Alright! switching 14 to 15 ("obviously," he said sheepishly) solved that problem...

any thoughts on the pin 12 issue?

Thank you! Thank you!

Nevermind, I solved the the pin12 issue.

There was a drop of solder that was shorting the resistor out of the circuit.

Thank you to everyone for their help!

 - Jeff Rahmlow
www.waytags.com

Hi all, 

I am considering buying the boxed xylotec set with 269 stepper motors.

I keep on stumbling accross threads on various forums complaining about xylotec and mach3 working together.

I want to buy a complete kit and dont have an incling of  electronic knowledge in me,  i know people who do though.  I know alot about PCs and software and dont want to make a mistake.

if not xylotex.. which other complete kit do you guys are artsoft suggest?

You should think hard about what you are going to do today and what you may do in the future.
I quess it comes down to your budget. I personaly like individual / or replaceable drives.
Take a look at Camtronics Inc as they sell kits. Would recomend Gecko drives. Think hard about what kind of motors you want,servos or steppers.
 I have a flexible controller such that it could be used with any of my machines and is portable.
RICH

I want to build something i can test/train myself on.  I want to use mach3 and a testing machine to mill out some wood or plastic or even foam.

I will have a look later on more commercial type machines, once i understand the process and the pitfalls.

The Xylotex works fine with mach3. Having said that, the best bang for the buck in the low priced range is a Gecko G540. A little more money, but easily capable of at least double the performance of the Xylotex. Also, much more resistant to miswiring. You can get complete kits at www.kelinginc.net

Thank you Ge21

http://www.kelinginc.net/CNCNEMA23G540Package.html

I understand that i need to have an objective and buy according to my needs.... but regardless if I knew exactly what i wanted to do, i would not be able to rate these machines

Say i got a plan like this one http://solsylva.com/cnc/25x25.shtml,  and i plan to do hard wood what would you guys suggest? perhaps also the routers.

now,  just to gage my understanding.. say i went with a smaller table http://solsylva.com/cnc/13x13x5.shtml ,  and i was going to do mdf at most,  and mostly waxy type stuff for molds.. which kit would you suggest?

I feel like a kid in a candy shop,  except each one of these candies will taste different depending on the candy i eat it with and what my plans are for future candy purchases... but my feeling is i just want to get one that works and not set me back a huge amount because this is in the learning phase.


I THANK each one who has helped me so far... and some of the stuff i have seen online make me want to change careers... but i bet everyone else's stuff seem fun,  until it becomes a job.  Currently this is a hobby/learning experience

Hmm,
One of the 10th grade boys on the robotics team built a little router table out of wood ( 12" x 12" table ). Just used reqular threaded rod and bought a controller board for about $60. He is using a dremel for the router. Somebody gave him a power supply, and he bought three small steppers for around  $ 40. So he has maybe $100
into this thing from his paper route money. He uses a free Cad program and Mach demo. He is having a blast. He said if he takes a liking to it maybe he will save up and do a beefed up version.
Point is, that this kid will have learned so much on most about the major components of the system and software and will be very prepared to make decisions on his owne. He knew nothing about electronics, Mach, CAD, and his dad cut up the junk wood to make the router.
Now it's not fancy, but he sure is learning and having fun. Dad is stsrting to ask about higher end stuff and we are on the look out for that lab machine for peanuts so he can have some good parts for the next nachine.
Now i don't think that $100 is going to waste by any means.
So, why not go supper economy,learn a heck of a lot, have a lot of fun, and then build or buy what you really may want.
If a 10th grader can do all with some help, so can you.
RICH

Rich,  if you say it like that... i just dont have a choice now.

I mean, i have to be some special kind of loser if i cant pull this off.... nothing like a bit of pressure to get my stuff together.

Thanx rich,  that is exactly the kind of push i needed to get started.

I saw this a while back
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6drMZqmyXQc

if you look at hte PC board he made.. I priced the components to be about 30dollars, then i need stepper motors and power supply.

Nice link and as you can see you can have some fun without anything fancy.
Go for it.......
RICH