Brookwood Design

1,329 orders since Jul 01, 2020

Seattle, WA, United States of America

Ships from United States of America.

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Overall Rating:

Review Breakdown

Average Ratings

Product: (5.00)

Documentation: (4.86)

Shipping: (4.82)

Communication: (5.00)

All Reviews

Mindaugas | Oct. 15, 2024

PicoCNC user friendly

For PicoCNC

Nice board. Using it for my first CNC. Easy to get started. The only thing I missed as a first time CNC builder in between all documentation is that this board allows you to use 3-axis and auto-square function OR 4-axis. If you plan on adding a rotary axis the auto-square function can not be used. Should have bought a teensy board instead.
Shipping to Europe also doubles the price. Still gonna give it 5 stars for making it available. Thanks

Oyvind | Aug. 19, 2024

Great controller for lasers

For grblHAL BoB Unkit for Teensy 4.1. - T41U5XBB

I use this controller for my diode laser projects. It has all the options I need.
You can configure it using the web builder or create a fully custom build with VSCode.

Settings can be altered from ioSender or LightBurn.

For my laser setup, I run this controller/grblHAL in combination with LightBurn.

For the fastest and most stable setup, I recommend the Ethernet alternative (it can also be used with USB)

A lot of documentation and great support

Don | Nov. 30, 2023

Perfect for my 5 Axis CNC machine.

For grblHAL BoB Unkit for Teensy 4.1. - T41U5XBB

Very nicely designed and manufactured.
The screw terminals (used with crimp terminated wires) allow for a professional and secure installation.
I will buy many more!

John | Dec. 30, 2022

Wonderful Board

For grblHAL BoB Unkit for Teensy 4.1. - T41U5XBB

Replaced my Arduino setup with a Teensy 4.1 and this breakout board. Works so much nicer and smoother ... before the machine would pause at times ... like the Arduino could not keep up ... not happening with the Teensy and this board. So many more features on this board that that would have been add-ons or difficult with an Arduino.
Mounted in a case now, and tested running a 3 axis mill and spindle. Could not be happier, hoping this product remains available and development continues.
Thanks!

Mike | May 18, 2022

Nice Board!!!

For grblHAL BoB Unkit for Teensy 4.1. - T41U5XBB

The layout makes sense to me. It's also clean, well-organized. I will admit, I am very new on Tindie. My first kit (Old School CP/M Z80 board) was really a flawless experience. On a kit like that, the docs have to be top notch. In this case, I'm not sure what I expected other than "a board and the PTH connectors to solder". You had very good docs up here! I was hoping to find a web site, or place to follow your work. I'd bet a fair amount of $ you are a fellow maker from the layout of this board. Thought and the results of previous real world use went into this board. :) You do good work! Even if you you aren't planning on more selling, would love to learn from you. Would love to follow a blog or whatever you kids do these days. Thank you!

Response from Brookwood Design | May 18, 2022

Thanks for the kind words. I designed this board for myself so added the features that I wanted but am happy to listen to suggestions. I have a blog on grbl.org (don't think I can link in the reply here). There is a fair amount of information about using the board there.

Phil

John | April 11, 2022

A fantastic CNC controller board that's easy to implement

For grblHAL BoB Unkit for Teensy 4.1. - T41U5XBB

If your thinking of, or actually in the process of converting an older CNC machine, or building a new one, this board is what you want. It goes together easily and works incredibly well. Phil has done a great job with the board and has given great thought as to the features to include on the board.

I will say that getting custom firmware on the device does require a bit of work to get things set up. This has nothing to do with anything Phil has done. Its more about a lack of clear and concise processes with GRBLHAL on github. It's not terribly hard, just cumbersome if you don't do this stuff every day. Once you've done it a few times, the process is fine. I will also add that Phil provides firmware with specific features enabled or disabled and its only when you need something beyond these that you need to compile it yourself.

Thanks for a great product Phil.

Matthew | Oct. 4, 2021

Excellent breakout board

For grblHAL BoB Unkit for Teensy 4.1. - T41U5XBB

I couldn't be happier with the kit. It was easy to assemble, including soldering the EEPROM, and works as intended. Others have struggled "snapping" the green terminals together. They are meant to SLIDE into each other - no brute force is required once they've been oriented correctly.

I hope this board remains available and the rumored PRO version arrives soon.

Dontae | Sept. 27, 2021

Great Board

For grblHAL BoB Unkit for Teensy 4.1. - T41U5XBB

Coming from 8 bit Arduino. The T41U5XBB is a great board and the grblHAL32 firmware is the icing on top. The speed and all the available g code are on point. I ordered a relay board to maximum this board's capabilities. Now punch above its weight class. Comparing to something like the Acorn CNC Controller. With manual tool changing offset, auto squaring and racking, lathe mode, threading, and detail break down of the GRBL setting is a great touch.

Although I figured it out. The g-code to enable and disable 3 auxiliary relays was not easy to locate and how to integrate the i2C, Serial IO and the digital input would be nice to know.

I like the ioSender but this is the only software that you can use to gain access to the benefit of grbl32 which is not bad. There should be some way to enable and/or disable the flyout boxes because the jogging speed can be different from you opening the jogging flyout box and just using the arrows on your keyboard

Wish list for 2.0.
- The EEROM solder pad should be upgraded to a [DIP SOCKET] - This would help you to determine if your EEPROM is compatible, once you solder the connector on it's hard to place it correctly later. Something like this ( Digi-Key Part Number: AE9986-ND)
- Change the connectors too (Digi-Key Part Number: 277-1721-ND). I have already replaced the ones that came with mines. They are a little beefier. Most people use thicker wire and ferrules. These would take it down to 16-26 AWG.
- LED indicators on End stops would be nice to have. It helps to have a quick visual to test the end stop.
- Dip switches- Could have been used in a few places:
5v Feed
Relay coil voltage switchable between 5V and 12V
VAC pin
Stepper Enable
Link A AXIS to Y

Response from Brookwood Design | April 11, 2022

Thanks for the great review. There is a new version of ioSender (ioSender XL) that keeps the jog panel open and fixes the weirdness with jog speed.

Alexandre | June 15, 2021

Awesome little board!

For grblHAL BoB Unkit for Teensy 4.1. - T41U5XBB

Much better than I expected!
I can't wait to use that to make my home-made CNC move!
Build quality is up-there, and the provided parts are also top-notch, good moldings and finish.
Now if I could find a Teensy 4.1 in stock somewhere....

Bob | June 12, 2021

Great board and support

For grblHAL BoB Unkit for Teensy 4.1. - T41U5XBB

Assembly of the "un" kit went smoothly with the only challenge being snapping together the screw terminals before soldering in place. I found using a small bar clamp was a great help. Once I had received my Teensy 4.1 Phil helped me through my simple problems and I completed the check out, without steppers, in no time. After I connected steppers I found I had to invert the stepper enable, in the grblHAL software settings, before they would work and I tracked down a problem with the Z axis failing to reverse to a wire incorrectly entered into a screw connector.
I am building my own CNC router and am awaiting the final pieces. I am on a waiting list for the double shielded four conductor VFD to spindle cable as it is not yet available. So, no idea when I will get around to finally getting everything working together, properly tuned and running G-Code.

Wyatt | May 17, 2021

Great little control board

For grblHAL BoB Unkit for Teensy 4.1. - T41U5XBB

Received my grblHAL breakout board in preparation for getting a CNC kit. The kit is on its way, so I have not yet used the board in the machine, but I have tested it with UGS and it is communicating well. I love the configurability of the board - Phillip has thought of and handles lots of scenarios with this design.

I really like the 5 axis support, which will open me up for future expansion.

Here's to hoping that the kit goes together as well as this controller!

Steve | April 13, 2021

Well designed

For grblHAL BoB Unkit for Teensy 4.1. - T41U5XBB

Beautiful kit. Haven't tried it out yet, waiting for stepper drivers. Board is well laid out and kit has all the needed bits. A true gentleman, Phil split the cost of an outrageous surprise charge from UPS to deliver to Ireland. (He won't be using UPS any more for international orders.) The manual is good, but could benefit from more details about capabilities and wiring of extra inputs.

Gordon | March 26, 2021

Good product, good vendor.

For grblHAL BoB Unkit for Teensy 4.1. - T41U5XBB

Arrived promptly. Assembled easily. Still working on other parts of the CNC mill it's going on so not yet working.

Marcin | March 9, 2021

Great board. Manual soldering required.

For grblHAL BoB Unkit for Teensy 4.1. - T41U5XBB

My first ever build CNC and after hours of research that's the board what I picked. Great communication with helping me start my CNC, for that I had to learn $codes. It moved and so far still moving and working great.
Recommended.

Gaurav | Feb. 1, 2021

The best modern GRBL board out there!

For grblHAL BoB Unkit for Teensy 4.1. - T41U5XBB

This is, hands-down, the best controller for a GRBL board. It is designed for the excellent grblHAL project, and works flawlessly with the codebase. The board doesn't break a sweat even when pushing step frequency to the hardware limits.

Documentation is best-in-class (a single PDF document has everything needed). Design covers 99% of use-cases (plenty of relay outputs, good opto-isolation has already saved my board once, screw terminals are good-quality and reusable.)

I'm looking forward to the detachable screw-terminal version. For the future, I'd like an extra two probe inputs (for the tool setter and the tool setter's over-travel alarm), but I believe those can be connected to the fourth- and fifth-axis endstops and adapted in software.

Prompt delivery in five days. I used this to convert a Taig 2019 CNC-ready mill to a budget CNC.

Matthias | Dec. 29, 2020

Perfect for every CNC project

For grblHAL BoB Unkit for Teensy 4.1. - T41U5XBB

Are you searching a very good CNC controller? This breakout board combined with a Teensy 4.1 is what you are looking for!

Mark | Dec. 11, 2020

A great solution for home CNC

For grblHAL BoB Unkit for Teensy 4.1. - T41U5XBB

Phil did a terrific job with these boards. They are intelligently laid out and everything works as it should. Probing around I find the noise margins to be excellent. The assembly is very well done & the soldering looks great. The board supports many typical CNC configurations and can be used with pretty much any CNC application. Routers, mills, lathes, lasers, you name it. The teensy 4.1 provides much better performance than GRBL on Arduino, and has the computing power to support higher step rates, more axes, ethernet, quadrature encoders, keyboards, displays, etc.

The documentation is very well done with a solid user manual. Phil has gone the extra step to pre-build binary files for common configurations so you don’t need to do it yourself. He has also provided a build guide in the event that you want to build a code from source. I was able to successfully build the code after being away from Arduino for quite some time. Support is excellent with emails being responded to rapidly, usually same day.

Overall this board is great value for the money spent!

Julian | Nov. 19, 2020

Solid board. Great customer service

For grblHAL BoB Unkit for Teensy 4.1. - T41U5XBB

Awesome board. Well designed! Just remember to snap all the green pin terminals together before assembly otherwise it will be more difficult. Highly recommend.

Keith | Nov. 6, 2020

Great board, good design, super documentation, etc.

For grblHAL BoB Unkit for Teensy 4.1. - T41U5XBB

I am really impressed with this board. It has everything I would want in a CNC controller. I was able to get it up and running in a few minutes. The Teensy 4.1 is an excellent choice for a controller. The only thing that is missing is the "kitchen sink".

Adrian | Nov. 2, 2020

The best board out there for GRBL enabled machines

For grblHAL BoB Unkit for Teensy 4.1. - T41U5XBB

I found Phil's breakout board while looking around for a suitable electronics board for my new GRBL enabled CNC machine. I had purchased other boards in the past but was not satisfied with the features they displayed.

What first drew my attention to Phil's board was that it is based on grblHAL and it supports more than 3 axis (I am planning to add an A later on). It also has a 0-10V amp onboard which makes for an easy integration with my VFD. There were other goodies such as ethernet, optocouplers, aux relays which finally convinced me to place the order. And I am really glad I did!

Shipping was kind of slow but that's understandable given the current context with the pandemic and all; it clearly is not Phil's fault.

When the board arrived, I quickly opened the package and there there were: the pretty boards (I ordered 2). Phil's boards are a marvelous piece of engineering; everything is perfectly placed and thought of and it's just such a pleasure to solder the through-hole components that I was a bit sad when I finished soldering. The manual is top notch in providing the needed information and Phil's support has been phenomenal when it comes to answering questions or providing hints.

I managed to get the software uploaded on the board and started playing around with its ethernet support. It's simply a joy to use. I cannot recommend it enough!

Thanks, Phil!

Victor | Oct. 7, 2020

An awesome upgrade for your CNC

For grblHAL BoB Unkit for Teensy 4.1. - T41U5XBB

I have been a fan of GRBL for a long time. As a software engineer and a mechanical engineer and fabricator it's great to have an open-source alternative to the traditionally proprietary CNC motion-control systems that are out there. They are expensive, often have annoying bugs that you have to learn to live with, and beyond that don't allow for much customization or modification. 32-bit GRBL is something I have been been anticipating for a long time, and I couldn't think of a better platform to use than the Teensy 4.1, which is also one of my all-time favorite open hardware projects. This board is the missing piece of the puzzle, with the unkit you can upgrade to 32 bit GRBL with a minimum of effort.

James | Sept. 15, 2020

The best GrblHAL board out there!

For grblHAL BoB Unkit for Teensy 4.1. - T41U5XBB

I'm using this to control a 1000x1000mm leadscrew driven Workbee with high torque nema 23's and it's been working great for me so far! The design is robust and we'll thought out with built in 0-10v converter for easy spindle rpm control, many controllable and automatic relay outputs as well as the option to use a separate 5v power supply which is great to prevent interference. There are solder bridges on the back that you can unlink the USB 5v from the relays and such which isn't the easiest to do but the support from Phil has been phenomenal. GrblHal is still so new and has some of its own growing pains but development lately on the GrblHal gcode sender has been very active and is really bringing Grbl to the next level. Pairing up GrblHal with the teensy 4.1's 600mhz microcontroller is really genius and I haven't had the slightest hiccup in streaming gcode as of yet. Can you say future proof?

Response from Brookwood Design | Oct. 7, 2020

Thanks for the kind words. I hear you about the solder bridge configuration and am thinking about how I could make it easier.