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GRBL Configuration and Setting Up Your Machine For The First Time

1) The document discusses setting up GRBL, an open-source CNC controller, for the first time. 2) It provides information on connecting to GRBL, viewing settings, changing settings like step pulse time, and ensuring the machine axes move in the correct directions. 3) Finally, it discusses tuning settings like step distance and travel limits and indicates the machine is then ready to run G-code files.

Uploaded by

Kishor Mhaske
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
297 views

GRBL Configuration and Setting Up Your Machine For The First Time

1) The document discusses setting up GRBL, an open-source CNC controller, for the first time. 2) It provides information on connecting to GRBL, viewing settings, changing settings like step pulse time, and ensuring the machine axes move in the correct directions. 3) Finally, it discusses tuning settings like step distance and travel limits and indicates the machine is then ready to run G-code files.

Uploaded by

Kishor Mhaske
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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GRBL Configuration and Setting Up Your

Machine for the First Time


First, connect to Grbl using the serial terminal of your choice.
Set the baud rate to 115200 as 8-N-1 (8-bits, no parity, and 1-stop bit.)
Once connected you should get the Grbl-prompt, which looks like this:
Grbl 0.9i ['$' for help]
Type $ and press enter to have Grbl print a help message. You should not
see any local echo of the $ and enter. Grbl should respond with:
[HLP:$$ $# $G $I $N $x=val $Nx=line $J=line $SLP $C $X $H ~ ! ?
ctrl-x]
The ‘$’-commands are Grbl system commands used to tweak the
settings, view or change Grbl's states and running modes, and start a
homing cycle. The last four non-'$' commands are realtime control
commands that can be sent at anytime, no matter what Grbl is doing.
These either immediately change Grbl's running behavior or immediately
print a report of the important realtime data like current position (aka
DRO).
$$ - View Grbl settingsTo view the settings, type $$ and press enter after
connecting to Grbl. Grbl should respond with a list of the current system
settings, as shown in the example below. All of these settings are
persistent and kept in EEPROM, so if you power down, these will be
loaded back up the next time you power up your Arduino.
$x=val - Save Grbl settingThe $x=val command saves or alters a Grbl
setting, which can be done manually by sending this command when
connected to Grbl through a serial terminal program, but most Grbl GUIs
will do this for you as a user-friendly feature.
To manually change e.g. the microseconds step pulse option to 10us you
would type this, followed by an enter:
$0=10
If everything went well, Grbl will respond with an 'ok' and this setting is
stored in EEPROM and will be retained forever or until you change
them. You can check if Grbl has received and stored your setting
correctly by typing $$ to view the system settings again.
Grbl's default configuration is intentionally very generic to help ensure
users can see successful motion without having to tweak settings.
Generally, the first thing you'll want to do is get your stepper motors
running, usually without it connected to the CNC. Wire Grbl to your
stepper drivers and stepper motors according to your manufacturer
guidelines. Connect to Grbl through a serial terminal or one of many
Grbl GUIs. Send some G1 or G0 commands to Grbl. You should see
your stepper motor rotating. If you are having trouble with your stepper
motors, try the following:
• Ensure everything is wired and powered correctly per your stepper
driver manufacturer guidelines.
• If your steppers are mounted in your CNC already, ensure your axes
move freely and don't obviously bind. If you can't easily tell, try
removing your steppers and check if they run under no load.
• Ensure your stepper motors and axes linear mechanisms are all tight
and secure. Small set screws on drivetrain components becoming loose is
a very common problem. Re-tighten and try applying some non-
permenant thread locker (Loctite blue) if it continually loosens.
• For more difficult issues, try the process of elimination to quickly
isolate the problem. Start by disconnecting everything from the Arduino.
Test if Grbl is operating ok by itself. Then, add one thing at a time and
test.
• If your steppers are powered and making a grinding noise when trying
to move, try lowering the '$' acceleration and max rate settings. This
sound is a sign that your steppers is losing steps and not able to keep up
due too much torque load or going too fast.
• Grbl's default step pulse settings cover the vast majority of stepper
drivers on the market. While very uncommon, check these settings if you
are still experiencing problems or have a unusual setup.
Next, you will need to make sure your machine is moving in the correct
directions according to a Cartesian(XYZ) coordinate frame. Mount your
stepper motors into your CNC, if you haven't already done so. Send Grbl
some motion commands, such as G91 G0 X1 or G91 G0 X-1, which will
move the x-axis +1mm and -1mm, respectively. Check all axes. If an
axis is not moving correctly, alter the $3 direction port mask setting to
invert the direction.
If you are unfamiliar with how coordinate frames are setup on CNC
machines, see this great diagram by LinuxCNC. Just keep in mind that
motions are relative to the tool. So on a typical CNC gantry router, the
tool will move rather than the fixed table. If the x-axis is aligned positive
to the right, a positive motion command will move the tool to the right.
Whereas, a moving table with a fixed tool will move the table to the left
for the same command, because the tool is moving to the right relative to
the table.
Finally, tune your settings to get close to your desired or max
performance. Start by ensuring your $100,$101, and $102 axes step/mm
settings are correct for your setup. This is dependent on your stepper
increments, micro steps on your driver, and mechanical parameters.
There are multiple resources online to show you how to compute this for
your particular machine, if your machine manufacturer has not supplied
this for you. Tweak your $11x acceleration and $12x max rate settings to
improve performance. Set to no greater than 80% of absolute max to
account for inertia and cutting forces. Set your $13x max travel settings
if you plan on using homing or soft limits. It's recommended to enter
something approximately close to actual travel now to avoid problems in
the future.
At this point, you're pretty much ready to get going! Grbl can now move
your CNC machine and run g-code jobs. If you need to add more
features, such as limit switches for homing or hard limits or spindle/laser
control. There are other Wiki pages to help you that. Good luck and have
fun!
Here is my Setting$0 = 10 (step pulse, usec)
$1 = 25 (step idle delay, msec)
$2 = 0 (step port invert mask:00000000)
$3 = 0 (dir port invert mask:00000000)
$4 = 0 (step enable invert, bool)
$5 = 0 (limit pins invert, bool)
$6 = 0 (probe pin invert, bool)
$10 = 3 (status report mask:00000011)
$11 = 0.010 (junction deviation, mm)
$12 = 0.002 (arc tolerance, mm)
$13 = 0 (report inches, bool)
$20 = 0 (soft limits, bool)
$21 = 0 (hard limits, bool)
$22 = 0 (homing cycle, bool)
$23 = 0 (homing dir invert mask:00000000)
$24 = 25.000 (homing feed, mm/min)
$25 = 500.000 (homing seek, mm/min)
$26 = 250 (homing debounce, msec)
$27 = 1.000 (homing pull-off, mm)
$100 = 100.000 (x, step/mm)
$101 = 100.000 (y, step/mm)
$102 = 100.000 (z, step/mm)
$110 = 5000.000 (x max rate, mm/min)
$111 = 5000.000 (y max rate, mm/min)
$112 = 500.000 (z max rate, mm/min)
$120 = 5000.000 (x accel, mm/sec^2)
$121 = 5000.000 (y accel, mm/sec^2)
$122 = 10.000 (z accel, mm/sec^2)
$130 = 200.000 (x max travel, mm)
$131 = 200.000 (y max travel, mm)
$132 = 200.000 (z max travel, mm)

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