FluidNC // Beginner tutorial // ESP32 GRBL

I have had requests to make a video about FluidNC and my setup, so here we are!! There is far too much information to dive into on one video, although I hope this gives you a starting point.
Please read through the FluidNC Wiki for more information!! Enjoy :)

UPDATE:

Regarding the 6axis board that I have used in this video, please do not purchase. It is not well designed - It is just an example! However I can be used if already purchased.

FluidNC:

Electronics links:
6 axis board: DON'T purchase.

[j.hankinson]

Thanks for posting. I’ve followed a similar journey with an MPCNC and a variety of control boards. The original ESP32 Grbl Bart wrote was really good. I ended up modifying an Uno shield to run the motors and 4 axes. I’ve been waiting for FluidNC to mature and this video suggests that it has. I never had a problem with BT on my earlier build.

[AlexandruCalinColodiuc]

THANK YOU THANK YOU AND THANK YOU, this video is exactly what I needed, can't believe how easy it made it for me.

[wiremonkeyshop]

Two quick tips. I just got my ESP32 and was getting fatal errors when running the install-wifi.bat. Basically the board was not recognized by Windows 10 despite it beeping upon connection. I downloaded and installed windows drivers for my particular ESP32 which was manufactured by KeeYees. That didn't do the trick, but holding down the "boot" button on the ESP32 the entire time the FluidNC was installing, allowed the batch file to find the board and the upload was successful. Off to the races!

[rodwheels]

This is just amazing, congratulations!!!

[wiremonkeyshop]

The us a really great primer on FluidNC! I'm about to embark on an upgrade from grbl + Arduino to FluidNC + ESP32 and am very excited about it. grbl has served me well for years, but it's now time to join the revolution. Cheers! Important to note that multiple axis beyond 3 are not simultaneous. At least that is my understanding, for those of you wanting to build a 5 axis machine.

[CESAR_H_ARIAS]

Excellent guide. Wish it was available earlier. I read it all the written guide and info online. The discord support is amazing. Im going to be changing my 3 machines to use fluidnc the first 6 pack was a godsend ( my main LR2 is what drives a huge part of my business PVC and acrylic cutting. I never liked the Marlin 😜)

[slakjawnotsayin]

Wow, I just had a hell of a time putting this on my ESP32 I just got from amazon, but I managed to get it working finally, by doing the 10uf capacitor trick.
That wasn't working for the last few hours, and I was trying other cables and anything I could think of, but it turns out, these ESP32 boards I got, are pinned different, so when I actually located and used the proper GND and EN pins, it worked perfect instantly!!!

Just as a heads up to anyone struggling to get their ESP32 to connect and be able to write to, check to make sure your pins are correct, and don't just trust the pins on other peoples boards online in images and videos... Some of these things are different... I almost gave up and ordered a new one. LOL

[flyingmonkey]

I’m using protoneer CNC shield and wemos esp32 breakout board, hoping this is similar! Thanks for the video tutorial, that Bart sure is amazing

[CraigHollabaugh]

That's come a long way in the past 2 years. I remember when Bart initially released grbl for ESP32, I tried it, even made a custom board for it. What timing on your video, I have 2 of those 6 axis boards on order. Thanks for the video.

[gizmobowen]

Thanks for the video. It's interesting to see what other types of control software there is. You mention that there's too much for one video so I wonder if there's going to be additional videos? It would really be interesting to see an example of building a CNC or converting one over to use this system. It would also be interesting to learn about what kind of interface software you can use. For example, could you use something like Carbide Motion?

[cerberes]

This is pretty cool. I've been wanting a new controller for my 18 year old Taig 3 axis CNC mill. Wanted to get away from the parallel port forever.

[huseyinurigulmez]

Thanks for your explanations. I am building a lowrider v3 and mechanical work is done. I am supposed to build minimal control electronics (an esp32 dev kit and many breadboad rats nest) for XXYYZ configuration. I would be curious to see if it has enough IO for 3xEndstops, 4xTMC2209, 1xProbe, 1xE-stop and 1xRelay ? I don't really need dual endstop and fancy laser stuff.

[whitneydesignlabs]

Awesome, thanks so much for the tutorial!

[Ekalai]

Very useful for embedded hoppiest. I will try it latter. 👌👌👍👍🌹🌹☺☺

[hudsongaspar]

Thanks for the video. I need to change the standard engine ports for board development reasons. In this case, do I use the recording medium via the Arduino IDE?

[bawbagindustries]

Thank you. I have the 6 axis Chinesium board and find that enabling the i2so config to drive the shift registers in the yaml breaks the WiFi - ie won't connect to the station and the fallback AP doesn't broadcast SSID. WiFi works fine with the default config.
Have you experienced this and if so have you seen a solution?

[drakandres]

hello good evening
Could you help me if I want to control two stepper motors with the esp32 and receive the g code which configuration should I use?

[roccovicedomini]

I would like to test FluidNC on my ESP32 dev board but, in case I need to bring it back to my usual Arduino IDE environment for simple automation circuits, is it possible/easy afterwards to reset the board to the initial state ?

[MeanderLife]

Fantastic Overview! Thank you for creating it. Big question... for "non-standard" mechanisms and machines (I.E. SCARA, or cable-style like Maslow) where motor steps / mm are not consistent through the movement, and need to be calculated based on position with an equation. Is there a method or place in the settings to accomplish this?
I could see this as a platform to accomplish all types of automation control on so many machines I have in my head... but so many are not a straight 1:1 step per mm mechanical set-up...

[alst]

Thank you! Please can you tell me: is it sence to buy ESP32 S3 for machine project? Will it work with Fluid nc? Not sure is it supported by software