Stepoko: Powered by grbl Hookup Guide

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Contributors: MTaylor
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Software: Machine control (Universal G-code Sender)

Once G-Code files have been created, a program is needed to parse them and issue the commands to the Stepoko. A good open source one that works well with the Stepoko (and all grbl hardware) is Universal G-Code Sender.

As of writing this, 1.0.9 is the latest stable build. Most people will want this as a zip archive rather than having the github source. Download it, unzip it into a directory, and run the batch file for windows, or shell script for mac/linux.

Make sure you are connected to the Stepoko. Once the program is loaded, you can set the connection parameters, and click 'Open' to get a connection to the mill. Use 115200 baud and the port that appears when you attach the Stepoko. If all goes well, the grbl firmware will reply with its version number.

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This is a view of the gcode sending software, Universal Gcode Sender. The upper most tabs allow you to enter arbitrary gcode, load files, operate the mill in a manual way, and send macro command strings. The lower tabs show terminal output and progression through a gcode file as a table of commands.

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Selecting the menu 'Settings', 'Firmware Settings', then 'GRBL' opens this window. This shows the settings currently saved to the Stepoko and allows modification. Once modified, click 'Save' to put them in the Stepoko's ROM. Common settings are covered in the next page.

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The File Mode tab.

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The Visualizer window.