External drivers

Most CNC machines need the power that only external stepper drivers can deliver. The FluidBoard's first two axes are dedicated external driver outputs, and the four stepstick slots can also be used for external drivers by setting the voltage jumper to 5V.

We recommend closed-loop stepper drivers when given the option (like the CL57T or similar). Most of them are not much more expensive than open-loop drivers, but they detect stalls, run more efficiently, and can also operate in open-loop mode — so you're not locked in. Contact your vendor for details on your specific motors.

FluidBoard

Basic configuration

After setting the amps of your stepper driver accordingly, you can configure the driver in the configuration file. Make note that some drivers have a setting for 5v or 24v output; make sure to set this to 5v.

The first two axis of the FluidBoard are always configured as external drivers. A typical configuration for a motor is as follows:

standard_stepper:
  disable_pin: i2so.25
  direction_pin: i2so.26
  step_pin: i2so.27

Troubleshooting

Once configured, check if the stepper driver is moving. If not, your disable pin might need to be inverted. This can easily be done in the configuration file:

  disable_pin: i2so.25:low

If your stepper still doesn't move, check the wiring. You can check the GND and Disable and Direction pins with a multimeter by doing small moves (typically 1mm). If the voltage changes, the wiring is correct. You can also set the feed rate to some small value like 100 to get a better view of the voltage changes.

Wiring diagram not available. View SVG

Pinout

To drive external stepper drivers, you should set the jumper for the corresponding stepper drivers to 5V output. You also need external driver converters, which can be purchased separately.

The 5v position should only be used for external drivers and can destroy your FluidBoard when used with TMC stepsticks.

The pinout for the 2 external stepper axes are as follows:

axis: x y
en i2so.25 i2so.28
dir i2so.26 i2so.29
step i2so.27 i2so.30

The pinout for the 4 stepsticks is as follows:

axis: z a b c
en i2so.19 i2so.20 i2so.11 i2so.12
dir i2so.17 i2so.22 i2so.9 i2so.14
step i2so.16 i2so.21 i2so.10 i2so.13
cs i2so.18 i2so.23 i2so.8 i2so.15
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