Building your own CNC router isn’t exactly hard. For at least a decade now, enterprising makers have been firing up their 3D printers, cutting electrical conduit, soldering stepper motor drivers, and making their own CNC routers. One problem with a lot of these builds is the ability to adjust the speed of the off-the-shelf router which is used as the router part of a CNC router. The GRBL_SPD is a Makita Router Integration Board used to control the power and speed of the ‘standard’ Makita 701C router via GRBL.
By connecting the GRBL_SPD to an ordinary Arduino, any CNC router can have software control over the router’s RPM (from 10,000 to 30,000) and the on/off states. This means you won’t have to adjust the stock speed dial on the router while it’s moving around on the CNC. This is also the safer way to do speed adjustments on a homemade CNC because you can adjust the speed on a computer instead of dangling fleshy bits over a spinning router.
The GRBL_SPD comes with the required circuit board and a 10A relay, but it does require you to attach the router to the board with five wires, and additional wiring for the manual control box. It’s not difficult, but since every homebrew CNC router is different, there’s a bit of engineering and planning you’ll have to do so the GRBL_SPD can be completely integrated into your electronics setup.
Check out the video below for a full demonstration of what the GRBL_SPD can do.
