Complete Stepper Motor and Driver Kits - List and Reviews

I would like to compile a list of vendors that offer a "Plug and Play" stepper motor and controller kit. I've been shopping around and I figure I can’t be the only one searching for this information. If this thread already exists somewhere else please let me know!

If you have experience with any of these kits PLEASE add a review or link to where there is some discussion. If you have purchased a kit from a vendor that does not appear on this list please post about it and I will add it to this list.

CNC Router Parts

Stepper Motor and Driver Kit

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Originally Posted by ggibson

I purchased the CNCRouterParts 4 Axis kit about 2 years ago for my 8020 2'x4' CNC machine, and it was easy to put together (the motors having connectors to plug directly into the G540) and has performed perfectly for 2 years. I've contacted Ahren for support for other items (never needed it for the steppers/controller) and his responses have been very quick, friendly, and helpful.
Thanks,
Glen

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Originally Posted by DonFrambach

I purchased the 3 motor kit from CNCRouterParts.com about 18 months ago. I got the larger power supply for no good reason. Worked just fine. I did replace the cables because I wanted to put the resisters closer to the stepper motors. My version of the G540 made the motors run hot unless the resisters were close to the motor. I understand that the current version of the G540 allow the motors to run cooler no matter where the resister is placed.

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Keling INC

Stepper Motor and Driver Kit

Xylotex

Stepper Motor and Driver Kits

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Originally Posted by louieatienza

Xylotex... as close to plug and play as you're possibly going to get. Affordable. Good performance considering the price. If you're smart about leadscrew choice, you won't have the resonance issues that some have faced. Even then, making your own mechanical dampers can alleviate them. Fast delivery. Never used online support because never had a problem. Rapids on x gantry over 200ipm, 400ipm on y with 8-start leadscrews...

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Probotix

Stepper Motor and Driver Kits

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Originally Posted by prcdslnc13

Ive bought 2 3axis kits from Probotix. (2 different machines)

Fantastic product and amazing support. These guys really love hobby cnc and what they do. Highly recommend them.

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Homann Desgns

Stepper Motor and Driver Kits

Build Your CNC

Stepper Motor and Driver Kits

Longs Motor

Stepper Motor and Driver Kits

Wantai Motor

Stepper Motor and Driver Kits

Fine Line Automation

Stepper Motor and Driver Kits

ProCut CNC

Stepper Motor and Driver Kits

Motion Control Products

Stepper Motor and Driver Kits

Rhonmac-CNC

Stepper Motor and Driver Kits

Stepperworld

Stepper Motor and Driver Kits

Automation Technology

Stepper Motor and Driver Kits

CW Motor

Stepper Motor and Driver Kits

HobbyCNC

Stepper Motor and Driver Kits

Ive bought 2 3axis kits from Probotix. (2 different machines)

Fantastic product and amazing support. These guys really love hobby cnc and what they do. Highly recommend them.

I purchased the CNCRouterParts 4 Axis kit about 2 years ago for my 8020 2'x4' CNC machine, and it was easy to put together (the motors having connectors to plug directly into the G540) and has performed perfectly for 2 years. I've contacted Ahren for support for other items (never needed it for the steppers/controller) and his responses have been very quick, friendly, and helpful.
Thanks,
Glen

Hi there not sure if you’re looking for a “plug and play” solution for yourself or simply creating a thread to compile feedback and create a base as a user friendly access point for us to compare products, you might just clear that up please.......... as each and every one of us who have purchased "kits" have done so for different reasons some from previous advice (not fully understanding the electronic aspect and I say this from my own experience as I myself am learning every hour:D) and some from research and bought to output specific torque ranges for diferent stock machining, and so someone may just get more confused......

Me I used Keling Stepper motors and Keling Digital Stepper drivers I've only recently finished my own build but I can highly recomend that combination mind you I used CNC4PC Breakout Boards but again Keling also supply them, if you want here's my complete electronics hardware and software setup including all the respective hardware links in post 6 of the thread http://www.cnczone.com/forums/bencht...n_using-6.html happy reading:D

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Originally Posted by Mad Welder

Hi there not sure if you’re looking for a “plug and play” solution for yourself or simply creating a thread to compile feedback and create a base as a user friendly access point for us to compare products, you might just clear that up please.......... as each and every one of us who have purchased "kits" have done so for different reasons some from previous advice (not fully understanding the electronic aspect and I say this from my own experience as I myself am learning every hour:D) and some from research and bought to output specific torque ranges for diferent stock machining, and so someone may just get more confused......

Me I used Keling Stepper motors and Keling Digital Stepper drivers I've only recently finished my own build but I can highly recomend that combination mind you I used CNC4PC Breakout Boards but again Keling also supply them, if you want here's my complete electronics hardware and software setup including all the respective hardware links in post 6 of the thread http://www.cnczone.com/forums/bencht...n_using-6.html happy reading:D

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My bad. I should have cleared that up. Yes I'm looking for Plug and Play kits to compile a list and have a little bit of feedback in one central location.

enforcer, to expand MW's question. Do you have any experience machining? Manual or CNC? Not trying to offend just curious. I personally have run a Hobby Cnc Pro board and their recommended steppers (I did build the board from a kit so plug and play might not be you would call it). I have run G540's with various power supplies, probotix and PMDX boards. All worked great and have great custommer service. None of them worked well UNTIL I understood the settings and configuration issues. That is an ongoing process. Fortunately for me it is a hobby and I can get sidetracked with another project and the family still eats.

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Originally Posted by Fastest1

enforcer, to expand MW's question. Do you have any experience machining? Manual or CNC? Not trying to offend just curious. I personally have run a Hobby Cnc Pro board and their recommended steppers (I did build the board from a kit so plug and play might not be you would call it). I have run G540's with various power supplies, probotix and PMDX boards. All worked great and have great custommer service. None of them worked well UNTIL I understood the settings and configuration issues. That is an ongoing process. Fortunately for me it is a hobby and I can get sidetracked with another project and the family still eats.

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NP. To answer your question... no. I've more experience with automation products and none with actual machining. CNC machines are a new venture for me. I began creating this list in a spreadsheet as a starting point for myself as I spec out and research parts. Some of these kits are fantastic based on what ive read on the forums. Others are garbage. I decided to create this as a way to centralize my research and provide it to others who are researching what is available out there as far as turnkey, plug and play kits. In the end I may decide to build a motor, driver and power supply configuration from scratch.... but I would have come to that decision quicker if I was able to find and research what kits are available.

I purchased the 3 motor kit from CNCRouterParts.com about 18 months ago. I got the larger power supply for no good reason. Worked just fine. I did replace the cables because I wanted to put the resisters closer to the stepper motors. My version of the G540 made the motors run hot unless the resisters were close to the motor. I understand that the current version of the G540 allow the motors to run cooler no matter where the resister is placed.

You forgot these two;

LiniStepper and SLAmStepper kits;
PIC Linear Stepper Motor Controller
SLAm Stepper Motor Controller, Allegro SLA7062M, Unipolar

They have a fair following on this forum and the PIClist boss (James) provides tech support here.

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Originally Posted by RomanLini

You forgot these two;

LiniStepper and SLAmStepper kits;
PIC Linear Stepper Motor Controller
SLAm Stepper Motor Controller, Allegro SLA7062M, Unipolar

They have a fair following on this forum and the PIClist boss (James) provides tech support here.

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This wasn't really what i was looking for since neither of them include motors and a power supply.

Sorry, I misunderstood your wording, I thought you were doing a "complete list" of "stepper driver kits". :)

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Originally Posted by enforcer

..........I decided to create this as a way to centralize my research and provide it to others who are researching what is available out there as far as turnkey, plug and play kits.......

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Hello again enforcer it's a good idea what your trying to do here but unfortunately the electronics hardware configuration is not really as simple as "plug and play" and can get very confusing for a first timer (speaking from experience here:D:D) and this is a long post took awhile to type it too :D and hopefully this will give a better understanding for anyone reading this thread too.

And I don't ‘mean or want’ to add to an already confused kinda thread as a one fix solution for all is really not a viable option as one suppliers product may suit one person’s application machining requirements and not the next but mated with a differing electronics build/setup may also be the best product too.....!


bear with me here and once you get your head around the points listed below things may seem a little easier and before choosing any individual electronic product as a rule of thumb work backwards:


1. work out the requirements or cutting needs, i.e. material or stock to be machined (Steel, Aluminium, castings, plastic etc..), and the time spent cutting or the feasible machining time i.e. “speeds and feeds”

2. then this will dictate the torque output requirements of the axis motors i.e. stepper or server motors (and this is NOT to be confused with SPINDLE motor HP output)

3. this will then dictate the power requirements to drive each individual axis motor i.e. taking for example in my case my chosen X,YandZ axis motors are stepper motors and for my steppers to output their respective holding torque based on my motor wiring configuration in the manufacturers specs I needed Stepper Drivers to output over 6amps ( as a loss of Amperage from the drivers to the motors will deliver a loss of holding torque too)

4. here’s where someone can get confused too as there are several wiring configurations for Stepper Motors to the Stepper Drivers too i.e. Bipolar Series, Bipolar Parallel and Unipolar, but depending on the holding torque required will dictate the wiring configuration too

5. then the next stage once the dirvers have been selected will then dictate the power supplies required i.e. 48v, 72v, 12 v etc…

6. now what controller platform will be used to control the CNC machine does the Host PC have a Parallel Port or only a USB port as this will dictate if a USB Motion Controller is required

7. what additional hardware requirements will be sought to use in the builds i.e. MPG’s, Spindle control, additional axis 4th or 5th and this will also dictate what breakout boards are required

8. what OS (Operating System) does the host PC run Mac Windows etc?


I hope I haven't confused any one any more hear but if your new to this whole electronics thingy it's just a new jargon to learn :idea:and once learned will never be forgotton........;)

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Originally Posted by RomanLini

You forgot these two;

LiniStepper and SLAmStepper kits;
PIC Linear Stepper Motor Controller
SLAm Stepper Motor Controller, Allegro SLA7062M, Unipolar

They have a fair following on this forum and the PIClist boss (James) provides tech support here.

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Thanks for the links RomanLini:cheers:

You might want to add:
http://www.candcnc.com/
I have been using their servo package for over 5 years on a plasma cutter, averaging 20-30 hours a week cutting time. The breakout board was upgraded to a newer version (MP3000) to take advantage of the newer features. The system has been working great, and if you need help, it's only a phone call to Texas.
Larry

I had the keling 4 Axis kit about 2 years ago for my 3'x4' CNC router, and it was easy to put together and has performed perfectly for 2 years. ( Stepper Motor, Stepper Motor Driver,CNC Router, Stepper Motor Power Supply, Stepper Motor Kit, DC Servo Motor, Stepper Motor, Stepper Motor Driver, CNC Router, Stepper Motor Power Supply, Stepper Motor Kit, DC Servo Motor)

hey there again who put the links into my last post:mad: as just browsing the forum thread I see that motors is underlined and linked to an ebay site and I did NOT create any links in my post as I was only giving unbiased info......

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Originally Posted by Mad Welder

hey there again who put the links into my last post:mad: as just browsing the forum thread I see that motors is underlined and linked to an ebay site and I did NOT create any links in my post as I was only giving unbiased info......

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http://www.cnczone.com/forums/cnczon...ml#post1069139

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Originally Posted by CNCadmin

http://www.cnczone.com/forums/cnczon...ml#post1069139

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Hi there Paul and sorry for my misunderstanding on my part and yup I agree one hundred percent in any revenue generating protocol you use too...!

but even looking at your link.....to disable skimlinks it only gives a member an option to disable skimlinks as they're browsing but not to disable skimlinks in their respective posts so what you're suggesting is the skimlinks are only switched off while they browse but advertisers can manipulate a post automatically which Will confuse a thread as is shown in my previous post as to explain my point I refrained from any supplier references to give as unbiased an opinion as possible but still with your skim links an EBay suppliers product is linked to my post??????

What's a skimlinks and why did it change a word in your post?

I don't think it works on my old browser as I can't see what you are talking about?

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Originally Posted by RomanLini

What's a skimlinks and why did it change a word in your post?

I don't think it works on my old browser as I can't see what you are talking about?

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In post 12 below the word motor is underlined and linked to an ebay suppliers link and I didn't generate the link….
But as Paul says this web advertiser’s skimlinks website links automatically what they think is the most suitable manufacturer to link to a particular word within a post, you know that’s fine and all as it generates revenue for Paul to run the web forum and who am I to state otherwise..... my only concern is that a thread can/will get confused if an automated link is inserted to a product that’s not even being discussed by a member…!

Thanks for the information, the skimlink does not show on my browser so I can only guess if it because I am using and old computer and browser (with a lot of Java features disabled) or if it something to do with my forum member settings.

I like this Stepper Motor Driver, 5A Max, Wide Range CW250 for $50.00.
Stepper Motor Driver, 5A Max, Wide Range CW250-MPJA, Inc.

And these monster duty Stepper Motors, NEMA 34, 7.8V for $80.00
Stepper Motor, NEMA 34, 7.8V-MPJA, Inc.

the post is details for the steppe motor and driver kits

Hi,
What about the kit from Openbuilds.com? All-in-one USB CNC controllers. And they talk to their NEMA stepper motors. Couldn't be simpler.

Duncan

Hey Guys,
Not sure anyone has yet mentioned DMM-Tech in Canada.....

They have multi-axis kits, not completely plug and play though, but close enough.

Cheers,
Beano

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Originally Posted by MrBean_pm

Hey Guys,
Not sure anyone has yet mentioned DMM-Tech in Canada.....

They have multi-axis kits, not completely plug and play though, but close enough.

Cheers,
Beano

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Those are servo's, not steppers.

Mmm...I know, misread the thread title....shouldn't post at midnight re technical matters..


:lol:

Cheers,
Beano

Lin Engineering very good quality stepper motors at pretty ok prices. They have seem to have some single axis drivers and controllers.