System requirements and compatible hardware

This page forms part of the official HotWire4X Documentation. It defines the configurations and hardware for which the software is designed, tested and supported. Check it before buying: the free mode lets you install and try the software on your own hardware without spending anything.

Operating systems

Windows

• Windows 10 version 1809 (October 2018) or later, or Windows 11
• 64-bit (x64) only
• Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 are not supported

macOS

• macOS 13 Ventura or later
• Apple Silicon — Macs with an M1 chip or later (2020 onwards)
• Intel-based Macs are not supported

Linux

Not supported.

Graphics

The 3D view requires a graphics card compatible with OpenGL 3.3 Core, which corresponds to computers from 2012 onwards (Intel HD 4000 and later, NVIDIA GeForce 400 series and later, AMD Radeon HD 5000 and later).

Two known cases cause problems: older laptops with Intel graphics predating 2012, and use through a Remote Desktop session or inside a virtual machine, where OpenGL is often absent or too old. The free mode lets you check this in a few minutes.

Control interfaces

HotWire4X drives a machine over USB. Depending on the interface, commands are transmitted as G-code or through a dedicated protocol: the software handles this, and the choice does not concern you.

The interfaces below are tested and supported. Each requires firmware published by the publisher, which configures the number of axes, the heating output and the STOP button input as the software expects them. Each has a dedicated page describing wiring, flashing and verification.

BTT SKR Pico v1.0

Verification: the $I command must return [BOARD:SKR Pico v1.0 HotWire4X SERVOS - R.ILTIS] or [BOARD:SKR Pico v1.0 HotWire4X HB - R.ILTIS].

→ Wiring, flashing and firmware download: BTT SKR Pico page

Arduino Mega 2560 + RAMPS 1.4

Verification: the $I command must return [BOARD:RAMPS 1.4 - HotWire4X PWM-D6 - R.ILTIS], [VER:1.2i.20260701:] and [AXS:4:XYZA].

→ Wiring, flashing and firmware download: Mega 2560 + RAMPS page

IPL5X

The IPL5X is not a control board but a 5-axis interpolator, designed by Pascal Langer as part of the 5X Project. It receives toolpaths from the computer over USB, computes the pulses for all five axes simultaneously and outputs them as dir/step. It also handles heating, through its PWM output. Two arrangements are possible:

• built into a complete board that embeds it together with its power stages;
• inserted between the computer and any motor driver board, together with a heating control stage.

Firmware 0.34 is mandatory. Produced by Pascal Langer at our request, it is the only tested and supported version, and the only one we make available. Earlier versions, including 0.33 still distributed by the 5X Project archive, are not supported.

[TO BE VERIFIED before publication: exact nature of the fix introduced in 0.34 — if it concerns heating cut-off on stop, state it here as a safety warning.]

If your IPL5X carries earlier firmware — which is the case for every unit distributed before 2026 — reflash it before any use. The V command returns the installed version.

The IPL5X firmware is distributed under the GNU GPL v3 licence; its sources are published on GitHub.

→ Firmware 0.34, flashing procedure and wiring: IPL5X page

Other GRBL interfaces

HotWire4X speaks GRBL. A third-party 4-axis GRBL interface may therefore work, provided it is correctly configured — the software can in fact send the configuration commands to the interface from its settings screen.

These configurations are possible but not supported: they are neither tested nor warranted, give no entitlement to assistance or to a refund, and are entirely your own responsibility. They are intended for users who are comfortable with GRBL configuration.

Before using any interface not listed above, you must verify, with the machine powered but away from any material, that the heating switches off and that the STOP button stops the movement and the heating. Our firmware puts the heating output and the STOP button input where HotWire4X expects them; a generic GRBL configuration does not necessarily do so, and the wire may remain powered when you believe everything has stopped. This is a burn and fire hazard, not merely a malfunction.

If you obtain good results with an interface not listed here, write to us: contact@hotwire4x.com.

Internet connection

A connection is required to activate your license, then for at least one verification to succeed every 30 days. In between, the software runs entirely offline. The free mode performs no network communication at all.

See: How the license works

Materials

Hot wire cutting is suitable only for polystyrene foams and equivalent thermofusible materials (EPS, XPS, EPP). PVC and polyurethane foams must not be cut. A material whose composition has not been verified with its supplier is a prohibited material.

See Section 5 of the End User License Agreement.

Safety

A hot wire cutting machine is dangerous equipment. Powered fume extraction, respiratory protection, eye protection, a hardware emergency stop and continuous supervision are conditions of use, not recommendations. Section 5 of the End User License Agreement sets out all the instructions; it must be read in full before any use.