If your CNC machine has an Arduino-based control board, UGS is the high-performance CNC controller software for it. UGS lets you import standard G-code produced from any CAM software and edit it to run your CNC machine. It is written in Java to support multiple platforms, such as Windows, macOS, Linux, or Raspberry Pi OS.Īlthough both the versions have the same robust backend, the platform version is the most recent release that has undergone some UI tweaks and has more features the classic version. UGS software is available in classic and platform versions that you can download from its GitHub page for free. It is a G-code sender that simply pushes the G-code from your computer to the controller and the processing is done by the controller. Universal Gcode Sender (UGS) is a free, open-source software used to interface with CNC controllers flashed with GRBL firmware.

In this article, I discuss some of the popular and reliable GRBL CNC controller software that you can use to run your GRBL based CNC routers. The other can interpret the G-code and produce the instructions for controlling the stepper motors directly. There are two types of control software for CNC, one simply passes on the G-code to the controller onboard the CNC router and are called G-code senders like UGS. However, it can only control a maximum of three axes.

It is easy to set up and has simple configurations that make it the preferred choice for beginners and hobbyists. This firmware lets you control 3-axis motion of CNC machines using a PC via USB interfacing. GRBL is the most popular open-source firmware which is flashed mostly onto Arduino-based controller board of CNC machines. GRBL (pronounced gerbl), is a highly popular firmware that supports CNC configurations. Hence, it is necessary to flash the CNC controller board with a firmware that allows it to communicate with the controller software. It reads the G-codes created using CAM software to run the stepper/servo drivers on CNC machines.īut without a firmware, the CNC controller cannot read G-codes.

A controller software program serves as a communication path between your computer and the CNC machine.

Grbl controller usb driver