Getting started with electronics (Gen7?) April 21, 2014 08:45AM |
Registered: 10 years ago Posts: 7 |
Re: Getting started with electronics (Gen7?) April 21, 2014 03:18PM |
Registered: 13 years ago Posts: 1,352 |
Re: Getting started with electronics (Gen7?) April 22, 2014 10:43AM |
Registered: 10 years ago Posts: 69 |
Re: Getting started with electronics (Gen7?) April 23, 2014 04:31PM |
Registered: 10 years ago Posts: 869 |
While I agree with that in general and why I built my own printer instead of just buying a ready made one or a kit, etching your own board, soldering the components in, and all the debugging that goes along with it can either be greatly rewarding, or incredibly fustrating when it doesn't work. You might learn some about the electronics but you aren't learning circuit theroy or why a particular part is being used where it's being used when you solder your own board, or what might not work if say you get a component backwards. The only thing you're learning is how tedious it is to solder all those component leads. In the end, for me, I learned more actually working with the electronics on my printer then looking at the electronics components and schematics.Quote
NoobMan
My opinion is that if you build and debug your own made electronics then you will understand much more than the usual user.
Re: Getting started with electronics (Gen7?) April 24, 2014 05:42AM |
Registered: 13 years ago Posts: 7,616 |
Generation 7 Electronics | Teacup Firmware | RepRap DIY |
Re: Getting started with electronics (Gen7?) April 24, 2014 07:56PM |
Registered: 10 years ago Posts: 7 |
Quote
NoobMan
My opinion is that if you build and debug your own made electronics then you will understand much more than the usual user.
I think you will need a programmer, i would recommend AVRISP mkII
So now i would not test something unless it is 100% fully populated pcb.
Re: Getting started with electronics (Gen7?) April 25, 2014 07:25AM |
Registered: 10 years ago Posts: 7 |
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majic79
also handy if you're not that into software (I am, hardware's a secondary thing to me)
Re: Getting started with electronics (Gen7?) April 26, 2014 09:33AM |
Registered: 13 years ago Posts: 1,352 |
This is mostly an open source community, so the sources should be available for download. If you find some set of electronics without the source files, then dont buy that. Beware there are some like that which do not provide the source files, those are practically closed source even if they claim to be open. If you get those and you want to debug or make expansions on electronics without source files it will very hard to do so, and others will not be able to help just based on pictures or drawings. So when you buy electronics, download and open sources first, or if these are not available then simply do not buy - no matter how nice the offer and publicity is. Imagine you have an issue with a closed source electronics and post a picture and ask a question, well anybody answering would be just making guesswork, because without source files ppls do not really know what is there. Pictures and schematic drawings are limited in this regard.Quote
Rudbot
I wish there was a schema somewhere with the full list of components (on a high level).
Yup. If you want to build your own and learn, then for the best give some attention to this side of things. On the same line of thinking, you may not strictly need a programmer if you get the chip already with bootloader on it, but if something happens then a programmer certainly comes in nicely. Same thing you may do without source files if you do not plan to do anything outside a regular use, but again when you have any kind of issues, those source files become essential.Quote
Rudbot
What do you mean with debugging your own electronics? Do you mean try .... evaluate .... troubleshoot .... fix ... try again?
Re: Getting started with electronics (Gen7?) April 29, 2014 04:55AM |
Registered: 10 years ago Posts: 69 |
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Rudbot
So, what is your recommendation for someone that might be into the software. I do programming as part of my job and can see that it might be fun getting behind the software. So, for software there is CAD and CAM, or is there more? As far as I understand the CAM software interprets the CAD software and turns it into usable instructions for the microcontroller. Is there further software involved?
Re: Getting started with electronics (Gen7?) April 29, 2014 09:06AM |
Registered: 10 years ago Posts: 7 |
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majic79
If you're not that interested in etching/milling a board, perhaps someone else can do it, then you just have the job of populating it.
Elsewise, buy a board from Traumflug and then source the parts, or get a sanguinololu kit, and solder it all together.
CAD design to create .stl model, then Slice (Slic3r/Skeinforge) to generate G-Code followed by the CAM software (pronteface) that delivers GCode to the firmware (Marlin/Teacup/Sprinter etc)
If you want to do the software side more than the hardware, get a kit and an Arduino, use the Arduino to learn how to move steppers and do interesting stuff with that, then you'll be comfortable flashing your own firmware to the Gen7/Derived board you've soldered together
Re: Getting started with electronics (Gen7?) April 30, 2014 09:44PM |
Registered: 10 years ago Posts: 7 |
Quote
Rudbot
Or do I still need a programmer as mentioned by one of the other responses?
Re: Getting started with electronics (Gen7?) May 01, 2014 07:14AM |
Registered: 13 years ago Posts: 7,616 |
Generation 7 Electronics | Teacup Firmware | RepRap DIY |