Hi, I am in the process of building the extruder controller. I have followed the wiki, locating all the components in their correct place on the PCB, but I have a left over space on the PCB for another component and can't figure out what is meant to go there! Its located between C12 and R2, it looks like it should be a resistor or a capacitor, but there is no mention of it in the wiki. I wasby Milly - Controllers
Thanks for the reply, I have all the components now for the extruder controller so I will start construction of that soon, but until its all soldered together I won't be able to plug it into the motherboard and verify the two work together. I have also got into the habit of not plugging/unplugging anything without first turning the power off! USB has got some people into bad habits! Milly.by Milly - Controllers
Hi, I have been building the Gen3 motherboard and just finished construction and loading of the firmware. I have connected the board via a FTDI chip to my computer and am attempting to test the board as per the wiki using the host software (on my Mac running Snow Leopard). I was expecting to see the following to show a successful test: comms: G-code: M105 dequeued and sent [9.140s/1502ms] comby Milly - Controllers
Sebastien, Thanks for the reply, I imagine you are certainly right. I first started to look into building a Mendel when the model was first proposed. I was going to work on Darwin but held out for the website to be updated with Mendel info. I ordered the PCBs a year ago now, but finding the time to work on the project whilst working full-time and keeping my wife happy means I do a little at aby Milly - General
Does anyone else feel the parts listers decline is a step back for the RepRap website?? I've just finished building the motherboard and am sourcing the components for the extruder controller and am finding it much harder to figure out exactly what I need. I know the Parts Lister has been replaced with a Google Docs sheet, but find the layout very confusing. Is it me, or does the sheet not showby Milly - General
Thanks for the tips, I'm going to stick to the design on the wiki at this stage, once I've got it up and running I will experiment with some different electronics. I guess I'm going to have to place an order from the states and take the hit on the postage. Anyone else want a couple of these chips? Milly.by Milly - Wanted
Hi, I'm in the process of building an extruder controller board and require 2 Allegro A3949 IC's, I can only find them available from the US with a £15 postal charge! As they are the only two outstanding items I require I'd really rather avoid this excessive cost. Does anyone know a stockist, European based, that can supply these? Or maybe someone has some spare that they would be willing toby Milly - Wanted
Dazed, In a last ditch attempt to salvage the board, and before I ordered the new microcontroller, I went round the board with my iron and remelted each joint. You were spot on, one of the joints must have been defective. It was a great feeling seeing the boot loader successfully load into the chip! I'm relieved as money is tight on this project, also this was my first stab at dealing with SMby Milly - Reprappers
The rc=-1 error indicates the programmer can't find a chip. I have checked the resistance from the micro controller pins through to the header socket so I guess the solder joints are okay. Looks like I'm ordering a new 644p! The acknowledgement of a successful boot load should be on the screen, I'm not aware of the motherboard flashing any lights. Thanks for the help! Millyby Milly - Reprappers
Thanks for the tip, I will go over the rest of the components with the soldering iron and see if it helps. I don't imagine the voltage regulator is being used for the boot loading, isn't the programmer supplying the 5v? I was able to check the voltages on the micro controller, all the pins that are meant to get 5v are recording it. I was able to watch the voltage of pin 5 drop to zero when theby Milly - Reprappers
Thanks for the reply, interestingly the SMD LED's were just as close to the area that bubbled and they are fine. Is there a simple way to check the micro controller, using a multimeter or logic probe whilst it is still mounted on the board? Milly.by Milly - Reprappers
Hi, I am slowly working my way through building a Mendel and am working on the electronics. It's a step into the dark for me as it's my first attempt at working with SMD components. I tried the reflow technique used in the wiki but have not been successful in creating a working board. I wonder if anyone on here can provide any assistance? During the build process I ran into several problems.by Milly - Reprappers
Bodgeit, Thats exactly right, I was a little irritated to find I had to pay a £9 handling charge when I actually went and picked the boards up from the depot myself, saving them the bother of delivering it to my door! It is a valid point about trying to make some money on the side to encourage distribution, however I have a very full time job which puts me well and truly in the realm of the hobby Milly - Reprappers
The motherboards finally arrived today! I ordered 10, so there are now nine available on eBay to anyone who wants one! Posting to the UK, or Europe only unfortunately! I'm selling them at zero profit, I know it seems a little more expensive than the 8 dollars from Makerbot, but I got stung with 20 dollars P&P then customs and excise wanted an additional 20 quid! Regards, Milly.by Milly - Reprappers
Thank you for your help, I have taken the plunge and ordered 10 motherboards from Makerbot, when they arrive I will keep one for myself and sell the other 9! I'll probably use e-bay as a convenient way to sell them, but will post a link on the For Sale forums. Cheers again, Milly.by Milly - Reprappers
Thanks for the reply, I had visited reprapsource.com, but they don't seem to sell the motherboard PCB on its own, as far as I can tell! Shame really, as they arn't that far away so I shouldn't imagine the shipping should cost too much! Is the PCB single sided then? Its been a long time since I last tried to etch my own PCB, not sure how well it will go with such small tracks for the SMD componby Milly - Reprappers
Hi, I am new to these forums and starting construction of a reprap 3d printer. I am trying to source a PCB for the motherboard (v1.2) in the UK, does anyone know anywhere I can get one that won't cost an arm and a leg? I know I can get one from the States but its over 20 dollars just for P&P!! Regards, Milly.by Milly - Reprappers