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Gradus M1 Pro - Information

Extra documentation for this poorly documented controller.

  1. Scotty Orr

    Scotty Orr Journeyman
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    Scotty Orr submitted a new resource:

    Gradus M1 Pro - Information - Extra documentation for this poorly documented controller.

    Read more about this resource...
     
    #1 Scotty Orr, Sep 8, 2017
  2. Scotty Orr

    Scotty Orr Journeyman
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    I'm new to CNC, but you mean Estlcam could replace Grbl, correct?
     
    #2 Scotty Orr, Sep 8, 2017
  3. alvingm

    alvingm New
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    thanks Scotty for the board info. I managed to update the grbl in my board (mine came with .9f I think) and also updated my vrefs to .75. Managed to get some movement and using 1/8 stepping (copied the grbl settings from the mini mill build)

    I’ve only tried UGS so far. Will try estlcam later
     
    #3 alvingm, Oct 11, 2017
    Scotty Orr likes this.
  4. Scotty Orr

    Scotty Orr Journeyman
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    If you've got a PC, you might give grbl-Panel a try. (It doesn't convert arcs to line segments.) Unfortunately grbl-Panel won't work on a Mac (unless you use Windows in a VM). I had a spare PC laptop around, so it is now dedicated to my MiniMill.
     
    #4 Scotty Orr, Oct 11, 2017
  5. jhall423

    jhall423 New
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    Scotty,

    Thanks for the info on the M1 Pro. I'm new to the cnc game and have one of the OX machines I purchased from SMW3D which came with the M1 Pro. I was able to power the M1 and get a few movements out of all 3 axis and a successful start of the router but since then it just quit (still have lights and shows communications on the leds). Cannot get it to move on any of the axis or spindle to start.

    I saw your post on flashing the M1 to 1.1. Being a newbie I could sure use some directions on how to do this. Do you have a post anywhere I could look at?
     
    #5 jhall423, Jan 1, 2018
  6. Scotty Orr

    Scotty Orr Journeyman
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    I don't have a post with specific instructions on flashing. You will need to download the Arduino IDE from Arduino - Software . Then you will need to download the grbl source code from Releases · gnea/grbl · GitHub . Then you will need to carefully follow the instructions at Flashing Grbl to an Arduino · gnea/grbl Wiki · GitHub .

    In the first page of this resource, I think I mentioned the targets, etc you need to successfully flash the Gradus M1 Pro.

    However, the stopping of your machine might not have anything to do with the version of grbl you are running. I had some "stopping" problems that were not grbl related that I tracked down to excessive EMI from my router. If your router isn't grounded (only has two pins on the plug), you will probably need to take care of that. (I ran a wire from my metal router case to the grounding pin of a plug that I plugged into my plug strip. There are various ways to do this - just search for "grounding router cnc".)
     
    #6 Scotty Orr, Jan 1, 2018
  7. jhall423

    jhall423 New
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    Scotty thanks for the quick reply. I changed several of the settings from a post you replied to and was able to get the machine back moving. Will go through the post on homing and see why the limit switches are not working.

    Thanks again for the info and I'm sure I will be a pest before I learn this darn thing!! Happy New Year
     
    #7 jhall423, Jan 1, 2018
  8. sobruizer

    sobruizer New
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    I'm having an issue connecting to the board. It seems to be a driver (computer) issue? I was able to connect a few days ago with no problems and flash grbl 1.1 and see it in UGS. I connected today and cannot to anything in either Arduino nor UGS. When I plug it in it shows up as COM3. I downloaded the latest FTDI drivers thinking that could be the issue but that didn't fix it. Not sure what other information need to provide to be helpful in resolving this. Thanks in advance!
     
    #8 sobruizer, Mar 11, 2018
  9. Scotty Orr

    Scotty Orr Journeyman
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    Are you using the same computer, USB cable, and USB port? I am using a Mac, so probably not much help. You might also try rebooting your computer.
     
    #9 Scotty Orr, Mar 11, 2018
  10. sobruizer

    sobruizer New
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    Yes, everything is the same... I just tried to connect via my Mac and it does the same thing. Within UGS it connects, but does nothing after that. When I try to type in a command it just says grbl is still loading. Maybe a bad USB cable? Don't want to spend money if I don't have to. Thank you for the help so far!
     
    #10 sobruizer, Mar 11, 2018
  11. Scotty Orr

    Scotty Orr Journeyman
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    When you click "Connect" does it show "Connected" afterwards? Have you installed and adjusted your stepper drivers (current adjustment)? You may be getting an error (which stops grbl) because your stepper drivers "overload" (or something) at the first command. With the Bigfoot drivers this will be a red light on the driver.
     
    #11 Scotty Orr, Mar 11, 2018
  12. sobruizer

    sobruizer New
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    Yes, it says "connected" after I push connect, but that is the only line that comes up. When I try to type a command it just says grbl is still loading. All four drivers have a blue light on them, I set them about 0.8V for now since this is the first time I will run. It seems to do the same thing within Arduino. It recognizes the port when I connect, but I cannot do anything with it after it that. It just errors if I try to flash 1.1 or run any command
     
    #12 sobruizer, Mar 11, 2018
  13. Scotty Orr

    Scotty Orr Journeyman
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    You might want to try a new USB cable then. You might also check out the step-by-step tutorial that is linked in the Overview to this resource, to make sure you've got everything set up right for flashing. If you flashed it once, there's no reason you shouldn't be able to flash it again (which is why I suspect the cable). You might try to flash it using the Mac as well.
     
    #13 Scotty Orr, Mar 11, 2018
  14. sobruizer

    sobruizer New
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    I tried a new cord, no luck. So, trying to re-flash. Now it is giving me several different errors about the programmer. (programmer not responding, incorrect programmer). My tool setting are correct... Is it possible to board is bad?
     
    #14 sobruizer, Mar 11, 2018
  15. Scotty Orr

    Scotty Orr Journeyman
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    Sure, it's possible. But it's also possible the board is fine and something else is wrong. You might contact the vendor where you got your Gradus. I found SMW3D and Panucatt to be very helpful.
     
    #15 Scotty Orr, Mar 11, 2018
  16. Prometheus

    Prometheus New
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    I wish there was more documentation on this board. I would like to know what the output voltages are for Flood, Mist, SPDL DIR so I can figure if this board would work for my setup :(
     
    #16 Prometheus, Dec 5, 2018
  17. mrp192

    mrp192 New
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    Use a multimeter. Setup a program turn on mist and probe the pins.
     
    #17 mrp192, Jan 28, 2019
  18. Andrew D.

    Andrew D. New
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    I have an R7 with a gradus m1 pro. According to what you said Scotty, am I correct in assuming that estlcam will work with that control board?
    Thank You, Andrew
     
    #18 Andrew D., Feb 11, 2019
  19. Scotty Orr

    Scotty Orr Journeyman
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    I think so, but I haven't tried it because I use Mac and Estlcam can only be controlled with a PC.
     
    #19 Scotty Orr, Feb 12, 2019
  20. Rick 2.0

    Rick 2.0 OpenBuilds Team
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    That's a question best asked to @Christian Knüll as he's the author of the software.
     
    #20 Rick 2.0, Feb 12, 2019
  21. Giarc

    Giarc OpenBuilds Team
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    The Gradius runs GRBL so it should work. Estlcam can be used for free if you want to try it.
     
    #21 Giarc, Feb 12, 2019

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