About

At its core the Root controller is a ESP32 GRBL isolated motion controller (FluidNC). What makes this controller different is the focus of providing isolated IO to the CNC controller. The controller is designed to accommodate a wide range of operating conditions and machines, to provide ultimate flexibility (its not just a Root CNC Controller).

The controller is designed to isolate the key area of the design to mitigate any nuisance issues when operating in an electrically noisy environment. The design isolates the following areas from one another: Steppers driver outputs (achieved by using externally OPTO isolated drivers), USB, Relays, MOSFETs and RS485. Perfectly suited for the larger CNC machines.

Key features

  1. 6 axis motion control (Axis ganging can be done via software - 18 digital outputs, can be repurposed)
  2. Wide input voltage range (9-36V)
  3. Wifi or bluetooth support for remote control and job loading
  4. SD card
  5. 8 isolated inputs (supporting NPN inductive switches and Standard NC/NO switches)
  6. 2 isolated Relay outputs for switching high voltage outputs, say a compressor
  7. 2 isolated MOSFET, perfect for driving solenoids for coolant or mist
  8. Dedicated Laser output port.
  9. Isolated USB
  10. Isolated RS485 (Modbus serial port)

Block Diagram

Root Controller Overview Block Diagram

Purchase

The Root Controller ISO can be purchased on the Root CNC store GOTO SHOP

Demo Video

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Demo Video

Electrical Specification

Details can be found here. If you require additional information I have missed, please contact me and I'll get it added.

Wiring information

For more information on how to wire and connect the Root Controller to external drives, sensors and other peripherals. please see the Wiki site. Link to the WIKI

Software pinouts

To control the hardware the pinout of peripherals needs to be known, the link here is a convenient way to map Input and Output to the software.

Software Configurations

For basic configurations for your machine, please see the sub folder names "Configurations"

Mechanical dimensions

PCB layout

What is Root CNC

For Root CNC project information visit the website

Social links

  1. Facebook Group
  2. Discourse
  3. Discord Great for quick answer to questions and firmware support
  4. Thingiverse
  5. Youtube

License

This project is licensed under the Creative Commons 4.0 license with Attribution-NonCommerial-ShareAlike see LICENSE.txt for details