Using the grblHAL Web Builder
Terje at io-Engineering has created a fantastic builder for grblHAL. This allows you to build custom firmware files with no software skills needed. It makes the power of grblHAL easily available to any user. It is still a bit of a work in progress (at V0.90 as of this date). There are a few visual glitches depending on your web browser of choice but it is highly useable. This is being written from the perspective of a Teensy 4.1 and Bookwood Design T41U5XBB user. Though, much of it is applicable for anyone.
Note, these screen shots are from a Chrome browser on Windows 10. Other browsers will have different appearances so your mileage may vary...
To start with, open the Web Builder. You will see something like this.
Pick your processor and board
Select the processor you are using. Click on the Driver box and select the appropriate entry. In this case, it is the Teensy 4.x. The Web Builder will default to a board so make sure to select the one you have. In this case, it defaulted to the T41U5XBB which is what I have so nothing else needs to be done. Here is what you should see.
There are 4 panels that allow configuring various features: General, Plugins, Network/WebUI and Advanced features. We will explore each of these with an eye toward supporting the T41U5XBB.
General
Most of the settings on the General panel are good for the T41U5XBB with a couple of exceptions. If your machine is a moving gantry machine with dual motors on Y, you will need to click on the Y-axis box and select "Ganged Motors". If you use Auto-Squaring, you need to select "Auto-Squared". For information on this see my blog on Auto-Squaring. You do not need to change the number of axes. If you use the safety door input, you will need to check that box.
If you are using a VFD and controlling it via ModBus, you will need to select it in the Spindle box. For most users of the T41U5XBB, you don't need to change anything.
Below, you will see the General panel setting that corresponds to the prebuilt file "3X qangY AutoSq qei". Note that you do not need to change the Number of axes to 4 if using ganged motors for a moving gantry.
Plugins
You can see the Plugins panel below. For using the T41U5XBB for a moving gantry router, nothing needs to be done. If you have installed an EEPROM, select the size. If you have a FRAM chip, check that box. If you want to use any of the other plugins, follow the "i" links to the associated plugin page. Most of them require specific hardware.
Network/WebUI
The Network/WebUI panel is shown below. For the T41U5XBB, I have checked Ethernet, Telnet and Websocket. All versions of the prebuilt files have these settings checked.
The WebUI settings are worth exploring but I suggest you get the basic features working first before plunging in.
Advanced Features
No actions are needed on this page, the defaults are what the prebuilt files are set to. One area that you may want to look at is Compatibility Level. If you are using an old sender (PC/Mac program) that was hard coded to classic Grbl responses, you might need to set a higher compatibility level. If you get errors from the sender, try setting the level higher. Start with Grbl id (1) and work your way up. Grbl 10 is a perfect emulation of the classic Grbl responses.
