Using 6 Pack for External Drivers; jackpot board

Software / Firmware Jackpot Board / FluidNC
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I have this Grunblau CNC router I built a few years back. A very stylish machine, running a combo of ethercat and Leadshine MX 4660, and a laptop.

Roll forward a few years, and that machine hasn’t seen much usage.

With my recent LowRider CNC v3 build, I’ve become enamored with the jackpot board and thought, hay, why not update the controller for the Grunblau and put it back into service?

cncguts

So, I used the 6 Pack for External Drivers board, and a set of 4 DM556T Stepperonline drivers. There are two power supplies in the case. The one for the motors is 48v. The one for the 6 Pack board is 12 volts.

I used a configuration of XYYZ (which is one of the examples). I have two y-axis motors, and they coordinate with each other with no problem.

This is awesome. A dead machine comes back to life, has a web interface, and works just like my other newer machine, so I can easily share .gcode files.

No more external PC that wants to update itself in the middle of a cut
No more clunky software controller and multiple failure points

All I did for configuration was figure out my lead screw particulars (1/2" 10, 5 starts), and I was all set.

Now I’m playing with max feed rates and accelerations to get the most out of things.

I’m pretty happy with this setup, and will do similar to yet another machine, which is even older, and tied to LinuxCNC.

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And the machine itself looks like this

image

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That is awesome! Out with the old tech, in with the new and a CNC is modern again. I bet that was a fun project.

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Yah. A few smack the forehead moments, no magic smoke thank goodness.

Right now, the biggest challenge of using the ESP boards is the wifi connectivity. This one lives in that nice steel enclosure, with its PCB antenna. Ideally, I’d have a ESP32 module with external antenna, or I’d connect to it via USB and still use a web interface.

Any chance V1E will support a good ESP32 with antenna? I think I’ve seen mention of “good” ones here and there, but an official one would be awesome.

I have one more machine to do a brain transplant on. That one used LinuxCNC, so I’ll be happy to rid myself of that. Both these machines can cut aluminum, which will be their primary purpose.

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You can get some genuine ones, or the cheapies. If they work they work fine. So it is worth a try. I do not have plans for an external antenna currently, but hey are the same price plus the cost of an antenna.

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I have some with antenna, but they’re Adafruit “feather” configuration, so not quite right.

I’ll look back through the forums to find that recommendation I saw before, unless you know of a good one off the top of your head.

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I’m curious, could external drivers be used with the Jackpot board using adapters similar to this?

external driver adapter

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I originally got the adapters, and was going to use them with a regular jackpot board, but decided to get the board that was purpose built instead.

I still have another regular jackpot board, and those adapters, so I might try them on the next machine.
They should work.

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No I don’t think so, we use the multiplexer to talk to all the uarts.

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There is an external specific fluidnc board though. I think it is well priced.

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Oh, I thought I could use those extenders. I did buy the right board because I wasn’t sure. Now I know.
I’ll try anyway, since I got them, and see what happens.

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You might be able to get 3 working…maybe even a 4th, but not 5 and 6. I would have to look at the schematic again. I really don’t remember.

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The next one, I only need 3 motors, so I’ll try it there.

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That’s the answer I was expecting, thanks for the confirmation.

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If the YAML file is configured for a “dumb” stepper driver that doesn’t speak UART, then the Jackpot should still work, right?

You would have no software control of stepper current or microstepping or any of that, so you have to do it through other means like jumpers or pots or whatever like in the “old days”. Those external drivers are already that way if they accept only STEP, DIR, and EN. It should be harmless to not use the UART.

I would think you could even get all six drivers working.

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That’s the configuration I have with the 6 pack. “dumb” drivers, with dip switches.

I thought the adapters I purchased to work with the jackpot board were purpose built to solve this exact problem. So, I’ll try them out and see what’s what.

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Ohhhhh, really that would be cool this is becoming a common question. I thought the last three depended on the UART and they all got all the signals, obviously I have only the tiniest of grasp on how that all works. So if I added some jumpers for microstep control we could use a bunch of other drivers if we wanted (any that have a current pot, or externals).

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“In theory”, you could use non-TMC 2209 steppers.

Aside from having appropriate connectors for wiring to the external drivers and jumpers for setting microstepping you’d need FluidNC to be happy with a config that uses those steppers. Maybe a standard jackpot could have the pads/through holes for the connectors and these would be an add-on option.

I think I have a set of external stepper drivers sitting around from years ago before MPCNC was released and I was entertaining ideas of rebuilding a relative’s abandoned industrial machine. If not, they’re relatively cheap online.

I have a literal pile of DRV8825 and A4988s from 3D printer maintenance that I could test with for alternate on-board drivers.

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:face_vomiting:

I am not sure what drivers I would want to explore but definitely not those. I am extremely happy with 2209’s. Maybe in the future I would want to explore others. I am not a fan of those cheap external drivers and the course current settings they have so at some point in the future I would love to explore larger TMC drivers for those using giant steppers.

At this time, I need to get focused on some new CNC versions. I have been kinda stuck on a side quests for a very long time. So I say if this works with external drivers that is amazing and I can add info to the instructions, otherwise back burner it unless it interests you specifically than I would love to hear how it goes.

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They are great stepper drivers.

All over the forums, there is much rejoicing. :smile:

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