We machined this acrylic disc as a simple initial test. Time to test Super Gerbil CNC controller accuracy. Using Fusion 360, we designed and machined a simple 25.00mm disc from clear 4.4mm acrylic. Dimensions of Sample Circle After that, we measured with grandfather’s old micrometer and my verniers. Grandfather’s micrometer is handy for measuring our […]
A part of our upcoming toy truck, used as a demonstration of Super Gerbil CNC controller It’s testing time for the Super Gerbil CNC Controller pre-production units! We put them through their paces with a testing regime that’s included a wide range of activities: Installation – technically correct and user-friendlyConfiguration – technically correct and user-friendlyAll the basic […]
Looking online and on Github… The big strength of Grbl is that it runs on an Arduino and is therefore very accessible to the general public. Anyone can just jump into CNC and learn. Grbl’s biggest weakness is that it runs on an Arduino… hey stop there, didn’t you just say it’s biggest strength was… […]
XT computers for CNC machining…. really ? This morning I read an email from the HME, the Home model engine website promoting their member recent posts and I read this: “After completing the Quarter Scale Merlin, I took several months off to work on a number of projects that had piled up around the home […]
What we learnt during our One day build Today I will share some insights into our adventure while upgrading the cheap Chinese eBay CNC mill “3020”. If you haven’t watched the YouTube video then you can watch it here https://youtu.be/G_9dc0BAf0M The morning started for me at 7am and I was quiet nervous about the challenge. It […]
Let’s be 100% clear, I love my Nomad 883 CNC mill, it got me started with CNC. Now, I’d like to take it further by adding a 4th axis, however this is tricky as the Nomad’s controller, and standard grbl, doesn’t support it. Fortunately, Paul’s developed a brand new ‘Super Gerbil’ 5 axis CNC controller (now […]
The 3020, 3040, 6040 and 6090 are low cost no-brand CNC mills that come in various 3 or 4 axis versions, but suffer from underpowered electronics and poor software. So we’ve created the Super Gerbil controller as a high quality upgrade to the electronics and software tool chain. For a bit of fun, we’ve challenged ourselves […]
Hey all, I’ve been busy at work on a successor to the Gerbil, provisionally named the Super Gerbil. The goal is to create a high performance controller with all the features anyone could want, at an affordable price. It’s been a real journey to master the Super Gerbils brain (the STM32, its Datasheet has 4000 […]
Debugging the K40 controller set up consists of a few steps which are easy to follow. Comms Motion Limit stops Laser power You probably need: a small Philips screw driver for the screw terminals, a simple multi-meter and some gummy bears. First we need to test whether the board communicates with your computer. Best way […]