Here it is with everything soldered on:
And with the components plugged in:
The DB-25 plugs in (via cable) to the stepper driver box. I plugged it in and tested it. The lights and buttons aren't connected, so I used a couple of test leads to turn on the limit pin and then tag the button pins. After some tweaks to the firmware to support a different arrangement of pins for the stepper motors the mill moved just fine in manual and program mode.
The next step is to make some cables and connectors for the controls. I need to give some serious thought to the cabinet and control panel layout so I can make wires and such the right length. I'm imagining an arcade-like cabinet to go with my arcade buttons and throttle controller. Not sure I can pull that off since I need to support a mill with open access.
Here's a cabinet I like for the top part:
I'd like all the features of the above. I need to figure out how I'm going to integrate the controls into this. Under the work surface will be a shelf or two for the electronics, the stepper controller box, transformer, power strip / surge protector, etc. I'll probably use the very bottom for material storage. I'll probably make it out of MDF. I want it to look cool but I want it easy to build. I'll use biscuits for joining instead of dados, rabbets, etc.
One feature I want not shown above, I hope to add some rigidity to the Z column. I need to design a spine in the center rear panel that can connect to the Z column. It has to be rigid of course, but I'd like it to double as a cable chase.
I might try to use Google Sketchup to design this. I have a lot of experience with 3D tools for animation and graphics. Sketchup has some very nice CAD features but has some concepts I'm not used to. I may end up with simple pencil sketch designs.
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