Thanks for your reply.  I've been starting to go down that path as well.  Do you have any suggestions for a CNC controller ($200-$400) that will work with the existing Bi-Polar stepper motors (3X), an SSD variable frequency drive (Model 582 - Vector Pulse width modulation control with quiet pattern operation) and Mach3.   The cnc controller must also utilize a standard post processor protocol, so that the staff at BobCad can generate a post processer for my BobCad V23 and BobCAM for Solidworks software packages.

The stepper motor connections are a piece of cake with only four wires to connect (even for an Mechancial Engineer),  The VFD might be a little more complicated depending on the number of wires, and then comes the MACH3 configuration, which requires known inputs and outputs, which hasn't impressed me.  You would think that Mach3 would have a configuration menu that helps/guides/recommends combinations of pin-outs, and lets you try them out while pushing "hot keys", and when you find the combination that works, Mach3 would save the config.  You could go axis by axis setting up the configuration.

Thanks in advance for everyones advice.

 

Mach is very simple to set up and blaming Mach for your problems is not going to help. If you do not know which pins do what then how would the software be able to do it? Do you honestly think you can plug in any controller, whether its a $20,000 Fanuc or a $175 Mach setup and it wont require you to set parameters?

BobCAD probably have a post processor for Mach3 but you would have to talk to them about it but if they have a basic Fanuc one then it would likely work.

Ok Gecko stepper drives would probably be fine for your motors, no inductance rating on the label but the voltage and current are fine. The G201 and 201X come in at about $114 each and the breakout boards I like, PMDX122  comes in around $80 and they also do boards for spindle speed control of VFDs. Lots of other BOB and speed controls out there, homanndesigns.com does the digispeed and CNC4PC have one.


Do a bit of reading of the Mach manual and watch the setup videos and you may get a better idea of how to set Mach up.

Hood