Stepper Driver 3.0

Hey,

We've decided to just build our own board for the last stepper driver we need (the ones we have are too weak for the extruder). While searching around the wiki i found reference to stepper driver 3.0.

Does anyone know what the difference with 3.0 is? Or should we just go with 2.3?

The difference is that 3.0 uses the A3977 whereas 2.3 used the A3982. some of the connectors and things are different too I think.

oh, i guess i should have been more specific (I noticed the chip change). I was wondering why they changed it i suppose.

Thanks for the answer though.

V3.0 has x 8 microstepping, see [hydraraptor.blogspot.com] for some info on using the board.

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[www.hydraraptor.blogspot.com]

ty

is V3.0 good? and is it going to be available soon, or is it still in testing? I like the fact that cat5 cable won't be needed, but cdrom audio cables are not that easy to find and not that much cheaper either...

On the parts.reprap there is also a V2.4, any ideas?

Last time Zach mentioned it he said he was going to add presets and test points to all four adjustable values and get rid of the opto connections entirely.

That was around the time of my blog post and I have not heard anything since.

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[www.hydraraptor.blogspot.com]

>>>is V3.0 good? and is it going to be available soon, or is it still in testing?<<
still working on it if memory serves.

>>>Last time Zach mentioned it he said he was going to add presets and test points to all four adjustable values <<<<

I was fortunate enough to meet Zach at CES, and see the new extruder electronics he is working on. If memory serves (don’t hold me to this) they are talking like 3 months away?

Prober's Ideas Blog

Thanks for the info. I'm glad that there are guys on this forum that are "close to the action".

Hello all,

I looked and it seems like we can't get the v2.3 stepper boards anymore at makerbot. If it is going to be another 3 months before we can get v3.0 boards, everyone is kinda screwed until then. I know that we were looking to buy around 15 of them and order components, solder them up ourselves in our handy surface mount oven. But now the 5 RepRaps we are working on are all hanging.

Any suggesting on what to do? Is anyone else interested in some 2.3 boards? We could get some printed? If we have enough interest to print the boards, we could send you boards, kits, or fully assembled ones?

cheers,
josh

I grabbed A4983 breakout boards from pololu. They need heatsinking, but otherwise seem excellent. Still not sure if they can provide enough current for the extruder

Hi Josh,

I've just ordered a lot of stepper V2.3 boards (and opto endstop v2.1) and the components for them (reprap setup and makerbot setup). The boards have a 2 week lead time, so my guess is that they'll be in around the 2nd week of February. I could definitely send some kits your way (just boards or boards and components etc.)

My webshop should be up in running in 2 weeks and the stepper DIY kits should be ready in 3 weeks. My estimate is that the cost of a kit will be comparable to makerbot. And, obviously, buying in bulk will get you a discount I'll announce my shop opening once it's ready. I'll also have motherboard v1.2 and extruder v2.2 boards and components. If there is anything else you need, let me know as I'll be making another bulk order of electronics soon.

I'm in europe, so shipping depends on your location (about 26euro to the US for up to 5kg) (about $37 for 11lbs).

kind regards,
Matt

I've been using EasyDriver boards from SparkFun, and they work great.

[www.sparkfun.com]

I made a separate receiver board to hold 4 driver boards, with RepRap compatible connectors. Makes using them plug-and-play.

-Tim

They (sparkfuns boards) are working great on my X Y and Z axis, I don't know about the extruder, i am waiting for the new motor to come in.

Matt,

I am very excited about this possibility. Let me know when you have your store up and ready. I will start passing the word around and figure out just how many boards / kits we need. I think we are looking at around 15 boards. we were planning on getting the components ourselves, but is the cost is comparable we will get those from you as well.

josh

Hey bothacker,

Are you willing to share your breakout boards design files? or are you looking to sell them?

Yeah, bothacker sharing those breakout files would be cool. If not, i'll just make my own breakout boards.

Wondering what the current status is on these boards. They seem to handle a good deal more current than the 2.3 model.. I'm thinking they're up on the RepRap SF site, but if they are, it seems they haven't been touched for about 5 months.

Someone mentioned awhile ago that they were looking to come out with the latest versions in February.. but we're a few months past that now. Anyone using the new 3.0 boards? Think this is something ready to play with? i.e. can I attempt to build a board like that and actually use it? Haven't seen much aside from nophead's testing.

Based on my reading of the svn logs and the core team mailing list, at the moment there is more happening within the team regarding using the little Pololu stepper driver boards and their A4983 chips, than with the "V3.0" boards proposed by Zach. I suspect this may be because Zach has got very busy with Makerbot. I don't think the "V3.0" stepper driver board design files are in the reprap.org svn at all -- if they are, I can't find them.