Thinking of adding an Arduino CNC shield to test and compare to xPro. The v3 version of the shield supports four drivers, and supports 8825 or 4988. Can some wise person educate me on the difference between 8825 and 4988 for CNC router applications? For those not familiar, info on the hardware - http://blog.protoneer.co.nz/arduino-cnc-shield/ -- John
I'm using the V3 CNC shield on my Triple Shot Laser, works great. If you look for the version V3.10 you'll find a few improvements over the V3.0. The main difference with the 8825 versus the 4988 is the 8825 can micro-step down to 1/32 and can supply more current than the 4988... I have used both and be sure to use some thermal adhesive and attach the little heatsink to the chip for best performance. I would also add a fan nearby to aid cooling. Both the 4988 and the 8825 are thermally protected and will cut out when overheated but will return to working once cooled down.
As a data point, I've had slightly more success with 4988 Allegro stepper drivers than with 8818/8825 TI drivers. When I say slightly, I mean they are virtually identical in performance, but I found I could push my leadscrew-based Sherline mill a few mm/min faster with the 4988 Allegro when tuned properly. In other words, they run about the same. Note: I have on hand about 5 different stepper driver boards and use nearly all of them on different machines and have swapped them out to test how they do on each one.
