Looking to select Nema23 motors for this C-beam kit: https://www.makerstore.com.au/product/kit-otbv1-s-1015/
It seems my options are:
* Standard steppers (e.g. https://www.makerstore.com.au/produc...nema23-635-ht/)
* Closed loop steppers (e.g. https://www.makerstore.com.au/produc...cl-2nm-hss-al/)
* Servos with integrated controller (e.g. https://www.makerstore.com.au/product/elec-ihsv57-180/)
For starters I was thinking of using the AXBB-E motion controller with UCCNC (or Mach4) to get up and running relatively quickly, with the possibility of moving to LinuxCNC with a Mesa board in the future if I get around to ATC, 4th axis, etc.
I have more or less ruled out standard steppers as the engineer in me wants closed loop control.
My understanding is that from the motion controller perspective, the motors still appear as open loop with step and direction control, however the alarm output from the stepper driver / servo controller could be used to stop the machine in the case position is lost.
The price difference between closed loop stepper and integrated servo doesn't appear to be much, so would there be any reason for me to selected the closed loop stepper over an integrated servo? The only possible advantage I can see would be the holding torque of the stepper.
Should I be considering integrated servo for all three axes, or potentially using closed loop stepper on the Z axis for the holding torque?
Extra question for the future - if I were to move to LinuxCNC, given that the control loop of the integrated servo is hidden from LinuxCNC, am I going to be missing out on anything of note?