My application is a converted Logan lathe (still very much in progress) with the eventual aim of some short run bulk parts production (20 to 100 part runs.) I'm considering this conversion as merely kind of a "stepping stone" to a purpose-built machine, probably the Tormach slant-bed.
From a first glance, the servos are stronger, quieter, faster and are apparently closed loop.
In order, as near as I can tell, my current steppers are plenty powerful for my application (virtually all aluminum parts, sub-1", and on a lathe with a limited maximum spindle speed) and they seemed quiet enough when running (sure, they go "Zweet! Zweet!" but do so fairly quietly, and it's nice to be able to hear the thing moving when you're not watching it directly.)
Faster might be an issue, although I'm still way too green at this to be expecting true industrial-level cycle times, or to trust myself with near-full-speed rapids.
The closed-loop part seems to be the one big one, although as I understand it, it's only "closed" with it's own built-in driver. IE, it doesn't communicate back to the controller, which, in my limited understanding of these things, is fairly normal? So again, if the current steppers are sufficiently powerful they don't tend to skip steps, and the feeds & speeds are kept reasonable enough to not overtax the system, where's the real benefit?
And, it seems, enough of a benefit to justify some $500-$600 in new motors?
Doc.