Sneak Peek at the X-Controller

I would buy this in a second.

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@BartDring

•Built in Grbl CNC Controller

Is the built in controller an Arduino Uno, or something else?

Thanks…
Larry

I bet it is based on the Arduino, but it looks to be 1 board so it probably closer resembles the TinyG

The goal on this one was to have it 100% grbl compatible. You can see a “Powered by Grbl” logo in the corner if you look carefully. With that said, don’t be surprised if grbl reveals some new tricks with this product :sunglasses:

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please be native pendant control. please be native pendant control. please be native pendant control. :smiley:

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Grbl is unlikely to have a complex pendant. It currently has three pendant like functions.

  • Cycle Start
  • Feedhold
  • Grbl Reset

There is a connector on the X-Controller to access those and we plan to “exploit” that in the future. These features are also accessible via software and can be very useful. Feedhold is actually faster than an E-stop because of capacitance in the power supply. E-Stop is safer in the true emergency.

Grbl Reset is an advanced feature that many people don’t understand. If you feedhold a job because a bit broke, you can clear the planner and restart a job a little before where the bit broke. The machine will not loose it’s place between jobs.

The way to do a full featured pendant is through the Gcode sender (Easel, Chilipeppr, UGS). A simple one could be made with an Arduino Leonardo as a keystroke sender. Chilipeppr has an awesome one using the Shuttle XPress.

Stupid question: What is “a complex pendant” and “native pendant control”?

I don’t think those have formal definitions. Here was my take on them.

  • Complex Pendant. This is a pendant that can do advanced thing like jog the machine and zero work offsets.
  • Native Pendant: A pendant that plugs directly into the X-Controller?
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A boy can still dream. :smiley: I’ve actually made a Start/Hold/Reset pendant for my rig already, and as soon as I find the USB keypad I have around here somewhere, I’m going to try that out as a control pendant. Funny you mentioned the Leonardo though - I have one in my Box-O-Arduino stuff, and I may just have to dig it out and play around a little bit.

@NAM37 - by “native,” I meant the ability to somehow plug in a control pendant and have it Just Work™ without fiddling around with the aforementioned options. :slight_smile:

The more I wait for the x-controller, the more I’m getting used to my 99¢ shoebox version.

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Will there be a Z probe accessory or touch plate available from inventables to bundle with the new X-Controller

Niiiiiice! I might have to borrow this idea!

@DarcyBertolo The X-Controller has the connection and we have a touch probe that looks like this.

Rather than a plate, we use a brass “puck”

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Any update

I was waiting too, then I decided to go ahead and order just the x-carve minus the motion control and power stuff. I figured I can start building the x-carve and add my modifications in the meantime, then just order the x-controller the moment it is available. I just hope it’s available soon. I’ll end up paying more in shipping but I am sure there will be other parts I’ll need to order anyway. Looking forward to x-controller!

Two questions

  1. Would there be any problems to mounting the X-Controller upside down on the underside of a table, over heating or such?

  2. Could the emergency stop button be relocated away from the X-Carve?

Mounting upside down is OK. It has mounting holes for rigid mounting. The e-stop breaks the AC power. It is probably not safe to relocate it and run AC out of the enclosure. I suggest using one of these e-stops to add an additional e-stop for the AC power to the X-Controller.

Great idea

Just saw that the X-Controller now has a price! $329

I X that.

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