Comparing motion controllers...

To answer your last point,

When you set up your stepper drives system, you should set the drivers to microstep. That will make them run smoother and also allow you to have better resolution of angle. 10-16 microsteps is good depending on what resolutions you really want.

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Originally Posted by JW1977

3 – I could let both ballscrews be driven from the same motor but I guess that would require a belt and with that I would loose some of the precision.

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I use a belt and a single stepper and an IP-M and I'd say that I'm not losing any precision! I cut plastic bearings for work and easily hold tolerances down to 0.1mm (although plastic does creep after machining) and I'm sure if I cut some aluminium or suchlike I could hold better tolerances...in short what I'm saying is that a belt will not lose you precision but will mean that you can't rack your gantry and only need one homing switch not two....lots of pros and can't see too many cons (apart from having a long belt running at the back of my router.) :thumsup:

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Originally Posted by JW1977

Is there any obvious flaws with the Pokeys57 compared to the IP-M?
Does it have onboard BOB?

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Dean has both running so he can say best of all whats the deal.

Yes, its all in one.

I chose Pokeys for my big machine and have done still some test runs so can not speak much for the moment. The only obvious lack of something is the metal enclosure. Not that this should concern you . All else i see it better than 4 axis CSMIO. Especially as possibilities for upgrade later.



Bumping steppers at end stops is ok also and perfectly acceptable for non production machine.


What is not acceptable for me is their stubbornness and as i am also stubborn, i would not buy,endorse or recommend their board especially when there are cheaper and according to me better possibilities on the market.

When i looked at stepper motors i found motors with different step angles.
0.9° - 400 steps/revolution
1,8° - 200 steps/revolution

Im thinking that if i choose the one with the higher resolution Everything will be better...?
Allthough ive got a feeling its not that simple... :positive:

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Originally Posted by Clive S

Not sure what you mean in point (5) it has nothing to do with the homing sequence

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I thought that if i choose a motor with a higher resolution it will only go half as much distance every time the motor "bumps" the wrong way...

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Originally Posted by JW1977

I thought that if i choose a motor with a higher resolution it will only go half as much distance every time the motor "bumps" the wrong way...

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You want to be looking at motors with a low inductance such as from Zapp or cnc4you those motors are tried and tested by thousands. Also re read post #11

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Originally Posted by Clive S

You want to be looking at motors with a low inductance such as from Zapp or cnc4you those motors are tried and tested by thousands. Also re read post #11

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Hear you... Ive just read about microstepping and torque and so on. It seems like the real benefit of microstepping is not so much improved accuracy as less noise and less wear as mentioned above... So, i will settle for the more common 1.8°motors and i will set the drivers to microstep.

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Originally Posted by JW1977

Hear you... Ive just read about microstepping and torque and so on. It seems like the real benefit of microstepping is not so much improved accuracy as less noise and less wear as mentioned above... So, i will settle for the more common 1.8°motors and i will set the drivers to microstep.

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Don't forget the low inductance

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Originally Posted by Clive S

Don't forget the low inductance

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Right! :smile: Low-inductance, bi-polar... Theres a lot more to that but im getting there...

So, to get back on track... There´s either the IP-M or the PoKeys57CNC right now.

Jazz had me pretty convinced about the IP-M until i read Boyans comments about the PoKeys57CNC... :ambivalence: