Looking for an CNC xPro controller board

**centurian** · 04-02-2015

I'm in the process of building an OX cnc router from Openbuilds in America, but didn't purchase the control board at the same time as they were out of stock. I have since bought a Synthetos gShield (grblShield) V5 from Adafruit which I received damaged in transit. It was sent in a jiffy bag with bottom pins sticking through the bag and when I opened it all the top pins were bent to one side.

Adafruit saw the error of their ways after I photographed the bag before opening it showing the pins sticking out and another when I'd opened it. They refunded the cost of the board and the UPS costs.

They wanted to replace the board but I said no as I'd have to pay another £25 for Customs import charge.

Anyway I'm looking for an CNC xPRO control board (see attachment) from either a UK or a European supplier. I'm fed up with Customs pouncing on me every time I buy something abroad.

I'd be grateful for any help with this inquiry.

Thanks a lot.

Mike
(centurian)

**IanS1** · 04-02-2015

Is the gShield not repairable?

I'm not 100% certain this is possible at the moment but have you thought about using the Arduino with GRBL firmware to connect and drive external stepper drivers. I've got 3 Leadshine AM882 drives connected to a Arduino Uno at the moment, just for test purposes. I can drive them with code from the Arduino. This weekend I will try to drive them with the GRBL firmware and the GCode sender software. If you can wait that long I'll let you know if it works.

**centurian** · 04-02-2015

Hello Ian
I know this works as I've seen Mark Carew setting up his router with this same configuration.

Watch it here:

The shield is connected to the Arduino but I have yet to connect it up to power.

**IanS1** · 05-02-2015

Isn't he using the gShield in that video though? I'm thinking about not using a gShield but connecting the AM882 drivers directly to the Arduino with the GBRL firmware.

**centurian** · 05-02-2015

Never heard of it done that way before.

Let me know the outcome if you survive the raging inferno won't you.

Best of luck.

**Neale** · 05-02-2015

Seems a bit pessimistic! The AM882 claims to have TTL-compatible opto-isolated inputs, which sounds fine to drive with the ATmega chip on the Arduino board. Why put something else in between, unless it happens to make connections easier? Assuming it's a Uno board with a plugin cpu, worst that's likely to happen (and even then only as a result of a fairly significant fault elsewhere) is making the ATmega chip go pop. A 328P costs about £3, which is less than a typical breakout board!

The idea of cheap hardware plus open-source software giving better-than-PC performance for a fraction of the price of the cheapest motion controller is very attractive, and I would like to follow this one and hear how it goes.

**rashedi** · 21-09-2018

May I ask if you used the xPRO controller as an Arduino board to control the stepper motors? I think the board itself can be identified as an Arduino UNO in IDE. Isn't it?

**Boyan Silyavski** · 05-02-2015

Originally Posted by centurian

I'm fed up with Customs pouncing on me every time I buy something abroad.

I'd be grateful for any help with this inquiry.

Thanks a lot.

Mike
(centurian)

Hi Mike,
The customs here in Spain pushed me. So i push now all people i buy from. "Please could you state it lower than 20EU?", that before buying / or i don't buy from you

/ . And it works. I wonder why i have never done it before.
I buy ALL stuff i need from the net, so we are talking $$$$ here

**grennak** · 20-09-2018

Originally Posted by centurian

I'm in the process of building an OX cnc router from Openbuilds in America, but didn't purchase the control board at the same time as they were out of stock. I have since bought a Synthetos gShield (grblShield) V5 from Adafruit which I received damaged in transit. It was sent in a jiffy bag with bottom pins sticking through the bag and when I opened it all the top pins were bent to one side.

Adafruit saw the error of their ways after I photographed the bag before opening it showing the pins sticking out and another when I'd opened it. They refunded the cost of the board and the UPS costs.

They wanted to replace the board but I said no as I'd have to pay another £25 for Customs import charge.

Anyway I'm looking for an CNC xPRO control board (see attachment) from either a UK or a European supplier. I'm fed up with Customs pouncing on me every time I buy something abroad.

I'd be grateful for any help with this inquiry.

Thanks a lot.

Mike
(centurian)

hi,

i may have a spare brand new one of these, give me 2 days and ill let you know once my cnc is together as i got 2 xpro v3 controllers with my system and i only need one.

**Clive S** · 20-09-2018

Originally Posted by grennak

hi,

i may have a spare brand new one of these, give me 2 days and ill let you know once my cnc is together as i got 2 xpro v3 controllers with my system and i only need one.

Hi Welcome to the forum are you aware that you are answering a post that is more than 3 years old.