General advise needed on CNC Controller and Servo/stepper motor upgrade.

[JAZZCNC]

Can anyone give some recommendations on the following?

Ethernet controller that works well with Mach 3.

I'd ONLY fit an Ethernet controller, stay Away from USB it's flaky.

UC300 is the one I'd go for these days if running Mach3. Normally I'd recommend CSlabs controllers because they are superior in build quality and reliabilty but they are not supporting Mach3 any more and don't seem interested if you have a problem. The UC300 as more than enough I/O for most machines and works well enough with mach3, it also as it's own softwate UCCNC which works much better than Mach3 now and is still supported. Fit it to a decent BOB like the UB1 and your sorted.!

Closed loop steppers and drivers (Aiming for 8nm as a minimum and up to 12Nm as max) I would consider servos but I would prefer to keep it simple! ( going for bigger than what I need for the moment as no doupt I will build a bigger/heavier machine down the road.

Power supplies for steppers.

At those sizes then your into Nema 34 motors.
These are what I use and they are brilliant, they are 3 phase steppers so higher resolution with 1.2 Deg step angle compared to 1.8 of 2 phase motors and more powerful.
They are easy to setup and wire, and very reliable. I've fitted in excess of 100 sets and not had one faulty or give me trouble in any way. They run on Mains voltage so you don't need a PSU and being high voltage they allow high RPM which you wouldn't get from lower voltage DC motors.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3279...13616f37ZeokDw

Where to source the above from Europe. I really dont want to buy direct from china as It's pig in a poke what you get sometimes. Besides I don't fancy the Import duty surprises which are typically unknown until your parts arrive after several weeks and sometimes months!!!!!

I just seem to be bamboozled by the overall choices out there at the moment.

Cheers....

Don't be afraid of China, I've bought from them for years and rarely do I have any issues. The suppliers I recommend are all well proven and trusted suppliers.

It's not true that it takes Weeks or Months, I've had stuff arrive in 4 days, but typically when times are normal.!! it's 2-3wks max if comes via Air freight and often that's because it's stuck in UK customs for a week. Also you know exactly what the charges will be, typically you pay VAT and a Ripp off paperwork fee from Shipping agent between £10-20. However, some parts can be subject to import duty and this depends on what category it falls into, but still you can find out exactly what the charge will be by going to Customs site and finding the import code.