So I'm about to start a 3D printer project,
And after much time spent online I get the sense that your Controller / Firmware / Stepper Drivers / Stepper Motors all have to "play nice".
And if you purchase all of these components blindly, chances are they wont work well together.
That being the case, it seems to make perfect sense to start at the "brain" (Controller) of a 3D printer and go from there.
I'd appreciate your feedback in helping me choose the right controller for my 3D printer project.
Here is what I'm looking to build, (as related to choosing a controller):
12" x 12" x 12" build-volume
heated bed.
dual extruders.
dual hot-ends.
2 x-axis steppers
2 y-axis steppers
4 z-axis steppers (because I'd like to make a printer that can be easily scaled-up to say a 24" x 24" x 24" build-volume)
SD card printing
LCD control (not a critical requirement for me, but it would be nice to have that option available)
6 end-stops (2 for each axis) *3 may work, but 6 seems safest.
open-sourced with an Arduino backbone would be nice.
(although I've read a bit about 16 Mhz CPU speed starting to become a limiting-factor, and perhaps that would be a problem for me if I wanted wicked-fast printing?)
On a "related" note:
The most similar printer to what I would like to build seems to be this one from QU-BD:
[store.qu-bd.com]
And they are using an Azteeg X1 (not sure why they don't use the X3)
So I started looking at the Azteeg X3:
[www.panucatt.com]
[reprap.org]
Which can apparently control up to 8 steppers.
- 5 right off the bat,
- and a shield to control 3 more.
But strangely enough, if you take a look at the wiring schematic:
[files.panucatt.com]
It suggests paralleling/serialing 2 z-axis motors off of a single z-axis stepper-controller, which I find a little strange considering the controller claims control for "up to 8 steppers" (with the shield).
I found this very helpful:
[reprap.org]
but it seems to lack "# of steppers" as a comparison factor.
I'd love to know what you guys think about controllers,
and which controller you think would be best for me (and why).
Thanks guys!
And after much time spent online I get the sense that your Controller / Firmware / Stepper Drivers / Stepper Motors all have to "play nice".
And if you purchase all of these components blindly, chances are they wont work well together.
That being the case, it seems to make perfect sense to start at the "brain" (Controller) of a 3D printer and go from there.
I'd appreciate your feedback in helping me choose the right controller for my 3D printer project.
Here is what I'm looking to build, (as related to choosing a controller):
12" x 12" x 12" build-volume
heated bed.
dual extruders.
dual hot-ends.
2 x-axis steppers
2 y-axis steppers
4 z-axis steppers (because I'd like to make a printer that can be easily scaled-up to say a 24" x 24" x 24" build-volume)
SD card printing
LCD control (not a critical requirement for me, but it would be nice to have that option available)
6 end-stops (2 for each axis) *3 may work, but 6 seems safest.
open-sourced with an Arduino backbone would be nice.
(although I've read a bit about 16 Mhz CPU speed starting to become a limiting-factor, and perhaps that would be a problem for me if I wanted wicked-fast printing?)
On a "related" note:
The most similar printer to what I would like to build seems to be this one from QU-BD:
[store.qu-bd.com]
And they are using an Azteeg X1 (not sure why they don't use the X3)
So I started looking at the Azteeg X3:
[www.panucatt.com]
[reprap.org]
Which can apparently control up to 8 steppers.
- 5 right off the bat,
- and a shield to control 3 more.
But strangely enough, if you take a look at the wiring schematic:
[files.panucatt.com]
It suggests paralleling/serialing 2 z-axis motors off of a single z-axis stepper-controller, which I find a little strange considering the controller claims control for "up to 8 steppers" (with the shield).
I found this very helpful:
[reprap.org]
but it seems to lack "# of steppers" as a comparison factor.
I'd love to know what you guys think about controllers,
and which controller you think would be best for me (and why).
Thanks guys!