Best Delta Controller??

Hi all,

I'm in the process of building a 3DR Simple Delta Printer by JohnSL and am now buying all of the vitamins. My one remaining large purchase is the controller. JohnSL uses the Printrboard, however, I am hessitant to use an all-in-one solution in case something "smokes". I have two Ramps controllers on my two other printers and haven't really used anything else. they're cheap and I know them well, however, I think they can be improved on. I was looking at getting an Azteeg X3 Pro controller and LCD but that'll cost some bucks.

What do you all think?

I'm using a Rumba on my 3DR and couldn't be happier. It does everything I tell it to do. It has plenty of inputs and outputs.

I use a Rumba too with 8825 drivers for 1/32 microsteps, excellent board

AndyCart [ PM ]
Re: Best Delta Controller??
January 31, 2014 03:44PM Registered: 4 months ago
Posts: 56
I use a Rumba too with 8825 drivers for 1/32 microsteps, excellent board

What type/ design of printer are you using the Rumba with 1/32 stepping?

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AndyCart
I use a Rumba too with 8825 drivers for 1/32 microsteps, excellent board

I'm looking at getting one of these. Is there a big/noticeable difference with the 8825's over the standard 4988's? I've been scouting around for any comparisons but can't seem to find any.

Are you guys really getting 1/32 microstepping? Wasn't there some controversy with respect to truly getting even 1/16th on your typical reprap? How do you measure that you are getting to that level?

I looked at getting a Rumba but ended up going with what I know best -Ramps 1.4.

I wanted the RUMBA for the 3DR simple I am building but I coudlnt' find a source for the hall effect end-stops. Where are you all buying those? I will probably build a 3DR once my 3DR simple is done but it's entirely dependent on being able to find the hall effect end-stops.

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umdpru
I wanted the RUMBA for the 3DR simple I am building but I coudlnt' find a source for the hall effect end-stops. Where are you all buying those? I will probably build a 3DR once my 3DR simple is done but it's entirely dependent on being able to find the hall effect end-stops.

Reprapdiscount.com sells the hall endstops. They ship the same ones out with their RAMPS 1.4 and RUMBA boards so they should be fine. I think they also sell them on eBay and Aliexpress too.

I have my board set with all jumpers installed which is 1/32 microsteps with my 8825 drivers. As to what I actually get to the steppers I have no idea. I just know it's all smooth and quiet. I suppose I could remove all the drivers and pull off two jumpers on each position to give 1/16 as a comparison but why bother when it all works?

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umdpru
Are you guys really getting 1/32 microstepping? Wasn't there some controversy with respect to truly getting even 1/16th on your typical reprap? How do you measure that you are getting to that level?

It's not likely that the actual position is accurate to 1/32 of a step, or even anywhere close. The advantage that 1/32 microstepping can give is additional stepping smoothness and reduced noise.

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Hi,

just to be sure, the Ramps 1.4 are working fine with the Hall endstops right ?

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TheCrey
Hi,

just to be sure, the Ramps 1.4 are working fine with the Hall endstops right ?

Yup, works fine.

A word of warning though, the connection between the little circuit board and the actual magnetic detection chip is pretty fragile. 3-4 bends and it'll break, so only bend it into place once you're sure you know how you want it. I've lost 2 hall-o endstops because of this. It's a case of being very careful when bending it into place. You'll see what I mean once you get them.



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I've ended up going with the Rumba with the A4988's. The difference between those and the DRV seem like it's simply down to the heat and sound. Nobody seems to have been able to confirm or deny any quality differences. In addition I've seen a lot of people having the print pausing constantly when at 1/32. Having the hot end constantly stopping whilst still hot cant do much good to the final print quality. I'll stick with what I know works for now I think

Gotta also give massive props to RepRapDiscount. I ordered the ultimate Rumba kit on Tuesday evening, about 9pm. It's being delivered today. So less than 48 hours to get it from Asia to the UK using their standard delivery option

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/27/2014 06:31AM by RickM.

1/32 micro stepping currents are going to be really low. I just find it difficult to believe that 1/32 stepping is taking place without careful component matching.

See here [hydraraptor.blogspot.com]

Had anyone run their machine on both 1/32 and 1/16?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/27/2014 06:43AM by umdpru.

Umdpru wrote: "I'm in the process of building a 3DR Simple Delta Printer by JohnSL and am now buying all of the vitamins. My one remaining large purchase is the controller. JohnSL uses the Printrboard, however, I am hesitant to use an all-in-one solution in case something "smokes"."
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Are you converting a Printrbot Simple to a Delta?

I bought a Printrbot Simple kit without the wood frame (no longer on their website as option) and have completed the assembly of a 3DR Simple based on JohnSL design.
However, I am having some difficulty getting the firmware and wiring working properly. So far my motors are doing goofy things.
I need to get my multimeter out and figure it out tomorrow.
OR just bite the bullet and buy the Mega2560/Ramps1.4 and stepper drivers since I have a Mini Kossel up and working, and I know what the firmware settings are for it.

No, I built it from scratch and used ramps 1.4. I didn't own a simple and didn't bother buying one. I got my 3dr simple kind of working (not calibrated yet) by following what the mini Kessel guys are doing.

We can't say for certain if 1/32 is better than 1/16 microstepping, there's a lot that goes into it. It's also true like stated before, increasing microstepping can make the true positional accuracy worse (the stepper is in a different position than the controller thinks), but it makes the movement that does occur smoother and often quieter. That's as long as all the other stuff like controller/component speed limitations, harmonics,etc don't get in the way first. The difference between 16 and 32 is at the point that the increased microsteps is easily (although not always) overshadowed by other factors in a build. Harmonics are especially bad about causing it to be good or bad difference in a particular build, the damn frequency changes significantly with how tight you have your belt/line on top of all the other parts of the build that affect it. Still, the positions after half step are imaginary,(I suppose half step could be considered imaginary too) just like the positions between the smallest marks on a ruler. You're accuracy would be iffy too if you start trying to say which 1/32 between between 1 mm and 2mm a line was at.