Has the original poster seen any of the numerous youtube videos about driving a large stepper with an Arduino?With the right hardware there shouldn't be any need to submit an Arduino or it's shield to any high currents.Having said that,I would still select LinuxCNC myself and if space really is tight,I would look at using something like a Raspberry Pi in the same box as the drive modules.I don't know a huge amount about what would be necessary and wouldn't be surprised if somebody on this forum could provide an answer.
Are you aware that Centroid actually dropped the price of the Acorn recently? Not because it wasn't/isn't selling. It is selling extremely well. I look at it this way. If someone is starting out on the CNC jouney there is information overload. So many different aspects of the whole project have to be digested, understood and implemented. If someone can ease the learning curve why not. As for support for the Centroid Acorn I think it is top notch. The forum is really active with experienced people as well as the folks at Centroid. The ease of setup with the Wizard system and the conversational programming for G-code makes it a no-brainer in my book. The fact that the hardware and software comes from the same company is a big plus. No finger pointing to where the problem is located. Sure everything can be done in LinuxCnc but don't be blinded by your experience with LinuxCNC. I for one know first hand how daunting it can be to set up for the true newbie! Wondering which hardware to order that will play nice with which software is another daunting task. You have to know what questions to ask to get good answers! If the OP wants as inexpensive as possible monetarily then he will have to pay with effort and time. I don't have a horse in this race. Just pointing out another option. It seems the OP has buggered off so it is all a moot point anyway!
Are you sure?Are you aware that Centroid actually dropped the price of the Acorn recently?
It's $299 + $139 for the software.
It started at I think $269 + $99.
Gerry
UCCNC 2017 Screenset
[URL]http://www.thecncwoodworker.com/2017.html[/URL]
Mach3 2010 Screenset
[URL]http://www.thecncwoodworker.com/2010.html[/URL]
JointCAM - CNC Dovetails & Box Joints
[URL]http://www.g-forcecnc.com/jointcam.html[/URL]
(Note: The opinions expressed in this post are my own and are not necessarily those of CNCzone and its management)
Both parts of that are true. No disputing customers get something valuable for money spent.Getting Centroid's motion control know-how for that price is cheap but it's a business practice carried over from industry and it's not the hobby market norm
Going back to the original question
Linuxcnc and grbl ore both open source and low cost (free) . The OP said $160 was more than budgeted. All the other options suggested will run circles around Linuxcnc with software step generation (ie: no Mesa help) but it gets a machine up and running.CNC Software: I see that Mach 3 is common, but I'm looking to build this thing on a budget and $160 is more that I had budgeted for. Are there any open source/low cost alternatives?
OP might have been willing to stretch that budget, it looks like we'll never know.
Anyone who says "It only goes together one way" has no imagination.