I searched the forums and did not see an exact answer but looking through the software features and documents it seems I should be able to build a larger diy machine (ie a light duty 4 x 8) and use a black box and the Openbuilds control and cam software, correct? I was playing around with the software a bit and it seems I could change the dimensions of the stock machines in the Openbuilds CAM to 4 x 8 dimensions and it seems I can also change the steps per unit etc in the control software to drive my machine correctly so in theory it should work. I was thinking it might be specific to the machines you sell and or have some smaller dimensional limitations... my initial look at them seems to indicate it would work but I wanted to confirm before I purchase. thanks!
Hi The Blackbox runs GRBL firmware and all of the setup numbers can be changed to suite your machine. The only critical thing to do if you do not load an OB preconfigured machine is to set $4=1. You can read about all the GRBL settings in the GRBL Configuration Wiki.
Yes, it is simple. Apart from $4 you need to change the $100..$102 steps/mm, and the acceleration and max speed settings. Those are the only required changes. Most of the other settings never need to be changed unless you are setting up homing. But, get it working first, then activate homing. For initial steps/mm settings you can use GRBL settings calculator That does belts and screws. The belt settings will work for rack and pinion. The leadscrew is assumed to be Z but the settings will work for any leadscrew. For calibration fine tuning after that you can search this forum for the resource (will give you an understanding of how it works) or you can use the wizard in OpenBuildsCONTROL.
(; don't even have to leave OpenBuilds CONTROL - Grbl Settings tab - Scroll down to $100-102 -> Next to each there is a Calculate button:
