Originally Posted by
109jb
I know the OP has already purchased a UC100, and by all accounts it is a fine piece of equipment, but it is far from the cheapest. I am posting for others that may read this thread.
The absolute cheapest USB motion controller is GRBL, It can be implemented for the price of a clone Arduino Uno, About $5. Yes, $5. the GRBL firmware is free as are many user interfaces for the host computer. There are free user interfaces for host computers running Windows, Linux, Mac, stand alone options, etc. GRBL on an Arduino Uno can provide up to 30kHz stepping rate very reliably. The drawback of GRBL is that currently the G-code command set is limited, but it has the basics and there are CAM post processors that can make up for the lacking commands. I have not tried it, but I did see there is a CAM post processor for Fusion 360.