Note: Wix forums will be deleted on 15-Oct-2025 and moved to the tab labeled "Groups". Hopefully, it will be easier to use than the existing forum

To see this working, head to your live site.

SP6 CNC Shield V4 Modification

This is my first time working on CNC Shield and related eletronics. I want to make sure I am doing the modfication (4 edits) correctly. Do you think you can share a picture of the backside of the CNC board after the modification? For example, I am not sure how to do Edit 2, Do i just short the four nodes on the right side, and connect the Vcc on the left to the top node on the right using a wire?

Thanks a lot,

34 comments

34 Comments

J230

Sep 14

Hi Steve,

Can you help me understand how to adjus the rotor speed? Right now, the second-hand moves at 108s per rotation. My current CNC shield is set as shown in the picture from the Instruction. What settings I can do to change the speed?

thanks,

J230

Sep 19

Replying to

Hi Steve, i think my motor is 200 step one, see the picture. I bought another one with the same 1.8deg, and both motors gave 30s per rev.

Does the wiring of the motor matter (the order of black, green, red and blue). I am using black, green, red, blue, and the motor seems working too, althoug it is different from your instruction: black, green, blue, red.

Edited

Steve

Sep 19

Replying to

There are a few possible reasons why the motors are spinning at half speed. The motors you ordered appear to be 200 step motors. The TMC2208 is supposed to be configured in 16X microstepping mode. Maybe it is somehow configured as 32X microstepping mode. If so, this is the first report of this happening.

The jumper speed settings are properly recognized and configured as SP6. Swapping out the motor did not solve the problem. My suggestion is to use the delay settings listed above to double the number of steps given to the motor controller. It doesn't explain why, but it should give you a working clock.

J230

לפני 3 ימים

Replying to

Hi Steve,

I made it quite close to 1 minute per revolution using the following:

case 0: // 3.6 RPM for SP6 with 400 step motors

motor_steps = 384;

extra_steps = 0; // no extra steps needed

min_motor_delay = 4980;

max_motor_delay = 5250;

break;

I will confirm the exact time once I get a chance.

J230

Sep 13

Hi Steve, I was able to make the rotor work by using a different Adruino Nano board. The IDE didn't detect the previous board. Thanks so much for your help !

Steve

Sep 13

Replying to

Good to hear. Thanks for reporting back with good news.

J230

Sep 12

Hi Steve, if I use the keyestudio CNC shield (black board), do i need to do any change of wiring? Do i still use the same clock.ini file?

Steve

Sep 12

Replying to

The black CNC Shield V4 board has the same wiring as the red board and uses the same algorithm.

J230

Sep 12

Replying to

I thought I don't need to do the four edits (three in the back, one in the front) with the Black board version?

Steve

Sep 12

Replying to

One of the edits is optional with the black board, but it is harmless to do the edit anyway. Also, it is undocumented, so the best solution is to do all the edits according to the instructions.

J230

Sep 11

Hi Steve,

There are two power source here: 12V for CNC Shield and micro-usb for the Adrinuo Nano board, do I need to use both ? Most youtube videos use both. thanks,

Steve

Sep 11

Replying to

No, do not connect the 12V power supply.

The implementation for the clock powers everything including the stepper motors from the 5V USB cable. This is OK since the stepper motors are configured at extremely low current levels.

J230

Sep 08

Hi Steve,

Just to confirm, do l load the "stepper_smooth_lookup250.txt" file in the Adruino IDE, and do I need to make any changes to the file for SP6 specifically? thanks,

Steve

Sep 08

Replying to

That is the algorithm for the old and now obsolete controller. Go to https://www.stevesclocks.com/sp6 and download the "CNC Shield V4 Algorithm". The latest version is in Clock_Shield_rev2p08.zip.

J230

Sep 08

Replying to

Hi Steve, I did use the "Clock_Shield.ino" file. Do i need to make any changes to the code or just load it directly in IDE?

Steve

Sep 08

Replying to

It is the complete algorithm supporting six different clock configurations. Load it directly to the IDE.

You will need to adjust the jumper settings on the top side of the board for your clock. That is an easy step that can be done after checking that the motor is rotating.

J230

Sep 08

plus, the red CNC board has been extremely frustrating to work with. I am wondering whether the CNC board (CNC Shield V4) still needs the modification you listed because your version is in 2023. thanks a lot for your patience.

Steve

Sep 08

Replying to

All versions of the CNC Shield V4 need the wiring modifications because they need to be configured for the motor to run using 5V USB power and the RTC needs to be connected.

I sell a custom board on my Etsy shop that is ready to run without any soldering. It is much more expensive, especially for countries outside the US.

J230

Sep 08

Hi Steve,

Do I need to run the Adduino upload first before the rotor can be turned on? I tried to upload the clock_shiled.ino, and i selected the board and port, but I got this error below: avrdude: stk500_getsync() attempt 2 of 10: not in sync: resp=0x00

avrdude: stk500_recv(): programmer is not responding

avrdude: stk500_getsync() attempt 3 of 10: not in sync: resp=0x00

avrdude: stk500_recv(): programmer is not responding

avrdude: stk500_getsync() attempt 4 of 10: not in sync: resp=0x00

Steve

Sep 08

Replying to

Getting a proper connection to the Arduino Nano is sometimes a bit frustrating. The USB port numbers get randomly assigned and can change each time you use them.

The error you see might be related to the bootloader option under Tools-->Processor. The Arduino Nanos I use can have either the old or new bootloader. Sometimes a batch of 5 will have some of each type. It seems harmless to try them randomly until one connects. Or it could be the USB cable.

It is fine to have other components plugged in before programming the Arduino Nano. The stepper motor controller won't do anything before it receives commands.

J230

Sep 07

Hi Steve,

below is my set-up. The motor I got from amazon has different color order from the one described in your manual so I changed it to make them the same as yours. And I removed a jumper from the "Stop" pin on my CNC borad to match yours.

When I connected to the board to a usb output, the Adruino board is on and the TMC2208 is warm, but the motor doesn't rotate. When I touch the heat sink of TMC2208, the rotor vibrate back and forth without rotating. Do you have any advice on how I can debug?

thanks,

Steve

Sep 07

Replying to

The wiring looks good.

The motor jittering back and forth is a symptom of reversed center motor wires. See the picture below.

Not sure about the heat sink getting warm. It might be normal. Try turning the motor current potentiometer counterclockwise to lower the stepper motor current.

J230

Aug 31

Hi Steve, i have a question about the Adruino nano board. The one I got looks slightly different from your instruction manual. It looks like this. I guess it should also work?

In your manual, the first step is to "Solder the headers onto the Arduino Nano and insert it in the orientation shown." What "headers" I need to solder before I plug it onto the CNC?

thanks,

Steve

Aug 31

Replying to

It should work. Arduino Nanos are all supposed to be compatible with the original design, although I am not sure about some of the newer bards with wifi and a bunch of other features. Most of the boards I order have a USB-C connector which uses an easier to find cable. The clocks support both connector styles.

The headers are already soldered on the board shown. They are the bottom pins that go into sockets on the CNC Shield V4 board. Some Arduino Nanos come with them loose.

Steve

Aug 30

Yes, the 4 nodes in a straight line plus the diagonal node need a wire. This is my version. The two wires in the upper right are the only ones that need to be insulated. The rest are protected by the solder mask.

J230

Aug 30

Replying to

thanks so much, Steve. Should I do the wiring first then install the "clock_shield" or the other way?

Steve

Aug 30

Replying to

Follow the steps in the assembly guide or SP6 addendum describing the CNC shield V4 board.

It starts with soldering the wires. Remove the jumpers under the TMC2208 location, then insert components. Plug in a USBC cable and program the Arduino Nano. Power to the stepper motor is provides through the USBC cable, so do not use the socket power connector.

Test that the board is able to rotate the stepper motor before assembling everything into the clock.