Will mach 4 be able to use Encoders  for closed- loop operation
Thanks Robin

Yes and no, Mach3 and Mach4 are closed loop if the external controller supports closed loop.  Using the parallel port nether are.

So if i want closed loop what type of controlers should i be looking At

Robin

KFLOP is one.

It depends on your drives, if they are Step/Dir then possibly the Hicon.
Not sure if Kflop can with step/dir but it may also be there.
For analogue command drives then
CSMIO/IP-A
DSPMC
possibly Kflop with Kanalog.

There is also the Ajax kit but its use seems to be very sparse but maybe thats just because no one posts about it.

Hood

KFlop can do closed loop with pretty much any kind of output that the KFlop is capable of providing.
It can also do dual closed loop i.e. the motor is run closed loop, but you also have scale feedback to verify position.

However it does involve doing some C programming, but plenty examples are provided.