Smooth Stepper, ncpod, kflop, G100??????????

[eman5oh]

So I was an avid home cnc enthusiast back a few years ago and building a new house and having two kids put the whole thing on hold for a while. I had at the time built two cnc routers and converted a jig borer to cnc. The last thing that I was working on was router that is 95% finished. Well I now have a bigger shop set up and some time to work on the toys again. My plan with the router was to use a Gecko G100 running G202 drives. Both of which I have.It seems that the G100 never really launched and has been left to die. So I am looking to build something with a hardware controller like the G100. The ncpod and smooth stepper come to mind, but I am not sure of either. The ncpod looks like it may have suffered the same faith as the G100, leaving the Smooth Stepper as last option? I see on the Mach plug in site the plug in for the smooth stepper is listed as beta still, this scares me a bit as this is wear the G100 was a few years ago. So for those in the know, what is the best option for a sub $200 motion controller to use with Mach3. Is their an option that I have missed all together?

[judleroy]

Although not sub 200 dollars you can look into the k-flop from dynomotion. It runs $250.00 and I can say from experiance that the support is top notch. If you have any issues Tom the owner will help you work them out. The best part is it works with mach3 and the software is being updated regulary. It also works through usb and will offload the work from the pc so it runs way faster then you can get from just mach 3 and a breakout board. If its not for you good luck finding what your looking for.
Judleroy

[eman5oh]

I will take a look at the kflop. Is it fully working under Mach3? By fully working I mean does it support limit switches, homing, encoders,backlash comp, lathe?

[eman5oh]

The more I read about the kflop, the more I like it. It looks to be what I am looking for. I would like to here from those that have one what they think of it, my plans are to use it with Mach3 to run a mill, router and lathe. I would like to hear the good as well as the bad.

[judleroy]

Yes everything you asked for is supported as well as spindle control and probing. There is a dyomotion forum on yahoo that you may want to join to get more feedback from users and see just what good support looks like. Also look at the manuels on the dynomotion website. It has a section for mach 3. Good luck.
Judleroy