Re: Spectra Light: Light Machine Question about DB9 and cnc controller
If your steppers only have cables then you need stepper motor drivers and a controller. USB would be for communication between a PC and an interface controller, but in general its not the method of choice due to the way the PC treats USB (can be too slow - even high speed there can be delays), though some have overcome that issue.
You might be able to get it working for $50:
if you are willing to find a cheap / free PC with a parallel port and install a linux operating sysem and LinuxCNC Getting LinuxCNC that will get you your controller for free.
power for the stepper motors if its not with the lathe (36VDC should be OK at a few amps).
Being a lathe, if you want to make threaded parts then you also need
a spindle encoder back to the controller so it can know where the start of the thread is (might be on the lathe already and you just need to figure it out) and
you should be able to control the spindle (motor) speed/on/off as well
All that said - those are the cheapest options and you need to be prepared to put work into making it function - often times these parts are not great quality so troubleshooting is virtually expected...
Post up some pics of the machine and what it has, interested in seeing it.
Mike