Buildlog.net Arduino Compatible Stepper Shields available

[RSWeaverAz]

@Bilbo »
Wow, I knew there were all sorts of fees and taxes involved with shipping to the UK & EU destinations,
just didn't know they could become that large!

Now the Makerslide Europe effort starts to make more sense.
VAT & Customs Fees, things we usually don't see here in the USA.

[ejs]

RSWeaverAz, Thanks for the quick reply. I'm located in the UK and I apologize, my question wasn't very clear. What I meant to ask was: Are there any sources for ejs' board in the UK or the EU, where the board would be shipped from. This would mean that the board would not be processed by Customs.

Custom fees can become large in the UK.

Hi Bilbo. First, thank you for your purchase. Second, it's funny you should ask about distribution in the UK. I was introduced to an Adafruit distributor named Ben at World Maker Faire just this past weekend. We exchanged information. While CNC isn't the sort of thing that he normally carries (the company's focus is on optics and LEDs), I'll ask him if he would be willing to stash them aside and sell when requested. Mind you, I'd be sending him raw boards, and he would kit them or not as he sees fit.

If anyone else has an online storefront and would be actively willing to procure a quantity of boards for the UK market, you are free to PM me for consideration. This is all very tentative.

Cheers, EJ

[zenwebb]

About to pull the trigger and buy me a shield with drivers, but I have one quick question. Thinking about future features I'd like to add to my ShapeOko, does your shield have any support for limit switches? If not, is it easy to add with a little hacking? I'm not 100% educated about GRBL yet, so I'm not sure what to look for. Thanks!

[RSWeaverAz]

@zenwebb » Wed Oct 31, 2012 12:17 pm
I don't believe the Buildlog motor shields directly support limit switches.
I have a Rev2 of that shield and I know the Rev2 version does not!
However it would be easy to put a "Prototype" shield under the BuildLog
shield and wire the limit switches and other stuff to that.
You might have to solder a pull up resistor, not sure about that.

P.S. If you go that route, get a Screw Shield, has a connector for all Arduino pins and a prototype area,
they have the same kind of connectors the motor shield has

[hansk1990]

EJS,
I purchased a buildlog stepper kit from your international store a little over a week ago, but havn't been informed if it has been shipped yet or not. I recieved a receipt from paypal but no further correspondence. I tried to PM you but the system informs me I need to participate in the forum more before I can do this, so I hope its ok to contact you this way. Basically I'm just enquiring as to if i should have recieved any messages from you yet, my email is hansk1990@telstra.com if you would like to contact me via email. I ordered the board on the 22/10.
Kind regards,
Scott

[ejs]

Just so everyone is aware, international generally gets delayed because no phone number is provided by the buyer. Customs requires it. Shipping software won't print without it. It's a pain for you and I both. Please provide it in the comments when checking out.

Also, to zenwebb

About to pull the trigger and buy me a shield with drivers, but I have one quick question. Thinking about future features I'd like to add to my ShapeOko, does your shield have any support for limit switches? If not, is it easy to add with a little hacking? I'm not 100% educated about GRBL yet, so I'm not sure what to look for. Thanks!

I agree that a wing or protoshield between the Arduino and Buildlog Stepper Shield could do the trick. There will be pins broken out specifically for this function on the next iteration of the board. It's great that GRBL 0.8b now provides us the use of limit switches.

~EJ

[hansk1990]

Just so everyone is aware, international generally gets delayed because no phone number is provided by the buyer. Customs requires it. Shipping software won't print without it. It's a pain for you and I both. Please provide it in the comments when checking out.

Was this comment in reference to me EJS? As I did include my phone number along with the international code when I made the purchase, however had it of been overlooked should I have been contacted? Is there a means I can correspond with you outside this forum? I have tried using your email address listed with your paypal account but am yet to get a reply.
Kind regards,
Scott

[ejs]

Hi All,

As of this week the international issues with Stamps.com's software has now affected domestic shipments as well. Sales have been good in the past 6 weeks, but incredibly time consuming as I've had to go back and cross check a lot. Please email or PM me if you have ordered more than a week ago (2 weeks international) and have not heard or seen a shipment. I'm hoping that I haven't missed anything, but frankly, there are likely one or two shipments that are outstanding. I wanted you all to know that I am aware and looking for a better solution. Endicia is probably the next step--I hoped initially that I could spare the expense, but it looks that they now have a solution on par with Stamps.com pricing. Stamps.com software has basically had a beta feel since I began using it and has continued to get worse. As a former software analyst for a Fortune 500, this has been driving me up a wall. For the sake of the community and customer care, I need to iron things out. Thank you for your patience.

In light of this moderate mess, and as we head in to the holiday season, I am pulling the completed boards from the international store. While not hugely time consuming, they still take time. My production process has been refined a great deal, but I am concerned that they won't get out in a timely fashion. I have a few spares already constructed in order to fulfill any missed international orders. And after the start of the year, I will likely return them to the shop page. For now, the raw boards remain available internationally and full kits remain in stock for the US. I have another batch of the v3 boards on order as I am running low--a remarkable place to be in, and all thanks to the tremendous community support. Version 4 will be out before long, and the 3's will remain in stock along side them. Catalin, who is on the boards as cvoinescu, and who runs a ShapeOko operation out of the UK at http://store.amberspyglass.co.uk/ will have boards available in his shop shortly. This should reduce shipping time and shipping cost for GB and Europe.

With regard,
EJ

[RSWeaverAz]

Hi @ejs
Will version 4 of the board have limit/home switch capability? Anything else it will support?

Thanks
Rich

[ejs]

Hi @ejs
Will version 4 of the board have limit/home switch capability? Anything else it will support?

Thanks
Rich

Rich,

Limit switches shouldn't be an issue. Adding switches to the v3 boards is likely possible with the 0.8b GRBL build, it just won't look as pretty as having the capability built in. As for other support, I have two items I'm focused on making work. I'm keeping them under my had for now, lest they don't work to plan.

Best,
EJ