If you are using grbl 0.9 you will have to see the XBee up for 115200 baud rate. I think the HC-05 is set at 38400 by default. Nothing should need to be set up on the xPro itself.

 

Can I plug the xbee on the board to set up the higher baudrate?
because I dont have a xbee usb-explorerboard to connect the H-05 modul with my computer now

 

That I don't know. Haven't messed much with the xbee stuff. Most likely you could. Ping @Michael I think he is one of the xpro guys on the forum.

 

I hope this is the right place to ask a question about xPRO? I built an OX & it is happily running with xPRO, so I've decided to use it in my next toy. I am building a 4th axis machine. I have read that GRBL 9 doesn't support 4th axis. Now my machine only consists of 3 axes namely X,Z & A, so will it work in this way. It is still only 3 axes, but is the A axis any different? When I wire it up, should I use the 4th axis connection, or treat it as X,Y & Z? Any thoughts will be appreciated.

 

Thank you. I just reread the"Connecting CNC Pro" & it tells me just that!

 

Not quite right as it turns out, because grbl doesn't have 4th axis as yet, so my xpro is useless for my new toy.

 

I can run my ox with grbl panel. Universal Gcode Sender does not work. I keep getting "No Error in Nativeavailable". Anyone know what that is?

My X and Y axis are not very accurate. How tight should the belts be? I might have over tighten them. Thanks.

 

Got it figured out. Grbl panel was not saving my settings. I was able to change the settings in universal gcode sender. I think the acceleration rates were too low.

 

Just got my Xpro powered up after messing with this for two days started with nothing finally started seeing the light at the end of the tunnel after I installed grbl v9. Im trying to use Universal G Code Sender I have the X axis motor sitting on the bench wired up but I get nothing everything seems to be functioning with UGS Baud is set when I connect to the board Leds light up and flash. Settings come up on the command line with $$. I'm scared I have a brick? Any tips tricks. I have to admit I tried grbl panel before I tried UGS I found Marks C-Beam Video and thought that would be the direction to go.

 

GRBL Panel won't screw up anything. I've tried it before I went back to UGS.

If you are getting lights and responses, the Arduino is working, so your problem is downstream from there.
I'm not familiar with the XPro. Do they have lights? Are you sure the motor is wired up correctly?
My only suggestions would be to try another stepper driver and verify that your motor is connected correctly.

You didn't mention it, but you do have a power supply connected to the driver module to power the motor?

 

two things come to mind
either stepper wired wrong or current set too low...

 

I have a 24v power supply protected with a TVS Diode and 15 amp fast burn fuse it wired as shown in the diagram posted earlier in this forum. I verified the voltage output of 24v with a DVM. I did try two different motors with he same results. I verified the wire pairs by touching two wires together and trying to manually turn the motors and found the pairs that drag the motor down. So I'm very certain they are wired correctly. I'm getting LEDs to flash when I connect and disconnect through UGS.

I used the grbl settings from the C-Beam that Mark C went over on his video, I know these aren't right for my build but I figured they would be close enough just to see if I could get the motors to move.

Great to hear about grbl panel it looks to be a lot better UI layout than UGS, that's why I went to it first, I didn't see anything from Mark about any problems with grbl panal so I figured since he is selling these boards he would probably know.

 

I attached a file of my current OX settings.
It has belts on the X and Y and a screw on the Z, just like most of them.
They may be different from yours, based on whatever stepping you have set into the Controllers, but this shouldn't keep it from working, just the scale will be off.

I hope this helps.

 

did you adjust the current going to the motors?

2. Connecting CNC xPRO · Spark-Concepts/xPRO Wiki · GitHub

 

its alive!

Not sure yet if I wired things wrong I tried using the grbl settings Steve so kindly posted. and I had nothing still. I wired a motor to the X and tried again and nothing. I decided to go through the Xpro wiki and used the grbl settings recomended for the Xpro running grbl V9 and it came alive. Thanks Steve and snokid I appreciate the help, sometimes you have to walk away and come back later. helps to have a nudge in the right direction. Now to move on and test the other axis and verify wiring.

 

Glad you got it working.

 

Ego got in the way, Fixed my bad wiring job, XYZ and A are all working. I hope to have my machine up and running by friday so I can adjust settings and actually start cutting. Its been a long time gathering parts.

 

I'm looking into options for a controller. I have NEMA 23 and a 24V supply. I can't decide between CNC PRO V2, TinyG or gShield with Arduino.

Any thoughts on which one will have the most support?

 

I have an xPro, which is okay. You'll find more support here on the forums than from the manufacturer. TinyG uses "tinyg" instead of grbl, so the software options are more limited than they would be for either of the other solutions, ie. not as many control options like Chilipeppr, bCNC, UGCS, Grbl Panel, cnc.js etc.

I personally don't like the gShield, since it only supports three motors.

Similar concepts to gShield are the Arduino CNC shield designed by Protoneer - Arduino CNC Shield – 100% GRBL Compatable | Protoneer.co.nz of which you can find in addition to the original many inexpensive clones on eBay.

Another one is GAUPS - GAUPS Arduino-compatible Stepper Shield kit - Amber Spyglass Ltd which is similar, but has nice screw terminals for easy attachment of motor cables, etc. You can also use this with an Arduino Due, and have a choice of running either grbl or tinyg, so you can experiment with both.

I have parts for building both GAUPS and Arduino CNC Shield, but haven't gotten around to building them yet.

I was also recently selected to get a new beta of a Raspberry Pi CNC controller, which combines RPi and Arduino/grbl together in a nice small form factor. Looking forward to testing this, as I currently have a standalone RPi talking to an xPro, and it would be nice to combine everything together in a small package. Raspberry Pi CNC Challenge | Protoneer.co.nz

Hope that helps!

 

I have a cncxpro, Arduino cnc shield, and the raspberry pi cnc board.....
I don't have a problem with any of them..... send g-code machine cuts part.... what else do you need?
I went with the raspberry pi version so I don't have to carry a laptop out to the shop, if it passes muster I will get another one. I'm sure it's going to be fine, just trying to find a monitor and I will let you know...
Bob

 

I have a V2 Xpro just got it up and running a few days ago so other than it works. I'm struggling with base settings for my stepper motors this is an OX build so 4 start. 8mm lead screw on the Z and GT3 with 20 tooth pulleys X and Y nematode 23 1.8 degree stepper motors.

 

which settings are you having problems with?
$0=10 (step pulse, usec)
$1=25 (step idle delay, msec)
$2=0 (step port invert mask:00000000)
$3=6 (dir port invert mask:00000110)
$4=0 (step enable invert, bool)
$5=0 (limit pins invert, bool)
$6=0 (probe pin invert, bool)
$10=3 (status report mask:00000011)
$11=0.020 (junction deviation, mm)
$12=0.002 (arc tolerance, mm)
$13=0 (report inches, bool)
$20=0 (soft limits, bool)
$21=0 (hard limits, bool)
$22=0 (homing cycle, bool)
$23=1 (homing dir invert mask:00000001)
$24=50.000 (homing feed, mm/min)
$25=635.000 (homing seek, mm/min)
$26=250 (homing debounce, msec)
$27=1.000 (homing pull-off, mm)
$100=314.961 (x, step/mm)
$101=314.961 (y, step/mm)
$102=314.961 (z, step/mm)
$110=635.000 (x max rate, mm/min)
$111=635.000 (y max rate, mm/min)
$112=635.000 (z max rate, mm/min)
$120=50.000 (x accel, mm/sec^2)
$121=50.000 (y accel, mm/sec^2)
$122=50.000 (z accel, mm/sec^2)
$130=225.000 (x max travel, mm)
$131=125.000 (y max travel, mm)
$132=170.000 (z max travel, mm)

those are the settings you can change.
here's what they mean...
Configuring Grbl v0.9 · grbl/grbl Wiki · GitHub
worst case I will go out to the shop and copy mine if you can't figure it out....
Bob

 

I got info from the grbl Wiki so I've got a basic understanding of the settings. $100, $101, $102 are what make m really struggling with trying to dial my steps in so everything moves the distance it's supposed to Z seems pretty close, when I use some of the calculators I found in some of the posts what I come up with seems way out of wack . Also I tried using $110=635.000, $111=635.000, $112=635.000 But motors run very slow and sound terrible. I know I'm missing something here are my current settings.forgot to mention I'm using grbl panel



This is supposed to be "Hello World" test cut I got from Mark Carew C-Beam build, pretty ugly but it's my first attempt so I'm actually pretty proud.

 

So with the standard xPro config, it is set for 1/8 microstepping. For an Ox build with the standard pulley/gt3 belt, the settings for $101 and $102 should be 26.67, with a 1.8 degree stepper. Also for the z axis with the standard 4 start 8mm acme rod, with 1.8 degree stepper $102 should be 200.

Here are my grbl settings that are working well:

$0=3 (step pulse, usec)
$1=255 (step idle delay, msec)
$2=0 (step port invert mask:00000000)
$3=6 (dir port invert mask:00000110)
$4=0 (step enable invert, bool)
$5=0 (limit pins invert, bool)
$6=0 (probe pin invert, bool)
$10=3 (status report mask:00000011)
$11=0.020 (junction deviation, mm)
$12=0.002 (arc tolerance, mm)
$13=0 (report inches, bool)
$20=1 (soft limits, bool)
$21=1 (hard limits, bool)
$22=1 (homing cycle, bool)
$23=7 (homing dir invert mask:00000111)
$24=50.000 (homing feed, mm/min)
$25=5000.000 (homing seek, mm/min)
$26=25 (homing debounce, msec)
$27=5.000 (homing pull-off, mm)
$100=26.670 (x, step/mm)
$101=26.670 (y, step/mm)
$102=200.000 (z, step/mm)
$110=7500.000 (x max rate, mm/min)
$111=7500.000 (y max rate, mm/min)
$112=1500.000 (z max rate, mm/min)
$120=150.000 (x accel, mm/sec^2)
$121=150.000 (y accel, mm/sec^2)
$122=150.000 (z accel, mm/sec^2)
$130=510.000 (x max travel, mm)
$131=770.000 (y max travel, mm)
$132=107.000 (z max travel, mm)

 

if you have the standard z axis $1=255 keeps the stepper energized between movements, I had the problem of when the job was done my z would just creep down into the work piece.

looks like 100, 101 are at 40 like john said 26.67
110,111,112 are all too low, those are the max the machine will go, but g-code will over ride up to the point you have them set, so if you send 1000mm/sec and you have them set at 500mm/sec your machine will only go at 500mm/sec.

I'm betting speeding them up will make most of the difference. have you adjusted the current for the motors?
Do you have cooling? heatsinks?
what works for me with the cncxpro is to send a g0 x 100 for example then turn the pot to the right at some point the motors will sound good. then send a large file and let it run. (can just be air cutting) when the job finishes does the machine come back to 0,0? Did it miss steps?(too low of current) Did it shut down(too high of current)
too low of current can also be the axis is too hard to move(binding)
Turning the pot's up turns up the current, as some point you can exceed what the drivers can handle. They get too hot and shut down(not a problem they start back up once they cool down). So if you can balance the most current without overheating that's what you are looking for....

my xpro will run good without sinks and fan, but runs much better with both...

Yesterday I ran 1/2 hour job no sinks or fans was pushing it pretty hard (hdpe) shut down about 25mins into cut, ran next run and turned fan on, no problems...(I guess I should remember to turn the fan on!!!)

hope you get it going pretty cool huh?
Bob

 

Thanks that's exactly what I was looking for, I came up with same $100 & $101 but I think I was confusing $110, $111, $112 your max is much higher than what I'm set at seems a little scary to me at this point to go tha high until I have a little time under my belt.

Another thing I'm having trouble with is $20, & $21 tried turning on soft limits but I couldn't get grbl panel to control anything even after disconnecting closing panel and even unplugging USB. Same thing with hard limits. I figure soft limits were because I wasn't close on my settings same as $130,$131, $132 kept crashing

I really appreciate everyone's help

 

NOTE: Soft limits requires homing to be enabled and accurate axis maximum travel settings, because Grbl needs to know where it is. $20=1 to enable, and $20=0 to disable.
Also, one more thing to note, when homing is enabled. Grbl will lock out all G-code commands until you perform a homing cycle.

Do you have homing switches on your machine?

 

110,111,112 is just the max the (firmware) will let the machine go, you can set those to the moon if you want, they will only go as fast as the g-code tells them to go....

 

Definately going to to speed things up I didn't know gcode would override the max speed travel I was worried it would crash big time if I didn't ease it to it, great to know this. I'm running a 24v power supply and tweaked the pots a little but haven't run it very long yet, that will be one of my next tasks just wanted to go things a little closer so I don't wreck this thing. Machine comes back to 0,0 that was actually one of my first victories watching it come all the way across the table and stop all on its own. Motors all seem to be working sounding pretty good based on watching you tube and other videos of similar machines.

I have two fans in my electronics enclosure one pulling in directly on the board and another pulling out of the enclosure. I still need to mont the fan I'm going to set up to blow on the board but I want to install some sort of filter to keep dust out of everything. I want to purchase some heat sinks just have to remember which thread it was in to go online and try to sourc them.

I've learned a lot with this build started out just wanting to see if I could actually build this and may it work. Now I can't wait to start cutting, I'd like to make a few last minute Christmas gifts but that's probably not going to happen.

I have photos of my electronics enclosure in my build log

 

I have limit switches on Z & X didn't order enough for Y. For hard limits doesn't it use the X,Y & Z limit switches? I measured max travel so I know I'm good with those sttings 130,131,132 So if the max travel is correct and my steps per mm are correct if I enable soft limits and run the the homing cycle it shouldn't be able to crash, theortecially?