Comparison of Electronics
This first list of boards are the ones that were most talked about on the Reprap IRC channel up to some time (March?) in 2016 ( for methodology see here ), by decreasing order of popularity. However, many (probably the vast majority of) RepRappers do not use the RepRap IRC, and as at October 2017 there is very little activity on it compared to the activity on the RepRap forum and other 3D printing fora. So the popularity order is now questionable. Some recently-released boards are not yet included in either list.
Board | License | Latest Version |
Extruders | Fans | Heaters | Endstops | Temp sense | Ethernet | WiFi | SPI | I2C | RS485 | ISP | CPU | CPU Speed ( Mhz ) | Stepper driver | Other features |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
RAMPS | GPL | v1.4 | 1-2 | 3 (maximum, shared w/ Heaters) | 3 (maximum, shared with Fans) | 6 | 3 | No | No | Yes, future | Yes, future | No (via Arduino: Yes) | No (via Arduino: Yes) | Arduino Mega 8 bits ATmega1280, ATmega2560 | 16 | A4988, Pololu boards | |
SmoothieBoard | GPL and CERN OHL | v1.1 | 1 or 2 | 2+ | 4+ | 6 | 4, with possibility of more | Yes | As an extension | 2 | 2 | As an extension | ISP, DFU(USB), JTAG | 32 bit ARM ( LPC1769 ) | 120 | A5984 ( 1/32 microstepping ), digital current control | MicroSD card, file_based config, USB composite (serial + mass storage), Network with web interface, file-based configuration |
SmoothieBoardv2 | GPL and CERN OHL | v2 and further | 1, 2 or more. Extension system | 1, 2, 4 or more | 2, 4 or more | 6, 7 or more | 4, with possibility of more | Yes | As an extension | 2, 4 or more | 2 | Depends on model | ISP, DFU(USB), JTAG | Cortex-M4 + Cortex-M0 ( LPC4330 ) | 204 | Trinamic ( 1/256 microstepping ), digital current control | MicroSD card ( SDIO ), file_based config, USB composite (serial + mass storage), Network with web interface, file-based configuration, FPGA, Gadgeteer extension system, More detail on the Kickstarter page |
Generation 7 Electronics | CC BY-NC-SA | v2.0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | No | No | 2 | - | - | yes | 32-bits LPC1114 | 48 | A4988, Pololu boards | Designed for DIY, mill-/etchable PCB. |
RAMBo | CC ShareAlike 3.0 | 1.1b | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 4 | No | No | 1 | 1 | 0 | USB | Atmega2560, Atmega32u2 | 16 | A4982, digital current control | all-in-one RAMPS board, marlin FW, extra ports |
Duet WiFi | CERN OHL | 1.02 | 2 (up to 9 with DueX5 expansion board) | 3 (up to 9 with DueX5) | 3 (up to 8 with DueX5) | 5 (12 with Duex5) | 3 (8 with Duex5) also up to 8 digital PT100/Thermocouple inputs on daughterboards | No | Yes | 1 available, 2 used internally | 1 | 0 | USB, SD card, web | 32-bit ARM SAM4E8E with hardware floating point | 120 | Trinamic TMC2660 stepper drivers, up to 2.8A, up to x256 microstepping, digital current control | Built in web interface with fast file upload to SD card, high speed SD card, native USB, file-based config, 18A heated bed support, power monitor |
Duet Ethernet | CERN OHL | 1.02 | 2 (up to 9 with DueX5 expansion board) | 3 (up to 9 with DueX5) | 3 (up to 8 with DueX5) | 5 (12 with Duex5) | 3 (8 with Duex5) also up to 8 digital PT100/Thermocouple inputs on daughterboards | Yes | No | 1 available, 2 used internally | 1 | 0 | USB, SD card, web | 32-bit ARM SAM4E8E with hardware floating point | 120 | Trinamic TMC2660 stepper drivers, up to 2.8A, up to x256 microstepping, digital current control | Built in web interface with fast file upload to SD card, high speed SD card, native USB, file-based config, 18A heated bed support, power monitor |
Megatronics | GPLv2 | v3.0 | 1-3 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 6 | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | 8 bits ATmega2560 | 16 | A4988, Pololu boards | |
Board | License | Latest Version |
Extruders | Fans | Heaters | Endstops | Temp sense | Ethernet | WiFi | SPI | I2C | RS485 | ISP | CPU | CPU Speed ( Mhz ) | Stepper driver | Other features |
This second list lists other less popular boards, and boards that have only historical significance :
Board | License | Latest Version |
Extruders | Fans | Heaters | Endstops | Temp sense | Ethernet | WiFi | SPI | I2C | RS485 | ISP | CPU | CPU Speed ( Mhz ) | Stepper driver | Other features |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SinapTec | GPL | 328.02 | 1 | ? | 1 | 3 | ? | No | No | ? | ? | ? | Not with Nano USB | ATmega328, Arduino Nano | 16 | Any Standard | etchable |
Sanguinololu | GPL | v1.3a | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | No | No | - | 1 | - | 1 | 8 bits ATmega644P (or ATMEGA1284) | 16 | A4988, Pololu boards | |
Azteeg X3 Pro | ? | v1.0 | 5 | 8 (maximum, shared w/ Heaters) | 8 (maximum, shared w/ Heaters) | 6 | 6 + 2 thermocouple | No | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | 8 bits ATmega2560 | 19 | A4988, Pololu boards, digital current control | MicroSD-Card, 24V, clickwheel, USB |
Melzi | GPL | v2.0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | No | No | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 bits ATmega1284P | 16 | A4982 | |
Minitronics | GPLv2 | v1.1 | 1-2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | 8 bits ATmega1281 | 16 | DRV8825 | |
Printrboard | CC ShareAlike 3.0 | v0.7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 | No | No | 1 | 1 | ? | USB | 8 bits AT90USB1286 | 16 | A4982 | |
Teensylu | GPL | v0.7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 | No | No | 1 | 1 | ? | USB | 8 bits AT90USB1286 | 20 | Pololu boards | |
Ultimaker Electronics | GPL | v1.5.4 | 1-2 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 3 | No | No | - | - | - | - | Arduino Mega 8 bits ATmega1280 | 16 | A4988, Pololu boards | |
Generation 6 Electronics | GPL | v1.0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | No | No | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 bits ATmega644P | 16 | DRV8811 | |
4pi from Kliment[1][2] | GPL | beta | 1-2 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 4 | No | No | 1 | 1 | ? | ? | 32 bit ARM ( SAM3U ) | 96 | A4982 | |
Azteeg X1 | CC ShareAlike 3.0 | v1.5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | No | No | 1 | 1 | - | 1 | ATmega1284P(644P on v1.0) | 16 | A4988, Pololu boards | |
Azteeg X3 | CC ShareAlike 3.0 | v1.2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 3 | No | No | 1 | 1 | - | 1 | ATmega1280/2560 | 16 | A4988, Pololu boards | |
R2C2 electronics | CC Non Commercial | v1.2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | No | No | 2 | 1 | ? | USB | 32 bits ARM ( LPC175x ) | 100 | A4988 | |
Pololu Electronics | GPL | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | No | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | Arduino Mega 8 bits ATmega1280 | 16 | A4988, Pololu boards | |
Generation 3 Electronics/Tech Zone Remix | GPL | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | No | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | 8 bits ATMEGA644P | 16 | A3982 | |
Monotronics | GPL | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | No | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | 8 bits Atmega644P | 16 | ? | |
Phoenix | CERN Open hardware license | ? | 3 | 2 | ? | ? | No | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | 8 bits Atmega644P | 16 | TB6560 | |
Brainwave | GPL | 1.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | No | No | - | - | - | ? | 8 bits AT90USB646 | 16 | LV8713T | |
RUMBA | GPL | 1.0 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 4 | No | No | ? | 1 | 0 | USB & ISP Headers for both microcontroller | 8 bits Atmega2560, Atmega16u2 | 16 | A4988, DRV8825 Pololu boards | all-in-one RAMPS board, marlin FW, sprinter, repetier, JTAG Breakout |
Rumba32 | GPL | 2.0 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 5 | No | No | Yes | 1 | 0 | USB & ISP Headers for both microcontroller | 32 bit STM32F446 | 180 | TMC2130, A4988, DRV8825 Pololu boards | all-in-one RAMPS board, marlin FW, JTAG Breakout |
Duet | CERN OHL | 0.6 | 1 (5 with Duex4) | 1 (up to 5 with Duex4) | 2 (up to 6 with Duex4) | 4 (8 with Duex4) | 2 (6 with Duex4) | Yes | No | 1 | 2 | 0 | USB, wreb | 32-bit ARM SAM3X8E microprocessor, same as Arduino Due. | 84MHz | A4982, digital current control | µSD card ,native Ethernet, native USB, file based config, built in web interface |
Duet | CERN OHL | 0.8.5 | 2 (6 with Duex4) | 2 (up to 6 with Duex4) | 3 (up to 7 with Duex4) | 4 (8 with Duex4) | 3 (7 with Duex4) | Yes | No | 1 | 2 | 0 | USB, web | 32-bit ARM SAM3X8E microprocessor, same as Arduino Due. | 84MHz | A4982, digital current control | µSD card native Ethernet, native USB, file-based config, built in web interface |
RADDS | CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 | 1.5 | 3-5 | 6 (maximum, shared w/ Heaters) | 6 (maximum, shared w/ Fans) | 6 | 5 + 1 Thermocouple | No | No | yes | yes | RS232 | No (via
Arduino: Yes) |
32-bit ARM SAM3X8E Arduino DUE | 84MHz | RAPS128 (THB6128-based), ((A4988?), (DRV8825?) Pololu boards) | USB, SD card, Repetier-Firmware, Marlin4Due, RepRap-Firmware With RADDS Extension Board 8 StepperMotors + Bluetooth or W-Lan etc... |
SAV_MKI | CC BY-SA | Rev.C | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 2 | No | No | 1 | 1 | ? | 1 | 8 bits AT90USB1286 | 16 | Pololu boards | uSD, A4988, DRV8825 pololu boards, native USB, BT interface (though dongle), Marlin, LCD companion board SAV 3D LCD |
Replicape | CC BY-SA | Rev A4A | 2 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 3 | Yes | No | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 32 bit ARM Cortex-A8 | 1000 | DRV8825 | uSD, 4GB flash (on BBB), USB host, PRU: 200 MHz co processor, LCD companion board Manga Screen |
RD3D/1.0 | GPLv3 | 1.00 | 2 | 1 low-power, 4 shared with heaters | 4 shared with heaters | 6 | 3 (+2 spare ADCs) | w/SPI shield | w/SPI shield | 2 | 1 | 0 | Via Arduino/Firmware (USB, SD card, web) | Arduino and Due compatible (both 3.3v and 5.0v supported) | depends on Arduino/Due | A4988-compatible polulu steppers, up to 4 TMC2130 SPI-driven steppers supported | Supports up to 6 on-board stepper modules (up to 3 extruders, or triple Z lead screws for auto-bed-levelling), On-board MicroSD card slot, supports 12 and 24v (and dual separate heated bed) power, on-board 8v regulator to supply Arduino/Due from main DC power, takes standard automotive "blade" fuses, expansion port for LCD, expansion port for up to 3 standard steppers or 6 SPI-based stepper ICs |
RemRam | CERN OHL version 1.2 | V1.4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 2 | No | No | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 32bit STM32F765VI | 216Mhz | TMC2130 | |
Board | License | Latest Version |
Extruders | Fans | Heaters | Endstops | Temp sense | Ethernet | WiFi | SPI | I2C | RS485 | ISP | CPU | CPU Speed ( Mhz ) | Stepper driver | Other features |
Further reading
- The above chart compares "complete" RepRap electronics systems -- the stepper motors plug into one side, and the USB cable from the laptop plugs into the other side. Such systems often include 4 identical stepper driver boards, one for X, Y, Z, and Extrude motors. For a chart comparing stepper driver boards, see stepper motor driver#Stepper drivers.
- After you get a set of electronics, you may want to read Testing RepRap Electronics.
- Ideas for better electronics? Please add your ideas for making things better to ideas to place or Vaporware Electronics.
- If you have ideas for better firmware running on the electronics, please add your ideas to FirmwareWishList.
- Think you can design better electronics, please feel free to use the ideas at ideas to place, FuturePlans, Vaporware Electronics, FutureToolIdeas, Alternative Electronics, Development Pathway, etc. Feel free to create a new wiki page to document your new electronics. Feel free to add your designs to the list at list of electronics, and the above chart.