Need help choose best Mesa card

I'm used to Smoothstepper/Mach3, but now I wan't to build a LinuxCNC machine. It's a 3 axis CNC router using Nema 23 stepper motor with drivers. 2 motors for the Y axis, 1 for X axis and 1 for the Z axis. I also want to be able to control the spindle motor from the software. All the electronics, cards and drivers going to be mounted under the router in a box connected via ethernet to a computer running just LinuxCNC. I want no PCI cards or other stuff installed on the computer. Is this possible? And if it is - what Mesa card should I choose?

Best Regards / Jimmy Alenius

A mesa 7i76e is a very good card with everything you will need but also look at the 7i96 store.mesanet.com/index.php?route=produc...oduct&product_id=311 but not sure if it has spindle speed control.

If you are using twin motors on one axis the you will need linuxcnc version 2.8 This is a dev. branch but has proved to be stable.
The current version is 2.7.14

Or go a
7i92
store.mesanet.com/index.php?route=produc...t_id=306&search=7i92
(or use a 7i92 with an existing BOB without buying a 7i76)
and a
7i76
store.mesanet.com/index.php?route=produc...t_id=119&search=7i76

Mesa seems to have a lot of boards indeed!!! It would be great if Mesa could to a comparison list with all their products. Mesa themself told me that the 7i96 would fit, but the 7i76e looks good too. How do they differ?

7I76E:
5 step/dir channels
16 12/24V outputs
32 12/24V inputs
Spindle encoder input
Analog spindle interface
1 serial expansion port
2 parallel expansion ports

7I96:
5 step/dir channels
6 12/24V outputs
11 12/24V inputs
Spindle encoder input
1 serial expansion port
1 parallel expansion port

How to add more input in mesa 7196?

You would have to buy an expansion card either parallel or the serial.

Maybe this one?

store.mesanet.com/index.php?route=produc...83_88&product_id=111

store.mesanet.com/index.php?route=produc...83_88&product_id=116
store.mesanet.com/index.php?route=produc...83_88&product_id=123