Re: MachMotion vs. DIY for a Bridgeport

Dan,
I just went through almost the same scenario, except my
Bridgeport came with all the original controls, which I quickly
scrapped. Bought 3 Gecko 203's from Mariss, a breakout board from Bob
Campbell, and a 50V 15Amp power supply from a local swap meet. The
computer that runs the whole thing was $229.00 with XP Pro. I'm using
the 3 original steppers, and it's amazing how quietly they run. The
only problem I'm having now, is getting the Homing/Limits to work
right, but the mill cuts like a champ, and someday I'll learn to
utilize all of the bells and whistles that Mach3 has built in. Don't
be afraid to get your feet wet. There are a lot of guys in this group
that are willing to help.

Marv Frankel
Los Angeles

--- In CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@yahoogroups.com, "danieltmedlin"
<danieltmedlin@...> wrote:

>
> I have a Bridgeport Interact CNC mill. It was one of those great

eBay

> deals. Bought the machine from a vo-tech school for $300, but they
> had been using this particular one for spare parts. Needless to say

I

> have none of the CNC controls.
>
> After searching the Internet far and why I see where some people
> would use stepper motor systems, but apparently they do have some
> shortfalls in performance, on the flip side they're affordable if

you

> can decide what components are compatible we teach other. Another
> solution is to collect the necessary components for a servo control
> system. The performance is better, a bit more expensive and more
> difficult to tune.
>
> This is my dilemma I'm not an electronic guy. I've been trying to
> learn enough to understand the nomenclature from each breakout

board

> manufacturer, but this seems to be overwhelming for me. What I'm
> scared of is buying a couple thousand dollars worth of parts and

then

> once I start sitting down to wire everything things are not
> compatible and "magic smoke" starts pouring out of things. This is
> the chance when you DIY. I do everything myself except electronics.
> Making the brackets for motors etc. is no problem but selecting
> electronic components that are compatible is a problem.
>
> My dilemma is do, I buy a complete system from MachMotion, or do I
> attempt to DIY. The Mach Motion system will run around $6,000, but

it

> seems to be pretty close to state-of-the-art for a guy that has a

one-

> man machine shop. I figure I could do is stepper system myself for
> about $2500, or attempt to servo system for about $3500. The $6,000
> price tag is a little bit out of my budget but not enough to where

I

> couldn't scrape up a little extra money here and there.
>
> I'm sure some of you have built stepper systems for a Bridgeport

that

> work very well, and others have built servo systems that do just as
> good. When you consider the amount of time that you spent

assembling

> the system versus simply purchasing a complete turnkey system, what
> does hindsight tell you?
>
> So what's your opinion?
>
> Dan
>