Hi,
the Ethernet SmoothStepper (ESS) requires one or more breakout boards. A breakout board is a buffer that protects
the ESS and has screw terminals to attach wires.
A C10 is a simple and cheap ($23.00) breakout board. It will connect to one output port of the ESS. Thus the one board
will give you 12 outputs and 5 inputs. A second board is recommended, and if arranged such that the second ESS output
port pins 2-9 as inputs, then the second C10 will give you another 13 inputs and 4 outputs. The two C10s would under this
configuration give you a total of 18 inputs and 16 outputs. That should prove to be more than adequate.
The C10s are quite simple, they don't have opto isolated inputs nor do they have relays or a PWM to analogue circuit.
I use Homman Designs MB02 breakout boards (Australian made and near local to me in New Zealand) which are
very similar to the C10, that is they are bi-directional without opto isolators, relays or PWM circuit. I have used them
for six years without problem. Electronics is my thing, if I decide I need opto isolation on a particular input I add it; likewise
relays and PWM circuit.
Both the C10 and Homann boards are 5V boards whereas the CSMIO that TPS prefers has 24V IO. 24V IO is industry standard
and claimed to be more noise resistant, with some justification. Don't get me started on 'noise impeadance'.....I'm a radio
engineer and can talk about comparative noise performance all day long. Suffice it to say that 24V IO is nice but not essential.
In general 24V IO equipped boards are much more expensive. I have been using 5V boards for six years without problem
and do not regard 24V IO essential, nor even consider it a great advantage provided you pay close attention to the
'noise impedance' of the circuits to which you are interfacing. 24V IO allows you to be a bit sloppy whereas 5V tends
to focus your attention.
If you are not comfortable with adding circuitry to C10s then consider the MB03 board by CNCRoom at $180. It supports
all three ESS output ports with a balance of inputs and outputs including single ended and differential IO, relays and
a PWM circuit. I have not seen one myself but ger21 reports them to be good quality.
Note that these breakout boards do not drive the steppers but rather produce step/direction signals to the stepper drivers.
Your existing machine must have stepper drivers and you may be able to recycle those. If not you can buy entry level
stepper drivers for as little as $20 each or up to $150 for Gecko drivers, the gold standard among two phase stepper drivers.
Can you post some more info about your existing stepper drivers?
The most common way with Mach to control a spindle is with relays, up to three, to turn on/off, forward and reverse the spindle
and a PWM signal which is converted to a 0-10V signal to control the speed of the spindle. This is not the only means of
controlling a spindle but is most common.
Can you post more information about your existing spindle and its driver?
Craig