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Beginner Building a CNC - Questions About EtherCAT with Delta A2 and In
- Farzad
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02 May 2025 06:45 #327484
by Farzad
Beginner Building a CNC - Questions About EtherCAT with Delta A2 and In was created by Farzad
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!
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!
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- Aciera
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02 May 2025 08:34 #327485
by Aciera
Replied by Aciera on topic Beginner Building a CNC - Questions About EtherCAT with Delta A2 and In
Could you outline what kind of machine performance you are aiming for (ie how many axes, maximum axis velocities, toolchanger yes/no) ?
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02 May 2025 15:09 - 02 May 2025 15:13 #327508
by Farzad
Replied by Farzad on topic Beginner Building a CNC - Questions About EtherCAT with Delta A2 and In
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.
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.
Last edit: 02 May 2025 15:13 by Farzad.
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- andypugh
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02 May 2025 19:39 #327536
by andypugh
Replied by andypugh on topic Beginner Building a CNC - Questions About EtherCAT with Delta A2 and In
LinuxCNC _is_ a motion controller, and can support a wide range of servo types. You are almost certainly going to need a better interface than the parallel port, but there are options to work with all sorts of (possibly second hand) servos and drivers using step/dir or analogue voltage control, and with encoder or resolver feedback.
There is definitely an advantage in a commercial setting of having drop-in replacement hardware readily available, though.
There is definitely an advantage in a commercial setting of having drop-in replacement hardware readily available, though.
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- rodw
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02 May 2025 21:20 #327552
by rodw
Replied by rodw on topic Beginner Building a CNC - Questions About EtherCAT with Delta A2 and In
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.
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.
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03 May 2025 17:31 - 03 May 2025 17:48 #327612
by Farzad
Replied by Farzad on topic Beginner Building a CNC - Questions About EtherCAT with Delta A2 and In
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
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
Last edit: 03 May 2025 17:48 by Farzad.
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03 May 2025 17:45 - 03 May 2025 17:48 #327614
by Farzad
Replied by Farzad on topic Beginner Building a CNC - Questions About EtherCAT with Delta A2 and In
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.
Last edit: 03 May 2025 17:48 by Farzad.
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- Aciera
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03 May 2025 19:31 - 03 May 2025 19:46 #327626
by Aciera
Replied by Aciera on topic Beginner Building a CNC - Questions About EtherCAT with Delta A2 and In
Some ethercat drives offer built in digital IO that can be used. Ideally the VFD used would also have an ethercat interface.
Many VFDs also offer an RS485 (Modbus) interface which can also be connected to linuxcnc via a USB-RS485 adapter.
LPT can certainly work but it can be a bit tricky to find a PC with low enough latency.
Given the isolation of your market you might want to start out by looking for a used PC with an LPT and an ethernet port and see how low you can get the latency. Mind you, I have no idea how easy/cheap it is for you to find used PCs to try but this would give you an idea of what step rates you could get out of an LPT port solution before buying the drives.
[edit]
I think it should be possible to use ethercat for the drives and the LPT port with one of those cheap breakout boards for the digital IO and the VFD.
Many VFDs also offer an RS485 (Modbus) interface which can also be connected to linuxcnc via a USB-RS485 adapter.
LPT can certainly work but it can be a bit tricky to find a PC with low enough latency.
Given the isolation of your market you might want to start out by looking for a used PC with an LPT and an ethernet port and see how low you can get the latency. Mind you, I have no idea how easy/cheap it is for you to find used PCs to try but this would give you an idea of what step rates you could get out of an LPT port solution before buying the drives.
[edit]
I think it should be possible to use ethercat for the drives and the LPT port with one of those cheap breakout boards for the digital IO and the VFD.
Last edit: 03 May 2025 19:46 by Aciera.
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