Arduino GRBL to DB25 CNC Shield Kit

Name: Arduino GRBL to DB25 CNC Shield Kit
SKU: 6865
Price: 7.95 USD
Availability: InStock
Rating: 4.24 (23 reviews)

(23 Reviews)

Fix your cheap eBay CNC router/engraver for less than $10. This shield allows you to use the USB to talk to a db25 based CNC machine.

Designed by Ron in United States of America

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Fix your cheap eBay CNC router/engraver for less than $10. This shield allows you to use the USB to talk to a db25 based CNC machine.

What is it? The Arduino G25 Shield combined with an Arduino UNO compatible board running GRBL, allows you to connect a CNC via the db25 LPT parallel port. Why did you make it? I purchased an inexpens…

What is it?

The Arduino G25 Shield combined with an Arduino UNO compatible board running GRBL, allows you to connect a CNC via the db25 LPT parallel port.

Why did you make it?

I purchased an inexpensive CNC on eBay. The software they recommended was expensive or was free with limitations and was jittery. Moving the processing of the gcode to the Arduino allows for smoother timing that is not based on cpu cycle count.

What makes it special?

Now to run your CNC all you need is a 'G Code Sender'. Something as simple as a terminal window is enough to send g code commands.

What do you get

You get the PCB, male headers and Female db25 right angle connector. This is a kit, you will need to solder the connectors.

What you will need

Arduino UNO compatible board USB Cable LPT cable (Female to female like the one that comes with the CNC machine) 'gcode sender application' of your choosing. (If you don't know one, Google it)

This is a video of the CNC router running on the LPT Port. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZJFjWCpabw

This video shows the same CNC running with the shield. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dm-AcufNaw0

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Review Breakdown

Average Ratings

Product: (4.57)

Documentation: (3.91)

Shipping: (4.17)

Communication: (4.30)

Gerry | Oct. 5, 2021

It's a decent arduino shield

It definitely works as advertised, and at a decent price, too. One thing that's definitely worth noting is that if you're intending to use limit switches, get hold of some small ceramic capacitors and resistors, or buy the pre-made ones used on 3D printers - you're going to need the filtration on the limit switch signals. Trust me on this. I wish it had been mentioned in the documentation, but since this isn't a GRBL-specific product, I'm thinking that's probably an unfair request on my part.

With regards to the 3 stars on shipping - this is not the fault of the sender, this is entirely down to the whole US to UK shipping ordeal that's been compounded by COVID and probably Brexit as well.

Robert | Aug. 3, 2021

Sometimes the simplest thing makes a big difference.

Many years ago I used to wire the DB 25 by hand for CNC machines. Back in 2018 I bought one of these for my 3040 mill and it worked great. I 3D printed a case for it I downloaded from thingiverse and haven't thought about it since. so simple and It just works. I just got another cnc control board with a DB25 input so I bought a second card. Had to double check this page to make sure I put the connector on the right side before I soldered it together.

Mark | May 24, 2021

Over 6 months later and it still hasn't arrived.

This is an updated review. My order has not arrived, but Ron has offered a refund or resend, unfortunately I did not see his messages so I have ignored it for the last 2 months. Sorry Ron. Thanks for your assistance.

K | Jan. 11, 2021

Arrived quickly in UK and looks well made.

Shipped quickly to the UK and looks well made. I intend to use this to use with an Arduino Uno to interface to an old CNC machine that currently has a 25way "parallel port" connector. As i have not had time to try it yet so i don't know if i will have to modify the wiring a bit but it is easier than starting from scratch on prototype board
.

Michael | Nov. 9, 2020

reasonable price

This is the 2nd pcb I've gotten, to interface to HobbyCnc Pro board,
Card 1 I did a lot of path cutting and rewiring , to get it to work.

I not sure if all the cutting and rewiring was needed , Is why I ordered the
2nd pcb, I've been unable to find a good schematic of the pcb,
Its still sitting in the box, waiting another try!

Response from Ron | Nov. 18, 2020

There is no schematic because there are no components (besides pins and connectors).
However, you can find the pin mapping in the instructions http://kclinear.com/g25/

Thank you
Ron

Shane | June 18, 2020

No sign of it...

Can't rate a product I didn't get, so this review is on shipping and communications.

2 months and track & trace says it hasn't moved, so now assuming it has been lost. Wouldn't use lockdown as excuse since I've had packages from mainland China get here in 3-4 weeks after ordering. When asked for help, I got quoted a case number I can't review or get an answer on, and pretty much no other interest.

Enjoy the donation.

Response from Ron | Aug. 18, 2021

Package was lost, a replacement board was sent.
https://tools.usps.com/go/TrackConfirmAction?qtc_tLabels1=UA929803330US

Phillip | Feb. 13, 2020

Great board, great instructions. Sadly didn't work for me.

Found out after I got it that my cnc uses a very 'nonstandard' pin-out. The board is great, I think it would be excellent if I could have used it.

One suggestion if you're going to update it, would be to allow some form of remapping pins for any specific db25 based board. The best example I can give for that is that my particular CNC board has this pin-out:

(they call the A motor C I'm guessing to reduce confusion about the A+ A- of the coils?)
Pin 1: X - Dir
Pin 2: Spindle Motor
Pin 3: Z - Step
Pin 4: X - Enable
Pin 5: Z and C - Enable
Pin 6: Z - Dir
Pin 8: C - Dir
Pin 9: C - Step
Pin 14: Y - Step
Pin 15: Z - Enable
Pin 16: X - Step
Pin 17: Y - Enable

this is from their pin-out, but I think due to that being on their side, it has to be 'reversed' for the other side. I.E. Pin 1 = Pin 25 on the breakout board. I was just going to manually do some jumpering but the pins something like 18-25 or so are all connected on the board and can't be used individually.

Again, I get that this was designed for a specific pin-out, and I'm getting a workaround together, just an idea for a potential future version of the board that allows more versatility.

Thanks anyway, sad I can't use it :)

David | Oct. 18, 2019

New life for old lathe

Nothing short of a miracle! My old CNC lathe came back to life after years of slumber, brought on by the demise of the LPT 'printer port'. Now she lives***** Thanks Guys!

Doug | Sept. 30, 2019

Well made, and surprisingly easy to bring up

I was expecting to have to do a lot of Grbl configuration to get this board to wiggle the right pins on the DB25, but I was surprised to learn that the default build worked.

I used this to convert a Chinese 3020 CNC to Grbl. Apparently, mine didn't have the "common" DB25 mapping, so my X axis wasn't working. A bit of debugging determined that X and A were swapped, so the simplest fix was to swap them on the breakout board, and now I have the common mapping that works directly with this shield. Awesome!

Lasse | Sept. 4, 2019

Good product

Good product with some minor errors in the documentation. In the overview of pinouts the GRBL layout column, dir and step is switched.

Just for reference: I have the CNC 3040 with the "new" blue control box. Here the A axis in on DB25 pin 2/3 and X on 16/17.

Dean | June 1, 2019

Clever little board for those Parallel port CNC's you find

Board arrived nice and quickly, shame there's zero documentation though and the seller's away on holiday currently which could be why his link at http://kclinear.com/g25/ seems to be down....

Ah well, jumped straight in with the soldering iron, taking cues from the youtube videos he's posted as to which side the components go on!
I have a spare header in the package for some reason

I'm pleasantly surprised that After a very quick solder, purchase of the correct Arduino and flashing of Grbl V1.1F....the CNC fired straight up with Chillipeppr!

No need to play with Polou style drivers and CNC shields and do lots of re-wiring now! just plug this board on the controller and voila!

Thankyou!

Response from Ron | June 10, 2019

Yep, I go on vacation and everything falls apart. The instructions are back online. Than you for the review.
-Ron

John | May 29, 2019

4 out of 5 stars

Great product, preformed as stated, am looking at purchasing another one. shipping took longer than I expected. Very happy

Zhengping | Sept. 27, 2018

It works! thanks for make this kit

I have an old CNC 3040 with DB25 connector. This shield kit make it possible to use any GRBL compatible host software to send G code through USB port.

Jonathan | April 10, 2018

Excellent experience

Everything came up as described, I had the CNC up and running in a couple of hours trying to figure it out GRBL.

Alan | Feb. 6, 2018

The GRBL to DB25 shield is just what I was looking for!

I'm building a PCB router from aluminum bar stock and surplus round steel ways and Acme lead screws. I have built similar drive boxes for my CNC'd Sherline mill and lathe. These are DB25 interfaces, driven from a PC running my STEP4 CNC driver software (15-16 year old DOS program). They run fine. This new drive box will have four G251X GeckoDrives and a DB25 interface. I will drive it either from a PC or from an Arduino running GRBL. I was about to wire up a prototype shield to interface to a DB25 cable. The shield resolves that problem. This driver box also employs a DB25 breakout board (first time I've used one), and a dimmer/ssr board (also from tindie) for spindle speed control. I have also used three switching power supplies for 24V, 12V and 5V. The 24V is for the steppers (could go up to 48V), the 5V is for the breakout board and a SSS (solid state switch). The 12V power supply is for 3D printing. I can thus run CNC (STEP4 or GRBL), Laser or 3D printing. Laser GRBR and Marlin will run as appropriate.

This shield is just what I was looking for! I bought two, one dedicated for CNC, the 2nd for a laser. Cheap enough, and I like the dedicated Arduino UNO's. For 3D printing, I'll use an Arduino Mega and a RAMPS board. I could use a RAMPS - DB25 board for that! I think I can us a piece of prototype board, solder .025" posts into it to plug into the vacated stepper driver sockets. I'll also wire up the limit switches, and E-switch (?).

Simple enough to solder up the board. I might suggest supplying or offering socket/headers for this shield to allow stacking. The pinout for the shield follows convention, although as my first Gecko driver box (G201) has the pinout for the step/dir pins different, I'll have to put in conditional code to allow my pin selections. A double row of 25 (maybe don't need all) pins with default traces that could be cut and allow some pin swaps would be nice. Put me in for one if you do it! A DB25-RAMPS board would also be welcome!

I can certainly recommend this board!

Alan
EDIT 3:53PM I just examined the GRBL to DB25 PCB, and noticed a row of holes alongside the Arduino pins. I've seen double rows of holes on boards before, but usually they're additional signals. This is a solution to my need to swap S/D pins! Some comments on these and other pads on the board would be useful in the manual.

C | Nov. 21, 2017

GRBL DB25 Shield v0.7

Clean good quality PCB with good documentation. I like the layout and it makes a compact unit. Seller was fast to send product and it saved me a lot of time not having to produce my own.
Thankyou.

Wesley | Nov. 17, 2017

Easy Peasy

Assembled it but have not yet tried to use it. I will update review when I do so. I am looking forward to testing it soon.

Alessandro | Sept. 26, 2017

GRBL DB25 shield

A simple but powerful shield to interface arduino uno with DB25 breakout board.
The board is professionally made, fully functional and good documented.
Working out of the box also with GRBL 1.1 version.

Gijs | July 4, 2017

Good product

Fast seller, to send the product.
It board is off good quality.
The documentation is good.
But in the documentation pin A4 is not good documented, it has to be A5 this one is connected.

I wish that some of the connections were not fixed mapped, so I could connect some pins to other DB25 pins
For example:
Pin1 output spindle direction, but in some machines sometime used as PWM.
Pin 10 = reset/Estop, but sometimes used as A limit.
Pin 17 = PWM or output, but sometime used as A step
The board has the connectors on it to do this.
But then some connections must be cut, the same way as for D11 and D12
Thank You.

Birgit | March 22, 2017

Brilliant!!!

This board is exactly what I've been looking for a long time and it works great as described.
Almost 10 days delivery to germany.
Thank you for 14 + 2 !!!

Jim | March 12, 2017

Well made board for use with GRBL on Arduino

This is a very nice shield for moving the Arduino pins out to a 25pin female connector (aka printer port). The board has a solder mask on the two outer layers, and a silkscreen on the upper layer. It was nice to have the option of supporting a later version of GRBL with PWM operation thru a simple modification to the board. There appears to be a discrepancy between the GRBL documentation regarding the pinouts for the stepper motors (direction and step flipped?) when compared to a LeadShine MX4660 Drive with Breakout board. I had to buzz out the shield board to see how it was wired to resolve my confusion. It would have been nice to have the schematic for the board. Instructions were quite good, and well illustrated. The board has additional prototyping areas. I intend to use one section to pull out a hard reset (for the Arduino), emergency reset (A0), hold (A1), and resume (A2) commands via switches.

Communications were listed as OK, but it should have been N/A. This was a straight purchase with no additional queries.

Vincent | Feb. 16, 2017