# Computer to run CNC router table



## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

Guys I was wondering what the best computer and software options are for running a CNC router table. 
I will be dedicating this computer to the CNC router table , and use another computer in the house for modelling . 
I have a copy of XP and 7 , but I don't think modern day computers motherboards will support XP , and not sure about windows 7 .
I'm concerned that there's to many applications running in the background for windows 10 to work reliably . 

At CNCrouterparts , one of there recommendations was installing a PCIe card with a parallel port ,and another was to use the USB port with a Smooth Stepper . 
I like those options better than buying an old refurbished computer with a parallel port ,and ideally I'd like to intergrate a computer into the same case as the rest of the electronics using one of those smaller mother boards.

I was originally going to go with Mach 3 or 4 , but heard that CUCNC was a better program ? I don't know if that influences the choices of computer or operating software though .
Anyways I'm curious to hear what has worked out well for others


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

I'd give serious consideration to the Roxul2017...


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## kp91 (Sep 10, 2004)

Rick,

Mine runs https://planet-cnc.com/milling/ CNCUSB on a Win 10 machine. The CPU isn't much, it was a very inexpensive government surplus machine, 2 core I think, most always not connected to a network.

The inside machine runs the CAM software, it is a quad core 64 bit machine. It needs to be a robust machine to generate the 3D models. Once it generates the g code I put it on a USB stick and take it out to the other computer.


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

kp91 said:


> Rick,
> 
> Mine runs https://planet-cnc.com/milling/ CNCUSB on a Win 10 machine. The CPU isn't much, it was a very inexpensive government surplus machine, 2 core I think, most always not connected to a network.
> 
> The inside machine runs the CAM software, it is a quad core 64 bit machine. It needs to be a robust machine to generate the 3D models. Once it generates the g code I put it on a USB stick and take it out to the other computer.


Doug I have a fairly good computer for the modelling part , and like you I will be using another computer for running the CNC machine , and also keep it off the network . 

If your having no issues with windows 10 , that's good to hear . I was concerned it had too many things running in the background to work properly for a dedicated CNC computer. 
How I miss my XP 




DaninVan said:


> I'd give serious consideration to the Roxul2017...


Dan I looked everywhere and can't find that one . Not even at NCIX in Van ?


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## kp91 (Sep 10, 2004)

RainMan 2.0 said:


> Doug I have a fairly good computer for the modelling part , and like you I will be using another computer for running the CNC machine , and also keep it off the network .
> 
> If your having no issues with windows 10 , that's good to hear . I was concerned it had too many things running in the background to work properly for a dedicated CNC computer.
> How I miss my XP


I have the machine in the garage full time, I ran the CNC from a Toshiba Satellite dual core 2 ghz running windows 10 for a while, but worried that the machine would go to 'sleep' on a long cut. 

The CPU is disconnected from the internet when I am doing anything so the system can't download any updates, etc when an operation is going on. Plus, a desktop is a lot easier to clean out than a laptop. The computer functions as a great stereo when the machine isn't running. The keyboard and mouse are wireless, VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, since I can actually have the mouse right close to me when I am setting the 0,0,0 points.

So far no issues with sawdust getting into anything as far as I can tell.


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## 4DThinker (Feb 16, 2014)

All of the CNCs made by Probotix come with a PC running Linux and LinuxCNC as the controller software. I was not familiar with Linux before buying my Meteor CNC from them but have to say that I trust end respect how reliable and useful it is now that I've been running my own and 2 other CNCs from them. The greatest feature I hadn't expected was Linux's ability to read keyboard jogging input from more than one key at a time. Up arrow to move +Y, Down to move -Y, Right to move +X and Left to move -X or you can press down and left at the same time to move -X-Y at the same time, etc.. You can dynamically lift one finger off a key while leaving the other on, then use your second finger to hit a different second key to move in a different direction, all without being frustrated by windows key interrupt single key at a time strategy. 

LinuxCNC also has a great dynamic real time 3D preview of the g-code and machine progress while cutting. The OS and LinuxCNC are both free. You can buy a PC (less monitor/keyboard/mouse) pre-configured with Linux and LinuxCNC from them here if interested: PROBOTIX LinuxCNC Control PC. They also sell a controller you can use to drive your own steppers that works great with LinuxCNC over parallel connection. 

4D


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

4DThinker said:


> All of the CNCs made by Probotix come with a PC running Linux and LinuxCNC as the controller software. I was not familiar with Linux before buying my Meteor CNC from them but have to say that I trust end respect how reliable and useful it is now that I've been running my own and 2 other CNCs from them. The greatest feature I hadn't expected was Linux's ability to read keyboard jogging input from more than one key at a time. Up arrow to move +Y, Down to move -Y, Right to move +X and Left to move -X or you can press down and left at the same time to move -X-Y at the same time, etc.. You can dynamically lift one finger off a key while leaving the other on, then use your second finger to hit a different second key to move in a different direction, all without being frustrated by windows key interrupt single key at a time strategy.
> 
> LinuxCNC also has a great dynamic real time 3D preview of the g-code and machine progress while cutting. The OS and LinuxCNC are both free. You can buy a PC (less monitor/keyboard/mouse) pre-configured with Linux and LinuxCNC from them here if interested: PROBOTIX LinuxCNC Control PC. They also sell a controller you can use to drive your own steppers that works great with LinuxCNC over parallel connection.
> 
> 4D


That's interesting 4D, as I believe I read something about someone using a Probotix configured computer at CNC Zone .
Thanks, I'll have to check it out . Never worked with Linux before , but I've heard of it for years , and it would certainly make more sense , as I suspect it's not running a bunch of unnecessary crap in the background like Windows






kp91 said:


> I have the machine in the garage full time, I ran the CNC from a Toshiba Satellite dual core 2 ghz running windows 10 for a while, but worried that the machine would go to 'sleep' on a long cut.
> 
> The CPU is disconnected from the internet when I am doing anything so the system can't download any updates, etc when an operation is going on. Plus, a desktop is a lot easier to clean out than a laptop. The computer functions as a great stereo when the machine isn't running. The keyboard and mouse are wireless, VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, since I can actually have the mouse right close to me when I am setting the 0,0,0 points.
> 
> So far no issues with sawdust getting into anything as far as I can tell.


Doug I'm really liking the wireless idea 
I was also concerned about the computer going into sleep mode . With my old XP computer I knew how to configure it so that would never happen . Not so confident with Windows 10


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## honesttjohn (Feb 17, 2015)

Rick, beltramidave is using Linux to run his new machine from Nate. I do believe they are old Probotix controls, but not sure. I'm waiting to see how it works to see if I want to attempt something like that or stick to the much easier "plug and play".


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## comp56 (Mar 30, 2017)

sleep settings with windows hasn't really changed after windows 7 or 8 or 10....under power options


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

Guys I didn't know windows 7 was still available and supported. I'm thinking I should buy a copy before there long gone . 

I also watched a video on Linux , and it looked a lot like working in DOS to me ? 
Just different command lines


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## honesttjohn (Feb 17, 2015)

Rick,

My dedicated CNC computer in Linux looks just like windows on the monitor. No real difference in using it. 
And I'm using Windows 7 right now on this computer.


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

honesttjohn said:


> Rick,
> 
> My dedicated CNC computer in Linux looks just like windows on the monitor. No real difference in using it.
> And I'm using Windows 7 right now on this computer.


Thanks John , good to know


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## MEBCWD (Jan 14, 2012)

I know one problem I have with windows 10 is after I set certain settings everything works great for a while then I check the settings and they were changed back to the defaults.

The CNC Shark machines were having problems with windows 10 trying to turn off the USB port they were hooked to even after configuring for the machine to stay active. That is part of Windows 10 trying to conserve power. Next Wave recommended using a powered USB hub but I know some people had more problems with the hub.

XP is no longer supported by Microsoft and 7 support expires in 2020. I haven't heard of CUCNC. Mach 3 & 4 are well documented so there is plenty of support. 

Really depends on the machine you decide to buy because some have their own control software.


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

MEBCWD said:


> I know one problem I have with windows 10 is after I set certain settings everything works great for a while then I check the settings and they were changed back to the defaults.
> 
> The CNC Shark machines were having problems with windows 10 trying to turn off the USB port they were hooked to even after configuring for the machine to stay active. That is part of Windows 10 trying to conserve power. Next Wave recommended using a powered USB hub but I know some people had more problems with the hub.
> 
> ...


As for windows 7 , Well the good news is I'll probably be 6' under in 2020 , so no worries there .

I want the mechanical part of the machine only , whether it's from FLA or CNCrouterparts .
Tell you the truth I'm kinda veering towards CNCrouterparts Pro machine right now ,as I can always upgrade it to a larger machine in the future . 
I was going to follow David's example and build the electronics myself , and use the same spindle and VFD .

I'm kind of concerned with CUCNC also , as there's a lot of support here if I require configuring if I'm using Mach3 .
Which is a given


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## kp91 (Sep 10, 2004)

RainMan 2.0 said:


> As for windows 7 , Well the good news is I'll probably be 6' under in 2020 , so no worries there .


Come on, you're at least good until 2030, you ain't that much older than me.


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

kp91 said:


> Come on, you're at least good until 2030, you ain't that much older than me.


Yup, I'm 56 next week and the body of a 90 year old lol


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## beltramidave (Jan 6, 2016)

honesttjohn said:


> Rick, beltramidave is using Linux to run his new machine from Nate. I do believe they are old Probotix controls, but not sure. I'm waiting to see how it works to see if I want to attempt something like that or stick to the much easier "plug and play".


I am using some of the controls from my Probotix controller. I had to use larger power supplies and stepper drivers as I have larger motors now, but the brains of the controller are still Probotix and use a parallel port and Linuxcnc.

As 4D state, you can purchase from Probotix a controller and fully configured PC quite reasonably, I think.

Sorry I haven't given an update to my progress. I have ran a couple test projects on my Saturn. I am waiting on some new motor pulleys as my motor shafts are 12mm and the pulleys that came with the machine are 1/2". Not a mistake by FLA, but mine as I didn't check..

Dave


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

beltramidave said:


> I am using some of the controls from my Probotix controller. I had to use larger power supplies and stepper drivers as I have larger motors now, but the brains of the controller are still Probotix and use a parallel port and Linuxcnc.
> 
> As 4D state, you can purchase from Probotix a controller and fully configured PC quite reasonably, I think.
> 
> ...


12mm? Dave are you running Nema 23 steppers , as David has Nema 34 steppers and I believe his shafts are 14mm .
Wish they'd standardize this stuff a bit more


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## beltramidave (Jan 6, 2016)

I am using Nema 34 motors. I think the standard is more towards 1/2" diameter shafts vs the 12mm that I have. I checked with CNCRouterparts and their motors are 1/2".

Dave


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## difalkner (Jan 3, 2012)

RainMan 2.0 said:


> 12mm? Dave are you running Nema 23 steppers , as David has Nema 34 steppers and I believe his shafts are 14mm .
> Wish they'd standardize this stuff a bit more


Yes, they are 14mm - good memory, Rick. Maybe you're good to 2025 at least... :wink:


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## beltramidave (Jan 6, 2016)

difalkner said:


> Yes, they are 14mm - good memory, Rick. Maybe you're good to 2025 at least... :wink:


David,

So did the motor pulleys that came with your Saturn fit, or did you have to bore them out a little? Mine were way to sloppy and resulted in slippage and missed steps.

Still waiting on Nate to see if he can come up with the proper pulleys...

Dave


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## difalkner (Jan 3, 2012)

They fit, Dave, but I made sure well in advance that Nate got the 14mm bore.


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## MikeMa (Jul 27, 2006)

I am in the very beginning stages of building a CNC router (still buying parts as funds become available). I have an older PC that has a parallel port integrated on the mother board. It ran Windows 7 fine till the hard drive went south. My goal right now is to put my money towards the machine itself and using free software to get started. I am going to put a new drive (ssd?) on the computer and install Linux with LinuxCNC on it to run the CNC. 

Long term, I will likely move to Mach 3/4 with a smooth stepper added in, which will allow more flexibility of a computer to run the machine.


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## kp91 (Sep 10, 2004)

MikeMa said:


> I am going to put a new drive (ssd?) on the computer and install Linux with LinuxCNC on it to run the CNC. .



You can get a lot of HDD for the price of a solid state disk. For $26 you can get a 500gb Hard drive on Amazon. If the computer is just going to be for your CNC that should do just fine.


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

MikeMa said:


> I am in the very beginning stages of building a CNC router (still buying parts as funds become available). I have an older PC that has a parallel port integrated on the mother board. It ran Windows 7 fine till the hard drive went south. My goal right now is to put my money towards the machine itself and using free software to get started. I am going to put a new drive (ssd?) on the computer and install Linux with LinuxCNC on it to run the CNC.
> 
> Long term, I will likely move to Mach 3/4 with a smooth stepper added in, which will allow more flexibility of a computer to run the machine.


Are these solid state drives good over the long term. Maybe they've improved , but I thought I read there were some issues with them . Lost bits or something


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## kp91 (Sep 10, 2004)

Think of them as gigantic flash drives (not exactly of course) There are limits to how many times an individual bit can be written,erased, written, erased..... If you are always writing and erasing the same spot, you can end up with dead spots over a LONG time. If I was building a laptop I would put one in, but in a desktop I would stay with a traditional hard drive for now.


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## difalkner (Jan 3, 2012)

In December 2015 I designed a super computer (to me, anyway) and had a local company build it because I didn't have time. It has a 250 GB SSD for the Windows 10 Pro OS and related programs and then I have a Western Digital Black 2 TB drive for all of my files. It is very fast and has been as reliable as any hard drive I've owned. This computer boots in 12 seconds, pretty fast for a desktop running Windows 10, and also is the computer I use for Fusion 360, CorelDraw, etc.

I also have an Asus T300L tablet with SSD and it's been very reliable for the past 3 years. It also is running Windows 10 and boots quickly and runs pretty fast. Put me down for liking SSD.


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## MT Stringer (Aug 15, 2012)

I've got the hard drive part covered with a handful of hard drives up to 1TB left over from my photography days. May even have one or two 2TB drives and a SSD or two. Now if only I could afford the other stuff, and find a little room, I would be in business.


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

Guys I seen our local computer guy and Bud says he can still get mother boards with parallel ports . There a specialized MB though , which probably means a high price tag .
He still has copies of Windows 7 also . 
I'm just wondering if I don't start collecting this stuff before it's no longer available.

This is me just rambling , and I'm still open to the other suggestions . I just want the most stable and reliable system I can build


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## MT Stringer (Aug 15, 2012)

RainMan 2.0 said:


> Guys I seen our local computer guy and Bud says he can still get mother boards with parallel ports . There a specialized MB though , which probably means a high price tag .
> He still has copies of Windows 7 also .
> I'm just wondering if I don't start collecting this stuff before it's no longer available.
> 
> This is me just rambling , and I'm still open to the other suggestions . I just want the most stable and reliable system I can build


Just an option...
Add-on cards are available that you can add to your PC if you have an available slot.


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

MT Stringer said:


> Just an option...
> Add-on cards are available that you can add to your PC if you have an available slot.


Yes that was another option , but seeing as a built in port is part of the BIOS , I think it may be a better choice .
Of course it wouldn't be out of character for me to over think things lol


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

I guess my concerns with parallel ports was a waste of time . Apparently Ethernet connections are the best way to go now ? Faster connection than USB and less prone to noise .
There going to redesign the 5 port UC300ETH motion controller so you don't need all those ribbon cables . So I'll wait for there new version. Guess I'm putting the kibosh on Mach and going with UCCNC also.
I just wish these breakout boards used screw terminals instead of the system there using here


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## difalkner (Jan 3, 2012)

That's one reason I went with the ESS, Rick. I preferred Ethernet over parallel connectors - much newer and on paper much better. I doubt there would have been a problem if I went with parallel port connections but if Ethernet is available then I think that's a better choice.

David


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

difalkner said:


> That's one reason I went with the ESS, Rick. I preferred Ethernet over parallel connectors - much newer and on paper much better. I doubt there would have been a problem if I went with parallel port connections but if Ethernet is available then I think that's a better choice.
> 
> David


Well I thought I was paying attention, but I somehow forgot how you did that .
Not understanding why the system I'm looking at has so many ribbon cables between the Ethernet contrller and the breakout board , but I was told there redesigning it .

David, do you know if your system will work with UCCNC also ?


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

RainMan 2.0 said:


> David, do you know if your system will work with UCCNC also ?


I found documentation on your card , and it's designed for Mach3/4 . I see now why I was shown a different version .
I will be starting fresh and don't want to figure out various software . UCCNC seems to be highly rated by some well verses CNCers , so I thought I'd take that direction .
Going to have to join the UCCNC forum in order to get technical help though


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## difalkner (Jan 3, 2012)

RainMan 2.0 said:


> Well I thought I was paying attention, but I somehow forgot how you did that .
> Not understanding why the system I'm looking at has so many ribbon cables between the Ethernet contrller and the breakout board , but I was told there redesigning it .
> 
> David, do you know if your system will work with UCCNC also?





RainMan 2.0 said:


> I found documentation on your card, and it's designed for Mach3/4. I see now why I was shown a different version .
> I will be starting fresh and don't want to figure out various software . UCCNC seems to be highly rated by some well verses CNCers , so I thought I'd take that direction .
> Going to have to join the UCCNC forum in order to get technical help though


This is easy, Rick, when you answer your own question before I can respond! LOL! Let me know if you have any other questions :wink:


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

difalkner said:


> This is easy, Rick, when you answer your own question before I can respond! LOL! Let me know if you have any other questions :wink:


David unfortunately I'm not a great listener . I swear I have a disability for real , autism lite or something , but eventually I get it . 
I don't learn well if I'm not interested in a subject , which would probably explain why I was a total failure at school . 
But seeing as I'm infatuated with CNC router tables , I should absorb this quite well at some point


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## kp91 (Sep 10, 2004)

RainMan 2.0 said:


> But seeing as I'm infatuated with CNC router tables , I should absorb this quite well at some point


Pretty soon you will be ruining wood with computer precision as I do! It turns out the machines do exactly what you tell them to, even when you're wrong...

It's been a fun learning process though


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## honesttjohn (Feb 17, 2015)

kp91 said:


> It turns out the machines do exactly what you tell them to, even when you're wrong...


I hate it when it does what it was programmed to do, and not what I meant for it to do. This being exact and detailed also has it's drawbacks.

Lot of firepit fuel has been made unintentionally.


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

Well my concerns about computers have diminished, as I was worried about nothing seeing as the network connection is the best option for communication to the controller.

I've been reading up on Linux ,and I'm going to run it along side Windows 7 . So I better purchace another copy of Win7 before there no longer available.

I have win10 my laptop and absolutely hate it . Classic version doesn't cut it either


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## MEBCWD (Jan 14, 2012)

kp91 said:


> Pretty soon you will be ruining wood with computer precision as I do! It turns out the machines do exactly what you tell them to, even when you're wrong...
> 
> It's been a fun learning process though


You will probably cut a few clamps also but they are reusable .... most of the time.


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## honesttjohn (Feb 17, 2015)

MEBCWD said:


> You will probably cut a few clamps also but they are reusable .... most of the time.


There's a reason why clamps are usually made from aluminum. Some scraps of hardwood and a bandsaw produce "custom" clamps when you need them.


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## MEBCWD (Jan 14, 2012)

honesttjohn said:


> There's a reason why clamps are usually made from aluminum. Some scraps of hardwood and a bandsaw produce "custom" clamps when you need them.


And all this time I thought you could make them on your CNC with wood scraps.:grin:


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## honesttjohn (Feb 17, 2015)

MEBCWD said:


> And all this time I thought you could make them on your CNC with wood scraps.:grin:


You can, but the bandsaw is way faster. Trace and cut, and adjust cuts where needed. Probably don't look as good - but no vectors and nodes and bitmap stuff. You know that stuff throws me.


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## SteveMI (May 29, 2011)

RainMan 2.0 said:


> UC300ETH motion controller... and going with UCCNC also.


I've read very good things about that combination.

Steve.


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