Noob starting out

Hey everyone,

I have an old Stone Fabrication Machine collecting dust and thought it would be a good project to retrofit and learn about creating a 3 axis CNC machine. I am mechanically minded so the retrofit shouldn't be a problem, I am also computer minded so LinuxCNC shouldn't be a problem however I am finding it difficult to grasp how I am supposed to link the computer to the step motors.

I've been reading through the web and these forum for hours and I still don't quite get it. It looks like I need some kind of controller PCI card like the 5i20 but then I still don't get if that connects to the motors and if so how? I have a Roland EGX300 engraving machine which just requires a serial port on the computer so I don't understand why I need a PCI card in the computer.

Anyhow I may be totally off track I would be grateful if someone could point me in the right direction.

Cheers.

Working backwards:
your machine is moved by stepper motors, the motors are moved by motor drivers (eg gecko drives) the motor drives are driven by an 'interface'
That interface can be a parallel port or a higher performance interface card like the 5i20.

If using analog servos the sequence is mostly the same, other then not using the parallel port (in practical practice a interface card is always needed)

Using the serial port (for motion commands) is not supported in linuxcnc.

Look up gecko drives for more info on them. Gecko drives are just one of many drives that can be used they are very common and popular.

You might start by looking at Section 2.2 of the user's manual "how emc2 works" for a description of a typical system.

Rick G

Chris typed faster than me.

Just wanted to say thanks for the speedy replies and I have contacted my local Gecko dealer who was also very helpful and have placed my order. Cheers guys.