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Arduino-based CNC Plotter
Technical Report · July 2019
DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.24482.85445
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4 authors, including:
Md Asaduzzaman Sourov
Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology
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Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology
Department of Mechanical Engineering
CNC PLOTTER MACHINE
Course No: ME 366
Couse Name: Instrumentation and Measurement Sessional
Group No: C24
Accomplished By:
Md. Rifat Hossain Alif (1610157)
Subah Mubassira(1610158)
Shathi Akter (1610173)
Md. Asaduzzaman Sourov (1610174)
1
Acknowledgement
This project was supported by the Department of Mechanical
Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering &
Technology. We would like to express our gratitude to our
honorable teachers, Musanna Galib (Lecturer, Dept. of
Mechanical Engineering, BUET) & Mantaka Taimullah
(Lecturer, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, BUET), for their
advices and valuable comments regarding our project, which led
us to the completion of the project.
We also want to thank our classmates and seniors who helped us
and encouraged us during the project.
2
ABSTRACT
The CNC XY Plotter is required to plot two dimensional
continuous or discontinuous data on a rectangular coordinate
system. This project is done to fabricate a XY plotter using
independent motion along X-direction and Y-direction, and
microcontroller system (Arduino) to control those motions.
Implementation of this project is carried out through the
computer linked with the Arduino software, to which the G-code
is transmitted by the Processing software.
3
CONTENTS
Content Page
Components 4-10
Problems we faced 11
Code 12-18
Flow chart 19
4
COMPONENTS
1. Aluminum rods:
We used aluminum rods which are known as bike spoke of
3mm dia. These are providing the axes along which motion
will be directed.
Fig-1: Aluminum rod
[Link] Belt:
Belts were used to link a pulley and the rotating shaft of the
stepper motor working under no slip.
Material: rubber
Type: GT2 belt (5 meters)
Fig-2: Timing belt
5
[Link] pulley:
Pulleys (four)were used to transmit power through the belt via
teeth and they were used to move the platform carrying the
paper and the pen holder component by transmitting power from
the stepper motors.
Material: Aluminum (GT2 timing pulley)
Number of teeth:20
Fig-3: Timing pulley
[Link] board:
It was used for our drawing platform.
• Thickness: 2mm
• Area:8’’*8’’
Fig-4: PVC board
6
5. Arduino UNO:
• Micro controllers: ATmega328
• 14 digital input/output pins (of which 6 can be used as PWM
outputs) 6 analog inputs, a 16 MHz crystal oscillator, a USB
connection, a power jack, an ICSP header, and a reset button.
Fig-5: Arduino Uno
6. Servo motor:
• Torque: 1.8 kg cm
• Weight: 9 grams
• Gear Type: Plastic
• Was used for giving Z axis motion
where the pen will be mounted.
Fig-6: Servo motor
7
7. Stepper motor:
• Stride Angle: 5.625x1/64
• DC resistance: 200
• Rated Voltage 12V
• Model: 28BYJ-48
Fig-7: Stepper motor
8. Stepper driver(a4988):
• Automatic current decay mode detection /
selection
• Synchronous rectification for low power
dissipation
• 3.3 and 5 V compatible logic supply
Fig-8: Stepper driver
8
9. GRBL CNC shield:
• It has total of four slots, can drive four a4988 stepper motor
• GRBL 08c compatible (open source firmware that runs on an
arduino uno that turns g-code commands into stepper signals)
• Spindle enable and direction coolant enable uses removable
pololu a4988 compatible stepper drivers (a4988, drv8825 and
others) jumpers to set the micro-stepping for the stepper
drivers (some drivers like the drv8825 can do up to 1/32
micro-stepping)
• Compact design stepper motors can be connected with 4 pin
molex connectors or soldered in place runs on 12-36v dc.
Fig-9: GRBL CNC shield
10. Jumpers:
• Male to male
• Male to female
• Female to female
Fig-10: jumpers
9
11. Adapter:
• Output - 9v/1a
• Input - 100 - 240 volt, 50/60 hz,
• Come with standard 5mm jack
• Compatible with type d socket
Fig-11: Adapter
12. 3D-parts:
▪ X Y axis clamps
▪ Pen holder in Z axis
▪ Platform
10
Problem we faced and its solution:
▪ The first problem that we faced was we didn’t get the perfect sized rod as
our designed required. We had to change our whole design as per rods
diameter.
▪ The idle pulley that we needed for our project isn’t available in our country.
So, we had to use the timing pulley (that is available here). With timing
pulley our main problem was its size wasn’t suitable for our design. So, we
had to make some changes to make it fit in X-axis clamps.
▪ The stepper motors that we used for our project was uni-polar but they
needed a very big amount of power to rotate. Unfortunately, we weren’t
planning on using such power input. That was a very daunting challenge for
us. We made the stepper into bi-polar which should take a lot less power
than before and we didn’t use the stepper driver this time. Now this worked
perfectly.
▪ Finding the proper adapter for our project was another hassle.
▪ The extension file we needed to control Z axis there we faced a unit related
problem where units were fixed into pixels only for both input and output. In
module we used selfrelate instead of inkex. That solved our unittou related
problem.
▪ When all motors were working perfectly then we decided to give some
input. So, we drew some simple geometric shape but our stepper motors
were missing some steps for that we couldn’t get the desired output. Then
with a lot of brainstorming and excessive research we got that we need to
micro step our motor. Then we shorted the lines for microstepping.
11
▪ CODE:
▪ #include <Servo.h>
#include <AFMotor.h>
▪ #define LINE_BUFFER_LENGTH 512
▪ char STEP = MICROSTEP ;
▪ // Servo position for Up and Down
const int penZUp = 115;
const int penZDown = 83;
▪ // Servo on PWM pin 10
const int penServoPin =10 ;
▪ // Should be right for DVD steppers, but is not too important here
const int stepsPerRevolution = 48;
▪ // create servo object to control a servo
Servo penServo;
▪ // Initialize steppers for X- and Y-axis using this Arduino pins for the L293D H-bridge
AF_Stepper myStepperY(stepsPerRevolution,1);
AF_Stepper myStepperX(stepsPerRevolution,2);
▪ /* Structures, global variables */
struct point {
float x;
float y;
float z;
};
▪ // Current position of plothead
struct point actuatorPos;
▪ // Drawing settings, should be OK
float StepInc = 1;
int StepDelay = 0;
int LineDelay =0;
int penDelay = 50;
▪ // Motor steps to go 1 millimeter.
// Use test sketch to go 100 steps. Measure the length of line.
// Calculate steps per mm. Enter here.
float StepsPerMillimeterX = 100.0;
float StepsPerMillimeterY = 100.0;
▪ // Drawing robot limits, in mm
// OK to start with. Could go up to 50 mm if calibrated well.
float Xmin = 0;
float Xmax = 40;
float Ymin = 0;
float Ymax = 40;
float Zmin = 0;
float Zmax = 1;
▪ float Xpos = Xmin;
float Ypos = Ymin;
float Zpos = Zmax;
▪ // Set to true to get debug output.
boolean verbose = false;
12
▪ // Needs to interpret
// G1 for moving
// G4 P300 (wait 150ms)
// M300 S30 (pen down)
// M300 S50 (pen up)
// Discard anything with a (
// Discard any other command!
▪ /**********************
* void setup() - Initialisations
***********************/
void setup() {
// Setup
[Link]( 9600 );
[Link](penServoPin);
[Link](penZUp);
delay(100);
▪ // Decrease if necessary
[Link](600);
[Link](600);
// Set & move to initial default position
// TBD
▪ // Notifications!!!
[Link]("Mini CNC Plotter alive and kicking!");
[Link]("X range is from ");
[Link](Xmin);
[Link](" to ");
[Link](Xmax);
[Link](" mm.");
[Link]("Y range is from ");
[Link](Ymin);
[Link](" to ");
[Link](Ymax);
[Link](" mm.");
}
▪ /**********************
* void loop() - Main loop
***********************/
void loop()
{
delay(100);
char line[ LINE_BUFFER_LENGTH ];
char c;
int lineIndex;
bool lineIsComment, lineSemiColon;
▪ lineIndex = 0;
lineSemiColon = false;
lineIsComment = false;
▪ while (1) {
▪ // Serial reception - Mostly from Grbl, added semicolon support
while ( [Link]()>0 ) {
c = [Link]();
if (( c == '\n') || (c == '\r') ) { // End of line reached
13
if ( lineIndex > 0 ) { // Line is complete. Then execute!
line[ lineIndex ] = '\0'; // Terminate string
if (verbose) {
[Link]( "Received : ");
[Link]( line );
}
processIncomingLine( line, lineIndex );
lineIndex = 0;
}
else {
// Empty or comment line. Skip block.
}
lineIsComment = false;
lineSemiColon = false;
[Link]("ok");
}
else {
if ( (lineIsComment) || (lineSemiColon) ) { // Throw away all comment characters
if ( c == ')' ) lineIsComment = false; // End of comment. Resume line.
}
else {
if ( c <= ' ' ) { // Throw away whitepace and control characters
}
else if ( c == '/' ) { // Block delete not supported. Ignore character.
}
else if ( c == '(' ) { // Enable comments flag and ignore all characters until ')' or
EOL.
lineIsComment = true;
}
else if ( c == ';' ) {
lineSemiColon = true;
}
else if ( lineIndex >= LINE_BUFFER_LENGTH-1 ) {
[Link]( "ERROR - lineBuffer overflow" );
lineIsComment = false;
lineSemiColon = false;
}
else if ( c >= 'a' && c <= 'z' ) { // Upcase lowercase
line[ lineIndex++ ] = c-'a'+'A';
}
else {
line[ lineIndex++ ] = c;
}
}
}
}
}
}
▪ void processIncomingLine( char* line, int charNB ) {
int currentIndex = 0;
char buffer[ 64 ]; // Hope that 64 is enough for 1 parameter
struct point newPos;
▪ newPos.x = 0.0;
newPos.y = 0.0;
▪ // Needs to interpret
// G1 for moving
14
// G4 P300 (wait 150ms)
// G1 X60 Y30
// G1 X30 Y50
// M300 S30 (pen down)
// M300 S50 (pen up)
// Discard anything with a (
// Discard any other command!
▪ while( currentIndex < charNB ) {
switch ( line[ currentIndex++ ] ) { // Select command, if any
case 'U':
penUp();
break;
case 'D':
penDown();
break;
case 'G':
buffer[0] = line[ currentIndex++ ]; // /!\ Dirty - Only works with 2 digit commands
// buffer[1] = line[ currentIndex++ ];
// buffer[2] = '\0';
buffer[1] = '\0';
▪ switch ( atoi( buffer ) ){ // Select G command
case 0: // G00 & G01 - Movement or fast movement. Same here
case 1:
// /!\ Dirty - Suppose that X is before Y
char* indexX = strchr( line+currentIndex, 'X' ); // Get X/Y position in the string (if any)
char* indexY = strchr( line+currentIndex, 'Y' );
if ( indexY <= 0 ) {
newPos.x = atof( indexX + 1);
newPos.y = actuatorPos.y;
}
else if ( indexX <= 0 ) {
newPos.y = atof( indexY + 1);
newPos.x = actuatorPos.x;
}
else {
newPos.y = atof( indexY + 1);
indexY = '\0';
newPos.x = atof( indexX + 1);
}
drawLine(newPos.x, newPos.y );
// [Link]("ok");
actuatorPos.x = newPos.x;
actuatorPos.y = newPos.y;
break;
}
break;
case 'M':
buffer[0] = line[ currentIndex++ ]; // /!\ Dirty - Only works with 3 digit commands
buffer[1] = line[ currentIndex++ ];
buffer[2] = line[ currentIndex++ ];
buffer[3] = '\0';
switch ( atoi( buffer ) ){
case 300:
{
char* indexS = strchr( line+currentIndex, 'S' );
float Spos = atof( indexS + 1);
15
// [Link]("ok");
if (Spos == 30) {
penDown();
}
if (Spos == 50) {
penUp();
}
break;
}
case 114: // M114 - Repport position
[Link]( "Absolute position : X = " );
[Link]( actuatorPos.x );
[Link]( " - Y = " );
[Link]( actuatorPos.y );
break;
default:
[Link]( "Command not recognized : M");
[Link]( buffer );
}
}
}
}
▪ /*********************************
* Draw a line from (x0;y0) to (x1;y1).
* int (x1;y1) : Starting coordinates
* int (x2;y2) : Ending coordinates
**********************************/
void drawLine(float x1, float y1) {
▪ if (verbose)
{
[Link]("fx1, fy1: ");
[Link](x1);
[Link](",");
[Link](y1);
[Link]("");
}
▪ // Bring instructions within limits
if (x1 >= Xmax) {
x1 = Xmax;
}
if (x1 <= Xmin) {
x1 = Xmin;
}
if (y1 >= Ymax) {
y1 = Ymax;
}
if (y1 <= Ymin) {
y1 = Ymin;
}
▪ if (verbose)
{
[Link]("Xpos, Ypos: ");
[Link](Xpos);
[Link](",");
[Link](Ypos);
16
[Link]("");
}
▪ if (verbose)
{
[Link]("x1, y1: ");
[Link](x1);
[Link](",");
[Link](y1);
[Link]("");
}
▪ // Convert coordinates to steps
x1 = (int)(x1*StepsPerMillimeterX);
y1 = (int)(y1*StepsPerMillimeterY);
float x0 = Xpos;
float y0 = Ypos;
▪ // Let's find out the change for the coordinates
long dx = abs(x1-x0);
long dy = abs(y1-y0);
int sx = x0<x1 ? StepInc : -StepInc;
int sy = y0<y1 ? StepInc : -StepInc;
▪ long i;
long over = 0;
▪ if (dx > dy) {
for (i=0; i<dx; ++i) {
[Link](sx,STEP);
over+=dy;
if (over>=dx) {
over-=dx;
[Link](sy,STEP);
}
delay(StepDelay);
}
}
else {
for (i=0; i<dy; ++i) {
[Link](sy,STEP);
over+=dx;
if (over>=dy) {
over-=dy;
[Link](sx,STEP);
}
delay(StepDelay);
}
}
▪ if (verbose)
{
[Link]("dx, dy:");
[Link](dx);
[Link](",");
[Link](dy);
[Link]("");
}
▪ if (verbose)
{
[Link]("Going to (");
[Link](x0);
17
[Link](",");
[Link](y0);
[Link](")");
}
▪ // Delay before any next lines are submitted
delay(LineDelay);
// Update the positions
Xpos = x1;
Ypos = y1;
}
▪ // Raises pen
void penUp() {
[Link](penZUp);
delay(penDelay);
Zpos=Zmax;
digitalWrite(15, LOW);
digitalWrite(16, HIGH);
if (verbose) {
[Link]("Pen up!");
}
}
// Lowers pen
void penDown() {
[Link](penZDown);
delay(penDelay);
Zpos=Zmin;
digitalWrite(15, HIGH);
digitalWrite(16, LOW);
if (verbose) {
[Link]("Pen down.");
}
}
18
FLOW CHART:
Input: picture file of any format
Inkscape processes the file and generates g-code
G-code executer: converts g-code into Arduino readable format
Stepper and servo motor gets the command from Arduino
Stepper gives X servo gives z Stepper gives Y
Axis motion axis motion axis motion
Output
19
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