Im new to this cnc thing, have it few days ago.. hook up my windows 10 laptop and follow the manual instruction... install usb driver CH340 file send beud to 115200 and open the GRBL controller set to com 4 and the beud 115200 they send me in a CD... but no prompt pop up... have try almost everything... including downloading arduino ide.. set to com 4.. upload sketch, upload blink nothing works all i got is error and program not responding.. the controller doesn’t tell me that is a arduino uno or mega... been working on it for past 4 days.. nothing works...
Most of those Chinese CNC machines use a CH340 driver that will either be on the CD or you can download it.
They also prefer USB 2.0 ports but will occasionally work on USB 3.0.
Be careful of the Chinese software as some of it is blatantly illegal copies.
You will also probably find the CNC board supplied has GRBL 0.9 and I found it better to upgrade the firmware to the newer GRBL 1.0
If your has the 3d printed spindle holder you are strongly advised to use the machine itself to make a spare one of of hardwood or if you can find the file get somebody to make a spare on a 3d printer but with much more filler section as they are quite weak and break easily.
Most times the spindle supplied is only any good for very light cuts < .5mm and has a lot of Z drift +- as much as 1.5 mm.
Sketch uses 930 bytes (2%) of program storage space. Maximum is 32256 bytes.
Global variables use 9 bytes (0%) of dynamic memory, leaving 2039 bytes for local variables. Maximum is 2048 bytes.
C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Arduino15\packages\arduino\tools\avrdude\6.3.0-arduino14/bin/avrdude -CC:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Arduino15\packages\arduino\tools\avrdude\6.3.0-arduino14/etc/avrdude.conf -v -patmega328p -carduino -PCOM4 -b115200 -D -Uflash:w:C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Temp\arduino_build_936294/Blink.ino.hex:i
avrdude: Version 6.3-20171130
Copyright (c) 2000-2005 Brian Dean, http://www.bdmicro.com/
Copyright (c) 2007-2014 Joerg Wunsch
System wide configuration file is "C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Arduino15\packages\arduino\tools\avrdude\6.3.0-arduino14/etc/avrdude.conf"
Using Port : COM4
Using Programmer : arduino
Overriding Baud Rate : 115200
avrdude: stk500_recv(): programmer is not responding
avrdude: stk500_getsync() attempt 1 of 10: not in sync: resp=0xfc
avrdude: stk500_recv(): programmer is not responding
avrdude: stk500_getsync() attempt 2 of 10: not in sync: resp=0xfc
avrdude: stk500_recv(): programmer is not responding
avrdude: stk500_getsync() attempt 3 of 10: not in sync: resp=0xfc
avrdude: stk500_recv(): programmer is not responding
avrdude: stk500_getsync() attempt 4 of 10: not in sync: resp=0xfc
avrdude: stk500_recv(): programmer is not responding
avrdude: stk500_getsync() attempt 5 of 10: not in sync: resp=0xfc
avrdude: stk500_recv(): programmer is not responding
avrdude: stk500_getsync() attempt 6 of 10: not in sync: resp=0xfc
avrdude: stk500_recv(): programmer is not responding
avrdude: stk500_getsync() attempt 7 of 10: not in sync: resp=0xfc
avrdude: stk500_recv(): programmer is not responding
avrdude: stk500_getsync() attempt 8 of 10: not in sync: resp=0xfc
avrdude: stk500_recv(): programmer is not responding
avrdude: stk500_getsync() attempt 9 of 10: not in sync: resp=0xfc
avrdude: stk500_recv(): programmer is not responding
avrdude: stk500_getsync() attempt 10 of 10: not in sync: resp=0xfc
The board is PRE-loaded with GRBL.
You don't need to be using the IDE at all unless you are changing the firmware.
If you have set up the machine and dialed in the driver boards you only need to connect to a program capable of sending a CNC file.
My personal favourites are the UGS PLATFORM for 3 axis work and LASER GRBL for yep LASER work.
It wont say on the board which version GRBL but every board I have had has been 0.9 so far.
Windows device manager should see a COM port when you plug the cnc board in.
That is the COM port you will select in the CONTROL program and not the IDE.
Uploading anything else will wipe the GRBL firmware so please dont do that.
From your link I would hazard a guess that it has the cheap 3D printed spindle arrangement so take care as they are unreliable for any real machine work. DO NOT over tighten the spindle motor clamp bolts.
Also did you pre-fill the bearings with grease as the oil in there is only a very light shipping oil and no good for long use ?
Its easy enough to loosen the bearing rods and slide them out so you can grease them properly.
Best way is to pump some lithium grease in there or EP2 gp grease and then hold your finger over one end and push the rod slowy in and out to force the grease into the bearing runs.
There are a few simple mods to these machines that I highly recommend and the first would be the HOLD, RESUME and STOP buttons.
The GRBL programs also have these on screen options but the actual physical buttons are better than rapidly screaming a mouse around a screen.
I have try downloading the UGS Platform that you recommand... hook up the USB cable, select COM 4 as show in the device manager upload my Gcode and click send and error show up saying the “ error while starting file streaming: GRBL has not finished booting.
That is usually a gcode file that was not meant for GRBL where there might be too many commands on a single line.
I found that saving as MACH2 seems to work the best as it does not need to be pre-processed.
Attaching a small test file Arduino logo.
See if this works for you.
The file name has the material size and tool size but so long as you are something close it should be fine.
Suggest you run it with no material at first with your Z set to about 40mm above the empty table just to get the idea.
Also attached the picture I used to produce the code.
What would you describe your skill level with CNC and GRBL on a scale of 1 - 10 ?
As a millwright / mech eng my hardware skills are pretty high.
As far as G-CODE goes my skill level is probably about a 4+.
Are you using USB 2.0 or 3.0 ?
It seems you are seeing the board OK but that's not always a sign of a good connection.
In the UGS lower console when you connect to the board do you see any messages at all and what are they (copy paste and use the CODE TAGS ( </> ) that the forum provides for you.
OK thats a good start but There is usually a longer message that follows.
You might want to expand the lower console a little upwards into the display area in case you missed it.
Should be similar to below but some numbers may be different and that would be normal as I changed a lot of my parameters.
When shutting down these types of program always do a disconnect first as just closing can on occasion leave the COM port a little stuck in limbo.
If you see the longer message then that's the best sign as it means the program can not only see the board but fully communicate with it too.
Manually dial in the steppers so they are about half way across each lead screw.
Then play with the direction buttons and listen for any noise produced by the steppers etc.
Do you have anyone else you can call upon for help in any way that may be a little more experienced ?
When shutting down these types of program always do a disconnect first as just closing can on occasion leave the COM port a little stuck in limbo.
If you see the longer message then that's the best sign as it means the program can not only see the board but fully communicate with it too.
Manually dial in the steppers so they are about half way across each lead screw.
Then play with the direction buttons and listen for any noise produced by the steppers etc.
Do you have anyone else you can call upon for help in any way that may be a little more experienced ?
After taking time to read up a little it is possible you might have corrupted the bootloader or there was none on there to start with ?
There are a few ways to re-install the bootloader but the easiest is to try and hold down the RESET button at the correct time during upload.
Quite often if that method fails it usually means you need an additional bit of hardware and that can range from another Arduino to a cheap dedicated ICSP device which is very cheap.
Do you see that small magnifying glass at the top of the page.
I would suggest you learn to use it as I don't remember the exact details
However it goes along the lines of holding down the reset then uploading a sketch (yes I know I said DON'T we can worry about that later) and holding it down until it says "uploading" at which point you would release the button.
I would suggest using either the BLINK or MINIMUM example sketches in the IDE (yes you would need to use the IDE for this)
I suspect it is critical to get the timing correct so it may take a few tries.
Again use the search option to get better detail and search for "bootloader reset"
the supplier reply my email today, he told me to upload an HEX file that she gave me using xloader apps, during uploading the blue light flashing and i don't know what is that and the apps hang and have to force to close.