Boards that run GRBL

Software / Firmware GRBL
1

I think it would be great to have a list of what boards can run GRBL.
as I am new to all this I only know of the ramps 1.4 board.

2

Ramps can’t run the main grbl code, afaik. I think there is a fork grbl-ramps that supports it.

The main grbl board is an arduino uno shield. There is also a great board from prontoneer that is an expansion for a pi with an arduino micro on it, with the serial wired directly into the pi.

I put some links in the category description (it looks like Ryan wrote it, but it was my edit).

2 Likes
3

Makerbase makes a board called the MKS DLC. It’s basically an Arduino Uno and CNC shield all-in-one board. I use one for my ZenXY and have another on the way to drive my laser rig. It’s a lot less bulky then the Uno stack and the connector labeling is better I think.

4 Likes
4

GRBL-Mega runs on the Arduino Mega2560…although not (apparently) all boards that are Mega2560 based.

https://www.arduinoclub.de has several boards that run GRBL, either using the 328pNano or the Mega 2560.

Bart Dring produces a couple of boards that run esp23_GRBL and Grbl_ESP32_MPCNC_Controller

5 Likes
5

So grbl will run on:
Mega 2560 (so it should work on a ramps stack),
Esp32 (with a few really cool stack set ups)
Uno (what it was developed for)
Rambo board (fork made by a MPCNC user)

Does that seem accurate?

6

The Mega2560 boards can include the Mega2560Pro and the Uno includes all the vanilla 328p variants (mini pro and nano, although the mini pro is without a native usb).
There may be other 3D printer type 328p based boards that it may run on but there are examples of some that it just refuses to work on - problems relating to the serial comms through the cp2102 serial to USB chip.

7

Ok so as long as we are talking about hardware, can we go over the advantages and disadvantages of what seems to be the 3 main options (mega2560 based, 328p based and esp32 based)? I feel like the esp32 would be a strong option but is the fork well supported? Is there an advantage to going with a uno and the main grbl code?

8

I’m writing this post as a single cumulative answer to the original question. I will edit it as we go.

Please let me know if there is anything you think should be added to this or if i got anything wrong.

also lets set up a little pole, i would love to get an idea of what people like to use:

favorite GRBL controller
  • Uno/Nano Stack
  • Mega2560 Stack
  • ESP32 Stack
  • Rambo
  • MKS-DLC
0 voters
Hardware that will run GRBL (not a complete list)

MPCNC ESP32 Grbl board
This is a ESP32 cnc shield. It is designed for use in a MPCNC.

Mega 2560 based
Grbl will run on some mega2560 based boards and stacks. Such as the ramps 1.4 and Rambo boards.

328p based
Grbl will run on most 328p based boards. Such as the uno, nano, the MKS-DLC and the Protoneer board

software that will run GRBL
1 Like
9

It isn’t quite that simple because even though it will run on any 328p. If the board doesn’t have the same pinout as the uno, then there will be some configuration. If it doesn’t have sockets for drivers, then it is at least a pain, and sometimes impossible.

There are boards made to be used for grbl. Those all work. There are forks that should work on some boards made for 3D printers (like grbl-ramps).

10

grbl_esp32 is a separate project that is very well supported. Bart told me once that the reason he even makes the esp32 boards is just to give his grbl_esp32 project something to run on. It is the real passion. I would recommend that before one of the ramps/mega/5x forks.

4 Likes