Perfect, thank you Larry 
Guys, here is the link to the repository with the modified master grbl 0.9j.
It is configured to work with the board that is also in that repository. It is designed for the K40 laser.
Thanks for all you great help and contributions! Thanks to Nick Williams for the major development on integrating planned real time spindle control!
i have the jtech 2.8 laser and just the regular grbl version that came with the xcarve. im able to run the laser and switch to carving with no problems. is this for people who are using an actual computer controlled spindle? i just have the dewalt
Awesome Job !!
Just downloaded and reviewed your changes.
The bug in GCode.c is definitely wrong thanks for the catch.
There were a few small items I opened 4 issues in Github.
Thanks again for doing this I will be using your code base to migrate to 9j.
Nick
Thank you Nick! I checked your comments and changed the code where you requested.
I also moved the repository to here and made it an official grbl fork: GitHub - McNugget6750/grbl: An open source, embedded, high performance g-code-parser and CNC milling controller written in optimized C that will run on a straight Arduino
This version of the firmware allows you to do more with your laser than just vector type engraving. If you want to do gray scale pictures with the laser you would need to have grbl firmware that supports that function. J Tech has a version that was modified by Nick to allow gray scale laser work. I have moved his changes into this version of grbl and set it up so that you donât have to reload firmware when changing from gray scale laser work to spindle work.
As a side benefit the vector engraving with this version is faster in laser mode than the standard spindle mode in the Inventables firmware.
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ahh ok i gotcha.
do you still need to get a different arduino board in order to use that firmware version?
Not sure which version you are referring to.
If you have the original electronics from Inventables (Arduino/gShield), both the J Tech version (0.9g) and my version will run on that set up.
The difference is that with the original Inventables grbl and the J Tech 0.9g grbl you have to load the version that does what you want to do, either spindle (Inventables) or J Tech (gray scale laser). Then you have to re-load to do the other function.
With my version of grbl you only load the firmware in once. Then to switch between laser and spindle you change a few $ parameters. No re-load.
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If you are using a standard arduino uno or clone you will not need a different version arduino. Just flash the new firmware to the arduino uno.
from the jtech site it says if you are using the original arduino from inventables you have to get a new board because the inventables board isnt a real arduino and wont work with their 9g firmware
from the jtech site
â*****Our version of firmware requires that it be used on an OFFICIAL ARDUINO UNO board. The boards shipped by Inventables are not compliant with the Arduino and thus will not work correctly. We will be selling Arduino UNO boards on our site that are already preloaded and tested with a working version of our firmware. Or, just make sure you buy an OFFICIAL version on the board and not a counterfeit board. We got our X Carve and were surprised to see that our firmware does not work on the boards shipped with the system. Buying a new official board fixed the problem.â
Just Updated the Git Repository for the LaserInk Version of grbl.
Main difference is that in addition to Real time spindle codes the M3 and M5 will toggle pin 13 {previously used for spindle direction} on and off.
Timo you should update this in your repository as the change is really this simple.
The change was very simple inside of SpindleControll.c
if (direction == SPINDLE_DISABLE) {
- // NNW Added disable for stop
- SPINDLE_DIRECTION_PORT |= (1<<SPINDLE_DIRECTION_BIT);
spindle_stop();
} else {
The â+â identifies the added code to do this.
Note there is no need to add code to turn pin 13 high this is already done by the M3 command.
Cheers
Nick
I have been using the jtech 9g on $5 clone arduino unoâs from ebay for over a year now and also use it with a name brand arduino uno. I have not ordered any from inventables so I canât comment on their boards not working.
The easiest way to find out is to load the firmware and see if it works.
As with anything that comes in versions, some work, some donât. I havenât tried to track down why. So far, I have not found any âgenuine Arduinosâ that donât work.
I have an Arduino that came from Inventables and both the J Tech version and my version work on it. My Arduino has the socketed CPU chip. Some of the Inventables versions have the SMD chip.
I also have several clones â they work too.
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Ohoo! This is indeed interesting because M5 does not seem to turn off my laser properly! I will add this later today and let you know! Thanks!
Hey guys,
please check out this post: SimpleG - Fast gCode streaming for laser engraving with grbl
I developed a streaming software for grbl and Iâd like to ask for your inputs 
That part in my grbl looks completely different from yours⌠Iâll go through this in more detail when I have more time.
A couple questions while I wait for the UPS guy. I have read a lot of the threads concerning the Jtech laser and there is a ton of info, some of it confusing.
- It appears that with this version I donât need to switch between hexâs Correct?
- Can someone point me in the right direction for instructions flash the Xcontroller?
Yes, that is correct.
To upload a different version of grbl into the X-controller you would use the same procedure as for the Arduino.
https://inventables.desk.com/customer/en/portal/articles/2069033-grbl?b_id=9563
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so far the laser works
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