Breakout board recommendations

[dodgygeeza]

I think it comes down to what you are willing to pay? and the features you want. If you are looking at something like £20-30 then there are a lot of choice and it will be the chinese boards if bought in the UK.
If you need features like more than one relay, charge pump and or a 0-10V output for spindle control then you are looking at spending a lot more.
There are some good boards like the PLC4X from Zapp, the PMDX from pmdx and so on, but because you are asking this question means that you may also need support, so also consider this as well.

[GND]

Fair question! I guess up to £40 would be ok if it offered fully buffered signalling, a charge pump and one relay I could use for the spindle. I'm not fussed about opto isolation as the drivers include that already, and won't need any more relays initially. I'm just looking for a solid solution to get me started, because when I have looked at motion control options, the choices are overwhelming - and I've not yet even decided what software to use, hence really don't wish to invest in too much before I have a play.

Does that seem reasonable? Maybe I'm being over cautious, but the more you read about the cheaper BoB's, the more you think they are all unreliable - and that is what I'm hoping to avoid at this early stage.

[dodgygeeza]

Then you are looking at either the opto board from DIYCNC, the £20 cheap board form Zapp, or what cnc4you are offering.
All are ok.
Then there is the support, i know you can get support from Roy at DIY CNC and also Zapp, but never bought anything form CNC4you.

[Clive S]

Then you are looking at either the opto board from DIYCNC, the £20 cheap board form Zapp, or what cnc4you are offering.
All are ok.
Then there is the support, i know you can get support from Roy at DIY CNC and also Zapp, but never bought anything form CNC4you.

Do any of those boards provide buffered signalling?

[magicniner]

What kind of buffering do you want?
Anything which can result in any variation to the relative timing of LPT pin signals being presented to the drives will mess up the part, there is no RTS/CTS handshake involved in the open loop with Mach3, the whole set up relies upon the data at the parallel port being presented almost instantaneously to the drivers, all timings are configured within Mach3 to work within the limitations of the system being driven.
External motion devices are fed move instructions via their plugins and can thus use buffering,
- Nick

[dodgygeeza]

Its a breakout board it will only be a simple buffering circuit, that gets the existing signals, cleans them up and duplicates them.

[GND]

Looks like we have three contenders - the HG08 from CNC4YOU, the ZP5A from Zapp and the Uniport from DIYCNC. Although it's the most expensive, the Uniport is currently my favourite from these as it includes a charge pump and two relays, plus opto isolation on the inputs. COmes in at £40 posted, so not too bad.

Anyone have any experience of using one of these in anger?

[cropwell]

If you want cheap opto isolation and a spindle relay then the Chinese BoBs like this one http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5-axis-CNC...item1ea10eaf6a which is "UK stock" seems a good start.

[dodgygeeza]

yes it looks like it.
The ZP5a and ZApp and the uniport are buffered.
The HG8 at cnc4You is opto isolated.

[magicniner]

I think they are all isolated and someone writing the tech specs hasn't read their digital interfacing text books ;-)