spectralight

[hooshirn]

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Hi I just starting out with cnc and I have just recently purchased a lightmacnines spectrolight 0200 0ff ebay it seems in pretty good shape and I got it for 600$ dollars witch I guess is a decent deal but it did not come with a controller card and I've been trying to figure out witch controller to buy. I have looked at the gecko driver site and came away total confused as what to buy from them to get the job done wish they could explain things simpler on their site but anyway I checked out the xylotex stuff and it very easy to understand but I asked if their board
had enough power to drive the stepper motors that came with the spectrolight and they told me they needed the power rating of the motors.
the motors on the machine I have don't have any markings on them and I don't know if theirs a way to test them with a multi meter to find out.
I have looked at pictures on the Internet of other spectrolingt and their motors don't look the same as mine the kind I have have a 7 pin connector
and are double shaft with the sherline wheels mounted on them witch is
cool as I can use it buy hand until and even after I get it set up for cnc
I haven't seen another one with this set up but I would think if they were aftermarket they would have the info printed on them the machine has a
half hp 10000 rpm motor on it if this might be a clue to its age the motor might be an ac motor instead of the newer dc but I'm not sure it says 115volt triem inc on it if this means anything . I would call they company but they look like they like to charge big money for tech support and are not interested in helping the people buying used equipment I hear their prices for spare parts are extremely high so they don't sound like they would be to help full anyway if anybody might now what kind of motors these are or theirs specs or any advice on how to find out I would very much appreciate it thanks.
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[mark c]

I would get rid of the attached steppers and get a "package" like the Xytolex or the Hobby CNC kit. That way you'll know that it will work well together. Don't be afraid of the Hobby CNC kit. I've built two of them and they work great

[RepairmanSki]

I just, as of today, finished refurbing a LightMachines/Spectralight 0200. Without pictures of your mill to confirm I can only guess that you purchased the one with it's own enclosure etc. If that is the case AND you got the controller box with it you can only use the OEM card from Lightmachines. It's an ISA card and, obviously, is only compatible with older computers.

I would tend to agree with Mark, even if you have the controller box you'll pull all your hair out before you source that board I'd wager. And don't even bother with trying to get a PCI version from Lightmachines. The last price I heard anyone quoted for that card was $2k which is flat out ludicrous.

That being said...if you DO manage to find the card and the controller box let me know and I can hook you up with the software and the manual in .pdf format.