Long story short, I need to upgrade the control board in my Anycubic Linear Plus from the original TriGorilla to something with more brain power. That little processor just can't handle all the delta kinematic calculations. I've been 3D printing for a while, but I've never swapped a stock control board for an upgrade before. I'm OK with dealing with firmware, but I'm discovering there are more factors to consider than I originally bargained for. I've seen a handful of posts about the Re-ARM controller. The description on Panucatt's storefront describes it as a "plug in replacement" for a Mega board. This is where I've started to either overthink or underthink the situation. It can't be that easy, can it? The TriGorilla board is effectively a 2560, but the Re-ARM is a 32-bit processor with ARM architecture. What would the process of making this switch actually look like? Also, I've heard mixed things about Smoothieware, that it's no longer in active development and that there are better options, etc. Any advice on this route? The price makes it very attractive given that the printer kit was only $190 itself. Alternately, the Duet 2 Maestro looks pretty nice. It's a bit more expensive but not terribly so. Are there any obvious options I'm overlooking? The challenge is to strike a balance of cost and ease of firmware configuration. https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?13,859208,859208#msg-859208 Thu, 14 May 2026 04:07:20 -0400 Phorum 5.2.23 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?13,859208,859683#msg-859683 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?13,859208,859683#msg-859683 JangusKhan Controllers Sun, 22 Sep 2019 12:08:48 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?13,859208,859646#msg-859646 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?13,859208,859646#msg-859646 JangusKhan Controllers Sat, 21 Sep 2019 10:56:25 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?13,859208,859625#msg-859625 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?13,859208,859625#msg-859625
If, however, you have them set up with UART, you don't have to worry about that. The firmware can reconfigure the drivers on-the-fly, including changing microsteps, StealthChop/SpreadCycle, Hybrid mode (where the driver automatically switches between StealthChop and SpreadCycle depending on the movement speed), StallGuard (for sensorless homing), etc.

The good news is that the SKR 1.3 is designed to make it very easy to run 2208/2209 drivers in UART mode (or 2130s in SPI mode) so you should never have to worry about standalone mode or OTP.

So for your case the primary improvement from the 2208 to the 2209 would be the increase in current if you find that you don't have enough torque,.]]> MMcLure Controllers Fri, 20 Sep 2019 19:09:23 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?13,859208,859617#msg-859617 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?13,859208,859617#msg-859617 JangusKhan Controllers Fri, 20 Sep 2019 13:43:09 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?13,859208,859616#msg-859616 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?13,859208,859616#msg-859616 MMcLure Controllers Fri, 20 Sep 2019 13:16:57 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?13,859208,859613#msg-859613 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?13,859208,859613#msg-859613 JangusKhan Controllers Fri, 20 Sep 2019 11:42:54 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?13,859208,859575#msg-859575 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?13,859208,859575#msg-859575
When I upgraded I was upgrading from ATMega/RAMPS so the Re-ARM made more sense for me. Also, I wanted to have the PS_ON pin as well as 4 PWM control pins available for running RGBW LEDs which is not possible on the SKR 1.3. But that's a special case, and if I was upgrading from a different all-in-one board I'd have definitely gone with the SKR 1.3.

I would recommend going with TMC2209 drivers instead of TMC2208 drivers if you can.]]> MMcLure Controllers Thu, 19 Sep 2019 14:20:36 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?13,859208,859564#msg-859564 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?13,859208,859564#msg-859564
I wouldn't bother with a re-arm, unless you already have a ramps based system.]]> Dust Controllers Thu, 19 Sep 2019 10:52:58 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?13,859208,859558#msg-859558 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?13,859208,859558#msg-859558 www.amazon.com]
$24 for the board and $30 more for Trinamic drivers? I've heard that ARM boards have gotten cheaper but damn that looks good. I'll have to brush up on the whole Marlin 2.0, PlatformIO stuff as I'm still living in the Arduino world, but I'm about to hit the order button right now.]]> JangusKhan Controllers Thu, 19 Sep 2019 09:47:45 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?13,859208,859526#msg-859526 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?13,859208,859526#msg-859526
Another option is to go with a BigTreeTech SKR 1.3 - it's got the same processor as the Re-ARM and has all the built-in wiring required to run the BigTreeTech TMC driver modules without any extra wiring.

But from all I've heard, the Duet is an excellent option. You'll have to run RepRapFirmware on it instead of Marlin.]]> MMcLure Controllers Wed, 18 Sep 2019 17:06:48 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?13,859208,859482#msg-859482 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?13,859208,859482#msg-859482 JangusKhan Controllers Tue, 17 Sep 2019 16:24:29 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?13,859208,859480#msg-859480 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?13,859208,859480#msg-859480
I forgot to mention that with Re-ARM/RAMPS you are a bit limited with respect to what displays you can use. The RepRapDiscount Full Graphic Smart controller is the most compatible, although it does require a change to one of the ribbon cables to provide +5V to the display. If you buy the Re-ARM from Panucatt you can pay an extra $1.50 for a cable that splits out the line you need to connect to 5V.]]> MMcLure Controllers Tue, 17 Sep 2019 14:51:29 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?13,859208,859472#msg-859472 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?13,859208,859472#msg-859472 JangusKhan Controllers Tue, 17 Sep 2019 11:30:53 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?13,859208,859439#msg-859439 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?13,859208,859439#msg-859439 MMcLure Controllers Mon, 16 Sep 2019 15:49:59 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?13,859208,859208#msg-859208 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?13,859208,859208#msg-859208
I've seen a handful of posts about the Re-ARM controller. The description on Panucatt's storefront describes it as a "plug in replacement" for a Mega board. This is where I've started to either overthink or underthink the situation. It can't be that easy, can it? The TriGorilla board is effectively a 2560, but the Re-ARM is a 32-bit processor with ARM architecture. What would the process of making this switch actually look like? Also, I've heard mixed things about Smoothieware, that it's no longer in active development and that there are better options, etc. Any advice on this route? The price makes it very attractive given that the printer kit was only $190 itself.

Alternately, the Duet 2 Maestro looks pretty nice. It's a bit more expensive but not terribly so.

Are there any obvious options I'm overlooking? The challenge is to strike a balance of cost and ease of firmware configuration.]]> JangusKhan Controllers Tue, 10 Sep 2019 15:36:18 -0400