CNC & 3D Printer Advice

Hi Guys,

Let me preface by saying that I’m brand new to CNC / 3D Printers.

The primary reason I got introduced to this field was because I wanted to be able to mill my own PCBs.
Also, the idea of 3D printing is awesome, so I had that in the back of my mind when I built my machine.
On my machine (Not a Delta) I can easily replace the “head” with either a Dremel attachment or a 3D Printer head / extruder (To be built).

I initially bought an Arduino Uno R3 with a GRBL Shield and a couple of Pololu drivers.
I was busy setting up and testing my new CNC with a piece of software called GRBL Controller.
GRBL Controller is very limiting and hard to setup after seeing and playing with Eding CNC.

Through some stupidity I blew all the hardware… So I’m in the market for new hardware.

Now I realize that the Uno R3 and GRBL Shieled might have been a stupid approach because I now believe I need at least an Arduino Mega 2560 for 3D Printing. This is where I found Smoothieboard. It has everything I need to replace built into it, as well having quite the reputation.

So could you please indulge me with my two questions:

  1. Can Smoothieboard be used for both a CNC and 3D printer without changing configuration? (Or a lot of effort)
  2. What software can be used with Smoothieboard for CNC and 3D Printing purposes? (I must still find appropriate software to use for both CNC and 3D Printing)

Imported from wikidot

Hi !

  1. Can Smoothieboard be used for both a CNC and 3D printer without changing configuration? (Or a lot of effort)

Yes. Just configure it for both, it’s trivial.

  1. What software can be used with Smoothieboard for CNC and 3D Printing purposes? (I must still find appropriate software to use for both CNC and 3D Printing)

For 3D printing, most people use Slic3r for slicing the files, and Pronterface to control the printer and sending files to it. There are other options, you can browse the reprap project to find more.

For CNC milling, lots of options there too. Most opensource options ( pycam, heekscad ) are not that good though. I use cambam, which is pretty good, and priced for hobbyists.

If you have any more questions do not hesitate to ask :slight_smile:

Cheers !

Excellent :slight_smile:

Thank you for the quick reply, I am sold!