contollers

I've been looking into stepper motor controllers capable
of controlling three or four stepper motors.

I'm interested in CNC'ing the Micro Mill (only $279 US) at:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?
itemnumber=47158

I'm not interested in doing a ton of soldering
(been there, done that).

Here is a summary of the controllers that I'm considering.

Does anyone have any feedback?

Is anyone using the stepperworld FET-3 or FET-4?

All prices are in US dollars.

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http://www.stepperworld.com

$135 FET-3 (controls three stepper motors)
$175 FET-4 (controls four stepper motors)
- unipolar (Allegro Stepper Driver/Translator IC)
- 15 (fifteen!) amps/phase
- supports Wave drive, Hi-Torque, Half Step

---------------------------

http://www.xylotex.com

$150 (sale $125) XS-3525/8S-3 (controls three stepper motors)
$200 (sale $165) XS-3525/8S-3+XS-3525/8S-1(controls 4 stepper motors)
- bipolar
- 2.5 amps/phase
- supports FULL/HALF/QUARTER/EIGHTH step modes

Note: the $125 and $165 are sale prices, and the website doesn't
say when the sale expires. Normally these prices are $150 and $200.

---------------------------

http://www.hobbycnc.com/driverboards.htm

$60 kit-lots of soldering involved (controls four stepper motors)
- unipolar
- 1.25 amps/phase
- Wave drive, Two-Phase, and Half Step Modes

---------------------------

I suspect that 1.25 amps/phase isn't enough when CNC'ing the
Micro Mill, but I don't know enough about the topic to be sure.

Both stepperworld and xylotex sell stepper motors for use with
their cards, and various other accessories, but before I buy
any stepper motors, I need to go through my junk collection
and see what I have. (A while back, for a project, I took apart
a bunch of old printers/etc for the stainless steel rods,
and I put all the stepper motors/etc into a big box.
It's here. Somewhere.)

From the reports on the Yahoo group for CNC'ing the Micro Mill,
150 ounce motors work, and 180 ounce motors are perfect.