Imo, that's a waste of time and money, and provides almost no benefit. If you don't try to run the machine faster than the motors are capable of running it, you'll never lose steps.I also plan to buy dual shaft steppers and install encoders on them either now or upgrade them to that later.
And if you are losing steps, the encoders won't stop that from happening.
I don't think their steppers are Leadshine, but I could be wrong. Their drives are Leadshines, though.Ive been under the assumption that the stepper motors and drivers from automation technologies are Leadshine or at least a US rebadged import.
I would say that the steppers used by 97% of the members here are some unknown brand of chinese import. Steppers are pretty simple devices, and for the most part are very reliable. You rarely here about faulty steppers.
That depends on who you ask. I think they are both good drives.My plan initially was to go with the Gecko G203V or G213V drives but read the leadshine drives had some superior features and the Geckos were very reliable but aged technology.
Another option is Leadshine AM882's, from China. No support, but you get a better drive for less money.
Leadshine AM882 Digital Stepper motor Drive 80VDC 0.1A - 8.2A protect function
What motors do you plan on using? Usually you buy your drives to match the motors, not the other way around.