Trying a new controller

[John HaineParticipant @johnhaine32865]

I’ve used Mach3 for both milling and turning since about 2012 but I’ve been getting increasingly concerned about its longevity given that there have been no updates since then, but several problems arising through Windows updates. Currently I use a mini-PC with UC100 motion controller. I’ve recently been looking at gSender which is a free package from Sienci Labs designed to support their range of CNC machines. gSender plays the same role as Mach3/Mach4 in the system, sending commands to a motion controller (MC) which actually generates pulses to drive the steppers. However the target MC is grblHAL running on a suitable platform.

There are a range of platforms available, one of which is the picoBoB which comes on a tiny PCB with USB for connecting to the gSender host and a standard LP connector to plug into the usual interface for Mach3 breakout boards. The supplier even has a downloadable STEP model for a little case for it. This looks like virtually a plugin replacement for the UC100 but at £14 + carriage much cheaper. As I’ve got a spare BoB it should be fairly easy to try out. I should add that I’ll move the touch-screen laptop that I recently replaced to the workshop to host gSender.

I’ll post updates here as I go…

[HuubParticipant @huub]

As the pico bob runs on an RP2040, it could also be flashed to uCNC. Than you could use UGS as gcode sender. uCNC supports g33 threading using index and sync pulses. I have tested uCNC threading on the lathe on using several boards (STM32F103, RP2040, SAMD21, Arduino Mega, ESP32). I am very happy with the results and switched from grbl-l-mega to uCNC.
uCNC can also be used on cnc routers or laser cutters.

[Roderick JenkinsParticipant @roderickjenkins93242]

John,

That looks interesting.  Do please keep us updated.

Rod

[Joseph Noci 1Participant @josephnoci1]

Wish I could find something that can my DIY lathe with a C axis and auto-tool changer with center Live tool…I use LinuxCNC ( after a year of jumping through hoops  and much pain) and it works well, but the user interface is so clunky and yesterday…The inverse Kinematics for live tool milling with the C axis were just a nightmare on LinuxCNC – found a few bug with the master build, but eventually it works.. I just am no fan of Linux at all, so a single board embedded setup would be so nice. Unfortunately uCNC does not do anything like that..

 

 

For the CNC Mill, routers and engravers I moved from MACH2 with various board oddments to the UCCNC products – the AXBBE on the Router/Egraver and the UC300ETH on the CNC Mill. They work very well and the software is good. I find the trajectory planner much better than MACH2 and the steppers are much smoother, with a much better acceleration algorithm.  

 

 

[John HaineParticipant @johnhaine32865]

Huub that’s very interesting as my lathe uses a similar BoB with a UC100. I’m not sure if the picobob and the BoB has the I/O to support both index and sync pulses however.

[HuubParticipant @huub]

I have looked at that BOB and it has 5 inputs. Using 2 for index and pulse and 1 for probe leaves 1 for combined limit switches and 1 spare.
However I am not sure uCNC supports combined limit switches but I think the developer is willing to add that feature.

 

[Geoff DunsbyParticipant @geoffdunsby15757]

Hi,

When I started this journey into CNC my hunt for a good solution was made a bit harder by my use of Apple Mac. Most software is written for Windows, however I found an excellent solution that runs on PC, Linux and Mac.
The company is Planet CNC. They supply the software free but it only works on their controllers.
The whole package falls firmly in the gap between diy and pro user. I use this with Kirimoto CAM (totally free) tool path software.
Planet CNC will drive CNC lathe, mill, router, laser or plasma cutter.
It can be configured to suit your needs and machine.
I hope this is helpful.

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