Hello, I was wondering if anyone could give me some input or suggestions on a controller to buy. A few details to be noted, I'd need it to be either USB or Ethernet but not parallel port because my desktop broke(which had a parallel port) left me glued to my laptop. Now this is mainly for hobby use, therefore I can't spend too much, yet I do realize that these can get quite expensive.

I don't have any experience with the software control either so I'm open to suggestions on that too (although I've seen some solid reviews on Linux cnc and I see mach is commonly used for hobbiest use).

Finally my opinion; I had an Arduino Uno, with grbl firmware downloaded. For a few days I was able to get it working my old cnc by attaching it's pin outs to the proper input pins on my 3axis tb6560. I accidentally left the current slightly too high from the power supply resulting in the tb6560 board eventually frying. Although this happened, I still think it's a good idea to use Arduino as a cnc controller because it is so cheap for what it can offer.

Anywho, like I said, I'm just looking for some suggestions on controller boards and software, I think Arduino is a good controller but I'm open to any opinions as I'm inexperienced. (FYI: I have a 3 axis cnc router 4',2' that consists of nema 23's running off 3 amps).

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