SKR vs Full RAMBo Controller

Mostly Printed CNC - MPCNC Advice
1

I currently have a Burley with a Full RAMBo controller and I have a few questions for myself and for a friend that is looking into building a MPCNC to be used with a diode laser.

Will the my existing Burley (with auto homing) work with the newer SKM controller ?, I am thinking it will be ok
Will the SKM controller work with Lightburn software for laser use or is there updates that will be needed to be able to have Lightburn run the laser ?
Does the SKM require any updates to be able to use it with a NEJE diode laser ?
Is the full RAMBo still a board that is obtainable or is it obsolete ?, don’t see an option for it

I have read in a previous post the differences from the RAMBo to the SKM was thinking of updating to the SKM due to using the laser 99% of the time, but not sure if it’s worth it.

Thanks
Tom

2

The skr pro v1.2 has the laser enabled (IIRC). It will work with the burly.

The rambo is a good board, but lasers require a lot of gcode parsing to do grayscale laser engraving. So the 8bit micro doesn’t do as well as the 32bit skr pro.

3

I guess you could also get a Jackpot if you are feeling adventurous. :slight_smile:

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4

To the best of my knowledge, there is zero reason why you cannot use a new controller with your Burly. The Primo still has the same 5 motors, and if you are already using dual endstops, you don’t need to make any workflow changes.

I believe that the RAMBo board is supply limited, they haven’t been in the shop for quite some time. The SKR Pro is a good board, and has everything for a diode laser in the firmware already. It will work with the touchscreen, or can still use the 12864 LCD like the RAMBo.

The Jackpot controller is a little different for workflow, it’s FluidNC, rather than Marlin firmware, and headless control is via wifi rather than LCD, so you can use a phone or tablet. The Gcode is slightly different, but the machine works the same way.

The Jackpot is probably a better option, lower cost and aimed straight at what we need, but the SKR is also a solid decision. The SKR has the advantage of an LCD controller which the Javkpot still lacks.

5

Any idea if the SKR will work with the Lightburn laser program as the RAMBo already does ?
This would be my main concern as all my laser work is done with Lightburn

Thanks again
Tom

6

I have not used the RAMBo, however both use Marlin firmware, and as such I would expect them to respond in the same manner

Provided that: you are either using V1 firmware new enough to have laser control baked in, or you added it in a similar fashion.

7

Yes, I will be purchasing the SKR controller from V1

8

The SKR will work with Lightburn. But I believe the Jackpot works better/faster according to Ryan. When I switched my Primo over to be a dedicated laser machine I also switched it from the SKR to Jackpot board. Its been running great!

9

If I was to use the Jackpot can an external LCD interface (in the case of the SKR or my older RAMBo) be used ?
Or is the Jackpot strictly USB or WiFi ?

Asking this because I the case I had to go back to using my router and the EstlCAM software.

Thanks again
tom

10

Ok, I did some searching and found that the Jackpot does not have the ability for an external LCD controller.
How does the Lightburn on the PC interface with the Jackpot ?
Can Estlcam interface via wifi or usb ?

11

I run lightburn over USB but it can also run it over Wifi. If using WiFi best to save the gcode to the SD card and then run the gcode from the FluidNC Web UI. that’s also the way you run normal router stuff. Use Estlcam to create the gcode and save to SD card then run the file from the sd card on the webui

12

Ok, I’ll have to look into the FluidNC Web UI
This is all new to me as I am using the old rambo with a hard wire usb printer cable to the PC

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13

The Jackpot is still new to me as well. So far the only thing I have used it on is the laser but will be running my first CNC job on the lowrider today with it as well. I think it will run just fine. I always used the attached LCD screen so its a little getting used to but not bad so far.

14

In lightburn what would be the setting for the jackpot controller ?
Currently my lightburn is set to “marlin CNC laser”

15

grbl laser

16

what laser are you using ?
I will be using a NEJE diode laser that uses a 5vdc TTL input
I am thinking it should be on for the laser control

If the USB cord is used for the interface to lightburn as recommended is it required that the FLuid NC software be run ?

17

I’m using the NEJE A40640 laser. It has its own 12v power supply and I run a 24v power supply to the jackpot. Now that I am running the jackpot over usb from lightburn I don’t run the fluid. Mine is set up as a dedicated laser so it might be different from how you need to run it.

18

I will be running my A40640 the exact same as you just on my burley with Lightburn.
I thought that if the USB cable was used that would eliminate the need for the FluidNC software.

AWESOM and thank you so much

Going to pull the trigger on the Jackpot controller now

19

so it sounds as if the fluid nc is only if you want to communicate PC to controller over a WiFi connection

is this true ?

20

FluidNC is the firmware running on the board (rather than Marlin as the SKR board runs). It includes a web interface you can use to control the board and start jobs. This is the only way currently to interact with it.