New to the RepRap world and have tons of questions

Im new to the RepRap world and I have alot of questions to ask. First off I want to build a new Mendel RepRap so out of your experience what is the best motherboard to use with it? what are all the parts that I will need? Is this better than going out and buying a Makerbot? Should I use a heated bed? How long will it take to build? Is it easier to work with on Linux or windows?

Hi there deathstar! Welcome to the community. I'd recommend you start with [reprap.org]


deathstar Wrote:
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> Im new to the RepRap world and I have alot of
> questions to ask. First off I want to build a new
> Mendel RepRap so out of your experience what is
> the best motherboard to use with it?

RAMPS or Sanguinololu. Ramps = more features; Sanguinololu = cheaper.


> what are all the parts that I will need?

Plastic parts, threaded rods, smooth rods, fasteners, motors, belts, wires, hot end, PSU. See above link,

> Is this better than going out and buying a Makerbot?

Absolutely yes, as long as you're good with your hands and like tweaking. You'll save a boatload of money and get a better machine that can print larger parts faster and more quietly.

> Should I use a heated bed?

Yes if you're going to be printing with ABS. If you're printing PLA, it can be nice, but isn't necessary.

>How long will it take to build?

Assuming you have all the parts in front of you, a few weeknights or maybe a weekend. Calibration can take longer though…

> Is it easier to work with on Linux or windows?

Shouldn't matter.

Thanks Im just trying to wrap my head around it all i will build one on paper, just pick the parts an post it here and maybe you all can help me with any problems i may run in to and Im pretty handy and my job is mothing but troubleshooting anyways

So If I buy the Sanguinololu v1.3a Bare PCB I will also have to buy all the othr parts for it or does it come with everything I need already? Also since this is an all in one solution it is the arduino and motherboard right or am I getting this all confused

Punctuation and grammar… they help!

Yeah, Sanguinololu is an all-in-one board, so you don't need a separate Arduino. RAMPS is the one that's a shield that goes onto an Arduino Mega. If you want, you can buy a complete Sanguinololu kit from XYZprinters.com, but I got mine directly from Joem.

Ok sorry fo rso many posts I think i figured it out I will definately be going this route though seems alot easier. Does anyone have any experience using ATMEGA1284 instead of ATMEGA644P? I cant wait to start building this

Sory abou the grammar Im from Texas. I plan on buying the Sanguinololu and using it with a Prusa Mendel build. I also plan on using Wade`s Geared Extruder because it seems reliable.

Hello!
I would like to build from the beggining Mendel.In the explanations given in wiki-reprap, it's written that we need a reprap motherboard v1.2, and I would like to print the circuit myself. Is this project possible? . I can print circuit up to 2 layers, but I don't know so much about eagle and I don't know which are the "conductor" layers, could yoy tell me if the pcb has more than two layers?.

Regards, David.

The v1.2 motherboard has 2 layers

If you download the source files from the wiki page it includes the copper layers as PDF files that you can print out directly

[downloads.sourceforge.net]

The V1.2 is also surface mount with the atmel being a PLCC device, Have you considered the GEN7 board which is single sided and through hole?

Thank you for your reponse!

In the pdf there are too many files, i've opened it with eagle and i've thought that the conductor layers were the red and the blue ones.

I don't know if I would be able to do it with another PCB because, since the instructions are related to V1.2, some conexion could be messy for me.

Is surface mount much more difficult than through hole ? and we have just to solder the PCCL where it correspond?.

Another doubt is that if V1.2 is double sided, why do I have on eagle layers only by one side?. Maybe this are stupid questions, but I don't know too much about printing circuits.

I suppose that is easily to find the components for the surface mount than for the through hole, but I would appreciate some advice.

Thank you again!

Regards, David.

I just opened the eagle schematic, the blue is bottom, the red is topside.

As far as surface-mount vs through hole - Honestly, if you have to ask, you need to do through hole. Surface-mount is much more challenging, especially if you do not have the equipment for it.

Now, looking at the eagle file, the parts list, etc - I am sure you can turn the 1.2 into a throughhole with some seriously fancy Eaglework, and maybe expanding the board a bit.

But in the instructions there are some explanations about mounting the components, so then it's possible and I guess that people who buy the motherboard and the components have to sold it, so most people have solded it by surface-mount.I've also read that surface-mount it's better to avoid overheating and that it's cheaper.

Looking at the pictures of the v1.2 i've seen the board at the reverse , and it seems it have another circuit, how can i make that?

Picture:[forums.reprap.org]

Thank you , the p33t!

Regards, David.

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> But in the instructions there are some
> explanations about mounting the components, so
> then it's possible and I guess that people who buy
> the motherboard and the components have to solder
> it, so most people have soldered it by
> surface-mount.I've also read that surface-mount
> it's better to avoid overheating and that it's
> cheaper.
>
> Looking at the pictures of the v1.2 i've seen the
> board at the reverse , and it seems it have
> another circuit, how can i make that?
>
> Picture:[forums.reprap.org]
> 2284,filename=new_RepRap_MB_1_2_dated-sm.jpg
>
> Thank you , the p33t!
>
> Regards, David.

what you see in the image is a professionally printed PCB from the files you mentioned earlier. The .sch in the eagle was used to make the gerber files (attached in that same document, in a different folder). Those gerber files are the actually information to make the PCB.

I did not look at the gerbers, as that is not my area of expertise. However, the .brd in the eagle directory does have the information needed for top and bottom traces, the drillfile for the holes, as well as the top/bottom pads and even the silkscreen (white printing) on the board.


Onto the surface vs. through-hole components.I am not saying you can't surface mount, it can be done with as little as a toaster oven, however, unless you are confident with that you are doing, you might run into problems. Of course, there are a lot of hints and tricks for SMD mounting. The precision required is very high in comparison to through hole components.

One thing to note: The schematic and gerbers posted are for professionally made PCBs. I am not saying it cannot be modified to be self-etched, if that is what you had in mind. (by professional, I really mean machine-made).

My idea was to print the pcb, with help (at university, where technicians know how to make 2 layer circuits). Technicians are going to show me how to solder the components. However they work with OrCad and they cannot see either gerber files. Since I've never done it, I need some advices

I'd like to make Mendel , but to do that I will have to print and build the v1.2 motherboard, the 3 opto-endstop, the extruder controllers, etc. Then I will have to programm the arduino , connect the motors, build the mechanics, etc.

I understand that the result will be worst than what is seen in images(professional boards) , but i would be glad if only works. My problem now is understanding what layers do i have to print on the main face of the circuit , and at the back. I've downloaded a programm to visualize gerber and it works, but the problem remains because i have to print in paper the circuit to show it to the technicians and i suppose i have to print in one paper the blue layer, in another the red layer and in the last the vias and pads to make the holes.

Another doubt is : what is the real dimension of the pcb? , when i print it, it seems to me that is very small.

Thanks again, I appreciate very much your responses.

Regards, David.

i am not familiar with OrCAD - however, I am confident you can find some information on turning the Eagle board into a compatible format for your university's pcb fabber. (maybe see this for conversion ideas)

The board itself is about 4x4 inches.

As far as building the machine, etc. - I will leave that to others to comment on - I am in the proccess of repping my first rap, if you will.

The conversion is a good idea , i will try to do it!
And the information about the size has been very useful . In fact , it was too small , when i printed it , the dimensions were 3x3 inches more or less. I will try to change this also.

I still have questions:
-Regarding the components, which ones can be found in electronic shops?
I guess the ATPMega644P TQFP has to be ordered to atmel.
- Do i need any special SD card socket?

Regards, David.

Now, I'm reconsidering doing Mendel because it seems it is an old version , but i've thought in doing one small and that works quickly,
which is a good design to make a new reprap?

Regards, David.

Even better, which is the one (3D printer) that can replicate more parts of itself?