27/05/2020 UPDATE : I've changed my mind about having a fully standalone CNC controller (no PC, only SD card). While it simplify a lot safety issues, it is not well suited for a subtractive manufacturing process as you often get to adapt your gcode to what you have on your table. "Thanks to" the coronavirus epidemic, I've took time to port my work to Klipper which is specifically designed to take advantage of a PC resources. Finally it is simpler, faster and have a smoother interface named Sheetah. Sheetah also brings basic augmented reality through a webcam and real-time THC display.
IMPORTANT : There is no stable release for the moment, it works but please be careful if using it.
PlasMarlin is a fork of Marlin for plasma CNC machines.
In the last few years, 3D printing community became something huge and had allowed the development of amazing tools. On the other side, CNC plasma world did not moved as fast. The obvious reason for that is there are less people building plasma machines. This project intends to make plasma community benefits from the tools developed for 3D printers.
PlasMarlin aims to provide a simple, low-cost and reliable machine controller, which can run on a single board, without the need for an OS. Marlin and Grbl have already paved the way for controlling CNC machines with simple hardware.
Because plasma is a dangerous thing, we did not wanted to be a specific configuration among plenty of others intended to printers. This could lead to untested cases where configuration parameters would interfer. Therefore, plasma can vary a lot on certain code sections and keeping both ways would have been messy. That's why, with safety in mind, we decided to cut the cord with the Marlin mother repository.
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PlasMarlin natively integrate THC (Torch Height Control). This include software, but also schematics to build an isolated probing circuit that communicate with Plasmarlin through I2C. (Documentation to be done)
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As for the THC, a ohmic probing circuit is provided to detect height of the material before cut. By probing the material electrically, we avoid pushing on it which is more precise on thin materials. (Documentation to be done)
and more to be completed...
to be completed
PlasMarlin inherits from the Marlin GPL license.
PlasMarlin is published under the GPL license because we believe in open development. The GPL comes with both rights and obligations. Whether you use PlasMarlin firmware as the driver for your open or closed-source product, you must keep PlasMarlin open, and you must provide your compatible PlasMarlin source code to end users upon request. The most straightforward way to comply with the PlasMarlin license is to make a fork of PlasMarlin on Github, perform your modifications, and direct users to your modified fork.
While we can't prevent the use of this code in plasma CNC that are closed source or crippled by a patent, we would prefer that you choose another firmware or, better yet, make your own.