Hello,

After hours and hours of reading through the benchtop forum I've decided to go for it and have purchased a sherline 5400 mill. It hasn't arrived yet but I intend to convert it to CNC after getting accustomed to what it can do via manual control (I'm new to machining so I want to make sure I know how the machine behaves before I automate it).

I've read a lot of posts that describe the Sherline CNC drivers/stepper as underpowered. With that in mind, I'm looking at getting the 270 oz/in 3-axis kit from Automation Technolgies (formerly kelinginc.net) seen here:

High-Torque Stepper Motor, Stepper Motor, Driver, Stepper Motor kit, DC Servo Motor, DC Servo Motor kit, Stepper Motor Power Supply, CNC Router, Spindle, and other Components. Automation Technology Inc

The question I have is this:

Is there a danger in equipping a small machine like the sherline with beefy stepper motors? Can this cause damage to the mill by driving it too hard or something? The other issue I could imagine would be the weight of the motor hanging off the X axis when it's extended all the way to the right.

Like I said, I've read a lot of posts making the opposite argument (that more power is needed) but I want to make sure I'm not buying a set of motors that will tear the mill apart or something.

Any thoughts or experience regarding big steppers on small mills would be great to hear.

This forum is amazing btw, I'm very much a newbie with this stuff but reading through the wealth of existing information has already helped me tremendously.

thanks!
Ben