MP3DP Board Replacement

So my Rambo mini is really starting to bug the hell out of me. I’ve used the mini Rambo for two MPCNCs and a LowRider with great success, but not so much with this particular application. Could be the board, could be a user error. Either way, I’ve had enough.

Basically, my problem is random, unpredictable max temp errors. A new thermistor will remedy the problem for a short while (usually), but then it gets to the point where I can’t even power it on without that annoying beeping alarm.

So at this juncture, I’m going to use one of two boards that I currently have on deck: SKR 1.4 Turbo with 2209’s, or SKR mini E3 v2.

I suppose that my main concern is firmware. Configuring firmware is a self-proclaimed weak point in my skill self, but… I can get it done with some will power if need be.

I thought I would ask the great minds of this forum what their opinions would be on which board would be the more painless option of the two.

Thank you, gentlemen.

While neither of those have a supported ready-to-go release, the MP3DP (older, not new) is a pretty standard cartesian printer, and a fairly generic configuration is generally good enough.

My choice would probably be the SKR 1.4 Turbo with the 2209s. The 2209s are nice and quiet, and the board has plenty of processing power to give some excellent results.

I know that Teaching Tech is fond of the SKR boards, and probably has a base configuration that would be easiest to start from. You would basically want to enable the 12864 LCD, set your steps/mm (100 for X and Y, 400 for Z I think) and enable the BLTouch. If you wanted to get fancy, you could do the dual Z drivers for auto-levelling, which isn’t terribly difficult to do.

If firmware configuration really isn’t your thing, it might be easier to get something that can use a canned firmware as-is. I set up my MP3DPv2 on an MKS Gen L v1.0 board, which I used the standard RAMPS 1.4 stack firmware for. The board and DRV8825 drivers was cheap, and has been very easy to use.

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Oooooh! I didn’t even think about auto z leveling! I agree about the 2209’s. They are pretty much my go-to drivers now. It’s nice to have the loudest part of my machines being the fans.

The mini comes standard with 2209’s pre-installed, which is kind of why I’m leaning toward that. Maybe I will just use this as an opportunity to learn something new.

It’s kind of a shame that I have a billion RAMPS sandwiches and drivers to match stuffed away in a drawer. Now that I’m enlightened to silent drivers, I can’t bear to use them for a 3D printer nowadays. Guess I’ll hold onto them for future CNC applications since I couldn’t care less about how loud those are underneath the volume of a router.

It’s been a while since I wrestled with them, but I believe Max Temp errors are often caused by shorts on the thermistor leads. I use a couple of layers of kapton tape on the leads right up to the bead on the thermistors and no longer get shorts from the heater block.

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Tom, thank you for your input. I sure appreciate it.