I got it working. Picsender was sending a file with my xcarve settings upon bootup. I disabled it! Now it’s saving the stock firmware settings for the lead
happy holidays everyone, I was wondering if there is a workflow to incorporate tool changes into this software. Thanks
Split gcode into seperate files per tool for now. Other than thay, proper toolchanges is on the roadmap
Hi I have finished building a OpenBuild C Beam XL Using Openbuilds control software with Arduino clone (Iduino) and cnc shield All grbl and software are up to date. Each axis - X,Y & Z move and are calibrated. I have mounted and wired limit switched for each axis using NC configuration. I am configuring each axis limit switch separately. An issue arises when I connect the y axis switches to the CNC shield. The shield generates an alarm when the switches are connected but not 'bumped'. I have tried $5=1 to 'reverse' the pin with no luck. When I wire the switches to a NO configuration, the control software will stop the axis when the switch is tripped. I am endeavouring to follow the recommended convention of a NC configuration for hard limit switching. Is this something that I can modify from within the control software or a grbl input ? Thank you in anticipation. Bill
Hi Bill, probably not software. Google around or open a new thread. Popular problem with the CNC shield (when not bought from Protoneer) - you need a v3.1 to support Grbl1. 1 without hacking. The fakes are usually old v3.0s for Grbl 0.8 from couple years ago, and have spindle enable and one of the limit switch pins swopped - that might be your problem See grbl/grbl for details on the grbl pin swop from 0.8 See gnea/grbl for other nonstandard wiring and configurations. Our predefined configs cover controllers we sell only (tested configurations) and will need adaption for your own controller choices
when you compile 1.1 you can set an option to use the old pin configuration. the side effect is that you then cannot have spindle PWM speed control.
Hi guys, I'm not sure this is the right place for my question but here it is anyhow. I have been trying to figure how the Z probe works on the xpro v3 board and the Openbuilds controller. I don't know what is suppose to happen when the z probe is triggered but in my case all I see and get is the green button in the troubleshooter turn red and nothing else happens, the z axis keeps on moving past the trigger point and I don't get any alarms. I have been going though all the settings in the grbl setting tab many times and I still don't see what the probe is suppose to do if anything ??? Am I just chasing a ghost ?
Hi guys, I'm still trying to figure this machine out. It looks like I had some of my controller settings wrong from what I posted a few days ago but I think I straighten those out and I was able to produce a carved piece without issues. In regards to the Z probe questions I have, I sent a message to Mark Carew asking about the Z probe functionality and received a confusing answer in which he also suggested I pursue my inquiry here so I'm back with my question... Can anyone tell me if the Z probe has any functionality when used with the XPro V3 controller with GRBL V1.1 which is what I am using right now ? I would love to know what that functionality is ??? ie, once triggered, the DRO gets reset to zero or maybe the Z axis reverses direction of travel after the trigger ? The answer I got back from Mark suggest that nothing has been written in the controller in respect to the Z probe other than a green button that turns red when the probe is triggered! Right now, I do fell like I am chasing a ghost with this Z probe feature! It's certainly not a necessity for the machine to be workable but if it's there, I'd like to be able to use it. Thanks for any explanation or comments. Claude.
Not yet. Sit tight, theres a new feature that will be released next week or the week after [EDIT: Update, released 2 mins ago] Preview: PS: @sharmstr - release 1.0.124 also brings back the Go to Zero function you missed (; - no longer buttons (like they were when accidentally released in 1.0.110) , they are now in the dropdown menus next to each axis DRO.
Great little piece of software, is there a way to change the tool on values? My laser needs a max of 24000 or it will not work properly.
Which firmware are you using? Grbl defaults to 0-1000 For running jobs, Gcode S values come from CAM. Is this a question about openbuilds CAM? (posted under CONTROL) or do you refer to the testing menu on the toolbar? (only used for focus/test, has no impact on running gcode)
Not the firmware was just wondering if I could change the values in your program or if they are set? Seems like they may be set values so no worries
Well, yes and no. It is a firmware issue. We send S1000, because its the standard default. If we make it configurable, it just adds another complexity for a newbie to have to figure out. The problem isnt what we send, its that you have $30=24000 Now (lack of info not withstanding, i am making educated guesses) - there isnt a good reason to have $30 as 24000. Those settings are purely cosmetical for guys with VFD spindles to have Grbl do the math for them, of which of the 255 value increments between 0-255 (0-5v) equates nearly to the RPM they are interested in. Setting it to 24000 doesn't change the fact that its an 8 bit timer, with just 255 steps. That's a hardware limitation (Atmega328) - so as such, following the standard default just makes more sense as its the same as everyone else (also, especially since its a laser, 0-1000 is easy to calculate percentages in your head. S50 = 5%, etc). When you bring yourself back into standard, there's no compromise, the test function works, CAM works (with defaults) etc It is a policy to not require any config before using CONTROL, it should just work out of the box, to help newbies get going - hope you understand
Hi, my name is Shawn and I'm a N00b... I just finished my first build and everything is wired up on my new LEAD. I've downloaded CONTROL but it's not seeing my xPRO V3 in the dropdown, all I see are BlueTooth devices. The xPRO has a 5V LED lit up that it's receiving power from the port. I'm on a MacBook Pro that only has USB-C ports so I have to use a dongle for the standard USB connection.
Install the FTDI usb serial drivers Virtual COM Port Drivers, if not already installed. Other tips: check your Device Manager (as its known on Windows, as a Mac user, adapt this advice to whatever they call it) to see if it found the USB device (else it could be the Dongle at play, not sure) Either way, its just hardware/drivers, not an OpenBuilds CONTROL issue, we can only show you serial ports that the Operating System tells us about - so unfortunately you'l have to dig into the Mac troubleshooting to get it to see the hardware first
Here's my results with my Lead machine, Dewalt router, XPro V3 controller, ESTLCAM application and machine controller, the PCB was originally made with Solidworks then I switched to Fusion360 to get the DXF file, I find that Fusion 360 is a lot more "newbie" friendly and somewhat intuitive. My only complaint with the machine is the noise level from the Dewalt router. I am looking into a 1.5 KW VFD system, we'll see... The dimensions of this board are 6.35mm X 76.5mm: . BTW, Thank you guys for your help, I greatly appreciate. Claude.
Looks good Claude (; we are hijacking our own thread here though as its more about CAM than Control (and we are in the CONTROL thread at the moment) - but I'll be guilty myself to give you a quick (last time please, in future lets fire up a new thread or post it in the relevant thread) update: I've added some code that allows the use of Open vectors (lines) if you can live with no offsetting for now (will add merging/offsetting later) Settings: NB Select one of the "No offset" options and the result
I've installed the FTDI and D2xx drivers (as well as the D2xxHelper). CONTROL is still only displaying BlueTooth devices in the dropdown. I followed the directions in the FTDI video walk-thru https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ir2PVz1870E and everything went smoothly. He then entered this Terminal command: sudo kextunload -b com.apple.driver.AppleUSBFTDI I got back the message: (kernel) Kext com.apple.driver.AppleUSBFTDI not found for unload request. Failed to unload com.apple.driver.AppleUSBFTDI - (libkern/kext) not found. It appears the Controller is showing up in my System Information as: FT231X USB UART: Product ID: 0x6015 Vendor ID: 0x0403 (Future Technology Devices International Limited) Version: 10.00 Serial Number: DN05JLOP Speed: Up to 12 Mb/sec Manufacturer: FTDI Location ID: 0x14300000 / 1 Current Available (mA): 500 Current Required (mA): 90 Extra Operating Current (mA): 0 Let me know if there's a better thread for this discussion, but I couldn't find anyone else having my issue in the forums.
Terpax, not sure what the source of your issue is but when I first powered up my machine, I was using my MacBook Pro with no such issues, I then switched to my Windows laptop to have the F keys and so on but it worked with the Mac
Glad to hear! I'm not sure what's causing it either. I feel like I've installed everything properly and the board is showing up in my system profiler, but for whatever reason CONTROL isn't able to see it as a viable com port. I also tried my sons Windows 10 laptop but we couldn't get the drivers to install on his machine... Feeling pretty frustrated that I'm stuck at the last step before it's operational.
On both Win and Mac, you need the device drivers. Once you do, the device will show up as a VCP (Virtual Com Port). See https://www.ftdichip.com/Documents/InstallGuides/Mac_OS_X_Installation_Guide.pdf If you are not technically inclined, you can call a local Mac specialist / IT guy to come help get this installed for you. Windows would be easier (windows 10 grabs that driver online automatically)
