TinyG/Arduino/SD card Stand Alone CNC Machine

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Viewing 9 posts - 1 through 9 (of 9 total)
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  • January 17, 2016 at 2:27 am #9277
    mrwildbob
    Member

    Hello All,

    I just got my TinyG V8. I wired it up and works nice via USB and ChiliPeppr. Is there a guide and code somewhere to build a stand alone / headless cnc machine without needing a computer? I would like to put the gcode on a SD card, pop it in and hit start.

    I am visioning using an Arduino, SD card, TinyG, and LCD screen. It would be nice to have a LCD to show status but not required.

    Any help would be awesome. Thanks

    January 17, 2016 at 10:02 pm #9279
    cmcgrath5035
    Moderator

    There are of course the Wiki resources at

    I am not aware of deep detail about how to, but I have seen others asking similar questions over time.

    I assume you have researched the topic vis Google and other search engines?

    January 17, 2016 at 11:02 pm #9280
    mrwildbob
    Member

    I have gone through the wiki pages including search engines and I am not able to find some kind of guide. I know people have done it and see machines on the market that have that ability. Detailed would be great, but something to give me a direction to head would be very helpful.

    I have read someone used an Arduino Mega ADK, and added a SD card and was able to get it to send the data, but they had no other information. I would like to make something very simple that works. I do not wish to use the RPi or BBB. They’re great products but not for this project. I want to make a machine that does the same job all the time. The least user intervention the better. A good example, a toaster, put the bread in, press the lever, walk away.

    I will keep researching for this project. I was hoping someone already has done something like this that could keep me from reinventing the wheel. 🙂

    January 18, 2016 at 7:31 pm #9281
    cmcgrath5035
    Moderator

    I have a fairly good idea what you want to end up with; interestingly most folks on these forums (tinyG, Chilipeppr, Ox, ShapeOko) seem headed in the other direction – more and more functionality and flexibility from the CAM layer.

    Keep an eye out, someone with your interest might drop by.

    January 19, 2016 at 1:13 am #9282
    mrwildbob
    Member

    hahaha Figures, I go the other direction.

    Thanks for the info.

    I had an idea and wanted to run it by you and see what you thought. If I got an Arduino Mega with a USB host shield and SD card, do you think it would work? I figured the buffering issues are resolved by using the USB host shield. The Arduino can then send the gcode after hitting the start button.

    Your thoughts

    January 19, 2016 at 11:33 am #9283
    cmcgrath5035
    Moderator

    To be honest, I have played very little with DUE, aside from installing and running tinyG2.
    I played a bit with the Arduino sketch interface, seems OK if one wants to play (or has a lot of experience already) in that sand box.

    I am a Linux guy, I tolerate Windows via VMs for those few programs that insist.
    If I were to head down your path, I would probably start by developing the core of what I wanted to do from my Linux desktop, then port it (rather easily) to a RasbPi2. It has 4 USB ports, ethernet and Raspbian (debian based) OS. It is easily made WiFi ready wuth a USB dongle. When needed, it could be easily managed by remote connection from desktop.
    And I would probably use a USB stick for my G code files, only because it has 4 USB ports but only one SD port, which is system memory.

    So it really depends on how ‘sketchy’ your skills are, I guess.
    Seems for this task the native I/O available on the Pi are a benefit.

    January 19, 2016 at 4:48 pm #9284
    mrwildbob
    Member

    I see where your coming from. I will consider the RPi and see what options are available. My goal is to make something that anyone can operate with out any formal training. Just load the stock and press start. I could possibly make the RPi limited to only certain functions.

    Thanks for the ideas and help.
    boB

    February 2, 2016 at 11:44 am #9321
    mrwildbob
    Member

    I wanted to share my progress. After spending a lot of time researching, I have been able to come up with a solution. I took your advice and decided to try the RPi route. I was able to achieve my end goal of making a standalone machine.

    My setup consists of a Raspberry Pi 2 B, TinyG, and a few other minor accessories. I created a Python script by looking at other scripts and adding things as I learned Python. I have to admit, it was not as hard as I thought it was. I found some code that would enable me to stream the gcode to the TinyG with flow control. I created a <Donald Trump> huge </Donald Trump> gcode file and watched it send the job. I setup a series of push button switches for my functions (Start Job, Pause, Resume, Halt, Reset, Power down RPi, etc.). I have the gcode stored on the SD card for now but plan to use a USB drive to make it portable in the future. I have it connected to my network so I can SSH into it and edit scripts as needed. Having it networked might be a permanent feature as I can update it remotely.

    Overall, I feel very comfortable with the current setup and feel it will do more than I need for now. It would be nice to have a LCD display to see progress and status coming back from the TinyG. That will be my next “feature”.

    Thanks for your help.

    boB

    February 2, 2016 at 7:05 pm #9325
    cmcgrath5035
    Moderator

    You are having way too much fun.
    Since you are a Python sort of guy, read this:

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