CNC310 Manual
The smallest CNC controller from Eding CNC. This controller controls up to 3-axis with a 125kHz step frequency via its USB interface with Eding CNC Starter Software. This enables you to do 2.5D CNC operations.
It can be upgraded if you need more. You can purchase separate licenses for upgrading to a 4th axis, network connection, or use of our full software suite. So, if you need to, you can go to full 3D CNC operations.
It’s ideally suited to start building your first CNC machine, and if you have outgrown this board you can simply upgrade to our more powerful controllers. without starting from scratch to understand the controllers or the software.
- 3/4 Axis controller interface
- Step / Direction: 5V (max. 125kHz)
- Enable: 5V
- 1/2x Digital HOME inputs: Max. 5V
- 1x Cooling output: 5V TTL
- 1x Probe: Max. 5V
- 1x E-Stop input: Max. 5V
- 1x Watchdog/SYSRDY output: 5V TTL
- Handwheel interface (included in full software upgrade)
- 2x Digital input: 5V
- 2x MPG input: 5V
- Interface: USB by default, upgradeable to 100Mbit Ethernet
- Power supply: 5V DC
- Dimensions: 54.5x67.50mm (suitable for DIN rail mounting in combination with the breakout board)
- Others: Firmware upgradable through the USB connection
Lower left (USBPWR) should be set if the USB voltage powers the board.
Remove if you want to power externally. External POWER can be applied on pin, see Connectors.
This jumper forces the board to skip the bootloader. This can always stay on unless a firmware upgrade is needed. Remove this jumper and follow the instructions on the Firmware upgrade page in the USB section to complete this procedure. Afterward, place the jumper again to skip the bootloader on the next boot.
This jumper is used to set the output signal that is present on the I/O pin ‘WATCHDOG/SYSRDY‘. For more info see Outputs.
This jumper can be used to deactivate the signals on some I/O pins. Currently, make sure that all jumpers are mounted.
P indicates that the power for the processor is available (3.3V)
The status LEDs indicate the current mode of the controller. The status LEDs are indicated by L1 through L4.
Indicator | Color | Meaning |
L1 | Orange | Board is starting |
L2 | Green | Indicates ‘Machine On’ |
L3 | Green | Controller ‘heartbeat’ indicating the board is active |
L4 | Red | WATCHDOG charge pump, indicates the operation of the watchdog circuitry |
Please note, when in bootloader mode LED2 and LED3 will toggle to indicate this.
The green LINK LED indicates if a network cable is connected. The yellow ACTIVITY LED will blink if there is network communication.
LED7 indicates that the SYSRDY is active. For more information on this signal, read the respective chapter in Outputs.
The board needs to be connected via a CAT5 or CAT5E cross cable. We advise using properly shielded SF/UTP network cables. The default IP address is 172.22.2.100.
This connection is only enabled when the Ethernet upgrade is activated.
Make sure that the PC that the board is connected to is correctly set up and has the correct IP address, and make sure there is no IP address conflict.
The mini USB connection is used to communicate with the PC by default. If an Ethernet upgrade is activated, this port will no longer be able to communicate with the PC.
The USB connection is always used when upgrading the firmware regardless if the Ethernet upgrade is active or not.
This connector contains all the signals that are relevant to the machine.
Pin | Name | Direction | Type | Function | Electrical Spec. | Remarks |
1 | TOOL | OUT | Digital | Switch tool ON (eg. Spindle) | TTL 5V/20mA | |
2 | DIR1 | OUT | Digital | Direction axis 1 | TTL 5V/20mA | |
3 | STEP1 | OUT | Digital | Step axis 1 | TTL 5V/20mA | |
4 | DIR2 | OUT | Digital | Direction axis 2 | TTL 5V/20mA | |
5 | STEP2 | OUT | Digital | Step axis 2 | TTL 5V/20mA | |
6 | DIR3 | OUT | Digital | Direction axis 3 | TTL 5V/20mA | |
7 | STEP3 | OUT | Digital | Step axis 3 | TTL 5V/20mA | |
8 | DIR4 ¹ | OUT | Digital | Direction aixs 4 | TTL 5V/20mA | |
9 | STEP4 ¹ | OUT | Digital | Step axis 4 | TTL 5V/20mA | |
10 | PROBE | IN | Digital | Probe/toolsetter | Max. 5V | |
11 | E-STOP | IN | Digital | Emergency stop | Max. 5V | |
12 | HOME1 | IN | Digital | Home switch axes 1-3 | Max. 5V | |
13 | HOME4 ¹ | IN | Digital | Home switch axis 4 | Max. 5V | |
14 | reserved | | | | | Do not connect |
15 | reserved | | | | | Do not connect |
16 | COOL | OUT | Digital | Coolant signal | TTL 5V/20mA | |
17 | reserved | | | | | Do not connect |
18 | GND | | Ground | | | |
19 | reserved | | | | | Do not connect |
20 | reserved | | | | | Do not connect |
21 | reserved | | | | | Do not connect |
22 | WD/SYSRDY | OUT | Digital | Indication if the system is active | TTL 5V/20mA | |
23 | ENABLE | OUT | Digital | Enable | TTL 5V/150mA | |
24 | GND | | Ground | | | |
25 | GND | | Ground | | | |
26 | +5V | | Power | | | |
1: Only enabled when 4th Axis Upgrade is activated
The E-STOP input signals that the system needs to stop immediately.
The E-STOP does not replace a proper external E-STOP switch, the user is responsible for having an external hardware E-STOP switch to switch off the machine in case of emergency.
The figure below shows how the input circuit is designed.
This image shows that a 10k resistor is used as a pull-up on the input. This means that if you would measure on this input you will measure 5V. Please note, that this is not the ‘real’ 5V but just a pull-upped value. The image also shows that in order to activate this input you need to connect it to ground. In the image below this is illustrated for a Normal-Open and Normal-Closed switch.
It must be indicated in the software whether a switch is either Normal-Open (NO) or Normal-Closed (NC). This is set via the ‘Homing and E-Stop’ part of the setup screen. A message will appear on the screen to show that an E-STOP condition has occurred.
Please note, by default the E-STOP input is disabled.
The PROBE input has multiple functions, it can be used for:
- Determining the height of the material
- Determining the length of a tool
The figure below shows how the input circuit is designed.
This image shows that on the input a 10k resistor is used as a pull-up. This means that if you would measure on this input you will measure 5V. Please note, that this is not the ‘real’ 5V but just a pull-upped value. The image also shows, in order to activate this input you need to connect it to ground as shown in the image below.
If you need to connect multiple devices to this input, you can simply connect them in parallel, as shown in the image below. The system will know when to consider this an actual probe or when it is a toolsetter.
The HOME1 input is used for connecting the X, Y, and Z home switches for the machine so it knows where it is.
The figure below shows how the input circuit is designed.
This image shows that on the input a 10k resistor is used as a pull-up. This means that if you would measure on this input you will measure 5V. Please note, that this is not the ‘real’ 5V but just a pull-upped value. This input is used for the X, Y, and Z axis. Depending on the type of switch, Normal Open or Normal Closed, the switch need to be connected differently.
In the software, it must be indicated whether a switch is either Normal-Open (NO) or Normal-Closed (NC). This is set via the ‘Homing and E-Stop’ part of the setup screen.
The HOME4 input is used if a 4th axis upgrade is activated. This input takes only a single home switch.
The figure below it shows how the input circuit is designed.
This image shows that on the input a 10k resistor is used as a pull-up. This means that if you would measure on this input you will measure 5V. Please note, that this is not the ‘real’ 5V but just a pull-upped value.
Please note, that all home switches need to be the same with respect to Normal-Open or Normal-Close.
It must be indicated in the software whether a switch is either Normal-Open (NO) or Normal-Closed (NC). This is set via the ‘Homing and E-Stop’ part of the setup screen.
The controller board features 3, optionally 4, outputs for controlling the driver of a stepper motor. Each output has an output level of 5V and can sink or source around 15mA per output. The maximum step frequency is 125Khz.
Not all motor drivers are capable of supporting step frequencies up to 125Khz. If you notice that the motors are not moving at all or show erratic movement, try to lower this frequency. Also, consult your motor driver datasheet for the supported frequency.
The ENAx signal can be used to enable the drives or other devices. This signal becomes active when the drives are enabled in the software.
Depending on how the E-STOP hardware behavior is configured these outputs can be switched off in case of an E-STOP condition.
The WATCHDOG/SYSRDY can be used to indicate when the system is active. This can be either with a HIGH (active) / LOW (not active) signal or by outputting a square wave of 12 kHz. Often that signal is used as a kind of watchdog signal by for example stepper drivers.
This HIGH/LOW signal is selected by setting the jumper on the ‘RDY’ position, and the square wave is selected by selecting the ‘PLS’ position.
The TOOL output is used for switching ON and OFF your machine's tool.
Depending on the spindle driver, it might be necessary to use a relay to switch the tool on.
Using a solid-state relay to switch on heavy loads like a spindle motor is advisable because this will also optically isolate this input against external interference signals.
The COOL output is used for switching ON and OFF the coolant flow to your machine.
Depending on the load, it might be necessary to use a relay to switch the coolant on.
Using a solid-state relay to switch on heavy loads is advisable because this will also optically isolate this input against external interference signals.4
If you prefer to use separate wires to hook up your CNC310, this breakout board will help you. Simply stack the CNC310 on top of this board and start wiring your controller.
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