Easy Servo Drive?

[JAZZCNC]

Jazz Thanks so much for the kind offer! Can you link to something that explains what an external motion controller does differently than my current parallel port to break-out-board setup? Looking at the smooth stepper site it basically looks like a USB to parallel port but I assume it must be more than that because such a thing is very cheap and small. Would I still use my break-out-board?

No can't link but I can explain it.!!

External Motion controller is a essentially a High spec pulse engine. Basicly it's a parallel port on Super steriods. It just goes between the PC or Laptop and the BOB. You still need the BOB to distribute the signals/wires etc. It just replaces the Parallel port and takes it completly out of the equation.

In practice What it actually does is far more than just replace the PP. It takes all the Hard work of number crunching away from Mach3 just leaving mach to deal with basic tasks and house keeping. So reduces the PC and Mach3's overhead on it. This is why a Lower spec PC or Laptop can be used with External controller without any troubles.

But there's even more to it than that.!! . . .The quality of the pulses are much much higher and clearer. Also the frequency can be set much higher if higher speed are required.
These two factors are what strangle the PP and why you get missed steps when pushing the machine hard like you have been doing. Just fitting an external Motion controller will see you increase performance by minimum 25% and reliablity will be much higher. I've fitted them and seen machines gain 75% in performance using the same drives and voltage.

Connect a Good Motion controller to Good Digital drives and you'll have no troubles with lost steps and with serious performance. Yes over tune and it will like any system but you will be able to tune much higher before being overtuned.!!

Oh and you get 3x Parallel ports worth of I/O for the price.!!

I won't fit anything but Ethernet Motion controllers. To be honest I try to use Cslabs Motion controllers when ever price always has nothing out there touches them for performance to what you get but they are not the cheapest. And the lower Spec isn't ideal for machines with Slave Motors because it doesn't fully support individual switch homing yet.

Think of a Motion controller like a VERY high end Graphics Card and the PP like the Most crappest basic Card on the market.!! The difference is night and day and easy to see and hear.!