Easy Way to Upload CNC Foam Cutter Firmware

This is an easy way the upload the Arduino Mega 2560 firmware for the CNC Foam cutter using a Windows application called XLoader.

Since releasing the build for the USB HotWire CNC Foam Cutter I’ve had quite a few guys contact me who are struggling to compile and upload the firmware. If you haven’t come across this before it can seem a little daunting. So here is a much easier way to upload.

I have pre-complied the firmware for the Arduino Mega 2560 into a binary file often called a Hex file. This firmware requires the GRBL HotWire Windows application.

This latest firmware is a customised version grbl-Mega-5X with changes to suit the 4-axis foam cutter using axes letter XYZA. Many thanks to Gauthier Brière for making this awesome port of grbl 1.1

This firmware works for all the Arduino Mega 2560 based boards including the MKS Gen L version 1 and 2

Step 1

Download the zip file which contains all the firmware and the software as well. The readme.txt is shown below

GRBL Hot Wire Firmware and Software 1.77 MB 4047 downloads

This is the latest software and firmware for the CNC Foam Cutter version v1.02 Updated…

Download

Step 2

Extract the contents of the zip file you have downloaded to a suitable place on your computer. You will need a Windows operating system to use the XLoader application in the download.

Unzip XLoaderXYZA-Mega2560.zip the image below shows the files.

Step 3

Connect your Arduino Mega to your computer.

Step 4

Launch the Xloader application from your download. My computer used COM5 but yours may be different. Just select whichever COM port is connected to your Arduino Mega. Follow the steps below to load the firmware

Firmware is now uploaded

That’s it if you launch the Windows application and connect to the Arduino Mega you will see as below. Follow the video to complete the rest of the install.

This Video Shows the Firmware Uploading Process

If you have any issues please let me know via the contact page.

Happy uploading