I am in a jam. I own a brand new 1500x1500 workbee screw drive machine.
I need to know what software is best to use to learn and if needed what controller/drivers if any to get.
I am ready to order today if we can find something we can use right away. Thanks
Would easel work for me? What do I need to connect laptop to machine?
Thanks in advance
You need something to drive the motors. If the Workbee is Grbl based, then the X controller should work. The x controller is a couple hundred dollars more than what Open builds in offering for a controller, but it’s all integrated into one package. You do have to assemble it, but the instructions are very nice.
I use a used laptop with Universal Gcode Sender because I’m out away from the Wi-Fi, but Easel will work as well. Because you are using screws instead of belts, a few of your settings will be different that the X carve. Easel is pretty simple to learn for 2d stuff. UGS can be found for free online. It is fairly simple to use. My version is an older stable one with fewer bells and whistles.
If you plan on doing 3d, you may want to check out some programs for that. I use Rhino, which has been around for a long time. Fusion360 is a popular one.
Thanks Martin. Not sure what defines “grbl based”. The machine is just the machine. Theres nothing hooked to it except motors and switches. What do I need to buy to make it all work? What goes from laptop to the machine?
I’ll look at the x-controller.
Thanks
If you have no controller yet, then the xcontroller should do the trick if the electrical requirements of the motors are similar to what comes with an x carve. Your other option is Mach3 which is a controller that uses the old parallel port on a old computer or a more modern computer with a UC100 to use a usb port. .( google uc100) The X controller comes with a usb cable which connects the computer to the xcontroller. There are other controller options, but these are the ones that I’m familiar with. I am not a computer or electronics guy, so I appreciate the plug and play features of controllers. My other cnc has a prewired probotix controller that uses Mach3.
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