Cheap chinese ebay motor/driver cnc packages: OK or steer clear?

[Thermodynamics]

Just as the title says, I am wondering if these packages could get me by, or should I get something like a probotix kit or the like? These kits are around $200-$250 for 3 motors, 3 drivers, PSU and a Mach 3 CD. (basically just search "3 axis cnc kit" and they are everywhere). I am, by far, mechanical in nature and dont know much about which electronics are better than others, and why they are better than others.

Any thoughts? Opinions on better electronics kits? These basically just appealed to me because of the price tag. I wanted to check with you guys to make sure im not buying a load of crap first

[doorknob]

Have you read the thread at http://www.cnczone.com/forums/genera...y_chinese.html? Those kits can work, especially on a starter or low-end machine, and many people who are looking to get a low-cost start go with them, but many other people report problems as well, so they eventually end up replacing the driver with something better (such as a gecko G540), while retaining the motors and maybe retaining the power supply, but then the hoped-for savings do not materialize. A G540 (which will support 4 axes) costs about $250 all by itself, so it's not surprising that when compared with a $250 package that includes a driver and motors and power supply, the Chinese package looks attractive at first.

If you have some experience with electronics and soldering, then there are some modifications that you could make to the driver board to improve its performance and operation. Also note that sometimes the motors sold in those kits are not well matched to the drivers, and/or the drivers can not support a high-enough power supply voltage, leading to disappointing performance. Support from the vendor is often unavailable, which may be an important consideration.

Also note that the Mach3 disk that they usually send out with those kits does not give you an actual Mach3 license, rather you get a version of Mach3 that you could just as easily download for free, which will run G-code programs with up to 500 lines of code, but if you want to machine anything requiring more code than that you will have to buy a license for the software.

[Thermodynamics]

I have basic knowledge of electronics and decent soldering skills and could follow directions, but the thought of personally having to make hardware changes to a motor driver makes me cringe!

Thanks for the input, I will read through that article and see whats going on. I certainly would not want to buy a set of electronics only to have it crap out on me. That could dis-hearten me on my build very quickly!

I have heard good things about Probotix, and they are located here in the US, so I might look into getting one of their kits. Does anyone have any other recommended vendors?

[hoss2006]

Look at the packages from keling.net.
http://www.kelinginc.net/CNCPackage.html
You didn't say what it's for but the probotix packages are geared more for routers with a couple for mills,
keling is much more mill related.
Hoss

[stevenrf]

The motors and power supply are okay.
Works great for a while until you start worrying about missed steps.
I have 3 dead boards that all have blown.
The 12v regulator on each board blew.
Have another ordered and on the way.

These 4 boards would have paid for a good Geko.