Controller required for two servo and two stepper motors.

[Diarmuid]

Hi,

I'm a final year mechanical engineering student, and for my final year project I need to control two stepper, and two servo motors, all independently. I've been trawling through the website looking for a solution, but am not quite sure what I ultimately should be looking for. I need something that can provide velocity feedback for the two servos, and simple position control for the steppers, assuming the drivers for the motors are compatible with NI controllers. So basically I'll need input/output channels for each of the servos, and outputs for the steppers. At least that's what I think I'll need. If anyone can point me in the right direction, that'd be great. I'm also on a tight enough budget, so the cheaper the better...

Cheers,

Diarmuid

[Chaos]

hey Diarmuid,

While I am not an expert at motion control, it would seem the PCI-7344 would be a good starting point.  Its a 4-axis controller, each axis configurable for stepper or DC motor control so this one board should be able to handle everything you need.

Product page:

https://www.ni.com/en-us/support/model.pci-7344.html

You would also need a UMI-7774 for interfacing to third-party drives or amplifiers and they come with differential encoders inputs built on.

I would recommend calling one on Nationals sales reps just to verify cables and make sure this best fits your requirements...