Hi everyone,
I want to order the Arduino control board but am wondering if I need to purchase any separate wiring to hook it up to my laptop? I don’t have a desktop and don’t intend on buying one. When I click on the Arduino board, I don’t see any type of USB wiring included. Can it be used on a laptop? If yes, do I need to buy a special wiring harness for it?
Thanks all
The Arduino UNO uses a standard USB cable to get power from and communicate with the PC/laptop etc.
You can use a separate power supply if you don’t want to use the Arduino with a USB connection.
No USB cable included. No power supply included.
@LarryM Thank you for your reply Larry. Would you happen to know if the following power supply (indicated in the PDF attachment) will work with the Arduino Uno? Thank youS-350-24.pdf (124.0 KB)
The Arduino Uno can be powered using 7V-12V. The 24V produced by the power supply you linked to would be too much. You can use a DC-DC stepdown converter to reduce the 24V to something in the 7V-12V range; that’s what I would do.
@GregoryCooke Thank you for your reply. The power supply sold by Inventables is 24V as well. Any reason why there’s doesn’t have too much power but mine does? They also have a higher amp rating and produce 400W whereas mine produces only 350. Maybe I missed something?
I think I misunderstood your original question. You can use any 24V power supply, provided it produces enough current, when connecting the GShield and Arduino. This will always power the Arduino properly.
If you are interested in using the power supply you linked to, to directly power the Arduino, you’ll need to do some extra work. However, if you intend to power the GShield with the power supply, then connect the Arduino to the powered Gshield, this will work perfectly.
I believe the Arduino is supplied power from the GShield, where the GShield is supplied power from the 24V power supply. It is also possible to power the Arduino with a USB cable connected to a computer or other 5V source.
@GregoryCooke Thank you for the clarification Gregory. So basically what I’m trying to do is just use my power supply exactly the same way the Inventables power supply was intended to be used. Will this require extra work? Also, you mentioned that If I intend to power the GShield with the power supply, then I need to connect the Arduino to the powered Gshield and this should work perfectly. Is that how the Inventables power supply would be wired up as well?
William, the Arduino is not powered by the gShield. In normal operation the Arduino is powered by the USB cable to your computer. Since you need a computer hooked to the Arduino to operate the X-carve, there’s no need for an external power supply for the Arduino.
Is this guy having fun in here, or what. Tell us if you’re X-Carve owner or not. If you are, you must know what you need already. Follow instruction. Who cares what power Arduino uses. Plug it to your PC, magic happens.
I’m still waiting for my X-Carve to arrive, so I was going off of what I read in the instructions. I’m surprised the power is provided from the USB connection and not the power supply via the GShield. That would have been an easy feature for the GShield to include to avoid tethering the Arduino to the computer for power.
He is TB6560 control board user Mr. Mclead. Don’t worry too much, and he has Mach3 software in hand. He know Cad/Cam (From previous posts) he know almost everything about Arduino and Gshield operation, and he know too much to get rid of Arduino from his order list. My difficulty undersanding is why opening one more extra subject to ask what he already know about it. Get your machine, set it up, start carving, if you have problems then we might help you. Or forget about Mach3, which is not even compatible with X-Carve you need break board and total make up for GCodes and buy what ever 100% compatible for the machine you already purchased. Do everything like we did, then if you want to upgrade it, that time start asking.
Angus, close.
The 24 volt power supply only provides voltage to the blue LED and the stepper motors via the stepper motor driver chips (and externally to the cooling fan).
The logic voltage for the gShield comes from the Arduino, which gets its voltage from the USB port.
The other comments you provided are correct.
@GregoryCooke - I absolutely agree with you. But hey, it looks like we both learned a little something… that’s why it’s always good to ask and/or double check 
@AngusMcleod and @LarryM … Thank you both for your input. Given what you have both said, I think the simplest option is for me to buy the 24V PSU which is listed for $76 on the Inventables website. If I just buy the PSU, and use a USB cable, that should fully cover me off for having all my components (ie: Arduino, gShield, NEMA stepper motors) “powered up” correct?
@AlanDavis - I’m not quite sure why you’re getting worked up over a simple question. You claim that I “know almost everything about Arduino and Gshield” and your assumption is simply wrong. If you were correct, I wouldn’t be on here asking. If I knew the answer, I wouldn’t bother myself to create a new thread. Since I don’t know the answer, I thought it would be a good idea to come on here and ask those that either do know, or can at least point me in the right direction. Isn’t that the whole point of online forums? Plus, if I have a question, there is possibility that it is a question that someone else may want to know the answer to as well. So, asking will not only help me, but also those that search the thread in the future. In response to your suggestion of “Do everything like we did, then if you want to upgrade it, that time start asking”, I say thanks, but no thanks! I really like to weigh out my options, and not simply follow in the footsteps of others if I’m not fully aware of what’s going on. Your suggestion would not only cost me more money in the long run, but also lead to me learning absolutely nothing. Now that I have hopefully answered your questions, I would like to remind you that the forums are entirely voluntary. You are not obligated to post on here, but if you are going to, please make it worth your while and be courteous to others.
Yes, that’s correct. One other component that needs power is the spindle. If you order the 24 volt 300W spindle then you don’t need any other power source.
If you order a different spindle or router you would need the appropriate power source for that spindle/router.
@LarryM Thank you so much for the clarification. It all makes sense now. I will be buying the DWP611 spindle… my understanding is that that particular spindle just gets plugged into the wall socket… so nothing extra require there right?
I don’t have one, but my understanding is that the DWP611 just plugs into a 120 volt AC outlet.
You would need to order the correct spindle mount from Inventables to use that router, unless you are going to make your own spindle mount.
@LarryM - Thank you so much Larry. Crystal clear now on what I need thanks to your assistance. Much appreciated
