Electronics Questions

Hi,
I need some help deciding on the best electronics for a Prusa Mendel V2,I know ramps is the best but also the most expensive and I would like to save some money. The other electronics I was looking at were Sanguinololu and Gen 6/7. However I have come a across a new cheap board called Azteeg X1 which has further muddied the picture.

I am looking for the best bang for the buck, also I will be ordering it pre-assembled as I have very little soldering experience.

Thanks for your help.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/21/2012 11:27PM by Mascroge.

Never heard of the Azteeg, and since it's not widely used, you're more on your own regarding support. It looks like a SMD Sanguinololu though, and it even has a fuse.

I can personally recommend Sanguinololu, it's working very well, (though I do wish I opted for RAMPS for future expandability). It's also a very simple and fun soldering project for beginners, if you have some experience and a decent iron.

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-Nudel
Blog with RepRap Comic

Reprapworld has a cheap preassembled sanguinololu currently. Bought one, but not tested yet. You need to add the 4 stepper drivers (stepsticks to stay cheap).

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Most of my technical comments should be correct, but is THIS one ?
Anyway, as a rule of thumb, always double check what people write.

You can buy a Sanguinololu DIY kit with four Pololus for a bit less than the cost of Azteeg, you can save some bucks by doing the soldering.

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You can buy a Sanguinololu DIY kit with four Pololus for a bit less than the cost of Azteeg

Wow! sometimes the posts here read like something Douglas Adams would write about an intergalactic supermarket


Cheers,
Robin.

... but planet Earth IS a galactic supermarket

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Viktor
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Aufruf zum Projekt "Müll-freie Meere" - [reprap.org] -- Deutsche Facebook-Gruppe - [www.facebook.com]

Call for the project "garbage-free seas" - [reprap.org]

Just don't panic Robin :-)

Just want to add some more info about the Azteeg X1 since its relatively new(basically Sanguinololu SMD) and only a dozen test boards out in the field.

It was designed to sit in between the Sanguinololu and the RAMPS in terms of feature set(kinda like a hybrid) like a PWM fan pin, Wide input Power supply, SDRAMPS female header, etc. It is also priced nicely if you consider that it comes with heatsinks, sets of vertical(RAMPS) and right angle (Sanguinololu)connectors, set of fuses, Mating connectors including crimp pins and lots of blinking leds (bling). It also comes with 2 TVS spike suppression diodes(SMB package) to be user soldered at the bottom of the PCB.

So yes you still have to do some minor solder work for your choice of connectors. It is pin for pin compatible with Sanguinololu(except for the addition of the fan pin)

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/22/2012 02:14PM by royco.

Thanks for the quick replies guys,
I have a couple more questions. It's down to the sanguinololu and the Azteeg X1.

1) I assume you can use a bench power supply (I bought the one from Lulzbot) with sanguinololu?

2) Do the electronics need a fan?

3) Sanguinololu has four motor drivers but prusa mendel has five motors how do you connect the last motor?

4) Sanguinololu is established and has lots of support etc but is it worth taking the risk and getting the Azteeg X1?

Thats all the question I can think of for now, I really appreciate all the help the community provides.
Hopefully when I have my printer up and running I can help newcomers like myself.

1) Yes.

2) Not always, but it's a good safety precaution. Also the electronics will live longer, and you can run the stepper controllers higher/hotter.

3) You connect both z motors to one stepper controller. Yes this works perfectly fine.

4) That's up to you. My advice for ones first build is; go for the proven, widely used, well tested and documented option. Then again, the Azteeg sure does look promising, I only wish it had support for two extruders like RAMPS.

Best of luck

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-Nudel
Blog with RepRap Comic