugged it all in.

Would appreciate any advice on the above.

Steve