I’ve been planning to build my MPCNC for about a year and a half now, having printed all the parts, picking up stainless steel tubing and all the other pieces back then. I also just reprinted the Burly replacements to my original set. I finally have space to assemble it all and so I’m trying to nail down the final details. My plan is to have this MPCNC be a jack of all trades (and master of none…), so CNC, 3D printer, laser etcher etc.
So my question today is about the controller board. I have an Arduino with a RAMPS 1.4 board which I was initially going to use and be pretty plug-and-play with the V1 firmware and all. However, I’m kind of wanting to be able to have dual endstops plus be able to use an extruder, which would necessitate a 6 driver board. I was browsing around and saw that @arminth and @jeffeb3 use the FYSETC F6 board. Was there any special firmware and/or modifications needed to get it to work? While I’m comfortable in C, I haven’t delved into Marlin yet, so having a drop-in program would be ideal if available.
My other question is what stepper drivers do people recommend? I have A4988’s and DRV8825’s on hand, but the TMC drivers hold some interest too.
My $0.02, Just use the Ramps you have and get a build going and dirty. If you want to do fancy electronics later, you will have a better idea of why and if you would spend more money.
That was my first instinct, but then I couldn’t decide if I should then wire it for dual endstops off the bat, or go without them and be able to 3D print, but then have to rewire down the line… then started debating myself around in circles until posting here!
The one I have had some issues, so I ended up not being able to use all the driver sockets. I think it was just a miswire compared to the pins file.
FWIW, if you’ve done some C programming, don’t fear Marlin. Most people haven’t and can get through it. If you’ve got some experience, it should be a piece of cake. Almost everything is configured via #defines in two files. Then there are pins files for specific boards. It’s really pretty well laid out considering how complicated it is and so many small boards it works on.
But anyway, I agree with Ryan. And wiring in series isn’t going to be a problem. I still have mine wired in series.
I did purchase that board, but only coupled it with DRV8825 drivers. It just came a couple of days ago, and I did flash the MPCNC firmware to it no problem. However, I’m probably not going to finish my build far enough to hook it up until the Christmas holidays. But first impressions are that it seems pretty solid, especially for the price.