Quote Originally Posted by Saltfever View Post
Thanks to both of you for sharing your ideas and experiences here and in the other link. The combination of opinions in both links covers a broad spectrum of motion control technology and is an excellent overview of some of the issues to watch out for. Have either of you considered Path Pilot?

It is both a computer and user interface and maybe solves some of the OS issues. Tormach tech only supports their machines and not DIY Path Pilot applications even though they sell the CPU and software separately. I was wondering if they would be a good approach for someone with less experience than you.
Kirk,

I know about Path Pilot. Tormach initially used a customised version of Mach3 but for Path Pilot they jumped ship and based that on LinuxCNC. It is no good for me because it is aimed at steppers not the DC servos that my mill has.

For those with "less experience" as you put it then I think that the offerings from Cslab in Poland (that Christophe mentioned) or the offerings of Centroid in the US would be good options. Maybe not the cheapest but they both would only require mechanical work to get them up and running. Fitting motors etc. Programming and electronic stuff is taken care of for you. Both of these companies can supply systems to suit most motor/encoder combinations. Steppers, DC or AC servos.

For the budget conscious who want to avoid programming but who can do some simple wiring then I would suggest GRBL or better grblHAL to feed the motor drivers combined with some freeware like UGS https://universalgcodesender.com/ to feed the G-code to the controller. There are suppliers who have grblHAL breakout boards ready to drive motor controllers for around $100 with these you have no more wiring to do than the Cslab or Centroid.

You can also buy dedicated controllers from the east, many of which are based on GRBL anyway. AFAIK with these controllers you do not need a PC. Of course that means that you do not have the power of a PC to prepare your files etc.