SmartTabUI CNC Pendant Case (DPC-TC1): 2.8″ touch screen, MPG handwheel, E-stop

DPC-TC1 is the case for the SmartTabUI pendant, a wired hand-held controller for CNC routers, lasers and plasma tables running dpCREATOR FluidNC.

It’s built around familiar, low-cost parts:

• 2.8″ ESP32 touch display (JC2432W328C): the same display used in other FluidNC pendant projects

• 60 mm MPG handwheel for smooth jogging

• E-stop button wired to a hardware stop line on the controller

• Axis and step selectors (0.01 / 0.1 / 1 mm)

• GX12 connector: one cable carries power, data and the stop line

What the SmartTabUI firmware gives you:

• Live DRO, feed / rapid / spindle overrides

• Jog with the handwheel, run jobs from the controller’s SD card

• 3D part view while cutting, live Z adjust

• Job recovery after an E-stop or power cut, with an operator check before restart

Print settings

• Material: PETG (recommended for strength and heat)

• Layer height: 0.2 mm

• Infill: 40-100%

• Supports: needed for front panel as it's printed face down

• Print time: about 4 h

Parts list

• JC2432W328C 2.8″ touch display board (ESP32)

• PCF8574 I/O expander module (I2C, address 0x20): reads the axis selector, step selector and ENABLE button

• 60 mm MPG handwheel (quadrature A/B), pulses per turn 3.3V

• Axis selector switch: X / Y / Z / A (4 positions)

• Step selector switch: 0.01 / 0.1 / 1 mm (3 positions)

• ENABLE button: held while jogging with the handwheel

• 16 mm E-stop button (normally closed, fits a 16 mm panel hole)

• Buzzer (speaker)

• GX12 5-pin panel connector and cable

• screws: M3 × 7

Firmware: SmartTabUI is flashed straight from your browser at dpcreator.eu (Flash Firmware page). It works with the dpCREATOR FluidNC firmware on the dpCREATOR R3 controller and supported ESP32 boards. Build guide: [link to the TabUi build guide on dpcreator.eu]

🔧 Join the dpCREATOR R&D Club: build it, test it, get the firmware free

Before the official launch, we’re inviting 10 makers in the EU and UK to build the SmartTabUI pendant and run the dpCREATOR WebUI on their own machines.

Members get, free:

• A SmartTabUI pendant firmware licence (WebUI included)

• A dpCREATOR WebUI licence for your controller

• Free updates after the programme, the same as customers

• The 3 best builds win a free dpCREATOR R3 controller

What we ask:

• Build the pendant and install the WebUI within 8 weeks

• Send a short report with at least 5 photos and a video of jogging and running a job

• Share problems and ideas in the private tester group

How to apply: create a free account at dpcreator.eu, then apply here with the same email:
👉 https://dpcreator.eu/index.php?route=information/information&information_id=9

The firmware is pre-release: keep an independent E-stop on your machine. Licences are personal and can’t be shared.