help me choose the right stepper motors

[craftech]

I am building a gantry style CNC it is all aluminum with a 36''x24'' work surface the type of work will be wood and aluminum sheet metal and the odd aluminum plate 1/4'' milling work i will have coolant for that aplication
My question is wat tipe of steper should i spec out
Voltage , unipolar ,bipolar vextra ,Amperage degrees, and steps this is confusing because there are so many out ther and i want something strong and easy to configure or replace I a good metal worker but the electronics !!!!
Thanks
craftech

[JavaDog]

Heh, you're doing almost the exact same thing as me. I asked too, but no answer yet.

New CNC Machine - Building Stage!

[craftech]

Hey Java dog thats cool i will keep you posted i am bidding on som cool thomson linear bearing on E Bay this week and there is som extrusion T Rails
Up for biddin also with all king of attachements to go on this type
I want a litle overkill on this machine and steppers between 210 and400 onzes will be my choice i build remote controle car parts out of alluminum and i also want to do 3d sculping with this machine my firs is the bearings amd slide rails this will determine the sise of my CNC
So thanks and back to Ebay for parts
Brian

[JavaDog]

Hey Java dog thats cool i will keep you posted i am bidding on som cool thomson linear bearing on E Bay this week and there is som extrusion T Rails
Up for biddin also with all king of attachements to go on this type
I want a litle overkill on this machine and steppers between 210 and400 onzes will be my choice i build remote controle car parts out of alluminum and i also want to do 3d sculping with this machine my firs is the bearings amd slide rails this will determine the sise of my CNC
So thanks and back to Ebay for parts
Brian

Well, we may be bidding against each other, I'm watching some things on ebay too!

I am planning on using the THK rails and doing it right the first time too. Good Luck!

[buscht]

I have a machine roughly the same size. I tried the 116 oz-in bipolar stepper motors that are sold on the Xylotex website. They are underpowered in my opinion for your size machine.

I bought some larger NEMA 23 280oz-in bipolar 200 steps motors and have been very pleased. http://www.seanet.com/~dmauch/ Just tell Dan you want it to have great performance with a Xylotex board and he will recommend the proper motor. Any thing larger and you will need bigger drivers (Geckos)

I use the Xylotex stepper driver control board. It was very confusing to me, but after awhile it all becomes clear. I bought a prebuilt controller, because I am not good at electronic either. A kit seemed way out of my skill level.http://www.xylotex.com/

I bought a 24V 6.5 amp DC power supply from http://www.mpja.com/listitems.asp?dept=3&main=1

Motor cables can be purchased from Xylotex, or from a guy on this forum, Jfirey. You could just send him a private message.

Good luck.

[craftech]

hey buscht great advise i will keep this in mind ,what type of work does your machine do and do you work alluminum with it !!!!
Thanks

[buscht]

craftech, I cut mainly hardwoods. I am doing 3D carving. No aluminum. I am using low cost dremel type routers and a rotozip. 1/8" dia and 1/16" dia bits. Cut speed is 25-40" per minute