I’m a complete noob and I started off by making a few mistakes (aluminum conduit, too large a router etc.) and I’m trying to avoid any more (reading the FAQ should have been my first step…).
I’d like my build to be used both as a CNC router as well as a 3d printer (ideally with heated bed). I guess the dual end stop version is not ideal for this. I have most things I need at home (nuts and bolts, conduit, 3d printed parts are going).
Does anyone have suggestions on which board and electronics to get? I’d like to get everything from the V1 shop if possible.
I’ve got the following already in my cart; bearings, belts, leadscrew, pulleys, stepper motors, full graphic controller.
The big difference between the Rambo and mini are the number of motor drivers available. For dual endstop you have to have the full sized Rambo, since it supports five drivers. The mini Rambo supports four drivers so good for a single nozzle printer and the standard MPCNC.
Ok, I might be misunderstanding “dual end stop”. I suppose for homing my 3d printer ( I guess CNC doesn’t need to be homed as the piece may be in different positions each time??) all I need is 1 end stop switch per axis.
Correct. The “standard” firmware still supports end stops, but only one per axis, since the steppers are usually wired in series, you only need 4 drivers. The “dual endstop” firmware has the steppers all on their own driver, with each stepper having its own end stop, and you’d need that 5th endstop for the Z on the mpcnc, or the X on the lowrider. I run a single end stop on my mpcnc with hard stops on the other end.
The only reason to spend the extra on the Rambo over the mini is in case I want to increase my accuracy in the future with the second set of end stops (rewiring the steppers from series to individual drivers). Is it worth it for just a hobbyist? (Currently printing with a CR10-S and I’m happy with my quality to give an idea of what I’m used to)
Will the “Standard” firmware work if I want to be able to swap out a hotend/extruder for a router (I’ve decided to go with the Dewalt 660 to keep things simple for myself)? I was thinking of making some sort of removable mount and a simple harness to connect/disconnect the 3D printer bits and connect the router. My guess is someone has already done something similar. I would assume I’ll just be using a different type of software for the “Slicing” portion for the router. I’ve been using Fusion360 to model 3d prints and Simplify3d to slice.