1 Topic by jorisrf (edited by jorisrf 2013-09-16 19:07:56)

  • jorisrf
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  • Registered: 2013-09-16
  • Posts: 1

Topic: Stepper Driver Options

Hi!

I'm Joris, and i have a general question about the Electronics i could use to control my 3D Printer.

I'm basically wondering  if i can use a similar approach to setting up my 3D printer as i did to set up my CNC Machine.

A while ago i built a CNC machine from old floppy drive read/write head assemblies,
I designed and put together my own three bipolar stepper drivers that were controlled by pulses from the PC.
Communication went through the PC's parralel port, instead of USB.
I connected the parallel port from my PC to my three individual bipolar stepper drivers.

With the way i designed my stepper drivers, each motor would be controlled by two pins: one for 'step pulses' and one 'for direction pulses'.
One pin from the PC would send one pulse for one step,
and the other pin from the PC would be either high or low, high would mean the motor turns right, low would mean the motor turns left.

Homing/end sensors would also be connected to the PC's parallel port.

The PC and the CNC machine's electronics were of course protected from each other by an opto-isolated break out board.

So i was wondering if i can drive the motors and homing switches of my 3D printer the same way i drove them on my CNC Machine?
Hopefully the programs generally used for 3D printing allow parallel ports, because most of what i see on the net is controlled through USB and Aruino's etc.

If you got this far thanks for reading smile i hope you'll answer to my post, thank you!

heres a link to the mini cnc machine if youre interested smile /watch?v=Q2V23EqWMI0 on Youtube.

2 Reply by cozierad

  • cozierad
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  • Registered: 2013-07-21
  • Posts: 33

Re: Stepper Driver Options

Hey Joris,

I don't see why you couldn't control a 3d printer that way. It is basically a 3 axis mill when you think about it.

I don't know of any 3d printers, boards, or programs that work through the parallel port but that doesn't mean they dont exsist. Maybe someone with a little more experience in the 3d printer realm will chime in with some info.

Anything is possible though.
Good Luck!