Low Cost Stepper Motion
Stepper card - Includes: External 4 axis step and direction board, RS232 and power cables, 7 outputs, 8 inputs which include 4 home inputs, 1 over travel input and 1 E-stop. Can control standard stepper drives all for $395. Can also control brush and brushless servo motors using servo drives that accept a step and direction signal.
STEPPER board does not include these features when compared to PCI or Ethernet boards
- Not as many pulses per second
- Limited number of I/O points. May need to add extra digital I/O card
- USB/RS232 communication which is slower that PCI/Ethernet
- Limited buffer size. If computer is busy or hangs motion may pause.
- TTL level 5VDC I/O. Would need to add relays to get higher voltages
- Feedrate over ride not as smooth or responsive
- Can not be expanded past 4 axes
- Mounts externally, not inside computer
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