CNC 3018 Pro - Setup

Attached are the assembled photos with some of the assembly details.

Top view

Bottom view

Note the brass nut and spring that is placed in the middle plate mount before attaching to the drive screw

Side view

Back view

Z-Axis Mount

Note the brass nut and spring that is placed in the head before attaching to the drive screw

X-Axis Motor

• No jumpers need to be changed
• X, Y and Z axis motors are connected as per the diagram. You do not need the Y2 axis, it's for rotational accessories
• For the laser, use the 3pin => dual 2pin wire connect it to the top-right two 2-pin connectors. The top is for 12V laser power, the one below is PWM control
• For the spindle, connect it at the top-left 2-pin connector
• Use J-A6 port at the bottom-right for connecting a z-probe. I used 2 alligator clips - one connected to the PCB to be carved and one connected to the motor spindle

• Install the usb to serial driver from USB: 3018Pro\CNC Software\GRBL Software\driver\CH340SER.EXE
• Download and flash the latest GRBL .hex firmware from: https://github.com/gnea/grbl/releases
  • use XLoader provided from USB: 3018Pro\Laser Software\Brush Firmware\GRBL 1.1\XLoader\XLoader.exe
  • for settings choose Device: Uno (ATmega328), Baud rate: 115200
  • select the .hex file you downloaded from the grbl link above on Github
• Calibrate the X/Y/Z axis stepper motors so they move the correct amount.
  From the grblControl software you can set them by sending these 3 commands (in order, X, Y, Z):

  $100=600

  $101=600

  $102=800

  This will set the correct steps/mm amount for the motors I was working with, you may need to adjust these numbers yourself. You can do so by measuring the distance the motor moves in millimeters and adjust the value until it is correct. For example, draw a line exactly 100mm long on your cutting surface and set the X-Axis value to 600 by issuing the command `$100=600`, then issue `X100` to move 100mm along the X axis. If it doesn't move exactly 100mm, adjust the 600 value up or down until it does.

  - see GRBL docs: https://github.com/gnea/grbl/wiki/Grbl-v1.1-Configuration#100-101-and-102--xyz-stepsmm
• The Y axis and Z axis are inverted and must be configured.
  From the grblControl software invert them by sending this command:

  $3=6

  This bitmask will invert the Y axis (2) and Z axis (4)

  - see GRBL docs: https://github.com/gnea/grbl/wiki/Grbl-v1.1-Configuration#3--direction-port-invert-mask