Quote Originally Posted by CNCUK
I would suggest you do look at purchasing and would advise it for your first build, unless of course your very comfortable building your own like you seem. There is sites out there that offer good prices for packages that come with everything you need for the electronics side of things.

You could also try ebay, again these sites have shops on ebay that offer the same packages only that little bit cheaper.

I will post up some links for you with sites you could use, these will be uk sites of course.

Good Luck.
CNCUK
This is where I'd have to disagree with you I'm afraid. If you buy off the peg then you have very little choice in terms of voltage and current options. Most of the controllers that you see for sale on ebay and elsewhere are all hobby type setups really. Also you have to bear in mind the fact that most of the cheaper pre-built solutions are using proprietory hardware... this ties you to the seller for support and any repairs that may be required.

I considered a pre-built solution about 18 months ago when I was first building my machine. In the end I just built it.. and I'm certainly no expert in electronics. If you want higher end options for a low-end price then you just have to build it.. and having said that it's more a case of assembly than building. All you are talking about is connecting a break-out-board to some motor drives, a power supply and a few switches. Anyone can build a perfectly acceptable and safe controller.. to suggest otherwise is one of the many myths that seem to pervade the subject of CNC.

My own controller was built as 4 axis with the option to add 2 motor drives and run 6 axis at some point in the future. My general approach was to keep things as modular as possible. I used 2 break-out-boards to give me some encoder options on the rotary's I'm adding... these use more inputs than would be available via a single BOB. I use 2 x 48v 9 amp Solid-State ex-telecom'sPSU's they cost £39 each via ebay.. and I have an additional 80v 9amp PSU built into the case for when I go 6 axis. I have a pendant remote... a usb keypad basically which mach 2/3 allows you to configure in any form that you want from the point of view of controlling the machine. I have mains controlled by relays in terms of controller power and also external device power (Spindle /extraction). Motor Drives can handle up to 80/90V at current of 7/4.5 Amps each, I used different rated motor drives to meet requirements of motors, rather than paying for unrequired capacity . Price to buy this kind of voltage/current and motor setup pre-built was over £1500.00 and I would have had to buy it in from Germany.... UK prices were even more ridiculous.

My controller/machine build is fully documented on a blow-by-blow basis in my CNCZone build log. It includes a schematic/circuit diagram, which I've attached as well as a pic of the wired controller. I made a point of making my build log as comprehensive and complete as possible. It's much too big/extensive to transfer here and I won't do some kind of piecemeal cut up of a log I worked hard to make as informative as possible. It would defeat the entire object. I have upped a Zipped PDF of my components list and costs to date. If you're serious about building your own controller then you should check my build log at the links below.

Complete Build Log is at http://cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20656

Costings and Parts aquisition thread is at http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17834
hope this helps...