Doberman ESP32-S3 8 Axis CNC controller

Introduction

Hello, I am Bart Dring. I am the designer of this controller and one of the original creators of FluidNC firmware. The profits from this controller directly help support the firmware development. Thank you for considering this product.

Product Description

This is a CNC controller designed to control a wide variety of machines. It is designed for use with external stepper motor and servo drivers that use step, direction and enable inputs. It can drive up to 8 motors and gang them in any fashion, like XYZ, XYYZ, XXYYX, CoreXY, etc. It can control just about any type of spindle, laser, ATC, etc. This is a similar CNC controller to the popular 6x controller and Corgi controller. It has all the same features and capabilities and incorporates a lot of suggestions from the users. Here the new features.

• It uses an ESP32-S3 MCU. This gets you more I/O and new features, like a second USB.
• It uses connectors rather than terminal blocks wherever practical. They are all JST XH type connectors. The mating connectors are not provided, but low cost kits are readily available.
• The main power has has reverse voltage protection.
• The RS485 is fully isolated.
• It has a built in expander port for use with the FluidDial pendants and Airedale I/O extender.
• The inputs have status LEDs that can help debug wiring issues. Each input connector has a Vcc voltage available. A jumper is used to select a 5v or 12v switch vcc.
• The stepper driver connectors each have 5 volt and gnd pins. This allows easier use of common ground or 5V for the optos on the drivers.

Features

• ESP32-S3-WROOM-1U-N8R8 (8 Meg) Controller with USB-C connector and IPEX antenna connector. An antenna is included.
• (8) Motor connectors for external stepper drivers (5v signals). Each motor has separate step, direction and enable signals. LEDs are on each signal to help with setup.
• (10) Inputs for switches (limits, probes, control, etc). LEDs are on each imput to help debug wiring issues.
• Spindles (many types supported). Some multi-spindle arrangements are possible like RS485 & laser on the same machine. ATCs are also supported.
  • RS485 VFD Spindles
  • 0-10V controlled spindles with additional forward and reverse direction signals
  • PWM Speed controllers with optional separate enable signals
  • Relay (on/off) controlled spindles.
  • BESC (Brushless Motor) based spindles
  • Lasers with PWM and enable
  • Plasma with wait for arc ok signal. (THC is done externally)
• (2) 3A MOSFETs to drive relays, solenoids and valves. Digital or PWM can be used. 
• (4) 5V outputs can be used for any output function (coolant, etc). Digital or PWM can be used.
• Micro SD card socket for local storage of gcode files
• Standard RJ12 expansion port conector for use with the FluidDial pendant and AirDale I/O expander. 
• Native USB-C connection. This is a second USB connector. It can do 
  • By default it acts like a USB/Serial port
  • It has full hardware support for CDC and host modes. This menas you could attach keyboard, jog controllers, displays and other features. FluidNC does not support any of these modes yet.

Note: A few features share I/O pins, so not all features can be used at the same time.

Open Source

• Design Files
  • EasyEDA Pro design files (link coming soon)
  • Fusion 3D model (link coming soon)
• Firmware
  • FluidNC Github Repo

Support

• Get help (often real-time) on Discord
• See the wiki page. Check out the getting started section.
• Web Installer