A few questions before a first build

[MattHengy]

I everyone. I am new to CNC Zone - planning to start my first build as soon as university finishes for the summer break.

I have been doing a LOT of research, but one thing I can't seem to find as much information on as I would like is the electronics.

I understand what the electronics do, the ICs, all the details about power, and the logic of the circuit (I am in a computer science and computer electronics program).

I do have a few questions though:

(1) I have seen conflicting designs... I just want to make it clear - a controller is what interfaces with the controller, and the driver is what drives the stepper motors based on what the controller tell it. i have seen many designs that combine the two, and some that have them separate.

(2) Does all CNC software output the same signals? Will my controller work with several different programs, or do i design the controller based on software?

I know I will have more questions... and thanks in advance!

MattHengy

[stevespo]

I'm sure there are many variations on this, but at least among the DIY crowd this seems to be the basic breakdown:

• The "controller" reads/interprets standardized gcode instructions (from a CAM program) and turns them into step/direction pulses
• The pulses are fed to a motor "driver" (stepper or servo) that turns that information into movements of one or more motors
• Between the "controller" and "driver" is often a "break out board" that simplifies wiring and provides opto-isolation of signals, filtering, etc.

Very few people design/build their own controllers, but it isn't unheard of. In the DIY world, the controller is typically a piece of software running on a PC (Mach3 for Windows, or EMC2 for Linux).

Commercial controllers often integrate all the above components into a single hardware/software package.

So, yes there are standards that allow interoperability.

Steve