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What controller firmware do you use? FluidNC vs GRBL vs Marlin?

asked by Marije van Dijk · 2025-10-20
FluidNC every time on ESP32. Reasons:

- Native 4-axis (X/Y/U/V) support, just edit YAML
- WebSocket streaming → cncfoam.com's Wi-Fi streamer talks to it directly
- Web-based config UI on the controller's own IP
- Active development, friendly community

GRBL is still good if you're on AVR (Arduino UNO) but tops out at 3 axes natively. The 4-axis GRBL forks work but you're on your own for support.

Marlin works for foam but it's overkill — Marlin's whole architecture assumes 3D-printer hot-end + bed kinematics, none of which a foam cutter has. Lots of disabled features taking up space.

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