My next CNC project - a CNC router

[DavidR8]

Well, I've had to make a direction change electronics-wise. Previously I was going to use a custom made grblHAL board and IOSender as control software. I've had many issues flashing the board, proximity sensors that work in the morning and then not work that afternoon without any changes to hardware or software.
So I decided to move to the UCCNC control software from CNCDrive and their AXBB-E motion control board.
It's proprietary which I have some nervousness about but there is a huge user base and the developers are very responsive.

CNCdrive - motion controls

CNC drives, control systems

cncdrive.com

CNCdrive - motion controls

CNC drives, control systems

cncdrive.com

​

 

[macardoso]

Just to throw another contender into the ring, Mach 4 software with a motion controller (Warp9 Ethernet Smoothstepper) is a really nice option with lots of support and customization potential. $400 will get you the software and motion control board.

 

[DavidR8]

Just to throw another contender into the ring, Mach 4 software with a motion controller (Warp9 Ethernet Smoothstepper) is a really nice option with lots of support and customization potential. $400 will get you the software and motion control board.

I looked at Mach 4 and Acorn in my search. When conversion is taken into account Mach 4 runs over $500 CDN plus shipping. Acorn is even more.
The UCCNC and AXBB-E combo was $339 CDN delivered

 

[jwmelvin]

I won’t hold it against you but you were touting the grblHAL board recently without mentioning your difficulties. Maybe they are recent difficulties.

 

[DavidR8]

I won’t hold it against you but you were touting the grblHAL board recently without mentioning your difficulties. Maybe they are recent difficulties.

I was indeed. But this week I ran into major headaches.
Issues I faced:
1) Lack of documentation meant that I couldn't tell if the problems I was having were my doing or something else.
2) Lack of reliability. This is what did it for me. I had incorrectly installed the limit switches (see issue 1). When I got them sorted out they worked for a day then suddenly decided to stop working. I turned off the lights in the shop and came back later that day to discover they no longer worked. Absolutely zero changes to anything. The switches were still triggering correctly but the steppers no longer stopped moving when the limits were reached.
3) Software issues: I'm not a technologist so all of the electronics in this project has been a near vertical learning curve. That said, I managed to get the board flashed with the grblHAL software and configuration file and it initially worked. After my limit switch issues I was told that there had been a major rewrite of the configuration file and that I should reflash my board as that would likely solve the problems. I followed the just written instructions to the letter and I ended up with a board that I can no longer connect to either by USB or Ethernet. No idea why. And no one can figure out why. So my board is basically unusable.

Other folks have their grblHAL boards up and running just fine so I'm not disparaging grblHAL. Just that my experience highlighted that I need a more mature solution.

 

[jwmelvin]

Issues I faced:

Thanks for the further explanation. The limit-switch issue would be frustrating, at best. So would being unable to reflash the board. I'll hope for the best when I try to commission mine.

 

[DavidR8]

Thanks for the further explanation. The limit-switch issue would be frustrating, at best. So would being unable to reflash the board. I'll hope for the best when I try to commission mine.

I'm sure you'll be fine. I'm just so far out of my depth on the electronic side that I might as well be a fish in the Sahara.

 

[extropic]

So back at the beginning of the thread I said I was going to use LinuxCNC to run this machine.
I’ve been watching and reading discussions where folks really struggle with configuration and setup.
I’d been leaning toward using grbl or grblHAL because of its simplicity and active development.

Yesterday a member of the PrintNC Discord group who is an electronics engineer announced that he had designed a new breakout board that uses a Teensy 4.1 controller board. And that he was going to have 10 boards made for beta testing.
I get board #2!
View attachment 368653

That sounds like it changes the nature of the project for this observer.
My intention was to read about your project with the hope that I might copy it someday.
In order for me to copy it, the thing has to be made of commercially available, off the shelf, electronic and software components.
It seems you're going pretty far from "commercially available".
So be it. I'll follow the thread anyway.

Well, I've had to make a direction change electronics-wise. Previously I was going to use a custom made grblHAL board and IOSender as control software. I've had many issues flashing the board, proximity sensors that work in the morning and then not work that afternoon without any changes to hardware or software.
So I decided to move to the UCCNC control software from CNCDrive and their AXBB-E motion control board.
It's proprietary which I have some nervousness about but there is a huge user base and the developers are very responsive.

CNCdrive - motion controls

CNC drives, control systems

cncdrive.com

CNCdrive - motion controls

CNC drives, control systems

cncdrive.com

​

You've returned closer to the track that I was hoping to follow.

 

[DavidR8]

You've returned closer to the track that I was hoping to follow.

I think my hopes far exceeded my abilities.
LinuxCNC was a vertical learning curve.
grblHAL was about a 75 degree slope

 

[extropic]

I think my hopes far exceeded my abilities.
LinuxCNC was a vertical learning curve.
grblHAL was about a 75 degree slope

My original concern wasn't the slope, but the lack of support, continuity, reliability and longevity typical of buying board #2 of 10 (BETA).