Please, someone put it out of its misery. I mean come on! I don’t know of any printers that still use a parallel port. (The long running joke is that manufacturers pack smoke in electrical components that is let out when someone screws up and they fry the chip as demonstrated by the smoke coming out.)The combination of Arduino with grblShield allowed me to create a DIY CNC Controller for less than $80! That’s crazy! And the best part is, I am not tied to a boat anchor of a PC with a parallel port typically required to run stepper motor drivers.Ĭorrect me if I am wrong but I do not know of any industrial CNC controller that uses anything other than a parallel port. I mean I have been trying to let the manufacturers smoke out of the device for years now. This created a completely new world for me. I can’t see the electrons in the printed circuit board or the 1s and 0s in the software.Įnter the Arduino. I cannot say why, they just seem like a mystery. As a die hard gear head, electronics intimidate me. I love the gShield from Synthetos! No, they are not paying me to say that. If you get stuck check back here to find the detailed setup instructions. If you want to dive right in download the Quick Start Guide here. This post will walk you through the step-by-step process of setting up your own DIY CNC Controller. You can build a 3 axis DIY CNC Controller for less than $80!
