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IndustryArena Forum > OpenSource CNC Design Center > Open Source Controller Boards > Smoothieboard, new opensource, ARM 32 bits ( Cortex-M3 ) CNC controller board
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arthurwolf Smoothieboard, new... 04-14-2012, 03:13 PM
kreutz Interesting project, I will... 04-14-2012, 06:42 PM
doorknob This is an interesting... 04-14-2012, 06:57 PM
arthurwolf Thanks !* There is a guide... 04-14-2012, 06:59 PM
arthurwolf Smoothie is finally on... 09-28-2013, 10:01 AM
doorknob Congrats on your kickstarter.... 09-28-2013, 12:36 PM
arthurwolf Hi Doorknob ! We have a... 09-28-2013, 12:44 PM
websrvr Re: Smoothieboard, new... 05-23-2017, 05:24 AM
mactec54 arthurwolf Very cool... 04-14-2012, 06:52 PM
hesham morsy Very cool project 04-16-2012, 12:18 AM
cnc_4_me This is a very nice project. ... 04-17-2012, 09:21 AM
arthurwolf Thanks ! I'm quite... 04-18-2012, 10:00 AM
lovebugjunkie I just started ordering parts... 04-17-2012, 02:20 PM
arthurwolf It is on the list. Loxgen in... 04-18-2012, 10:07 AM
cnc_4_me Originally Posted by cnc_4_me... 04-27-2012, 09:33 PM
michel pet 2 extruder heads wood be... 05-26-2012, 08:12 PM
arthurwolf Hey all ! It's been a... 05-31-2013, 08:31 PM
karloterrazas Re: Smoothieboard, new... 05-15-2017, 08:14 PM
  1. #1
    Hi Doorknob !

    We have a picture of a -C model with the connectors it comes with on the kickstarter page :
    Attachment 202588
    It includes everything on that picture ( that's the 5XC version, 4XC and 3XC have the same, with the connectors they don't need removed ).

    About upgrading, you'd have to add the IC ( A4982 ), and about a dozen passives.*It can be done, but if you think you'll upgrade someday I'd recommend going with a 4X*or a 5X*directly. It can be fun if you enjoy SMT soldering though, nothing difficult.

    Thanks for pointing out the shapeoko forums, I'll post there !

    Cheers !

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Posts
    106

    Re: Smoothieboard, new opensource, ARM 32 bits ( Cortex-M3 ) CNC controller board

    Quote Originally Posted by arthurwolf View Post
    Hi Doorknob !

    We have a picture of a -C model with the connectors it comes with on the kickstarter page :
    Attachment 202588
    It includes everything on that picture ( that's the 5XC version, 4XC and 3XC have the same, with the connectors they don't need removed ).

    About upgrading, you'd have to add the IC ( A4982 ), and about a dozen passives.*It can be done, but if you think you'll upgrade someday I'd recommend going with a 4X*or a 5X*directly. It can be fun if you enjoy SMT soldering though, nothing difficult.

    Thanks for pointing out the shapeoko forums, I'll post there !

    Cheers !
    Someone sent me a PM asking about this product for their specific use so I took the time to examine it closely

    While I think this is a really neat product with some great potential, for anything more than a simple one color or two color (dual extruder head) 3D printer, foam cutter, hobby engraving machine or CO2 laser that doesn't factor in tool length or DIA, color mixing or auto-focusing, I think it falls short for anything in an intermediate or advanced machining capable capacity but really great for the beginner making his first cheap/inexpensive beginner machine.

    Considering I can buy a very good 5-axis USB BOB that works with Mach3/4 for less than $30.00, finding a standalone offline gcode board that can meet some intermediate machine needs is as always a challenge but I must say, this project offers fantastic beginner bang for the buck but there are limitation of use for your product based on it's current functionality/implementation that people are just not aware of that may cause some disappointment if they fall into the belief that this can do it all.

    Also considering that a single nozzle tri-fed extruder head capable of "on-the-fly" RGB color mixing is now becoming affordable (less than $40.00), not having that third extruder feed (E3) drive means the board wont be easy to make work in this desirable 3D configuration when you need six drivers and as far as I know only the GTM32 3D printer control board offered by Geeetech seems to be able to do "on-the-fly" color mixing and claims to be opensource but I have yet to personally substantiate the opensource claim since I can't seem to locate the code-base and replies from Geeetech don't seem to be happening.

    Using a 405Nm or 450Nm laser instead of the CO2 laser with a PWM output for power level control and dedicated inputs for auto-focus which can be easily implemented in the GRBL code makes it's laser machine use limited to manual focus adjusting and CO2 laser machines.

    For milling and router use what seems to be lacking is a list of supported GCODES to determine if tool length/diameter compensation along with some canned drilling/threading cycles is supported since these are not implemented or supported in the base GRBL code and trying to follow your code-base to determine if these features have been added is time consuming.

    On my small mill, a single pass cutting aluminum at a depth of 1in (25.4mm) with a 1/2in (12.7mm) 3 flute end mill and a feed of 15IPM has enough of it's own challenges as I push the hardware to it's limits but changing from a 1/4in (6.35mm) DIA with a 3/4in cut depth end mill to a 1/2in (12.7mm) with a 1in (25.4mm) cut depth end mill without having to modify GCODE to manually adjust cut paths because tool length and DIA compensation is not available is annoying to say the least but for most hobbyists they accept the practice because it's what is available in the way of controllers.

    Don't get me wrong, your project definitely has a place in the beginners market and this is what everyone seems to be basing new projects on while the intermediate or graduating hobbyist either settles for the beginner platform of dumps some serious cash on a controller that over-exceeds his needs (and his budget).

    Congrats on a wonderful product and the black PCBA is a nice touch and hope it can grow and develop with wisdom and age to become a line of controllers that can meet most hobby requirements and not end here.

    I'll keep my eyes open for your updated version of this product in the hopes that it offers some intermediate features and functionality for those of us who have graduated from kindergarden.

    And a final congrat goes out to karloterrazas for posting pics of his clean and what appears to be a finely crafted foam cutter, it seems the smoothie is a good fit for the hardware.

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