Hi, I looked in many DYI videos about CNC machines and all of them have CNC controller (Centroid Acorn, Mach4 with C10/Ethernet Smooth Stepper, etc.). I am planning to buy Teknic motor and wondering if I can using ClearCore board for controlling the motors. I have written some code for generating G-Code with large professional CNC machines and I am wondering if the motors could be directly controlled through simple software only like ClearCore, raspberry pi or computer. I feel I am missing something in my thinking. Outside the G-Code generation. What do the CNC controller boards do especially on hardware side for the motors and why this would be impossible or not advisable to control just from software side?
Checkout the simpler option: https://docs.openbuilds.com/blackbox-x32 A CNC controller does a lot of things. Trajectory planning in all axes, peripheral control, motor control, spindle, coolant, etc. It calculates accelerations, handles jogs, probes, etc
Thank you for a reply Peter. Does the blackbox-x32 can handle also servo motors, I am searching up to 6 motors. Outside software part, what actually the hardware is doing? What would be a difference if all motors would be connected to any other "NOT CNC" motion drives that would be controlled through computer?
the critical thing that a controller does is to SYNCHRONIZE motion across all axes, they must move is unison to achieve the programmed cut feedrate, and end at the same point at the same time, EXACTLY. Any mistiming will be visible in the finish of the part, from small glitches in the shiny to big chunks missing, depending on the exact timing errors. Speaking as a programmer with many years of experience which includes some years doing embedded realtime controll systems, dont try and do this yourself, the writers of existing controllers have spent many man-months solving the timing problems and we now have stable systems on which we can quickly build reliable machines. For 6 axes the controller will cost a bit more, but there are good solutions for grblHAL based boards, and of course the many Mach3/UCCNC/Acorn etc based controllers that are really excellent. Pick the features you need at GitHub - grblHAL/drivers: Driver overview and purchase what you need, hook up step and direction to your drivers and you will have movement in less than a day.
Regarding the following, which I believe is the most important: "the critical thing that a controller does is to SYNCHRONIZE motion across all axes.* I contacted Teknic company and they mentioned that the ClearCore board (ClearCore Industrial I/O and Motion Controller Platform; $99) can synchronize the motor movement. Do you or anyone has any opinion if it is a right board or I really need to use CNC controller? I am wondering how developers who are making for example 6-axis robot arms goes around this problem, because I assume they are not using CNC controllers but still some robotic applications can be used for cutting. Please let me know your experienced opinion.
