I have a controller that I built a couple of years ago, that has never been used. I was planning on building an engraver, but I found it was just easier to add a second high speed spindle to my mill.
This is TB6560 based and is a budget model, but hopefully it will fit the bill. If not, I will build a new one around a Gecko G540.
I found an an old HP Windows XP computer on Ebay for $50 including 17 inch monitor! I already have a 14" monitor which is fine for Mach3, so I will probably sell the monitor for more than the combined package!
Lathe is basically complete, just waiting on the quick change toolpost and the limit switches. Once again, these came from Ebay. Both are on the way from China at a very reasonable cost.
I tried jogging the steppers and I am not at all happy with the controller, lots of noise and jerky movement. I can turn the screws by hand with no problem so this is certainly a controller problem. My internet research tells me that I may never get this cheap controller working properly, so I am going to junk it and buy a Gecko G540 based controller. I priced up all the components, but I can buy a completely assembled controller for not much more.
So I ordered one from the U.S.
Here is a link to where I got mine - deepgroove1.com.
Paul was really helpful, and I was able to order a custom built controller with the additions of a relay and input jack. Best of all, it was shipped within 24 hours!
I didn't really need a 4 axis controller and I could have bought individual Gecko units. But I wanted this controller to be a backup for my mill.
I changed the American style socket to an Australian style, and the lathe is plugged into this so lathe spindle can power off after a complete cycle, works great.
