CNC xPRO v4 - Perfect controller for CNC machines for amateurs and professionals!
It's been a long time since we published our last guide, "Guide: CNC Control with Arduino and CNC Shield", where we described a simple and cheap controller which allows us to work with CNC devices.
We promised more parts - these will come soon, but earlier we wanted to present you an alternative to the combination of Arduino and CNC Shield, which should be of particular interest to people starting their adventure with CNC devices and people who plan or already have CNC constructions offered in our store (e.g. CNC WorkBee , CNC MiniMill, Acro and others).
- Which controller for CNC machines we recommended for a beginner, amateur and professional user?
- Why should you get to interested in the OpenBuilds CNC xPRO control board?
- How to properly connect the xPRO CNC controller?
- From where download the software for controlling the CNC device?
- How to run a software which allows you to control CNC machines?
CNC machine controller - which one to choose?
There are many different units availiable on the market that support CNC devices. Certainly, one of the most economical ones is CNC Shield + Arduino, but it requires specific knowledge from the user. There are also controllers available on the market for professional CNC devices, the operation of which often requires a bit more knowledge and their price can be high - especially for a person who just wants to start their adventure with CNC devices.
CNC controller for beginners - CNC xPRO v4 OpenBuilds!
Many of you, call us with a doubs about how to start up CNC milling machine. While the construction of a CNC structure requires some manual skills, connecting the electronics scares many people. OpenBuilds offers a driver that, in our opinion, offers a lot both to the user who has never had contact with this type of electronics and software, and to those who require good and professional software and drivers.
CNC xPRO - a CNC machine controller that you can start up in a few minutes!
The xPRO v4 CNC board offered in our store has a cost not exceeding PLN 1000 gross. Which ensuring quick and easy commissioning of the CNC structure. The price can be high for many people, but we assure you that this investment is worth that. It will guarantee you a quick installation and you will not lose your nerves when uploading the software. It is ideal for most CNC constructions that you can find in our store.In addition, does not require any additional calculations, trials and so on.
Simply - just connect the xPRO v4 CNC electronics to the milling machine, and we can start working!
How to connect wires, stepper motors and limit switches?
These are really simple questions, which already cause problems for many people. How is the connection of the xPro v4 CNC controller? Everything has been designed in a very reasonable, easy and legible way which require from the user very basic electrical knowledge and screwdriver.
How to connect a CNC milling machine to the xPRO v4 CNC controller?
We will briefly describe the installation process that will allow you to bring your machine to working!
What we will need:
- A flat screwdriver (tiny).
- 12V power supply preferably minimum 250W.
- Cord to a standard outlet.
- CNC xPRO v4.
- Stepper motors, limit switches - everything which finally will be part of the CNC construction.
- USB A / B cable (i.e. the one we have in normal printers, e.g. inkjet).
At the beginning, remember that we are dealing with high voltage (230V) here, so need be especially careful. In the first stage, it is worth preparing a table. A the beginning we can connect a power supply with a 230V cable.
When the power supply is connected, we can move to the board. The diagram below shows exactly how to connect the board and we believe that no one will have a problem with the connection, but of course, we will describe all needed steps in detail.
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Connect the 12V power supply to the contact terminals on the xPro CNC PCB.
For this purpose, we bring + and - from the power supply to the screw terminals. On the board you will find signs where to connect the + cable and the - cable. At this stage, we do not connect the power supply to 230V yet.
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We connect the stepper motors to the CNC xPRO.
Here we need to know details from technical description of the stepper motor. Stepper motors with 4 wires (bipolar) have maximal peak current 2.5A - powered preferably by 12V / 24V
The technical data of engine itself
The wires form pairs, e.g. red / blue, black / green.
Then, knowing that, screw the wires from the stepper motor to the screw terminals on the board, which again are well described.
Additionally, the board contains a description of where to connect the X, Y and Z axis motor. If our design includes, for example, two motors for guiding the X axis, connect one of the two axis motors to the connectors at the terminals marked with the letter "A".
"A" clones the movement of the axis selected by us.
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Connect the cable endings to the CNC machine
When the motors are already connected, we still have limit switches.
Of course, if we do not have them - we omit this point.
Connecting the limit switches is as simple as connecting stepper motors. The board has well described screw terminals to which the limit switches should be connected. Six wires and the topic is closed :)!
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Now, connect additional elements
We can connect a few more additional elements to the xPRO CNC board, such as buttons that allow us to stop , pause or restart the CNC machine. We can also connect a "probe" for the Z axis, a fan or other accessories such as lighting or a vacuum cleaner.
Everything is described on the board, but today if you let us we will not to delve into the details.
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When everything is connected, we can prepare USB cable to connect them to our computer and the xPRO v4 CNC board.
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Now we can connect the 12V power supply to the electricity and we can start working with our CNC machine !
BELOW A MORE DETAILED SCHEME OF THE PLATE
Video presentation on our Youtube channel:
Free software to control CNC milling machines
Along with the xPro v4 CNC board, the manufacturer offers FREE software as well. This program is readable, easy to use and compatible with the xPRO CNC board and most structures based on V-Slot and C-Beam profiles.
Where can I download free software for controlling CNC devices?
The OpenBuilds control program is ready for free download. We can easily install it on our computers, among others with Windows and Linux system. You can download the OpenBuilds Control - Machine Driver program from our website by clicking the link below:
https://www.v-slot.pl/pl/i/Oprogramowanie/18
OpenBuilds Control software will allow us to control, for example, a CNC milling machine to which we connected a CNC xPro v4 board.
After launching the program and after connecting the xPRO CNC board to our computer, the OpenBuilds Control software should automatically find the USB port to which the control board is connected.
When the program finds the USB port, click "connect" and now we are connected to the milling machine.
People who are dealing with structures such as the WorkBee, Lead or MiniMill milling machine have an easier task. All you have to do is click on the GRBL Settings tab and then you can expand the list where you will find your device listed!
You need to choose your CNC device and the program will prepare all the parameters needed to handle it for you! People who, however, do not have a device based on OpenBuilds structures, have to manually enter the machine parameters. We will write a separate article about it soon.
However, if you are still at the stage of choosing your first CNC milling machine, plotter, etc., we encourage you to taking in to considerations the CNC devices available in our store . Thanks to this, all elements will be compatible with each other and provide you with the highest comfort of work!
Returning to the main menu, there we can control our CNC milling machine manually by clicking on Y +/-, Z +/- and X +/- respectively. After clicking, our machine (of course, if everything is well connected) should make the first moves!
If you have already prepared G-Code, just load it into the program and start working! People who, however, do not have ready projects yet but would like the device to automatically do some work, can use the free OpenBuilds CAM Gcode Generator software. Just go to the website: https://cam.openbuilds.com and create your first project - but about that, also another time.
To sum up, if you are a person who is just starting his adventure with devices such as a CNC milling machine, plotter or other CNC construction, the xPRO CNC control board with free software will certainly be the perfect solution for you. People who already have some knowledge and they are looking for interesting, alternative software and drivers for semi-professional milling machines should definitely pay attention to the OpenBuild's products offered.
Where can I buy an xPRO v4 CNC PCB?
Naturally, all products can be found in our online store.
The xPRO v4 CNC PCB can be found by clicking on the link: https://www.v-slot.pl/sterownik-cnc-xpro-v4
CNC machines based on V-Slot and C-Beam profiles can be found by clicking here: https://www.v-slot.pl/gotowe-zestawy-i-maszyny-openbuilds
If you have any questions, please contact us by phone (+48 519 337 057) or by e-mail shop@v-slot.pl. We will be honoured to help you.
