[chester1957]

Not sure if this is the place to start but here goes.
I have 2 old pc power supplies: 1- 5v-10a,3.3v-6a,12v-1.5a,5vsb-1.4a 70w max & 1- 5v-20a,12v-7.5a 200w
I have a unimat lathe (very small) that I am going to retrofit with 3 axis. The third being a programmable tailstock.
This being the test bed for a cnc benchtop mill.
Drives at this point are an issue as they seemed to be expensive and would not like to have to buy them again for the mill. The lathe being so small the steppers will be dirt cheap and the pwr supplies are sufficient for the job I don't know enough about drivers to make a cost effective choice. For the mill I plan on upgrading both the power supply and stepper motors.

Are there any drives out there that would work for this plan or will I have to buy the power supply before seeing things move?

Any input would be greatly appreciated as I would like to work my way up in the most cost effective manner.
Thanks Glen

[d8432]

Well, i havent built a complete machine yet, but im using some small steppers from an old printer (Bipolar 1A) with the L297 board with a pc power supply (not for motors). It works pretty well. I guess that if you are going to build a small machine, you could use a power suply with a cheap board.

Try on this links:
http://www.buildyouridea.com/cnc/pcbmill/pictures.html
http://www.hobbycnc.com/downloads/powersupply.zip (How to modify an AT and ATX computer power supply for use as a 12VDC CNC power supply)