Boxford 125 TCL conversion advice

[Muzzer]

You could use a Mesa 7i76E board which connects via ethernet - this is better than USB and avoids the need for a PP. http://store.mesanet.com/index.php?r...product_id=290 These are around the £200-250 mark by the time you have imported them either from EU or US but would have all the IO you'd need for a lathe conversion, assuming you have step/dir drives rather than analogue +/-10V and you aren't planning to go closed loop with linear encoders. It includes a 0-10V spindle output, spindle encoder input, step/dir outputs and loads of GPIO for limit switches, VFD controls etc.

As mentioned, LinuxCNC is very capable and there is a great support community but getting up to speed with it and figuring out how to set it up is a rite of passage. It requires some bravery / naivety and a large measure of stubbornness.

Some people are running LinuxCNC on a RPi instead of a PC but I suspect that would require additional reserves of said bravery / naivety etc.