Description
Root Controller Rev 3
At its core the Root controller is a ESP32 GRBL isolated motion controller (FluidNC). What makes this controller different is the focus of providing isolated IO to the CNC controller. The controller is designed to accommodate a wide range of operating conditions and machines, to provide ultimate flexibility (its not just a Root CNC Controller).
The controller is designed to isolate the key area of the design to mitigate any nuisance issues when operating in an electrically noisy environment. The design isolates the following areas from one another: Steppers driver outputs (achieved by using externally OPTO isolated drivers), USB, Relays, MOSFETs and RS485. Perfectly suited for the larger CNC machines.
- 6 axis motion control (Axis ganging can be done via software - 18 digital outputs, can be repurposed)
- Wide input voltage range (9-36V)
- Wifi or bluetooth support for remote control and job loading
- SD card
- 8 isolated inputs (supporting NPN inductive switches and Standard NC/NO switches)
- 2 isolated Relay outputs for switching high voltage outputs, say a compressor
- 2 isolated MOSFET, perfect for driving solenoids for coolant or mist
- Dedicated Laser output port.
- Isolated USB
- Isolated RS485 (Modbus serial port)
The Root Controller ISO can be purchased on the Root CNC store GOTO SHOP
Click Image to load youtube video {.is-info}
Details can be found here. If you require additional information I have missed, please contact me and I'll get it added.
For more information on how to wire and connect the Root Controller to external drives, sensors and other peripherals. please see the Wiki site. Link to the WIKI
To control the hardware the pinout of peripherals needs to be known, the link here is a convenient way to map Input and Output to the software.
For basic configurations for your machine, please see the sub folder names "Configurations"
For Root CNC project information visit the website
- Facebook Group
- Discourse
- Discord Great for quick answer to questions and firmware support
- Thingiverse
- Youtube
This project is licensed under the Creative Commons 4.0 license with
Attribution-NonCommerial-ShareAlike see LICENSE.txt for details
Changes between the Rev 2.1 and Rev 3
- New formfactor – smaller footprint and easier mounting methods
- Aluminum case
- change in connectors to allow for the smaller footprint
- Updated IO
Changes between the Rev 2 and R2.1
- External Antenna for WIFI and Bluetooth – Perfect for mounting inside a metal CNC cabinet.
- Stepper motor port configuration selection – allows the stepper motor port to be configured to be referenced to 0V or 5V to support a wider amount of external drivers.
Mike B. (verified owner) –
Cătălin-Alexandru Stoica (verified owner) –
Stephen Carter (verified owner) –
Seems like just the ticket for me. Not implemented fully yet, but no issues so far. Very pleased I can add a rotary to my machine.
Wim Chenot (verified owner) –
Build quality is very nice. Great number of features. Compared to other controllers its a bargain.
Patrick (verified owner) –
Rubin K. (verified owner) –
Very nice piece of kit stellar in usability and fatastic that all connections are completely isolated.
Maurice M. (verified owner) –
Great service and product looks very good. Looking forward to converting my machine to use the ISO controller.
Lars-André (verified owner) –
i got surprised of the build quality, i like the idear of combined CNC & Laser it´s great, and the service of Pete is exemplary. So far im not finished with wiring, so i can´t say if its work, but im pretty sure it will.. Good Job! Thumb up!
Michael Ciarlillo (verified owner) –
Top notch quality at an affordable price!
Gert (verified owner) –
james k. (verified owner) –
Absolute bargain. I stripped out the original controller on my Foxalien Vasto and replaced it with the rootcnc iso. The root controller with fluidnc is a really powerful combination. The usb serial terminal is great for debugging. Having the rootcnc wifi able to go into access point mode if it can’t connect to your existing wifi network is a useful failsafe. RS485 vfd spindle speed control works well and there is plenty of online documentation. Firmware updates are very easy to do – just run a batch file and built in web server provides an easy to use interface for control and also viewing the current configuration. Highly recommended as an alternative to the inflexible, undocumented and not expandable foxalien vasto controller.
Michal (verified owner) –
Ben de Langen (verified owner) –
Button/icons a little small at the wifi webinterface. Select programma button and start job button should be closer togetherm, so you can enlarge a particular part of your screen without scrolling. (working with a tablet)