Arduino Software Install
STOP! If you purchased any Arduino control package from Zen Toolworks, you DO NOT need to install Arduino software again. Every control package is pre-loaded with the software.
ArduinoControl 001: In This tutorial, we will be walking you through one way to control your CNC machine with an Arduino. The first thing you will want to do is to navigate to http://arduino.cc in your web browser.
ArduinoControl 002: Navigate or click on the download tab.
ArduinoControl 003: Choose the proper download for your machine. Note- the software we will be using to send G-Code to the Arduino is currently only available in Windows.
ArduinoControl 004: Click open.
ArduinoControl 005: Choose where you would like to download the file.
ArduinoControl 006: Wait for the download to complete.
ArduinoControl 007: Once the download has completed, click open.
ArduinoControl 008: The arduino software downloads as a zip file, so we will need to extract the files.
ArduinoControl 009: Right click on the folder, and choose extract all.
ArduinoControl 010: Choose the destination where you would like to extract the arduino folder and click extract.
ArduinoControl 011: Let the files extract, it will take a few moments.
ArduinoControl 012: Now that the folder has been extracted, open it.
ArduinoControl 013: Double click the arduino application.
ArduinoControl 014: Next we will have to navigate to our device manager, where you should see your arduino.
ArduinoControl 015: Right click on the arduino device, and choose "update driver software".
ArduinoControl 016: Now we want to choose "Browse my computer" for driver software.
ArduinoControl 017: Click browse.
ArduinoControl 018: Navigate to your recently extracted Arduino folder and click OK.
ArduinoControl 019: Choose next.
ArduinoControl 020: Your driver will now be updated.
ArduinoControl 021: If windows gives you this security alert- choose "install this driver software anyway".
ArduinoControl 022: The driver should continue installing.
ArduinoControl 023: You should get a window that says the driver was updated successfully. Click close.
ArduinoControl 024: The device should now be shown in your device manager with the correct COM port.
ArduinoControl 025: Now navigate to https://github.com/OttoHermansson/GcodeSender/downloads in your web browser. Then click on the GCodeSender.exe download link.
ArduinoControl 026: Choose run when prompted.
ArduinoControl 027: Choose your save destination.
ArduinoControl 028: Once download has completed, select "open folder".
ArduinoControl 029: Now double click the GCodeSender application.
ArduinoControl 030: If prompted with a security warning choose "run".
ArduinoControl 031: Once in GCodeSender click the "Open" button.
ArduinoControl 032: Be sure the \r\n bubble is selected.
ArduinoControl 033: Type a "$" without the quotes into the command bar and hit enter.
ArduinoControl 035: You should get a list of settings that you can alter to fit your application. To change the "x" step/mm for example, type $0 = 400 or whatever your steps per mm needs to be, and then hit enter. The same can be done for any of the other settings.
Next you should test your settings by typing for example X10 then hit enter. Your machine should move 10mm in the positive "X" direction. You can similarly test the other axis the same way. Just replace X with the axis of choice.
Depending on the machine and configuration used, it may be necessary to set the axis motion direction opposite of its current setting. This is accomplished by setting the invert mask within the grbl controller. As of version .8c the command is $6="X", older versions used $7="X", where X is the value the direction(s) needing to be reversed from the following list ("None = 0, X=32, Y=64, X+Y=96, Z=128, X+Z=160, Y+Z=192, X+Y+Z=224") if I needed to reverse the Y axis I would enter command $6=64
Another useful tool is Grbl controller 3.5 available at http://zapmaker.grblcontroller.s3-website-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/GrblController35Setup.exe GRBL controller is useful for workpiece setup and getting a graphical view of the toolpath. However, G-code sender has superior motion control for arcs.
Once motion control is verified it is recommended to upgrade the GRBL control software on the Arduino. A tutorial is located at http://wiki.zentoolworks.com/index.php/How_to_upgrade_Arduino_GRBL_software