new and confused

Hi all im vary new to the 3d printing and was wondering if i can ask some qustions im building my firsr printer not from a kit or any thing but out of random parts like printers ext. My electronics is a megatronics v2.0. Im Just wondering where to start thanks

Repstraps are the hardest way to build printers. I've been a year into 3D printing and simply designing and sourcing parts is something of a challenge. There have been few, few, few who have successful built repstraps without previous 3D printing experience, but they were engineers or those with experience in similar machines like CNCs. I would recommend another path, but it definitely yours to choose.
Picked a good board with the Megatronics, though.

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Realizer- One who realizes dreams by making them a reality either by possibility or by completion. Also creating or renewing hopes of dreams.
"keep in mind, even the best printer can not print with the best filament if the user is the problem." -Ohmarinus

If you're into learning, a WolfStrap is a good idea. Very affordable, very easy to source, easy to build and it works fine. Perhaps not as precise as a Prusa Mendel, but definitely good enough to print parts for said i2. And you learn a lot.

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Generation 7 Electronics	Teacup Firmware	RepRap DIY

Quote
3d jamie mitchell
im building[...]my firsr printer[...] out of random parts

I think the QuadRap would be a good choice.

QuadRap
[forums.reprap.org]

QuadStrap Printing RingRap @ 200 mm/sec
[www.youtube.com]

ShaukiBagdadi/quadrap, data files
[github.com]

I started years ago with a self sourced repstrap. I have also built quite a few different 3-D printers since. One of which I build out of outdoor solar light stands. It was called the JunkBot. There is a post on here about the JunkBot as well as at my website. If you would like to bounce questions off of me or need any help you can email me or get ahold of me on my site (linked within my signature) I specialize in printrbot 3-D printers but I've also been custom building 3d printers for years. What your attempting to do is possible but, it will take a while. I've been down that road.

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Thanks for all the suggestions im using the megatronics v2.0 and was wondering about the 12v power supply i have a pc power supply. Will it work or blow it apart

I'm using a PC ATX power supply with my SainSmart Megatronics 2.0 board. On your power supply, I would wire the +12V1 rail to the 5A input, and the +12V2 rail to the heated bed 11A input. Be absolutely 100% sure that you check the voltage output with a multimeter before wiring to the board, and read all of the cautions from the wiki about ATX power supplies needing dummy loads on the lower voltage (unused) rails to help them regulate power on the +12V rails. Google and YouTube have instructions for converting an ATX power supply into a "bench" power supply for various electronics projects, and I recommend following their directions if you have never worked with electricity before or can't figure out how to trip the power on with the soft switch wires.....

Thanks i will definitely look that 1 up.
When it comes to the lcd and Hooking it up iv notised the bored is not labled all theat well its rilly quite bad is this right sory for the shitty pics i have to use the front cam on my phone

If that is a SainSmart Megatronics 2.0 package:

Step #1 - Download the Megatronics 2.0 datasheet from the web. (Google it.) There is a picture of the real board, which includes all of the screen printing for pin labels that SainSmart omitted.

Step #2 - Buy a couple dozen 0.1 inch jumper caps if you don't have them. You will need three for each stepper driver, plus a few extras. SainSmart doesn't include them with their boards/kits, to save literally a few pennies that they would cost in bulk.

Step #3 - DO NOT PUT POWER TO YOUR BOARD until you check the ribbon cable orientation and verify that they are installed with pin #1 in the correct direction on all connectors. SainSmart apparently doesn't pay attention to the red stripe as pin #1 when crimping on keyed ribbon cable connectors, and one of the ones they shipped me for my full graphics LCD had an end crimped backwards. If you follow the connector keys and don't catch the reversed cables (like I stupidly did even though I know better), the result will be a blown 5V regulator on the Megatronics board and only being able to run it from USB power.

Step #4 - Have a multimeter and small plastic screwdriver handy for trimming the stepper driver potentiometers and the LCD brightness pots. They don't appear to have been set to any standard value before shipping.....

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/07/2014 09:03AM by vreihen.

Iv alao hered of people using xbox bricks as power supply is that a good thimg to use or is it a paim in the ass

I'm acquiring a half dozen laptop power supplies from a friend. I don't have experience using them, but from what I've read they will work.

Power supply: Xbox 360, 203 watt (12V, 16.5amp), (5Vsb, 1 amp). [forums.reprap.org]
Power supply Microcontroller, Toshiba laptop 15v 6A. [forums.reprap.org]

The largest xbox power supply (203W) is arguably at the limits of output power with a heated bed. On the RAMPS and Megatronics boards, you can split the power input into two busses...one for the stepper motor and hotend (5A), and the other for the heated bed (11A).

http://reprap.org/wiki/Power_Supply#XBOX_360_PSU

Quote
RepRap wiki
XBOX 360 PSU

There are several versions, choose the 203W version. Note that the power may be insufficient for some heated beds. The PSU will shutdown if an overload occurs.
These provide 12V, 5V and 5V standby and power on input.

The XBOX power connector can be cut off and connections made to stripped wire, or make an adaptor with an XBOX power socket (sold as spares on eBay etc).
How to use XBOX 360 PSU with Reprap : [www.thingiverse.com]

Notice the use of the word "or" in many other articles about the xbox PSU, as in it can drive your electronics OR your heated bed...but not both at the same time.

http://teamreprap.blogspot.com/2011/10/frugally-powering-heated-bed.html

Someone will invariably come into this thread and say that it works for them, but the first time that your printer shuts down after running a long job for 8+ hours you will be regretting your decision to push your luck.....

vreihen

I have access to a lot of laptop power supplies, and I'm thinking of doing the following: is it possible wire it up such that you have a separate power supply for the hot bed, hot end, and controller, i.e. 3 laptop power supplies feeding one printer?

The Megatronics boards have three power inputs - USB, +12V1 (5A), and +12V2 (11A)

The board needs 5V to run, which it can get from either the USB port or from +12V1 via an on-board 5V voltage regulator. (Look for the USB and 5V power source jumpers on the board, per the Megatronics datasheet that you should have already downloaded.)

+12V1 also powers the stepper motors and hotend, with a maximum capacity of 5A. There are some notebook power bricks (and LCD monitor power bricks) that can put out 12V @ 5A, and people are using them successfully on printers without heated beds.

The killer is the heated bed. +12V2 has a maximum capacity of 11A, and is used only for the heated bed. (You can feed it 24V at less amperage if your heated bed supports 24V.) This is well beyond a single power brick, and why some people use the xbox power supply for powering just the heated bed. Others use dummy loads on a PC ATX power supply to keep them regulated, since the larger units can easily drive both +12V1 and +12V2 on separate power rails. This is how my Megatronics board is powered.

If you don't need the heated bed, omit the +12V2 feed from your board and you will probably be fine with a 12V @ 5A notebook power brick on +12V1.....

Tks for the tips, I'll use a PC ATX power supply heated bed.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/07/2014 10:39PM by A2.

I just tested my ATX POWER SUPPLY and i used a small pc fan for the small load on the 5 v line and my 12 v lines all give me 11.52 v is that ok

+12V2 on the Megatronics (and RAMPS) boards is only used by the heated bed, which is a huge computer-controlled short circuit that generates heat. It doesn't need to be as critically regulated as something like the 5V supply. My Megatronics board is happy with 11.69V on +12V1 and 11.62V on +12V2 (without the heaters on) off of an ATX power supply. Just make sure that the voltage doesn't spike when you put a load on the power supply, such as momentarily connecting your heated bed directly to the power supply leads.....

I dont think ill be using a heated bed for my first build maby add it latter so witch line in the pc power supply will give me the 12v 5A that i need to run every thijg but the heated bed

+12V wires are yellow on most PC power supplies, and grounds are black. Pick the thickest yellow wire, to be sure you have the most power being fed into your board.....

Also dus any 1 no of a step by step way of setting up the magatronics 2.0 iv been looking but cant fiend to much on it

Quote
vreihen
Pick the thickest yellow wire [...]

... or several of them ...

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Generation 7 Electronics	Teacup Firmware	RepRap DIY

http://reprapworld.com/mt/datasheet%20megatronicsv2.pdf

http://reprap.org/wiki/Megatronics_2.0

Since the board is based off of RAMPS/2560, you can follow any RAMPS tutorials and adjust the pin locations using the above references.....

Ok last qustion befor i Put 12v in this thing do i have to put the jummpers in under neath the stepper drivers or can i leave them out and can i remove the 5v jummper for the usb or leave it there

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/09/2014 11:27PM by 3d jamie mitchell.

You should understand what the jumpers do.

What stepping do you want?
Smaller step better control resolution?

jumper Yes/No step size
1 2 3
no no no full step
yes no no half step
no yes no 1/4 step
yes yes no 1/8 step
yes yes yes 1/16 step

Ok thats con fusing as hell lol at first i think i would just like to get it to print. But after i would like the better resolution is there a how to on it or any thing so i rilly dont need them now right

You will need to change your firmware settings for micro-steps when you install the jumpers, so why not just put them in now and it is one less thing to potentially break? If you do not have the jumpers in your hands because SainSmart does not include them with their boards, then be patient until your order arrives.....

I have the jumpers so its just 3 pins each stepper starting from the left side right is there a how to vid on how to set it up in marlin

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/10/2014 10:27PM by 3d jamie mitchell.

Iv also hered of the lcd and key pad cables being made wrong are these ok the red whiers or on the oppiste side

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/10/2014 11:08PM by 3d jamie mitchell.