Minitronics v1.0 Review
Posted by PvtDBJackson
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Minitronics v1.0 Review June 18, 2013 01:54PM |
This is my review of the Minitronics v1.0 board from RepRapWorld.com [reprapworld.com]
First, a little about myseld, to preface my review and establish my experience (or lack thereof) in RepRap. I am a Mechanical Engineer. I was introduced to RepRap by my brother (a Plastics Engineer) who was given a Prusa Mendel by a freind of his. I've had some experience printing on his machine, but neither of us has ever built/tuned/calibrated a RepRap before. I decided to build my own MendelMax 1.5 because I like the mechanical aspects of 3D printing. In university, I had a few electronics classes as part of my degree; enough to realize I don't like dealing with electronics.
So when I was planning my MendelMax build, I wanted a simple/easy electronics solution. A no-frills, plug and play solution. I stumbled across the new Minitronics v1.0 board and from the literature provided, it seemed to be exactly what I was looking for.
I am located in the US while RepRapWorld is based in the Netherlands. That said, shipping only took about 1 week to reach me.
Setting up the board was really easy. All of the connections for the stepper motors, thermistors, and end stops are standard board-to-wire connections. All are clearly labeled on the board. It couldn't be easier. The hot end and heated bed connect via a screw terminal. The heated bed connection has a large MOSFET controlling it, to handle the higher amperage. These are two important features that my brother's Sanguinololu board lack, and are known issues. He has a heat sink rigged to the MOSFET and the heated bed connection once melted from carrying too many amps through too small of a wire.
The instructions for the board are mediocre. For someone with some previous RepRap experience, the directions are probably perfect. For me, with no experience, there are a few areas that I wish they covered in more detail. Through the process, I did email RepRapWorld for support and they were always extremely responsive.
The directions on their site for uploading their test firmware were pretty clear, once I figured out that I needed an FTDI driver for my computer to recognize the board. The idea of test firmware to test all the features of the board before loading the real firmware is really helpful. It makes all the stepper motors oscillate back and forth, takes temperature readings, cycles the MOSFETS, etc. This led me to find the one issue I had with the board before I got my entire machine wired/calibrated, though.
The issue: the Z stepper driver was non-functional. I'm not sure why, but I was getting no response from the Z stepper driver. And maybe this highlights one of the negatives of the board: the stepper drivers are integral to the board.
After a few emails back and forth, RepRapWorld asked me to ship them the board back for testing. I sent it out on a Friday afternoon and had a replacement back the following Monday (slightly more than 1 week turn-around time). The new board works perfectly. The entire exchange process was perfect and smooth.
Overall I am very pleased with the board and would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a simple, cost-effective board to get started in RepRap. My brother is already planning to replace his Sanguinololu with the Minitronics.
Pros:
+Simple, easy to set up, nothing fancy
+Well designed, larger MOSFET for the heated bed and screw terminals for the hot end/heated bed connections
+Great communication and return process
+Truly a plug-and-play board
Cons:
-Built-in stepper drivers, can't be replaced
-Limited growth potential, not enough thermistor hook ups for more than 1 extruder, no LCD/SD support
For my purposes, the cons really don't carry the same weight as the pros. On a scale of 1-10, I'd give it a solid 9.5/10.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/18/2013 01:58PM by PvtDBJackson.
First, a little about myseld, to preface my review and establish my experience (or lack thereof) in RepRap. I am a Mechanical Engineer. I was introduced to RepRap by my brother (a Plastics Engineer) who was given a Prusa Mendel by a freind of his. I've had some experience printing on his machine, but neither of us has ever built/tuned/calibrated a RepRap before. I decided to build my own MendelMax 1.5 because I like the mechanical aspects of 3D printing. In university, I had a few electronics classes as part of my degree; enough to realize I don't like dealing with electronics.
So when I was planning my MendelMax build, I wanted a simple/easy electronics solution. A no-frills, plug and play solution. I stumbled across the new Minitronics v1.0 board and from the literature provided, it seemed to be exactly what I was looking for.
I am located in the US while RepRapWorld is based in the Netherlands. That said, shipping only took about 1 week to reach me.
Setting up the board was really easy. All of the connections for the stepper motors, thermistors, and end stops are standard board-to-wire connections. All are clearly labeled on the board. It couldn't be easier. The hot end and heated bed connect via a screw terminal. The heated bed connection has a large MOSFET controlling it, to handle the higher amperage. These are two important features that my brother's Sanguinololu board lack, and are known issues. He has a heat sink rigged to the MOSFET and the heated bed connection once melted from carrying too many amps through too small of a wire.
The instructions for the board are mediocre. For someone with some previous RepRap experience, the directions are probably perfect. For me, with no experience, there are a few areas that I wish they covered in more detail. Through the process, I did email RepRapWorld for support and they were always extremely responsive.
The directions on their site for uploading their test firmware were pretty clear, once I figured out that I needed an FTDI driver for my computer to recognize the board. The idea of test firmware to test all the features of the board before loading the real firmware is really helpful. It makes all the stepper motors oscillate back and forth, takes temperature readings, cycles the MOSFETS, etc. This led me to find the one issue I had with the board before I got my entire machine wired/calibrated, though.
The issue: the Z stepper driver was non-functional. I'm not sure why, but I was getting no response from the Z stepper driver. And maybe this highlights one of the negatives of the board: the stepper drivers are integral to the board.
After a few emails back and forth, RepRapWorld asked me to ship them the board back for testing. I sent it out on a Friday afternoon and had a replacement back the following Monday (slightly more than 1 week turn-around time). The new board works perfectly. The entire exchange process was perfect and smooth.
Overall I am very pleased with the board and would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a simple, cost-effective board to get started in RepRap. My brother is already planning to replace his Sanguinololu with the Minitronics.
Pros:
+Simple, easy to set up, nothing fancy
+Well designed, larger MOSFET for the heated bed and screw terminals for the hot end/heated bed connections
+Great communication and return process
+Truly a plug-and-play board
Cons:
-Built-in stepper drivers, can't be replaced
-Limited growth potential, not enough thermistor hook ups for more than 1 extruder, no LCD/SD support
For my purposes, the cons really don't carry the same weight as the pros. On a scale of 1-10, I'd give it a solid 9.5/10.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/18/2013 01:58PM by PvtDBJackson.
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Re: Minitronics v1.0 Review June 27, 2013 04:24PM |
Yes, I have printed a ton of things already. It was so easy to get running. This is my first print:
Thin-walled calibration cube. The guide I was following said that if you can get one good wall to print, move on. I got 4 nearly flawless walls (with a bit of the skirt lifting from the first layer being a bit too high). Now, a big part is my hardware. But following this guide: [airtripper.com] and putting in the correct parameters from Josef Prusa's calculator: [calculator.josefprusa.cz] setting up the firmware/electronics was a breeze. I don't think it could be easier.
EDIT: Also, something I thought of that I didn't include in the review: The board has connection points for both Z stepper motors. This means you don't have to worry about wiring the motors in series/parallel/whatever. The board handles that for you. This way you can easily swap any motor to any location simply by plugging it into a different socket. This made troubleshooting my non-functional Z stepper driver a cinch.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/27/2013 05:32PM by PvtDBJackson.
Thin-walled calibration cube. The guide I was following said that if you can get one good wall to print, move on. I got 4 nearly flawless walls (with a bit of the skirt lifting from the first layer being a bit too high). Now, a big part is my hardware. But following this guide: [airtripper.com] and putting in the correct parameters from Josef Prusa's calculator: [calculator.josefprusa.cz] setting up the firmware/electronics was a breeze. I don't think it could be easier.
EDIT: Also, something I thought of that I didn't include in the review: The board has connection points for both Z stepper motors. This means you don't have to worry about wiring the motors in series/parallel/whatever. The board handles that for you. This way you can easily swap any motor to any location simply by plugging it into a different socket. This made troubleshooting my non-functional Z stepper driver a cinch.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/27/2013 05:32PM by PvtDBJackson.
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