Am I on the right track? BOB, driver boards and motors...some questions...

Thanks to a lot of you who have helped me get the computer and parallel port figured out, I am now onto the rest of the hardware. 

I have researched and read about various modes and I have decided to use software stepping with the parallel port, going out to a BOB and driver boards with a single power supply. I just want to make sure these items will all play nice together and I have picked the correct items before making a purchase. The machine I am converting is an RF-30 clone milling machine, 3 axis. I already have the ball screws figured out, 1605s, I think I will be belt driving with a 2:1 reduction. Planning NEMA 23, 24 or maybe 34, not sure at this point what will be needed. Here is a link to my machine so far. 

My RF-30 clone from CNC Zone

I have ordered the standard BOB $15 type available everywhere.

I am planning to use the Leadshine or one of the many clones DM/EM556 or DM/EM860 or similar variant driver boards or maybe the KL-5056 from Automated TEch and as I have worked in the telco and RF business for years, I have collected a number of very nice 48VDC supplies, from 7A to about 25A so one of those should work fine.  For the drivers, is the DSP variant a useful option or is it not really required? It's kind of hard to tell from some of the items description whether they have DSP micro stepping or not.

I haven't researched the motors in detail yet so would listen to some suggestions, prefer Amazon or ebay as a source but willing to look at all.

I would appreciate hearing from those more knowledgeable if I am on the right track and if you have suggestions for items other than what I have chosen, let me know.

Thanks all!

Cheers

 

It's a long time since I used a stepper motor, but generally higher voltage is better. Especially if you go wth NEMA 34 size, which tend to be strong but relatively slow. However higher voltage is a big help at making slow steppers faster.

Have you looked at the closed-loop stepper options? Those use an encoder and run the stepper more like a 50-pole brushless motor.

However, I get the impression that you are trying to keep the budget under control, and what you are suggesting will work.

Thanks Andy,

Yes for now I am keeping this as a budget wise project until I determine it will be a viable project, if I then realize it has shortcomings I can upgrade components as required. I think NEMA 23 motors come in a variety of torques and would probably be sufficient.

I may just pickup some cheap offshore drivers to play with for now, found DM556 on Ali or Bangood for less than $10 each free shipping.

Some of the drivers can be over $100 but I imagine they would be quite different animals.

Thanks again.

Cheers