Gecko G540 or?

[JAZZCNC]

Allright, it feels like im getting closer.
After some research i found that the Aliexpress price for the AM882 drivers are really good. I think im gonna go with them...

Yes slowly slowly it will start to sink in but can I just say it's not a good idea to buy the electronics first. Really they are the last thing you should be buying. Decided on what to buy now so you know dimensions etc but don't buy them as your just wasting warranty while they are sat on the bench. Build the frame first then and get rolling chassis then buy them electrics.

Stepper motors are not hard to find. Maybe ill take Tumblebeers recommendation-link even there...

Those steppers Tumble linked to are fine but don't think all steppers are the same,.!! Even thou some will be same frame size or Nm rating there can be one important difference which plays a big part in performance.!! The Inductance rating.?
Cheap motors which you may find on Ebay etc can have very high inductance which affects the speed you'll get from them so check the spec before buying.

Are there any alternatives with a good price/performance ratio?

There quite few cheaper motion control cards but they tend to use the USB port which can have problems with noise and lost connections. They also tend to be built using cheaper components so not quite as reliable or stable. Ethernet is by far the better choice and gives best performance for not much more money really so I'd fully recommend you stay away from USB based cards.

I've used most Motion control cards and I can tell you the best by far is the Cslabs products but they do tend to cost more money, thou you get what you pay for.
That said the PLCM cards are OK thou I've not used the plcm-e4 yet only the E3 but suspect it's much the same just with built in I/O board(BOB).
Then there's the ESS Smooth stepper from Warp9 in the US. The ESS just pips the PLCM cards in terms of performance ESP when used with a quality BOB like the PMDX 126.

Again like Digital drives you do to some degree get what you pay for and with pulse and signal handling being very important to performance and reliabilty then IMO it's worth spending that bit more in this area.

[charlieuk]

Go with the CS labs unit! it has been pretty straight forward and i think a lot less to go wrong if its your first time. Im so glad i did as you can get some great support from people around these parts hay jazz ;)

[Neale]

Bad news is that if you want to use twin motors on X (or even if you want to allow for upgrading to two motors in the future), then as far as I can see you need the very expensive CS Labs board, the IP-S, not the IP-M. Have I understood this correctly? The ESS seems to be a reasonable choice - as long as you never need manufacturer support, and the PLCM kit is great if you read Russian! Not sure of the status of the E4, and the E3 needs a BOB, as does the ESS. This all makes choice of a driver trivial by comparison...

[JAZZCNC]

Bad news is that if you want to use twin motors on X (or even if you want to allow for upgrading to two motors in the future), then as far as I can see you need the very expensive CS Labs board, the IP-S, not the IP-M. Have I understood this correctly?

Yes your correct Neale. For slaved Axis you need the IP-S version which appears expensive but for what you get it's really not and it's truely amazing bit of kit for the money. Nothing comes close to what it offers or quality in this price bracket.

That said Yes for General DIY it's on the expensive side and the others are more than good enough at this level.
The ESS is OK except Warp9 are rubbish with support.!! .. . Not a little rubbish but TOTAL CRAP.
Purelogic who make the PLCM are actually very good at support and will sort any issues you may have in very short period of time really.

This Software support shouldn't be trivilised or under valued really as these device all run off Plug-in software inside Mach3 and it's the quality of the plug-in that makes or breaks these devices. So if you have any troubles or conflicts then being able to get software support is priceless.
The CS labs software and support is excellent with very few bugs and if they are any or Mach3 changes breaking the plug-in which often happens, then they get resolved and dealt with very quickly. They will work one on one with you get conflicts resolved
Pure logic PLCM are ok but not the same quality plug-ins or support but still ok and will work with you.
Warp9 on the other hand won't lift a finger unless half the ESS users in the world jump up n down screaming and even then take 2yrs to do it.!!

The BOB is often the weak link used with most Motion controls and unless you use a decent BOB then really I don't see the point.! It's like having 1000HP engine running on knackerd tyres.! . . . Pointless if you can't get the power down.!!

[JW1977]

Building the machine first and then complete it with the electronics is really the most logical way to go and i am gonna take the advice and do so also.
It was my original thought but i have been thinking of this for a long time and got a little carried away and just wanted to by everything that i need fast...

Its easy to get carried away if you want the best parts and start reading and learning. Ive learned a lot only from this thread and i thankyou for it.
For example, low inductance motors, Ethernet connected motion control board, digital high voltage drivers that must be working well with the data of the steppers and many other things...

Im still a bit confused about the motion control detail though. I can se why people like the Gecko G540 kit as it seems like an overall mid-level good compromise.

I know that what Im about to ask is a topic for a whole new thread but im in the market for a small lathe. Im gonna use it for the cnc build.
The budget is about 5-700 GBP and Im counting on some work and money above that to make it perform better. Ive been Reading about the Sieg C3 super, Warco and the Amadeal lathes. They seem pretty much the same but brushless motor and high weight is +....
Considering the above, which one? ��

[JW1977]

Sorry for changing the subject back and fourth, its just me but a question regarding the Electronics came to mind...
In my world its easy just to overdimension for example the steppers and the motors so that they should be able to cope with whatever i through at it.
Someone once told me that it isnt so and that the best thing is if the performance of the machine is optimised to what you should use it for... Which is right?

[EddyCurrent]

The optimum range of anything is where it operates in the central linear region of it's performance graph. If you oversize then it's not working hard and is in the lower non linear region of the graph, if you undersize it will work at the upper non linear region of the graph.