I have been bitten with an interest to mess with a CNC mill. In the course of doing some reading I am looking at controllers and trying to determine what I might need that would serve me into the future. I have come up with some questions that I have not been able to find a definitive answer for and wondered if someone could point me in the right direction.

1) What constitutes an axis on a controller? Obviously X, Y and Z are axes but would any of the following?

  • Speed Control
  • Coolant Control
  • Auto Zero
  • Limit stops


2) Are most/all controllers using a parallel port? Is USB just not used? Is there a reason?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!