New Member, a little experience with 'toy CNC' but got a bigger baby now :-) !!

[SteveNotlob]

Hi all.
I played around with a small, hobby CNC some years ago (home built by previous owner with 2020 profiles but he couldn't get electrics / motors working so I got it for a steal!).

I have just bought an Infotec unit, that is so old that it doesn't show on their website and I cannot find info for it anywhere - no model number on the unit, just says 'JMS Engineering Ltd' and 'Infotek'.

I've included some photos.

I contacted Infotek last week but not had a reply from them :-(

I was hoping to be able to use their software, which I believe is called InfoCam, but with lack on contact from them I am thinking of using a cheap Mach3 controller instead - I still have the software on an old laptop that came with the aforementioned hobby CNC machine - what do you all think?

The electrics / electronics side does not worry me as I am an Electronic Engineer. It's whether the little board would be safely capable of running the machine.

Regards, Stephen

[m_c]

I'd guess those stepper drivers date from the 90s, so there's every chance nobody remaining at Infotek who actually know anything about that age of machine.

I'd personally replace all the electronics and motors with more modern bits, as even more more modern steppers will give you a good boost in performance.
As for motion controller and software, take your pick.
I'd personally not use Mach 3 now, but if you have experience with it, it's as good a reason as any to use it.