Has anyone put a smoothie board on a solidoodle? (Page 1 of 2)

I bought one with that intention, I planned to drive a Chimera/Cyclops build with it on my SD3, but changed my mind and am going down the RAMPS path (I had one unused just begging for some action!)

The Smoothieboard will go on the next 'bot, planning a big ol' Kossel. It'll finally make use of the Makerslide from that Kickstarter  'way back when.

I got mine to drive the core xy build I'm working on. I thought about sticking on the SD2 just for testing, but decided I didn't want to spend the time it would take to fool with it since I also need the SD2 to print parts for the core xy :-).

That's what I'm doing, go look over in the projects forum.  I would link but I'm on my phone.

1. 1/32 microstepping:
* Not with the built-in drivers, they're allegros and only go down to 1/16.
* 0.9 degree stepper works well, but remember they're larger and heavier for the same torque rating, so expect some additional mass!
* I understand an external stepper driver may seem daunting, but maybe keep it in mind for the future as you learn more. Probably the cheapest way is to use a DRV8825 pololu module, and make up a daughter board for it (using prototyping board). If you research the connections to the pololu module, what they do, and find the step/direction/enable outputs on the smoothieboard, it will start to make sense... Otherwise, for a cost, there are packaged stepper-driver modules on eBay - you want 2A+ current, and at least 32X microstepping, but expect this to be $30 instead of $5.

2. No soldering:
* 5XC comes with most of the connectors already soldered in, I think it would be enough to get started at least. I soldered my own (5X), but the heat-management of the pads is so good it's actually quite a pain to DIY. If you want to add something like a breakout board for external stepper driver, then you'll likely need to solder in a few headers yourself.
* Again, don't be afraid of soldering. You need three tools: a plug-in mains soldering iron ($20), a reel of regular ordinary solder ($5) and one of those solder-sucker tools ($5-$10), and you're on the way to learning a whole new extremely useful skill! Practice on less expensive boards first (a small kit from the electronics shop while you're there is often a good start, and there will be a million youtube videos on the practice of soldering...).

3. AC bed connection:
* Using the mosfet output to control the SSR works fine. Match up + and - on the output and the relay and it will work fine. The only downside is it's a bit of a waste of a power mosfet!
* It's pretty easy to change the pin in smoothie config, so you might prefer to do this too. Up to you!

4. Fan config:
* Yup - all sorts of ways! You can create a 'switch' in smoothie config that does anything, with any gcode you like. For a fan like you suggest, you can create a switch that turns the fan on and off with spare m-codes, and add these to your start/end gcode in slicer / cura etc. I think they can even do PWM without much effort - just copy the default config's definition for the nozzle fan! For an actively-cooled hotend, there's also a "temperatureswitch" which can turn the fan on and off automatically based on the hotend temperature.
* Have a read through this: http://smoothieware.org/configuration-options
* Have a read through the example config file, this helps the above make more sense: https://github.com/Smoothieware/Smoothi … ard/config

Hear Hear!

Would this board work/be any good for a SD3?  According to tech support my original board is defunct; they are out of stock on new ones (have been for a while) and I want to start again!

http://www.geeetech.com/reprap-assemble … p-649.html

If it is good or OK - can you point me towards installation help?

Thanks

Thanks, probably accounts for the low low price!

Any suggestions for a know-nothing newbie?

Yup, I got mine out of panucatt, very fast shipping and very good quality.

When you get started to replace the board, take your time, and google is your friend. You'll have to rewire all motors to the new board, and wire color are to be followed. the end switch, you'll find some help on the pdf file of panucat, and thermistors and extruder are straight forward. You can set your steppers at 1/16 or 1/32 with the jumpers that are provided.

Once everything is correctly plugged, load the smoothie firmware and check your motor rotation, after that you can play with the config file to adjust it to your setup.

The best starting point will be to take the step/rev and accelerations from your old board, the only thing you'll have to play with will be the trim pot, that are digital on this board so you need to modify the config file to adjust the trim pot.

it takes a little while to find the right settings, once your done, you set your sensors, you autotune your extruder, and voila !

I'm talking about the Azteeg x5 mini,

For a power supply, I just did  the standard ATX PSU modificatio, with a switch and a pin to the raspberry to power on and off my printer remotely.

there will be no drop in replacement like you say, unless you stay in OEM. you'll always have to flash a firmware and calibrate your board for your machine.

I saw the x3 as well, looks like a good little warrior, but I would consider the Ramps as well for the easier documentation to get.

There is a lot of people on this forum that dropped the ramps on the SD2 and 3, so lot of litterature to help you doing the same.

I have the original board in mine - picture attached.  I am still so new at this and have serious misgivings about trying to adapt another board to the SD3.

What do you want for yours?

What are the advantages of using something like the Azteeg, and why is it called a smoothy?

Marlin must be a slicer or the main software like Repetier - I have no idea what a ramps is
My education on this stuff has just started!

PM back to you