Which Electronics to purchase

Hi,
I'm finally finishing up a Mendel Prusa now (Ver 2) that I started some time back. Which electronics do folks recommend these days? My older mendel has ramps 1.4 with mega 1280 and runs like a sewing machine. I know the new chip is Mega2560 but I also see a sainsmart ramps V2. Any suggestions and recommendations ?

Thanks in advance

Look at smoothieboard!

Unless you want to do dual extrusion right away, I recommend Duet electronics. Like Smoothieboard it is 32-bit with software-controlled motor current, SD card socket and Ethernet; but it costs less (GBP65 + tax from Think3DPrint3D, or $80 from Replikeo) and the firmware supports a much better web interface. For dual extrusion, the Smoothieboard 5XC has the advantage of being able to drive both extruders from the main board - with the Duet you add a daughter board for dual/triple extrusion.

If you are on a tight budget, it's hard to beat Arduino/RAMPS + driver modules + LCD panel (you need the LCD panel to get the SD card socket, which is more or less essential with Arduino Mega due to its slow serial-over-USB connection). Or you could try the AZSMZ Mini + drivers - it's 32-bit but lacks the Ethernet port and software control of motor current provided by Duet and Smoothieboard..

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Large delta printer [miscsolutions.wordpress.com], E3D tool changer, Robotdigg SCARA printer, Crane Quad and Ormerod

Disclosure: I design Duet electronics and work on RepRapFirmware, [duet3d.com].

As interesting as I find working and building Repraps, the comments and people I meet on this forum continually amaze, inspire, and cause me to think a bit farther out of the box. Thanks for your comments. I see I have a bit more reading and ideas to consider.

you cant go wrong with Arduino/RAMPS + driver modules + LCD panel and a copy of the free marlin firmware, takes a while to figure out the settings but you can proudly say you made everything for it and for 50 bucks your done except for cabling and stepper motors.