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Bart Dring

2,009 orders since Aug 14, 2017

River Forest, IL, United States of America

Ships from United States of America.

Custom Work Available

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Hardware and Electronics for Motion Control and CNC.

Overall Rating:

Review Breakdown

5
42 4
14 3
0 2
1 1
3

Average Ratings

Product: (4.72)

Documentation: (4.52)

Shipping: (4.85)

Communication: (4.67)

All Reviews

Carl | July 23, 2020

Great quality product

For Grbl_ESP32 MPCNC CNC Controller Ver 1.2.2

I've installed the board on my mpcnc router/laser. High quality PCB. Adding the power of esp32 to my cnc is a must.

Steven | July 22, 2020

Great product

For Grbl_ESP32 MPCNC CNC Controller Ver 1.2.2

I use my MPCNC mostly for 3d carving, i wanted to use Universal Gcode Sender and GRBL and this board fits the need perfectly. The auto-squaring works very well and has good repeatability.
I would buy another if needed.

Joe | June 21, 2020

Absolutely Awesome!

For Grbl_ESP32 MPCNC CNC Controller Ver 1.2.2

This is a great product from an outstanding supplier! Customer service is 5 stars!!!
Still getting my system worked out but the board and parts work as advertised, I’m NOT disappointed!

Tom | May 29, 2020

Excellent product

For External Stepper Motor Driver Ver 1.1

I purchased these drivers to allow me to connect NEMA 23 stepper motors (through external drivers) to my controller designed to operate NEMA 17 stepper motors.
There is excellent support for understanding how to I stall these on your controller online using the Slack app (buildlog.net).
Now I have the torque needed on all axes of my CNC. A clean, simple solution. I could not be happier with them.

Tim | May 23, 2020

Great product and service

For Pen Plotter Controller for ESP32 & TMC2130 V2

After a few initial errors on my part I needed serious assistance in fixing my own stupid errors.
Bart was responsive, and sent a link to slack, where he showed unending amounts of patience in talking me through repairing my own mistakes.
Outcome is I now have the pen plotter fully functional, and working silently.
This video a great for a simple laser diode machine and I'm getting great results using this board.

Great service, unbeatable support.

Mike | March 8, 2020

Highly recommended

For Grbl_ESP32 MPCNC CNC Controller Ver 1.2.2

This controller is a perfect fit for the MPCNC router. I have experience with 2 of these and they are both working great. Auto-squaring a cool feature for gantry style cnc’s works well and in my opinion GRBL is a better choice than Marlin for a router. The documentation is excellent though a little spread out and the support has been excellent. I had a problem that turned out to be a wiring issue but Bart worked hard to help me resolve it. Be sure to use shielded cable for the home/limit switches and you will not have a problem.

Matt | March 6, 2020

Arrived in good time

For midTbot ESP32 V2 Controller Kit

Small mix up with some parts missing, but was resolved quickly. Friendly service and all parts arrived in good time. Parts appear to be of a high quality.

Andy | Feb. 18, 2020

Very impressed! Will definitely be ordering again!

For Grbl_ESP32 CNC Development Board V4.1

Bought this to remove the mandatory PC component of an old SharkCNC. Mr. Dring has been extremely available and helpful along the whole adventure. Highly recommend this (when it becomes available again)!

Robert | Feb. 14, 2020

Exactly what I was looking for

For Grbl_ESP32 MPCNC CNC Controller Ver 1.2.2

For me, this is a sweet spot for DIY CNC applications.
The ESP32 is an amazing device in terms of built in capability and overall performance. While it would be nice if it had a few more GPIO pins available, this control board does a great job of optimizing available GRBL capability within the inherent constraints of the ESP32 architecture.
The firmware was easy to configure and customize and works great.
I am currently using it on an MPCNC and would not hesitate to buy more for other projects or recommend to others.

Taylor | Feb. 14, 2020

Awesome Product

For Pen Plotter Controller for ESP32 & TMC2130 V2

Using to replace the awful controller on a stock k40 laser. Bart is incredibly helpful and knowledgeable. Loved the quality of the kit. It is all very well thought out and look forward to getting some custom work done for some industrial projects in the future.

Mike | Jan. 26, 2020

Great board and well thought out

For Grbl_ESP32 CNC Development Board V4.1

I was able to get the board up and running very quickly. Very will designed. I would recommend having the schematic available on this website as it is necessary to understand how it is wired. I did finally find it on www.buildlog.net

(I did have a soldering issue on the boards I bought, but they were obvious and quickly resolved)

Great product!

Louis | Dec. 15, 2019

Great Product a very small lack of communication

For midTbot ESP32 V2 Controller Kit

Great Product, but in my opinion it would be better if the seller explained some questions better. A Link to the Documentation is sometimes not enough.

Jeff | Dec. 12, 2019

Good Board

For Pen Plotter Controller for ESP32 & TMC2130 V2

I have three projects I'm using this board on. It works great. Nice and small, but full of compatibility and not too many distracting features.

James | Dec. 9, 2019

Amazing little plotter!

For midTbot ESP32 V2 Controller Kit

I am in love with my midTbot esp32! This little guy was fun to build and easy to source parts for. I have it drawing all kinds of things but mainly art to gift to friends. The ability to control via WiFi is really a great feature, I can drop files over WiFi to the SD card and completely control it with the built is esp3D interface. This is not just a plotter but a whole ecosystem of grbl on the esp32. Favorite project I have completed this year, hands down. Thanks Bart!

George | Nov. 6, 2019

Nice Quality Board!

For Grbl_ESP32 CNC Development Board V4.1

I have had no problems with this board. My time was spent studying the firmware code from GitHub......but for me it was a fun challenge. I have limited and outdated programming skills but I was determined to crack that code!

I did have one question for Bart and he responded right away. It was regarding the proper memory allocation used uploading to the esp32. The information is online if you do the research. He pointed me right to it. (Thanks Bart)....It is here: https://github.com/bdring/Grbl_Esp32/wiki/Compiling-the-firmware

If you are unsure about your project and just want to get GRBL running on an esp32, I would suggest spending a week or two and get GRBL uploading in Demo Mode (which is default to insure that no shorts will fry any components). After you reach that point, you are only a few minutes away from enabling GRBL to run your machine.

I tested it with four G-Code senders and they all work. Universal G-Code sender 2.0 is fine. If you want more features, the board will also run with GrblGru using Grbl-Mega-5x mode.

The extra grounds provided on the inputs are very handy and make it easier to keep your wiring organised.

I wired my board for external drivers to use larger motors. That part is easy. Only 3 wires per axis will get your motors moving.

I am looking forward to watching and learning as Bart's project continues to grow.

Shawn | Oct. 20, 2019

This thing is awesome

For TWANG32 LED Strip Game

I bought a Twang32 almost ready to go. All I needed was LED strips, power supply, and to clip one end of the LED strips and attach it inside the Twang32. Super easy to do.

Hard to believe a game on a single LED wide strip can be so much fun, but everyone loved it. The sound is pretty loud.

The only reason I dinged it 1 star is the quality of the 3D print isn't the best. Looks like it was done on an old MakerBot or something. Does not affect performance or playability and is still highly recommend this.
Avatar
Response from Bart Dring | Oct. 22, 2019
FWIW: The parts are printed on a Lulzbot Ta6 and a Matterhackers Pulse XE. I print with the maximum layer height possible for best durability. At public Maker Faire type events, people Twang the heck out of them, so they need to be tough.

Doug | Oct. 8, 2019

All-around fantastic

For Grbl_ESP32 CNC Development Board V4.1

I had a minor issue with my board, and it was very quickly resolved after contacting Bart.

Assembly was a breeze. The firmware building process is very well documented and was likewise very easy.

By default, the code can be built in "test drive mode" so you can quickly take one variable out of the equation before testing on your hardware.

And on top of that, you get an open source code base that is being actively developed against a nice road map.

No complaints!

Damian | Feb. 6, 2019

Great CNC Board - ESP32 is a perfect fit for GRBL

For Grbl_ESP32 CNC Development Board V4.1

This is a great board - being able to use Bluetooth/Telnet instead of having to have a PC tethered to an Arduino is fantastic. I made some changes to the GRBL_ESP32 code in order to support XY wall plotters that deal in Polar co-ordinates and everything is working perfectly. Grab one yourself, you won't be disappointed.

Owen | Dec. 15, 2018

Fantastic CNC controller,

For Grbl_ESP32 CNC Development Board V4.1

Well made and good looking board; exactly as described. Arrived fast and well packed.

I have installed an AliExpress ESP32S and LV7829 stepper drivers, they simply plugged in and worked; initial software load went horribly awry due to me shortcutting stuff and corrupting the index file I uploaded then fighting that instead of going to sleep. Following morning I started by erasing the flash on the ESP32 using esptool; and then following the instructions linked above from scratch I arrived at a working box with a local access point half an hr later.. :-)

Software is still evolving, plenty usable right now, with more to come of course. Only thing I miss is 'Go To Zero' buttons for the axes; but these are normally done via macros so it's not an issue. Connectivity via the serial/USB works as normal for GRBL, and I even telnetted to it successfully. I have not tried the bluetooth features; I left them disabled in source since it's not in my roadmap.

Youtube video review and demo of it in action is here:
https://youtu.be/jcl5qk3Hnro

Matthew | Oct. 2, 2018

Best thing since sliced bread

For Grbl_ESP32 CNC Development Board V4.1

Fantastic quality board and soldering. It includes all the headers for any future 3 axis CNC routing application, including door switch, start and hold, probe, and both flood and mist cooling in the same setup.

The future support for uSD cards on a grbl board is awesome, no more tether needed, and the development pace on adding features such as control over WiFi and Bluetooth is pretty incredible.

Support for 24v steppers is appreciated, and so is the included barrel jack for power. The buck converter was included with the board though it isn't listed as an included item, an appreciated addition.

Even if this was a finished product with no more software updates, it is a awesome deal for such a good quality grbl board. I would absolutely recommend this to anyone in the market for a desktop CNC controller.

Dave | Sept. 24, 2018

An excellent board , that's now being used full time.

For Grbl_ESP32 CNC Development Board V4.1

An excellent board for prototyping , that has made it as a permanent resident for my DIY CNC Router.
I bought this board as I was keen to tryout an alternative hardware platform to the mega, as I felt I was reaching the "speed limit" of the Mega2560.
Having purchased an ESP32 , which isn't very breadboard friendly, I was pleased to find this board , It even came with PCB standoffs which is a good idea to prevent shorts. I quickly cobbled up some fairly long leads to run my CNC Router to try it out , I've also added a RS485 link to control VFD Spindle and It seems to work very well.( it took a little time to add the software to control the VFD )
The patch leads were shortened and It is now resident at the heart of my CNC router.

The board has been well thought out , it contains additional pads, which I ended up using as my ESP32 board was 0.1" wider than the vendor's.
Its nice that all of the pins have an associated ground with them , making it easier to connect up. I've also asked for a power supply for each of the limit switch pins, as I use opto switches for these, though it was quite easy to add.
I'm also using off board stepper drivers , but these were quite easy to connect to with a few pin headers.

Many thanks for an excellent product and great support.

James | Sept. 23, 2018

Perfect for testing!

For Grbl_ESP32 CNC Development Board V4.1

This board works perfect and is great for testing out the features of GRBL_ESP32. It is a good jumping off point to learn from before I design and make a custom PCB for my laser cutter. My custom board will certainly be influenced by what I learn from this one. Thanks for all the work you've done, Bart, and I'm glad I was able to support this awesome project!
Avatar
Response from Bart Dring | Sept. 23, 2018
Thanks James,

God luck with your design. We have a Slack channel where we collaborate on designs. Let me know if you want an invite.

Douglas | Sept. 20, 2018

ESP32 is being used solely as an alternative MCU

For Grbl_ESP32 CNC Development Board V4.1

The expectation was that there would be built in wifi support. It might be there with alternate software but there appears to be no example of using it. The SD card use requires the sacrifice of CNC features. It looks WiFi feature rich but offers little over the dirt cheap Arduino UNO approach.
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Response from Bart Dring | Sept. 20, 2018
Douglas, I am sorry you are disappointed. This is the first I am hearing about that.

- The wifi support is currently available as a branch of the master version. It is downloadable at Github. You can also see the WiFi features in action on this video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vtWNn9jyDs&t=4s

- The state of the SD features were explained in the description of this product. With that said, SD features are now fully functional and in the master branch of the code. As stated in the product description, you do need to sacrifice some features to use it, but those are very seldomly used features on DIY CNC of spindle reverse and spindle enable.

I am happy to refund your purchase if you like.

Mukunda | Sept. 18, 2018

Really well designed board, works flawlessly.

For Grbl_ESP32 CNC Development Board V4.1

This board is exactly what I have been looking for. grbl on the esp32 is the ultimate low-cost cnc controller. I hope to get it working with the wrover module to take advantage of 4MB psram.

Brian | Feb. 15, 2018

Stop thinking about it, BUY THIS KIT NOW! Tremendous FUN!

For TWANG Shield Kit

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you Bart!!!! I received my TWANG kit today and just finished building my first unit using the kit and instructions. Perfection! Everything went together and works smoothly, and is much better than expected! Thanks so much. Sure, I could have tried to build this without the kit, but that would have been much more time consuming, this made it super easy, everything works perfectly, and I can't believe how much fun it is to play TWANG. I'm using the APA-102 144 LEDs / m from Amazon that cost $29.99 each, which is pricey but worth it. Already thinking about adding a second strip. I'm using an inexpensive 5Volt, 6Amp power supply also from Amazon and working great with this kit. By far the best sketch I have ever loaded on my Arduino Mega 2560 that was getting dusty. Now it's happily powering my TWANG / line wobbler game. I never write reviews on any site, but after buying and building this kit and having a really great time, I felt I should spread the word. Where do I upload my pics? Cheers!
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Response from Bart Dring | Feb. 16, 2018
I would love to see pictures and videos

You can send them directly to me bdring (at) buildlog (.) net. Or you can post on Twitter or Instagram and tag @buildlog.

Cheers!

Wesley | Nov. 17, 2017

Works GREAT!

For CNC Controller for Grbl and Raspberry Pi - Kit

What a great board! Easy to assemble however apparently not enough attention was made calling out the one piece that gets soldered to the reverse side of the board. You know how it is once you get into the soldering mode... Things go along rather quickly. I suck at desoldering so this was quite an issue. Totally my fault but I think that one little snippet of instruction could be BOLDed or something. As far as the operation of the board. Pretty straightforward. Get to know your Pi and the grbl software and it's a cinch. Board is well made, fits great, works great, Love it. Nicely done!

Would be great if maker posted a pic of the underside of the assembled board. Might also have prevented my mistake.
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