Adruino Due

Hi All,

this is my first post here so please be patient with me
I want to build a prusa and i was going trough the possibility of using an adruino due as the printer controller. Has anyone ever done this? i could not find any post in the forum about this.
maybe the 3.3v of the adruino due is a limitation. Is it possible to use adruino due for this?

I want to use this controller because i already own one, so i didn't want to buy another adruino board.

Thanks all for the help

Seb.

An Arduino Due seems to have enough I/O but it is a 32 bit ARM CPU so you might have to use the Teacup firmware that has been ported to the ARM.

---

Bob Morrison
Wörth am Rhein, Germany
"Luke, use the source!"
BLOG - PHOTOS - Thingiverse

1. The Ardunio Due has yet to be officially supported by any popular developer here. Part of this is yes, because it uses ARM and we are limited on software for ARM for the time being. This will change. At least one developer is working on electronics which are ARM based, though not using a DUE.

2. You will not find an existing pololu shield or add-on for a DUE that's meant that's meant for a DUE and a Reprap. The DUE is just too new right now.

3. If this is your first build, I would highly recommend going with a popular existing electronics package, like RAMPS. I know you don't want to buy another arduino, but you can get an atmega 2560 Arduino clone for under 20$ on ebay.
You should consider using "stable" hardware and electronics for your machine, to minimize the risk of issues and maximize the potential for advice during your build process and after.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/07/2013 10:42AM by xclusive585.

I agree with xclusive585, you should just use a RAMPS or similar for your first build. No matter how competent you are with electronics and software, it will be more challenging than you expect, and you'll want methods that have been tested already so we can answer your questions. And note that the RAMPS board heavily utilizes the 5V line in ways that would break a Due if you plugged it in.

However...

Way over in the wrong forum, bobc and I are attempting to convert RAMPS: [forums.reprap.org]

We've both designed in-between boards that would allow a Due to connect to RAMPS 1.4. Bobc mentioned that he's got Teacup working on ARM already, and I'm working on a port of Smoothie, an ARM-specific firmware. BUT, both the in-between boards and the ports are still very much in alpha (my board is being made in China, and compiling my code makes it vomit so many errors it looks like my computer has food poisoning). Wait six months to a year and there will probably be loads of options for the Due. Unless you are willing to fab your own PCBs and know about low-level microcontroller programming, hang tight and get your printer running smoothly with the more stable software and hardware. Until then, have fun and good luck!