Hello EEV
I'm new here so I hope this is the right section to post this and that I'm not treading on anyone's toes here.
I have ordered a CNC 2417 from Aliexpress in China. The software they provide comprises a document file, instructions for mechanical assembly of the machine and a large ZIP file which I have been unable to download because the connection it keeps timing out.
I had hoped there would be a list of steps required to get the machine up and running, or better still a flow chart!
My understanding is the CNC 2417 has an Arduino UNO and motor shield. I believe the Arduino needs to have Gbrl firmware installed and presume this can be done using the Arduino IDE. The Arduino will be connected to a computer via USB. I believe driver software needs to be installed on the computer before it is connected to the Arduino. The computer would need to have an app installed to generate G-code, plus an app to drip-feed the G-code to the Arduino, as it doesn't have a large memory capacity. That's my understanding thus far. Is that correct?
So the steps would be: (1) assemble the machine (2) install motor drivers (3) install an app on the computer to generate G-code eg InkScape (4) install an app on the computer to drip-feed the G-code to the Arduino.
Is that correct?
Whilst there are many videos showing people lovingly opening the box and assembling the kit of parts, playing with Allen keys to build the machine, there seems to be very little information about the electrical connections and no step-by-step sequence to get the machine up and running with drivers and firmware, that I have been able to find.
While looking around for alternative software, I stumbled across Banggood's web page offering what appears to be the same machine. There's a link which leads to a Google Drive page where files can be downloaded individually, instead of a huge ZIP file. Much more user-friendly.
The driver says it's for DOS/Windows. Does anyone know where I might find a driver for Linux? I still have an old computer that is configured to dual-boot Linux/Win7, so that is not a major problem, but I would prefer to use Linux.
So to recap. Where might I find electrical connection info for this machine? Are the steps that I enumerated above correct? Where might I find drivers for Linux?
Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.