help on picking electornics

[hopkintoncnc]

hello every one,
i a student working on building a cnc router for a independent study. the problem i have been having is deciding on the electronic components(what psu with what driver, etc...). the biggest thing we have to deal with is price we are trying to keep all the electronics under $300. i have a system specked out and was wondering what you guys thought about it. again the biggest thing is price seeing how this is really more of a proof of concept then if (i mean when) it works out we might decide to go with better components.
right now im looking at

three steppers
NEMA 23 (57bygh405)
http://www.circuitspecialists.com/prod.itml/icOid/8929

three drivers
Stepper Motor Controller (CW230)
http://www.circuitspecialists.com/prod.itml/icOid/8921

psu (one?) do i only need one?
PS1-150W-36V
http://www.circuitspecialists.com/prod.itml/icOid/8517

how does that look am i missing any thing? are there cheaper solutions? and any reviews on the parts?

any help is great thanks again

[rcpilot82]

Did you look into the hobby cnc driver? if you can solder it's easy to do. it's a good learning experience also. yes you only need one power supply but with the hobby cnc kit you only have to buy a transformer. you'll need a pc with step & direction software such as Mach 3. you can keep the cost under $300 no problem.

[hopkintoncnc]

thanks for the advice i believe that is what we are going to do. this really helps out alot thanks. do you know what i would need in the way of power supply's i have been looking around and from what i can tell people sugested this

KL-320-36 36V/8.8A
110V/220V $59.95
from
http://www.kelinginc.net/SwitchingPowerSupply.html

should that work out?
thanks again.

[rcpilot82]

here is all you need along with the hobby cnc board. http://www.mpja.com/prodinfo.asp?number=7846+TR. pick up a few limit/home switches while your there. this is the same one I am using. you can see my setup here; http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=53128
hope this helps

[hopkintoncnc]

i have a question about the kit. when you refer to the kit do you mean
this
http://www.hobbycnc.com/products/hob...oard-packages/
or this
http://www.hobbycnc.com/products/hob...er-board-kits/

if i get just the board would i have to get the other stuff that come with that kit (the fuse holders and fuses, filter capacitor, switch, 35A 600V bridge diode,etc.). and if so do you have the specs so i could try and find them online just to try and price match. thanks again.

[rcpilot82]

i was referring to the kit as it would be "one-stop shopping" you could also use the EZ driver board kit and save a bit of cash. since I am going to use mine hopefully for production, I went with the pro board. but for what you are planning to use it for the EZ board would work just as well. you use the same transformer in both kits. I don't have a parts breakdown but you can find most if not all at mpja.com or mouser.com if you wish to break them apart. IMO by the time you pay shipping from a seperate place you would have been ahead to just get the kit. the fuses and such are all under $2 each. but thats my $.02.

[Jaime128]

I have a question though, why would you only need to buy a transformer with the Hobby cnc? I think the transformer is huge, can you just use one of the other power supplies with these motors? I would just get two motors and the third for the z would be something bigger, but don't know which yet. If I can use the Hobby cnc board with these motors it would be neat assuming I can keep things on the small scale and just use one of those recommended for the other drivers on the circuitspecilists pages. rcpilot82's link for all that you would need no longer works. It's the one with the mpj...link. Also, would these hobby cnc boards work with the EMC program? rcpilot also mentioned a pc with step and direction, what does that mean? I thought any pc would do. I'm new at this so I have to ask the newbie question. I'm also planning on using linux with this whenever I'm ready to do the conversion. Thanks.

Originally Posted by hopkintoncnc hello every one, i a student working on building a cnc router for a independent study. the problem i have been having is deciding on the electronic components(what psu with what driver, etc...). the biggest thing we have to deal with is price we are trying to keep all the electronics under $300. i have a system specked out and was wondering what you guys thought about it. again the biggest thing is price seeing how this is really more of a proof of concept then if (i mean when) it works out we might decide to go with better components. right now im looking at three steppers NEMA 23 (57bygh405) http://www.circuitspecialists.com/prod.itml/icOid/8929 three drivers Stepper Motor Controller (CW230) http://www.circuitspecialists.com/prod.itml/icOid/8921 psu (one?) do i only need one? PS1-150W-36V http://www.circuitspecialists.com/prod.itml/icOid/8517 how does that look am i missing any thing? are there cheaper solutions? and any reviews on the parts? any help is great thanks again

[Crevice Reamer]

Jaime128:

This is what I recommend for the mini mill:

$289 G540 http://geckodrive.com/product.aspx?c=3&i=14469
$098 Two $39 KL23H2100-35-4B 318 oz motors for X & Y
$049 One KL23H284-35-4B 387 oz motor for Z
$060 One KL-350-48 48V/7.3A power supply.
$010 Estop switch
$007 3 Home switches
$009 Straight thru parallel computer cable.
-------
$522

All of this is available from Keling:

http://kelinginc.net/

CR.

[Jaime128]

Unfortunately as much as I like the G540 it's just too expensive for me so that's a no go, at least for me. I don't mind soldering a bit which is why I also asked, but thank you as usual.

[Crevice Reamer]

Originally Posted by Jaime128 Unfortunately as much as I like the G540 it's just too expensive for me so that's a no go, at least for me.

It's MUCH less expensive to buy the RIGHT electronics the first time rather than spend three times as much repeatedly buying the wrong electronics.

You get what you pay for. TANSTAAFL!

CR.

[Jaime128]

Yes I have read that from your other postings before and to a point you are right, but when you just don't have the money you have to make a few sacrifices unfortunately. I just can't afford it. And you're right I'm not asking for a free lunch, but that's why I'm researching this more than those that can just afford anything.

Originally Posted by Crevice Reamer It's MUCH less expensive to buy the RIGHT electronics the first time rather than spend three times as much repeatedly buying the wrong electronics. You get what you pay for. TANSTAAFL! CR.

[Crevice Reamer]

Originally Posted by Jaime128 Yes I have read that from your other postings before and to a point you are right, but when you just don't have the money you have to make a few sacrifices unfortunately. I just can't afford it. And you're right I'm not asking for a free lunch, but that's why I'm researching this more than those that can just afford anything.

Researching? You could be making chips with an efficient and reliable machine!

Believe it or not, I'm actually trying to SAVE you money! But I guess you will have to learn your OWN lessons--the hard way.

I can't say it any better than this:

Originally Posted by guru_florida I know most people we tell to splurge for the Gecko just see the $$$s. I suppose that without experiencing the poor amps that are out there and plenty firsthand, we don't fully appreciate the value of the Geckos until we finally upgrade...unfortunately.

CR.