Would a RAMPS 1.4 benefit from a chipKIT Max32?

Hi,

I am setting up Marlin on my RAMPS 1.4 set-up and I try to read a lot about it. I have off board upgraded drivers (NEMA 23 motors) which can handle a lot smaller microsteps than 1/16th. Also I am looking into adding presicion with 0.9 degree stepper motors and I would like to speed things up once I have it printing decently. All this will ask a lot of the processing speed of the Arduino Mega. Now I stumbled across the chipKIT Max32 :
[www.eetimes.com]

This caught my eye:


Would switching that for the regular Mega give me the computing speed I need for more steps and more speed? Or is Marlin / Arduino aware of the Mega's limitations and won't it allow us to use it at a higher speed that what the Mega can handle?

Cheers,

Hugo

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/11/2017 12:51PM by HugoW.

If it sounds too good to be true it probably is; just found a piece on the Arduino forum the Marlin would require a major rewrite and the RAMPS would need some voltage mods to make it all work. No plug and play at all, hardly 'compatible'. Bummer....

Hugo

There are already plenty of 32-bit alternatives to Arduino/RAMPS for those who need more performance, along with firmwares specifically written to make good use of 32-bit processors.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/11/2017 04:12PM by dc42.

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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].