Hello All I need some help I am very interested in building one of these .
I just need some help or guidance to what I need. I am in Canada as well.
I am interested in loading easel as my son has used it before on xcarve at school not sure what board I need to get any help is appreciated.
Thank you
Hi darryl, and welcome to the forums!
If you haven’t yet, I highly recommend going over the basic info pages here:
https://docs.v1engineering.com/mpcnc/intro/
Those docs should get you up to speed with what is needed and how it all fits together. Easel seems to be a cad/cam package, which from my quick reading is compatible with at least grbl. I’m not sure if it is compatible with marlinfw, which is the firmware that is well supported for use on mpcnc. Marlin and GRBL are almost identical as far as gcodes which is what matters, but there are some differences that make them not 100% cross compatible depending on how you use them.
Hope this helps at least a little. Definitely do post more questions as you come up with them and we’ll do our best to help you get this thing going for you and your son.
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Most people building V1/MPCNC machines use Marlin firmware. Easel is a basic tool that output extremely simple g-code. Easel was likely intended as a GRBL tool, but, since it uses just a handful of g-code commands (when I tested it a couple of years ago), the files run fine on Marlin/MPCNC. See this post. Given the basic nature of the tool and the g-code, I remember seeing a couple of posts on this forum where a script was used to add functionality.
As for what board to buy, any board that runs Marlin and supports five stepper drivers will work to drive the MPCNC, but some boards are potentially easier to get running. Even if you don’t buy from V1, the path of least resistance is to buy an SKR Pro 1.2 board or a Rambo 1.4 board. The firmware for these two boards will have the most testing, and, if you purchase from V1, they will come pre-flashed with the firmware. If cost is a significant issue, you can go with a Ramps 1.4 board. The Ramps board is just as capable in terms of cutting, but it tends to be more delicate with a higher percentage arriving DOA.
If you are considering a board beyond these three, or if you are considering a GRBL board, I would suggest you run the board by this forum and get some feedback.
Edit: Just before closing my window I snagged on the phrase “interested in loading easel.” Easel does not go on the control board. It is a browser app that has the ability to save g-code to a local file. Easel is just one tool (of many) that author’s paths and generates g-code that is then run by Marlin. The process is similar to 3D printing where multiple tools and slicers can produce g-code that is executed by the 3D printer. See the Software Workflow page.