Isel 4433 - Can I use Mach3 with it?

[Leadhead]

I converted my slightly bigger Isel by removing and replacing the steppers but using the existing wiring. Test the existing steppers before replacing however.
The existing toroidal power supply is a good piece of kit keep it. Several voltage outputs.
Your choice of stepper drivers.
I went for Planet CNC controller. I have Mach 3 and the Panet TNC is miles ahead in my experience.
It really is not a very difficult task. I have no electrical experience and managed this conversion with minimum help, most of which was confirmation, of what I was doing. This forum was enormously effective in guiding me to completion.

[loudew]

I am looking for something that will work, nothing majorly expensive but still functional.

Doddy, you mentioned that you used an Ethernet version of an NVEM board that I mentioned (I mentioned a USB based board). How have you found using this? (I am going to need to either build my own or buy a machine afterwards, so also researching for that).

Would you suggest me using this board for either the isel machine conversion or my own DIY machine? (If so, please send a link to a similar unit - I have found these: )
NVEM Ethernet 1

NVEM Ethernet 2 (cheaper)

[Doddy]

I am looking for something that will work, nothing majorly expensive but still functional.

Doddy, you mentioned that you used an Ethernet version of an NVEM board that I mentioned (I mentioned a USB based board). How have you found using this? (I am going to need to either build my own or buy a machine afterwards, so also researching for that).

Would you suggest me using this board for either the isel machine conversion or my own DIY machine? (If so, please send a link to a similar unit - I have found these: )
NVEM Ethernet 1
NVEM Ethernet 2 (cheaper)

They work. They're not great and you're stuck with Mach3 with them from a driver PoV. But they do work. I've got a 5-axis one (ordered a 4-axis but the 5 was the only one in stock). If you push a fiver into a charity of your choice I'll throw it in the post if you want it (I won't polish it, but nor will I lick it - you takes your chances!)

From memory - the step outputs are fixed at 2.25us pulses which gave me problems with cheap stepper drivers (DIV-268s) - I had to replace the opto-isolators in the drivers with faster devices to avoid lost steps - documented somewhere on the forum here. Also, possibly more associated with my original configuration there was an occasional problem if you lost comms between the PC and the controller in booting them up in the correct sequence, but that's just finger trouble on my part. I only really used it for the stepper drivers, discrete inputs (homing switches and the like) and I think the PWM to the spindle controller - that last one I think I had a ground loop somewhere and this generated a bit of oscillation with the speed control but I avoided this by going RS485 for the spindle. It worked. Im sure it still works. I'll never use it again because I'll never use Mach3 again.

EDIT: One other thing - they exist better on a twin-NIC configuration with only the ethernet chat between PC and NVEM on the dedicated link, and use the second NIC for watching porn. The chat between the NVEM and PC is onerous on a 100Mb link.

Personally, with limited experience of parallel BoBs, that NVEM card, the UC300ETH (and cheap parallel BoB) and the Mesa 7i76E cards - those was what I've used, the Mesa is the best built card that I have, but I wouldn't recommend the associated LinuxCNC for anyone without masochistic tendencies. The UC300ETH is a good card (and the AXBB-E sounds like a good partnering with a decent BoB), and offers both Mach3 and UCCNC options. The NVEM is better than the Parallel BoB, but it feels distinctly Chinese (a bit cheap and a bit too salty for me) and then you have the BoB. If the BoB works, it's the simplest solution, but you're hanging off the end of a 25W connector between you and the controlling machine.

Others here will offer a broader experience of different controllers.

[JAZZCNC]

but I wouldn't recommend the associated LinuxCNC for anyone without masochistic tendencies.

Tell me about it I'm pulling my last single hair out....