Home : Workshop : CNC : Estlcam : Controller :
The Estlcam controller firmware can only be installed on boards with with 8bit ATmega328 (e.g. Uno and Nano) or ATmega2560 (Mega) micro controllers. While an Arduino board and a simple screw shield is all that is required, there are numerous CNC specific shields and controller boards with added features (optoisolation, adjacent sig/gnd pins, etc.) that can make them more reliable. While there are only a few Estlcam specific boards, Estlcam can be installed on most? 8bit GRBL boards. The primary difference is the processor pin layout and Estlcam can be configured to use Estlcam or GRBL layouts.
The Estlcam Terminal Adapter is the only Estlcam specific control board (pictured)... The only source I know of is Rocketronics and they no longer ship to the US... Rocketronics also has the new XL version that supports auto squaring. For specs and other new hardware see: Estlcam open source hardware. NOTE: Estcam v11 cannot be used with the new hardware (only v12).
[ comment | link | top ]
With no relatively inexpensive Estcam (or GRBL) pinout shields available to the US I've been making my own. The pictured Nano shield (w/o Nano) is the latest and currently supports drivers, probe, DC-AC relay/VFD run and VFD speed - all but the probe are isolated via external optocouplers (e.g. spindle run and PWM). While I have no need for them, I may add a daughter board for isolated limit switches (via 6 pin stacked header).
While I had been using pins and plugs and was planning on upgrading to latching plugs, the layout seemed to work better with screw terminals (the driver gnd pins/plugs were an as-built change). Especially on the crowded top row, using crimp ferrules makes it much easier to (re)hook things up reliably. The primary purpose of the design was having the signal and ground terminals next to each other to maximize shielding and minimize mess (not possible w/ a basic screw shield).
...My current shield has 24v > PC817 > Nano probe and limit inputs. I've also switched to a tidier stacked spindle control setup (GP8101 DAC on top).
Estlcam USB errors* motivated me to rewire everything with shielded cables. I used two shielded pair 22awg sound/security cable for everything not in the drag chain. The cable allowed shielded signal/ground pairs from all external components (e.g. driver step/gnd and dir/gnd) all the way to the adjacent signal/ground terminals on the shield. The cable was also convenient for shielded 24v and ground pairs between the power supply and drivers - 2 x 22awg = 19awg.
*I used to have rare random days when I would get multiple USB errors. All were triggered when the spindle was under load and the repeats would all happen after a relatively small period of load on the spindle. After trying a lot of things (all shielded wires, VFD signaling optoisolation, etc.), I have reasonable confidence in it having been a grounding issue... It's now been some months of zero USB errors since running wires from power supply earth to the previously isolated X carriages/beam/stepper and the Z plate/stepper.
[ comment | link | top ]
Hardware
Controller Hardware
The Estlcam controller firmware can only be installed on boards with with 8bit ATmega328 (e.g. Uno and Nano) or ATmega2560 (Mega) micro controllers. While an Arduino board and a simple screw shield is all that is required, there are numerous CNC specific shields and controller boards with added features (optoisolation, adjacent sig/gnd pins, etc.) that can make them more reliable. While there are only a few Estlcam specific boards, Estlcam can be installed on most? 8bit GRBL boards. The primary difference is the processor pin layout and Estlcam can be configured to use Estlcam or GRBL layouts. 
The Estlcam Terminal Adapter is the only Estlcam specific control board (pictured)... The only source I know of is Rocketronics and they no longer ship to the US... Rocketronics also has the new XL version that supports auto squaring. For specs and other new hardware see: Estlcam open source hardware. NOTE: Estcam v11 cannot be used with the new hardware (only v12).
[ comment | link | top ]
Nano Shield
With no relatively inexpensive Estcam (or GRBL) pinout shields available to the US I've been making my own. The pictured Nano shield (w/o Nano) is the latest and currently supports drivers, probe, DC-AC relay/VFD run and VFD speed - all but the probe are isolated via external optocouplers (e.g. spindle run and PWM). While I have no need for them, I may add a daughter board for isolated limit switches (via 6 pin stacked header).
While I had been using pins and plugs and was planning on upgrading to latching plugs, the layout seemed to work better with screw terminals (the driver gnd pins/plugs were an as-built change). Especially on the crowded top row, using crimp ferrules makes it much easier to (re)hook things up reliably. The primary purpose of the design was having the signal and ground terminals next to each other to maximize shielding and minimize mess (not possible w/ a basic screw shield).
...My current shield has 24v > PC817 > Nano probe and limit inputs. I've also switched to a tidier stacked spindle control setup (GP8101 DAC on top).Estlcam USB errors* motivated me to rewire everything with shielded cables. I used two shielded pair 22awg sound/security cable for everything not in the drag chain. The cable allowed shielded signal/ground pairs from all external components (e.g. driver step/gnd and dir/gnd) all the way to the adjacent signal/ground terminals on the shield. The cable was also convenient for shielded 24v and ground pairs between the power supply and drivers - 2 x 22awg = 19awg.
*I used to have rare random days when I would get multiple USB errors. All were triggered when the spindle was under load and the repeats would all happen after a relatively small period of load on the spindle. After trying a lot of things (all shielded wires, VFD signaling optoisolation, etc.), I have reasonable confidence in it having been a grounding issue... It's now been some months of zero USB errors since running wires from power supply earth to the previously isolated X carriages/beam/stepper and the Z plate/stepper.
[ comment | link | top ]