Hi guys,
Finally completed my build and got my inverter and spindle all wired up and working. Just need to set my x-carve up for the fiirst time. Unfortunately Easel will not set it up without an internet connection. I thought I could load Easel and then take my laptop out to my workshop to do the setup once I was on the correct screen but no, it connects but won’t do anytrhing else. I have absolutely no chance of getting internet to my workshop - its detached and too far from the house for wi-fi and too difficult to run ethernet cabling because of its position from the house. Power circuit adapters wont work as my workshop is on its own separate dedicated circuit. Can’t bring the x-carve back into the house without taking things apart so not really happy to do that.
Could somebody help me with my options? Am I able to use something else for the initial setup by sending grbl commands or does it have to be Easel?
Many thanks, Phil
You could use another sender, but you won’t have a setup wizard like you get with Easel. I like CNCjs. The interface is really clean and you can see what’s going on with the machine. Are you familiar at all with CNC machines, grbl, or gcode?
You can set up your machine without having to use Easel. It is not as quick and easy, but can be done.
Do you plan on using Easel for your work? An internet connection is required for that, but there are lots of other solutions if you don’t want to (or can’t) use Easel.
Does your cell phone and provider allow you create a WiFi hotspot? If you are using T Mobile and an iPhone I know you can. I am sure other phones and providers also allow it.
I have lousy internet out to the garage too. I am using the Universal Gcode Sender along with my CAD and CAM program. I found this document useful.
Has anyone considered using a wifi bridge?
You can extend your wifi up to several miles this way
Thanks for the quick replies guys.
I wasn’t really intending to use Easel as i have an old pc in the workshop with v-carve. Most of what i want to do can be v carved so i had planned to use that until i was familiar with the machine.
I know that i can use easel on my mac in the house and then use ugs in the workshop once i have the gcode ready.
I have no experience of cnc carving or grbl but i do run a small laser etcher so i know about gcode - i am slowly picking up more about grbl.
Unfortunately i am telephobic! Hardly ever use my mobile and i have no data plan on it so can’t make a hotspot.
I reached that frustration point last night when i had enough and i was ready to walk away and sell the thing - just didnt think the outcome was going to be worth the effort and learning but i am so close. Such a shame that at least the setup process cant be offline. I remember Zach writing somewhere that there are no windows or pc problems, just inventables problems as they should foresee and deal with issues to make the process seamless for the end user - I can’t be the only person with no workshop internet.
Anyway, need to get this going, so it looks like i need to get the thing back in the house.
As all my shielded cables are connected to their own earth rod in the workshop, and the inverter and spindle are now permanently wired into the wall in there will i be ok setting up without these connected?
I have full limit switches wired up as NC so i expect to have to set these up with grbl rather than easel.
Once things are set up and calibrated am i correct that i can calibrate the machine regularly using grbl without bringing everything back to the house?
Many thanks for your help guys, much appreciated.
Phil
Yes, I thought about a bridge but its not really economical or justifiable and if I spend any more money on getting this running I’ll be able to move it into the house, because my wife won’t be there anymore!
The only things Easel does that need the spindle in place are carve (surprise) and Z probe. Z probing isn’t part of the setup, so you should be fine without the spindle in place. I think the main things setup does are set default step values ($100-$102) and flip motor directions if necessary ($3, I think).
You can cal your machine with anything that can modify your GRBL parameters, i.e. Universal Gcode Sender.
Thanks - looks like it is coming into the house then. Decided to walk away from it for a couple of days first - CNC’d out and need to come back to it with a fresh head.
EDIT: If anybody else is interested I found some really good instructions and calibration guide for the xcarve (and others) via the Princeton University site here:
https://www.princeton.edu/ssp/joseph-henry-project/carvey/
The probe plate is part of the easel set up. It is the last thing before it goes to test out some carve ( I never did the carve because of poor internet). That’s where I ended up, and proceded to UGS to set up the $ parameters.
try getting a yagi antenna like they use in the rv parks , my shop is about 400 ft away from the house and bought one and now have wifi in my shop