We have some news to share that we are really excited about. The default controller on the WorkBee CNC Machine is changing. The CNC xPro is a good controller and has done us proud over the last 3 plus years. However as it runs GRBL firmware which is already pushing the CNC xPro to its limit, we are limited with what we can do with it.

Up until now the Duet has mostly been seen on 3D Printers, and in that community there is a gathering buzz around this controller. 3D Printing has advanced massively over the last few years, and switching to the Duet will allow us to bring these features over to the CNC arena.

See the below table for an outline of the differences between the xPro and Duet.

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The Duet In More Detail

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The Duet is a more powerful controller, with a 32bit processor it allows more headroom for advanced features down the line. Further to this, the Duet has TMC2660 drivers, these drivers are packed full with amazing features like Stall Guard, StealthChop & SpreadCycle. See the video below to get an idea of how smooth and quiet it makes the WorkBee.

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The Duet also has wireless connectivity, this means you can control your WorkBee from a computer or laptop anywhere that is connected to the same Wifi. The control software just runs inside a normal browser so you also can use your smartphone to control the machine.

The Duet has all CNC Functionality built in, including machine/work positioning, offsets, and spindle/laser control.

As the Duet is a more powerful controller and has advanced 3D Printing features already built in, over time we are going to be bring out exciting new features for the WorkBee CNC Machine as free updates. Getting the WorkBee with the Duet now will future proof your machine for the foreseeable future.

When Can I Get One?

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The Duet is available now, and is the default controller shipped with our WorkBee CNC Machine:

www.env-ooznest-refresh.kinsta.cloud//WorkBee

However we are still finalising the software and manuals for the Duet. So all orders of the WorkBee through the above link will be on a 3 week pre-order, estimated shipping will be week commencing 14th December 2018. After the 17th the WorkBee will ship with our normal lead time displayed at the top of the product description.

If you want a machine now with our normal lead time (5-7 working days) then the WorkBee is still available with the old CNC xPro controller here: No Long Available