Control Grbl CNC Over Wifi

In this tutorial I will walk you through how to enable GRBL control over WIFI. You can use this method with any sender including lasergrbl and Universal Gcode Sender (UGS).

In short, we will be using arkypita’s work and other software to create a virtual COM port.

Please consider supporting arkypita, he has contributed a lot to the community.

• Arduino Uno
• Grbl shield v3
• ESP8266-07
• lm1117 3.3v
• 10uf capacitor
• 2*3 female headers
• 5.5mm jack

The attached pcb gerber fits well onto the grbl v3 shield.

We cannot power the esp module from the arduino directly since it consumes more current than what the arduino can supply; that is why I've added a 5.5mm jack. I used a 5v 1a phone charger to power the module.

You can find information here on how to upload the grbl firmware onto the arduino uno.

Download the firmware for ESP8266-SerialTelnet and upload the scketch onto the esp module. I have made an instructable on how to upload a scketch onto an esp module using an arduino nano as a programmer. You can also use a usb to serial converter to upload scketch.

Use the instructions here to connect the esp module to your wifi connection, and get the esp device IP.

I used a software called Tibbo VSP Manager.

After installing the software,

• run it as administrator
• click on the Add button
• Enter the information as shown in the image, but be careful to enter your esp IP-address
• click on the default serial tab and enter the information as shown

After completing these steps, your virtual COM will be created

Open your preferred sender and choose the virtual port that you have created. Press connect, and you should recieve a ready status from your grbl device. Now you can do everything as if you have a usb connection to your board.