mirror of
https://github.com/openglow-org/forgefirm.git
synced 2026-09-28 09:11:11 -07:00
88 lines
4.8 KiB
Markdown
88 lines
4.8 KiB
Markdown
# OpenGlow/ForgeFIRM Firmware for Glowforge
|
|
|
|
> # ⚠️ IN DEVELOPMENT — NOT YET RELEASED
|
|
>
|
|
> **ForgeFIRM has no public release, yet.** Nothing here
|
|
> is installable.
|
|
> The documentation describes the firmware as it is being built
|
|
> and validated on the bench. It is here to be read, not followed.
|
|
> The first public release is expected in September 2026. If you are interested in being an early tester, please reach out to the developer.
|
|
|
|
Open-source firmware for Glowforge brand CNC lasers. ForgeFIRM replaces the
|
|
cloud-dependent factory software on the **stock control board** — no hardware
|
|
modification — and gives the machine a local controller, a local web control
|
|
panel, and a standard Grbl interface.
|
|
|
|
* [Latest Release](https://github.com/ScottW514/forgefirm/releases)
|
|
* [Installation Instructions](https://github.com/ScottW514/forgefirm/blob/master/INSTALL.md)
|
|
* [Build Instructions](https://github.com/ScottW514/forgefirm/blob/master/BUILD.md)
|
|
* [Connecting LightBurn](https://github.com/ScottW514/forgefirm/blob/master/docs/LIGHTBURN.md)
|
|
* [How motion and the laser are driven](https://github.com/ScottW514/forgefirm/blob/master/docs/MOTION.md)
|
|
* [How cooling and airflow work](https://github.com/ScottW514/forgefirm/blob/master/docs/COOLING.md)
|
|
* [The cameras and the video stream](https://github.com/ScottW514/forgefirm/blob/master/docs/VIDEO.md)
|
|
* [How the laser safing works](https://github.com/ScottW514/forgefirm/blob/master/docs/SAFETY.md)
|
|
* [How a release is tested before being accepted](https://github.com/ScottW514/forgefirm/blob/master/docs/ACCEPTANCE.md)
|
|
* [Community Support](https://community.openglow.org)
|
|
|
|
## What it does
|
|
|
|
**Two controller modes, selected in the web panel and switchable while the
|
|
machine is idle:**
|
|
|
|
* **GRBL mode**: [grblHAL](https://github.com/grblHAL) runs on the machine and
|
|
speaks Grbl 1.1 over TCP port 23, so LightBurn, UGS, cncjs, etc... drive the
|
|
laser directly. Motion runs on the board's own hardware step engine (SDMA +
|
|
EPIT), fed live by a local planner. M3/M4 dynamic laser power, coolant-flow
|
|
verification, over-temp holds, and an operator button press to arm the laser
|
|
for each job.
|
|
* **Cloud mode**: The machine presents itself as a stock Glowforge to the
|
|
Glowforge web service, so the phone and web apps work as they always did.
|
|
Optional, and off by default. GRBL mode jogs and cuts without it; the one
|
|
GRBL-mode function that still reaches the Glowforge service is
|
|
camera-referenced homing (below), until limit-switch homing lands.
|
|
* A **web control panel**: Machine status and position, coolant
|
|
and fan telemetry, safety-switch states, live camera stream, machine settings, hardware diagnostics, firmware updates, and boot-slot management.
|
|
* **Camera-referenced homing**: `$H` from any sender runs the factory-style
|
|
camera homing cycle through the Glowforge service (a Glowforge account and a
|
|
live service session are required for `$H`; everything else in GRBL mode
|
|
runs without them).
|
|
|
|
## Hardware
|
|
|
|
The control board is common to Glowforge Basic, Plus, and Pro. The 5 MP
|
|
(OV5648) camera modules are fully supported and hardware-validated. The 8 MP
|
|
(OV8856) modules found in "HD" units have a complete capture path — the kernel
|
|
patches, device tree and sensor-aware capture profile they need are all in the
|
|
build, but it has never run on an 8 MP machine, so treat it as untested.
|
|
|
|
## What this costs
|
|
|
|
ForgeFIRM is free in both senses: free as in beer, free as in speech. All of
|
|
it is public and released under MIT and GPL licenses. Read it, build it,
|
|
change it, use it, pass it on.
|
|
|
|
The work happens in public, including the parts that don't work yet, which
|
|
are written up with more candor than flatters anyone.
|
|
No paid tier. No license key, no subscription, no activation, no Pro edition,
|
|
no feature parked behind a paywall. Nothing is held back for a rainy day,
|
|
mostly because there's no plan for a rainy day.
|
|
|
|
If someone offers to sell you this firmware, the licenses allow it and
|
|
nobody's calling it theft. Just note that you'd be paying for something
|
|
that's given away. Get it from the source. Same price everywhere, and here
|
|
you get to read what you're running.
|
|
|
|
## Safety
|
|
|
|
**These machines contain a CO₂ laser: it burns, blinds, and starts
|
|
fires.** Never defeat the lid switches or interlock. Never leave a
|
|
running job unattended. Keep a fire extinguisher within reach. Read [this](docs/LIGHTBURN.md#before-you-cut--safety-read-this-first) before you cut
|
|
your first job, and read this [regulatory and legal](INSTALL.md#regulatory-and-legal) section before installing. [This](docs/SAFETY.md) document describes the hardware safety chain and the software gates ForgeFIRM stacks on it.
|
|
|
|
**THIS IS EXPERIMENTAL SOFTWARE
|
|
Use of this software
|
|
could seriously maim or kill you or others, and could void your warranty.
|
|
Use it at your own risk.**
|
|
|
|
This project is not affiliated with or endorsed by Glowforge.
|