That's probably for the best. I don't know how hot the CNC power supply can get, but you probably would have run into heat issues with everything crammed into the same box. It would have taken several large fans to keep it cool. I have enough trouble keeping my PC cool in the summer, can't...
With old PCs and CNC, you just have to be careful that the PC/OS can keep up with the interrupt rate of the stepper motor driver. Otherwise, it will result in the motor skipping steps. Have to shut down all the non-essential Windows services as well.
Xylotex package is second on my list.
How many volts will you be running? According to the datasheet, it can handle 2.5A / phase @ 35V. They bundle 425 oz-in motors with their kits.
This is a DIY forum, of course we want to see glue drying :)
This is a very cool project. I've been toying around with doing this for a long time myself. Too many other projects to finish first.
I've heard good things about the HobbyCNC boards?
http://www.hobbycnc.com/driverboards.php
I'm...
I suppose easy and simple are relative :)
Since you have so many I/Os, do you do monitor for fires with something like a flame detector or smoke alarm? Smoke alarm should be easy enough to add, especially the ones with a light.
Wow, very nicely done! I'm currently working on my own controller, but I took a slightly different path. I'm using Dallas 1-wire devices for I/O and java/SQL db for the logic. I'm more of a software than hardware guy, so I needed something easy.