Alternative electronics for Ordbot

[royco]

I am eagerly waiting for my Hadron Kit like everybody and I would like to give a heads up for an alternative electronics for those on the fence on what controller to get. I designed this to be a low cost board based on the Sanguinololu with some of the features found on the RAMPS board, like fan output, SDRAMPS port plus other great features. Im doing a pre order right now for those interested. Its slim 2x4 size allows itself to be mounted nicely on the back of the Hadron and the Blue PCB should blend well too. Its fully assembled, well almost except for the connectors as you are given both a vertical and a right angle set. Board has been tested for weeks by select individuals.

Anyway, please give it a look. It might just be what your Ordbot needs(and have some $S to spare).

Azteeg X1 Wiki page http://reprap.org/wiki/Azteeg_X1

Roy

[Enraged]

So all that is needed is 4 Pololu drivers to drive the stepper motors? I see that it supports dual Z motors, which is a nice feature to have built in.

[Gijs]

Can you tell how this compares to this board Frantz is developing?

[bdring]

I think this board is a nice option for the Quantum Bot. It would be simple, small and low cost. The Quantum is unlikely to ever be a dual extruder. I like that it is very standardized and would not take a lot of code hacking to use new firmwares like Marlin and Repetier.

Does it come with the mating connectors? What is the cost?

[Enraged]

from the for sale link on reprap, the cost is $68 and it's "is compatible with most Arduino based firmware(Sprinter, Marlin, Repetier, plus others.)."

add 4x Pololu at $12.50-14 each and it looks like a complete solution for around $125

[royco]

Yes its $68 and does not come with mating connectors, but I will see if I can carry that along side so no additional shipping cost from say Digikey.

Link to direct product page

@Gijs
The Azteeg X1 is like a cross between the Sanguinololu's simpliciy and the RAMPS' Extra functionality which most of the printers out there will ever need. I would say the Orduino is similar to the more advanced Azteeg X3(single board RAMPS) that I am developing for the past few months for more advanced setups.

[bdring]

Do you have a mechanical outline drawing or solid model? I would like to check the mounting pattern.

[royco]

bdring,

Here's what I quickly came up with.

http://files.panucatt.com/images/x1_3d_assm.zip

[Oli]

I like this a lot - this is the no frills, low cost all-in-one I have been after. The use of standardised firmware is what I find most attractive. Brilliant. I think most people just want a basic all-in-one solution that will be compatible with most firmware (now and in the future), *without messing around*.

The only down sides are the use of connectors that need specific parts (I think 3.81mm screw terminals would have been nice). Otherwise, this is close to perfect!

Can you post the dimensions / mounting pattern?

Have you considered doing a V2 with:

- ATX power connectors so you can just plug them directly into the board, no cable cutting required
- 80 x 80mm or 120 x 120mm footprint so that it can be mounted using the four holes over the fan on a ATX / uATX power supply (with spacers) - no drilling to mount!
- 3.81mm terminals - so no soldering is required to wire in to unterminated steppers etc.
- built in stepper drivers - using a non-allegro part though. I think Frantz is evaluating a different part in his build. I understand there are supply issues with the current allegro range (and integrating them would not add $50, unlike the seperate alternatives).

[bdring]

I do like the standardization too. The Frantz Orduino is nice high end solution, but if I want to play with new firmwares, I don't want to hack in a lot of code for digital pot settings, etc.

My vote is for the current connectors rather than terminal blocks. It is the same as RAMPS and it makes it a cleaner setup.
I also vote against built in stepper drivers. That just drives up the cost and those things do blow occasionally.

I think the best feature is the simplicity and price. It only cost a few dollars more than an Arduino Mega.