What is the Firmware and how do I install it?

The FabKit utilises a Smoothieboard 5XC as its controller.

Currently the Smoothieboards are standard and are not setup for your FabKit.

The pre-installed version is the edge; primarily used for 3D printing it will also run the the FabKit laser without issue.

However you can also install the dedicated CNC branch of smoothieware. This mainly changes the homing commands and allows you to home the machine after a job without having to reset the origin, a very usful feature should you be repeating the same job.

firmware-cnc.bin (345.4 KB)

Lastest version of the CNC bin can be found here

To install the firmware, delete the previous version copy over the new cnc.bin and rename it to firmware.bin (remove the CNC bit)
Power cylce the machine and the new firmware should flash itself.

GRBL

As Smoothieware is a directive of GRBL it is also possible to install the grbl firmware on the smoothie board, however you will need to build a custom version to run correctly with the FabKit. This is somthing we have yet to test.
Being able to run GRBL on the FabKit would allow for much faster raster engraving as currently there is an issue with smoothieware and raster engraving at high speeds.