Megatronics Robo3D

Not the cleanest solution, but here's a Robo3D running on a Megatronics v2.0 board instead of RAMPS.

i'll post more details later.

 

What's the advantages to this over RAMPS?

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That is still to be determined, but RAMPS probably wouldn't have been my first choice. My RAMPS board was also having mysterious issues with temperature readings that I just didn't want to deal with anymore.

I like that thermocouples are first class citizens here instead of requiring a breakout board. I have one for my extruder and one for the heatbed.

Planning to install these new stepper drivers eventually with 1/32 step resolution.
http://www.pololu.com/product/2133

 

You plan on doing the motors also?

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I see no reason to.

I'm having an issue with my z axis steppers at the moment, one of them doesn't seem to turn as much as the other, pretty strange, seems like it might be a firmware issue unless my wiring is wrong. Anyone have any insights?

Maybe not enough voltage?

Actually I just noticed when I turn one Z motor the other doesn't turn, I could have sworn before that turning one would have turned the other. Why would this happen??

 

Normally turning one induces a current (like a generator) that makes the other which is wired in parallel to turn. They won't turn in lockstep though because of losses. I don't have a schematic for the Megatronics but are they wired in parallel with nothing in between?

 

This is where I get my megatronics info
http://reprap.org/wiki/Megatronics_2.0


I found the problem, the fact that the other motor wasn't turning when you turned the other was a clue that the wiring was wrong, turns out all I had to do was reverse the connections for both z steppers.

 

By reverse do you mean flip each connector around 180 degrees? That makes sense. Also I checked your link and the Z wiring is the exact same as for the RAMPS board.

 

Yup. I have reliable prints coming out now, successful transition overall.

I've ordered the pololu stepper drivers, going to see if they make a difference in quality.

 

I'd love to get a little more resolution as well so if those steppers work out, please post

 

I don't think the pololu drivers will work on the RAMPS board.
I haven't bothered with the drivers yet as I'm probably going to just use them on my next printer.

I'll be using these pololu drivers with a 0.25mm nozzle on the hotend.

 

What about just swapping the whole setup out for a RUMBA with DRV8825s? That looks promising...