Beginner Building a CNC - Questions About EtherCAT with Delta A2 and In

Hi everyone,I'm Farzad, an absolute beginner in CNC building. I'm currently in the process of choosing components to build a CNC machine for starting my own small business. I have a tight budget and want to make the most cost-effective decisions without sacrificing reliability.Here’s my situation:I’m planning to use Delta A2 servo motors with EtherCAT support.I’ve read that I’ll need an EtherCAT coupler such as the Beckhoff EK1100 to connect them to LinuxCNC.However, I also heard that using an Intel i210 network card might allow me to avoid the cost of a Beckhoff coupler by using it directly with the EtherCAT Master.My first question:
Is it possible and reliable to use the Intel i210 with LinuxCNC and Delta A2 EtherCAT servos, without a Beckhoff coupler?Budget constraints:
Servo motion controllers are expensive. I’m taking a small loan to start this CNC project, so minimizing cost is crucial. That’s why I’m exploring EtherCAT-based servos — to avoid the need for expensive motion control boards.Alternative option:
I can buy non-EtherCAT servo motors (a brand called “SAM”) for almost half the price, but they require a motion controller. My only affordable option is something like an LPT-based Mach3 controller board. My second question:
Are LPT Mach3 controller boards reliable enough for a professional CNC router (metal and plastic parts)?
Or should I stick with EtherCAT and avoid LPT altogether?Any advice or experience would be very appreciated. Thank you!

Hi Aciera,

Thanks for your reply!

I’m planning to machine cast iron and steels like CK45 or SPK, mainly for mold making.

When it comes to speed, I'm still new to the CNC world — I'm coming from 3D printers world — so I don’t really know what’s considered fast or slow here. But I’m not looking for anything extreme. I thing Something like 45 or 30 mm/s feed rate with 0.3 to 0.5 mm depth per pass would be okay

About the machine setup:

For now, 3 axes will do, but I’d like to add a small 5th axis later — just enough to work on parts like cylinders up to 10 cm radius and 20 cm height.

I want to build the frame from epoxy granite for better rigidity and vibration damping.

Planning to use 25 mm ball screws with 5 mm pitch, and 30 mm linear rails.

The spindle will be a 2.2 kW single-phase induction motor, belt-driven with a VFD.


I’m not going for an automatic tool changer just yet, but it’s definitely on the list for future upgrades.

Oh, and by the way — I recently found a Beckhoff EK1100 for only €95, which I think is a good price

But Unfortunately, motors with ethercat are expensive.

Ethercat needs a master. Your linuxcnc computer can act as that master. Refer the forum stickies under the Ethercat section. The software is free.
EK1100 is not a master and it is not required unless you want to use backhoff modules attached to it.
Intel NICs are preferred as typically that have better performance but not mandatory.

You should also look at the Mesa cards as an alternative to Ethercat. The exact card will depend on your hardware choice.

hi rodw, thank you very much!
I have a question: if I don’t use Beckhoff and just use the computer’s Ethernet port or network card, how can I control things like the VFD for the spindle motor or coolant flow? Where would I connect those? Also, I live in Iran and unfortunately Mesa FPGA cards are not available here.
it’s almost like North Korea here — we can’t really order anything from abroad, so I haven’t been able to get any Mesa FPGA cards

hi andypugh thank you for replying. What interface would you recommend for getting started? I’m not looking for anything too fancy — just something to get the first few projects running. I’ll upgrade the machine later.As for second-hand servos, I haven’t been able to find many good options here. Most of the ones I’ve seen have been used almost to the point of failure, so I’m worried that if I buy them, they might break down quickly and I’ll end up spending twice as much.

Thank you very much for your detailed and informative response. After considering the complexity and high cost of EtherCAT, I have decided not to pursue that route. Fortunately, I have also found a way to purchase hardware from abroad. There is a platform where international travelers can register and, for a fee, purchase and deliver requested items. While this service is slightly more expensive, I believe it is worth it. At this stage, I am planning to build a 5-axis CNC machine with an automatic tool changer. I would greatly appreciate it if you could recommend a suitable Mesa board setup for this application. Here are my key requirements: Full Ethernet-based control (no PCI required) Toll changer  Support for 5 axes with servo motors In the future, I would like to add linear scales (linear encoders) for closed-loop feedback  Unfortunately, I am not very familiar with the Mesa product lineup, so a specific recommendation or example configuration would be very helpful. Thank you in advance for your support.

i asked ChatGPT about the boards, and it said I should use the 7i76e for axis control, the 7i85 for secondary axes, and the 7i89 for encoders.
Is this configuration correct?I also want to add some information about the servo motors I'm planning to buy.
I don't fully understand all the technical details, but if there is anything wrong or incompatible, I would really appreciate it if you could let me know.
Thank you!  

drive.google.com/file/d/1As0Eivp9ck6G0jz.../view?usp=drive_link