Can Labview interface for arduino work with an opensource CNC machine?

[rpatel7]

Hello everyone,

     I am an engineering student and I am trying to plan out my senior design project. I would like to use use a DIY opensource CNC mill machine kit called a Shapeoko 2. There are two software components necssary for this CNC mill kit. The first software is to be installed on the computer and is called "Universal G-Code Sender" (written in Java). The second software is actually a 'firmware' that is installed on the Arduino. The firmware is called 'grbl'.

     I am really confused about the possiblity of using the labview interface for arduino while have grbl installed on the arduino. grbl is a no-compromise, high performance, low cost alternative to parallel-port-based motion control for CNC milling. The controller is written in highly optimized C. The reason why I want to use labview, is because I would like the data acqusiton system to measure the voltage/current and gas flow of my other subsystems.

I would greatly appreciate any clarity on this subject since it seems to be a fairly new application of the Labview interface for arduino.

Thank you!!

[Nathan_B.]

The LabVIEW Interface for Arduino (LIFA) will not work with that system because LIFA requires it's own firmware be installed on the Arduino.  However, that doesn't mean you won't be able to use LabVIEW, just that you would need create a custom interface for the system in LabVIEW.

What device are you using to acquire the voltage, current, and gas flow?

[rpatel7]

Thanks Nathan. How would I go about creating a custom interface for the Grbl firmware in labview?

I also don't know yet what other device I will be using to acquire the voltage and current. I know one subsystem is creating a power supply to reduce arcing of the plasma and we will be using a mass flow controller for the gas.

[hrh1818]

My suggestion is get a second Arduino board for use with LIFA and data acquisition.  You said in your first post 

"The controller is written in highly optimized C.".  Hence you should not do anything that interferes with the operation of the controller.

hrh1818

[Nathan_B.]

Like hrh1818 said, I do not recommend that you try to recreate the the GRBL in LabVIEW.  For data acquisition (voltage), I would recommend a NI USB DAQ device unless you are planning on sampling really slow in which case, you might be able to get away with an Arduino.

However, until you know what your sensor outputs are and how fast you need to acquire data, we can't accurately recommend anything for data acquisition.