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Wiring of the CNC electronicsLink

X-Controller assemblyLink

If you ordered the X-Controller, follow the official assembly instructions here.

Note

This is what we used in our second and third version of the phenotyping station hardware.

Warning

We replaced the default Grbl firmware by Oquam, our own implementation. See here for the instructions on how to flash this firmware to the X-Controller.

gShield assemblyLink

If you have the recent version, follow the official wiring instructions here.

Here is link to the post 2015 version of the "wiring" instructions.

Here is link to the post 2015 version of the "electronic assembly" instructions.

Note

This is what we used in our first version of the phenotyping station hardware.

BOMLink

If you are familiar with the Arduino world, the electronic is pretty straightforward:

  • Arduino UNO (official buy here)
  • Synthetos gShield (buy here)
  • Power converter 220V ac. - 24V dc. (buy @Farnell)
  • Emergency stop button (buy @Farnell)

Optional:

  • 24V fan
  • 220V power cord

Note

Before 2017 X-Carve shipped 400W power units, now they use a 320W unit. The link is for a 350W unit.

Wiring instructionsLink

Wire the Stepper Cable to the gShieldLink

Once you’ve determined which stepper cable belongs to which axis, you can wire them into the gShield. First loosen all the screws on the gShield (they will jump a thread when they are fully loose, but they won’t come out of the terminal blocks.)

The gShield is marked "X," "Y," and "Z". Wire the stepper cable according to the markings on the shield and order your wires (from left to right) black, green, white, red.

gShield motor wire

Check out this diagram for clarification.

gShield wiring diagram

Mount the gShieldLink

Now push the gShield onto the Arduino. There are pins on the gShield that go into the headers of the Arduino.

gShield Arduino mount

24V Fan mount (optional)Link

If you want, you can add a 24V fan to cool the shield. Uses the 24V pins on the gShield as shown in the picture below:

Optional fan mount

Loosen the screws in the power terminal of the gShield and insert the red twisted pair into Vmot and the black twisted pair into GND.

Connect Limit Switches to gShieldLink

Crimp the white ends of each limit switch wire pair. The order of the white wires from left to right is X, Y, Z. The first, sixth, and eighth slots are left EMPTY.

Limit switches wiring diagram

Pin mapping:

  • D9: x-limit (red)
  • D10: y-limit (red)
  • D12: z-limit (red)
  • GND: ground (all 3)

Power the gShieldLink

Loosen the screws in the power terminal of the gShield and insert the red twisted pair into Vmot and the black twisted pair into GND. This is similar to the optional 24V fan.

Note

This will also power the Arduino.