FPGA/Nios Based CNC Controller

https://github.com/mhouse1/mechsoftronic

10/28/2015

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 What is CNC?
✤ Computer Numeric Control

✤ Take drawing from CAD (Computer Aided Design) tools, convert

to a series of numbers (GCode), control movement using GCode

✤ CNC Machine

✤ Mechanical, software, and electronic components that make up a

tool that can create objects designed in CAD

✤ CNC Controller

✤ A device with firmware that interprets GCode and outputs motor

control signals to control how an object is shaped
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 Sample GCode

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 3D Print vs Milling
what kind of output do you need?

✤ extrusion
✤ layer by layer
✤ low structural integrity
✤ slow

✤ photopolymerization:
✤ layer by layer
✤ better structural integrity
✤ faster
✤ create more complex shapes

✤ milling (what this project is)

✤ high structural integrity: plastic, wood, metals
✤ fast
✤ less complex shapes
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 Project Goals

✤ Research, Design, and Build a CNC Machine

✤ Create CNC controller and make everything OpenSource

✤ Use FPGA to create jitter free movement

✤ great system integration by managing hardware and software

✤ End result is a tool usable at home to make designs from CAD

quickly and accurately

✤ adaptable to any mechanical platform

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 Adaptable Mechanical Platform

MKI ($0) MKII ($1000) MKIII (~$1600)

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 Why not just buy one?
✤ Cost
✤ high cost even for a CNC mill
with small milling area
✤ Customizable
✤ add on laser cutter, plastic
extruder, plasma cutter, exacto
knife, ... anything you want
✤ Full understanding of how the
machine works and its limits

✤ base system for future use

✤ FPGA based systems are complex and painful to setup but is powerful;
this project will be used as a starting point for future projects

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 Design
Linear motion hardware
rack and
ball screw acme belt drive
pinion
✴almost no backlash ✴will hold a load in place ✴easily expandable to larger ✴can accommodate semi
✴low friction (good for by design machines large machine
moving but bad for stopped) ✴backlash; unexpected play ✴complex; requires proper ✴simple
✴will tend to rotate away due to clearance or looseness gear reduction and other ✴not so great at high speeds
from loads of mechanical parts hardware to eliminate radial ✴typically used by
✴must use oversized loads ✴limited size load on the motor shaft hobbyists because its one of
to mitigate back driving ✴not so expensive ✴can become expensive if the cheaper options for
loads performance desired performance
✴expensive

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 Hardware
Modified OpenHardware Shapeoko 2 1000mm x 1000mm rails

✤ Altera DE-0 Nano development board

✤ Using Nios II/e core (free)
✤ gShield OpenHardware stepper motor driver

note: quantity above indicate number of sets

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 Software:Firmware

2014

Today, 2015

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 Software:Firmware
Task1 Task2 Task3
•make sure FIFO don’t over flow •read queued data from task 1 and •dequeues step and direction and
•read serial data from UART convert to data packets writes to hardware for FPGA
FIFO •if threshold # of data packets modules to determine acceleration
•queue data for task 2 to received, signal sender to stop and synchronization
consume sending
•sender will be required to send • process data packets
gcode at a slower rate than •either commands
commands •or GCode
•GCode is interpreted into steps and
dir and queued for Task 3 to consume
•Commands are processed right
away
•see GUI for commands available

The 3 tasks run in parallel on MicroC OS II RTOS, this was done because the FPGA is configured with the “free” Nios II/
e CPU core where vectored interrupts are not available.

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 Software:GUI
✤ configure nominal pulse settings
for 1 step
✤ where 1 step is a square
wave
✤ each count = 20ns
✤ so x-axis in this case would
output 4ms of high and 4ms
of low per step
✤ acceleration settings only applies
to z-axis

Can also select serial com-port and GCode file to send

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 Software:GUI
✤ jog single axis specified number
of steps in specified direction
✤ jog X and Y axis at the same time
✤ check reverse to reverse axis in
software
✤ PWM will control routing
spindle speed (not yet
implemented)
✤ scale will increase drawing scale
✤ feed-rate will determine
maximum speed of the router
✤ other commands: start, cancel,
pause, erase route

note: highlighted in red is no longer needed and to be removed

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 Software:GUI
✤ The parse_gcode.py module doubles
as an preview tool if ran individually
✤ allows user to preview points
with respect to time and position

✤ To use:
✤ modify GCode file name
✤

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 FPGA: special components

✤ non-standard altera modules (see project log to learn how to install)

✤ slave_template

✤ memory mapped registers, firmware can read/write to these

and FPGA can read/write to it too. used by firmware to control

FPGA motion control modules, and other IO
✤ FIFOed UART

✤ a modified version of the Altera UART module with the added

ability to buffer UART data

✤ PWM generator

✤ used for controling RC servos, and router speed controller

✤ pulse generator

✤ used to generate step and dir signal that goes to the stepper

motor driver

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 FPGA: motion generator Z-axis

✤ z-axis acceleration is
handled by the FPGA
given a nominal
speed and a speed
change, the curve
generated is similar to
simulation shown
(left)
✤ This had to be
redesigned for XY
axis to work properly

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 FPGA: motion generator Z-axis
tested using Xilinx test bench

odd # of steps

nominal speed not reached

nominal speed reached

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 FPGA: motion generator XY axis
✤ Design and implementation in
progress
✤ currently limited to no acceleration
✤ this means xy axis should move
much slower
✤ redesign is basically a clock tick that
can be sped up or slowed down
used to synchronize xy axis while
maintaining acceleration

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 Project Status

✓ Able to go from CAD to numbers to firmware to finished product

✓ Z-axis acceleration working

✓ XY-axis must move at slower speeds until synchronized

acceleration implemented
★ As of 4/23/2014 project been OpenSourced on GitHub
★ 5 users watch project

★ starred 17 times

★ forked once

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 Future work

• implement synchronized XY axes acceleration motion

• estimated completion date 07/01/2016

• implement firmware GCode look ahead algorithm

• estimated completion date 03/01/2016

• move controller to MKIII mechanical platform

• TBD

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 Everything documented

• See GitHub mechsoftronic documentation for more details

• all things relating to the project design and work has been

documented

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 Everything documented
• From May, 2013 to today

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 Tools

✤ This CNC will support drawings from AutoCAD

✤ draw object in autoCAD, export as *.DXF file

✤ hint: draw different categories on its own layer

✤ Convert DXF to GCode using DXF2GCODE (OpenSource software)

✤ Another useful GCode viewing tool is OpenSCAM
✤ it does not allow you to view points like parse_gcode.py does but it

does allow you to view a simulated routing

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