Larry what is the S1 part of the command?
I can just enter M3 and M5 for spindle on and off.
For those systems that are set up for variable spindle speed with a router/spindle that can handle it, the S word tell grbl what rpm to use. Is this case your minimum rpm is 0 (spindle off) and your maximum rpm is 1 (spindle on).
If you had a variable speed spindle you might have a minimum to maximum spindle speed range of say 0 to 10000 rpm. The way you tell grbl what spindle speed to request is with the āSā word. In this case spindle off would be S0 and maximum rpm would be S10000.
You can test it with your system the way you currently have grbl set up. M3 S1 would be spindle on with maximum rpm and M3 S0 would be spindle on with no (or zero) rpm. Essentially power off.
Since you are using a relay for your router you donāt want the router turning on and off during your carve so you select the maximum rpm to keep the relay turned on all the time you want the router to run.
1 Like
Unfortunately I will not be able to work on this until this weekend. Thanks so much for your prompt replies and the information. I will give it a try. If that doesnāt work Iāll probably go to Vcarve. Iāve been wanting to make the change but hate to part with the money. This may be the straw that breaks the easel camelās back. Iāll let you know what happens. If I do upgrade to Vcarve, it will be easier to fix, right?
Not so much easier, just different.
You are very close with either product. With Vcarve things are a little more transparent so they are easier to get to.
Easel tries to make life easier for the uninformed, which sometimes makes it get in the way.
1 Like
Before making that jump, you can export the Gcode from Easel and try with UGS or some other sender.
From what I recall, easels functionality for spindle will override the Gcode commands to start the spindle when you import Gcode from Vcarve.
You could actually make a simple Easel project (letās say a square), go to Machine ā> Advanced then Generate Gcode and then Save/Export Gcode. Download the file and attach it here. If Easel is setup right, the M3 commands should be in the exported Gcode.
While youāre looking around, if you have the Xcontroller, ensure the ribbon cable from the power supply board to the main board is fully seated. If not, it can cause output issues for the relay.
If I did this correctly, it didnāt work. The only place I could find to input something was what I think is the grbl. Not the gcode. Everything else had $ in the lines. So much for plug and play. Grrr! Any other suggestions? It still turns the spindle on when I flip the switch all the way away from logic.
Can you work with me for a while tonight to get to the problem. It will require a back and forth question response session and some what of a learning curve on your part.
1 Like
You bet
Thanks Phil. Iāll give that a try if I need to. Trying something else first.
Just to update everyone. LarryM was a great help. He spent hours on chat with me, putting up with my inexperience and ignorance of computer lingo. Eventually it was found that when I soldered the gshield, I did a poor job of it. Larry fixed it for me and now it seems to work like it should. If you want more info on what was wrong youāll have to ask Larry. THANKS LARRYM!
1 Like
I have had mixed success with that power supply from Amazon. I set it up with the two wires and it worked great. This lasted about a month and then I moved my X-Carve to another table and reconnected the power supply, the switch operates the spindle on, then cuts off after hearing a small pop like a breaker. Othewrwise the power box works fine, just not the auto-switch.
I purchased a second one with the same results. Any idea what could be going on? Dewalt 611 is set on 1, no change to the set up, X-controller is the only other item plugged in and it is plugged into the Always On receptacle.
Very odd.
I have mine configured the same and it has no issues at all.
Not sure if it helps, but have you tried plugging in a light in the Dewalt place and see if itās an Amp draw related issue.
Should handle the Dewalt without issue, but at least you can ensure the switch still works.
Did you ever get a solution? I am having the same problem. Tried hooking up a light to it and it does the same thing
Iām about to take my X-Controller apart to see if maybe something isnāt attached right.