BP Retrofit – Major Fork In The Road?

Hello group, I am hoping to get some insights as to the best approach
to take for my CNC retrofit project. My project was on hold for a
while because of other projects but I am getting ready to continue.
I am retrofitting an M head Bridgeport, which I have installed a set
of ballscrews for the Y and X axes.

When I started my project I came across a deal for motors/drives I
couldn't pass up. This is what I have:

3 Aerotech BM800 brushless servo motors
3 Aerotech BA20 drivers/amps
1 Aerotech U500 Plus ISA controller board
1 Aerotech BB501 interconnect board
all mill-spec cables/connectors to connect everything together

My dilemma is regarding the software I will use to control the whole
thing. I could purchase the Aerotech MMI software that has complete
diagnostics and tuning. It has a CNC interface mode, which looks
like it covers the basics of CNC G-code control. However, I
haven't seen that many people use the Aerotech stuff for
retrofits and know that I won't have much, in terms of support,
to fall back on. Normally, the Aerotech stuff is bloody expensive so
I can see why but the quality is outstanding. Going this route, I
wouldn't be able to use any of the wider used software like
Master5, Mach1, etc. which I think would have a more feature rich
interface as well as a broader base to draw upon for questions.

Another potential route is to use something like the Rutex boards
which take a step/dir signal and convert it into an analog voltage
output which I could send to my drives. I'm not sure whether I
would send my encoder feedback to the Rutex or the Aerotech drives
and wonder if overall the accuracy of the system would be compromised
by this setup. The good news is I would be able to use the more user
friendly software for the interface.

Has anyone ever seen/used the Aerotech MMI software? Or does anyone
have any recommendations for which path I should take? Or
potentially another approach? There are some pictures of my project
on my website under "other projects". Thanks a bunch for any
comments.

Mark
www.mark.hargett.com