Quote Originally Posted by Bobby783 View Post
My query is should each X axis motor have its own driver and be connected to the Z axis connectors on the breakout board or can I connect both motors to one driver?
You need a Drive for each motor. Don't let anyone tell you that it's ok to run 2 motors with one drive or two Drives with one Output Signal because while it can be done it will cause you problems that will frustrate the hell out of you.

The Slave axis is usually the B or C axis depending on how many axis your Breakout board provides. Ideally, you would use the B axis then it leaves the A-axis so it can be used as a Rotary Axis.

So in Mach3, you would go to Slave Axis Menu and then under X-axis select the axis you want to Slave with it.

Be careful when slaving axis and setting up because if one motor Stalls and the other doesn't your gantry will quickly get twisted up. Don't underestimate the power of steppers because they will bend a ball-screw in the blink of an eye.

My strong advice is to test the slaving on the bench or with the screws disconnected and make sure both motors are spinning in the same direction. Don't try to tune them on the bench or disconnected from screws because when connected to Gantry etc it will change the tuning and highly likely the motors will stall at a much lower velocity.

With Slaved motors Ideally you would use drives that offer Stall detection or if not one's that have a fault output in case of failure, which you then build into your emergency stop system to protect from high-speed stalls which can destroy ball-screws and mangle a gantry.!

If you don't have these things then you really need to leave a very large safety margin when tuning motors because as Stepper motor rpm increases the torque drops quickly so at a high velocity you have very little torque left and it's very easy for one motor to stall but other keep moving.!!!

To be honest my heart sinks when I see the posts like yours that say " I bought a Kit" because it's highly likely what you have bought won't suit using slaved setup. And if your lucky it just might suit a single screw setup at lower feeds. It's THE most common mistake made with new CNC builders.

Give me the details and I'll tell you exactly what you can expect.