Stepper Motors and Controller

[Paul_O]

Hi everyone! I just got a CNC ready Sherline mill and I'm looking into stepper motors and controllers. Does anyone have any recommendations? What kind of torque should I be looking into getting? I plan on building my own linux box to run the machine, so I'm also looking into good G-code generating software. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[Rick Leslie]

Congrats on the mill. There's a lot of info floating on the web and most of it assumes you know a lot about CNC equipment. I didn't (and still don't) when I decided to convert my Sherline. I searched the web and made inquiries and got the most help from this gentleman. brenthub@comcast.net
I ended up buying a kit from him and couldn't be happier. His service after the sale is great and I plan to buy my next kit from him as well.
Here's his store site: http://stores.ebay.com/HUBBARD-CNC-INC

My build thread if interested:http://www.weaponsguild.com/forum/index.php?topic=37770.0

I hope you have as much fun with yours as I have with mine. I'm still learning G-code and the tutorials here have been great. These especially:
http://www.hobby-machinist.com/showthread.php/8753-Basic-CNC
http://www.hobby-machinist.com/showthread.php/12278-Cnc-Course-in-hobby-machinist

 

[Codered741]

Hi there,

The two cnc machines that I built in grad school, a router and a plasma cutter, both used Geckodrive drives, and Keling steppers. Gecko drives are the best out there, and I highly recommend the G540, with its four built in drives, and breakout board.

Torque should be appropriate to the machine you are retrofitting. Use a beam type torque wrench attached to the handle, or a fish scale, and convert the units to torque. Then at least double that rating.

Also check out Oriental Motor for geared head steppers, they are very high quality, but may be too large for your Sherline.

-Cody