Universal Controller 2017
Next Steps
Phase 1: Stepper Motors
- Do full wiring diagram for Arduino with RAMPS with TB880 stepper drivers
- Assume 4 motors driving each axis at 1A each and 24V - are the stepper motors in D3D BOM good for 24V?
- Use USB power for Arduino
- Do not plug in the power to RAMPS - can it be powered only by the USB power via Arduino?
- Connect the TB880 with up to 4 stepper drivers each
- Use 24v power supply for stepper motors - can the usual steppers handle 24V?
Phase 2: Resistive or other Loads via External Relay
- Use AC heater pad so the bed heater is not relying on a DC power supply. This can be done with an external relay activated by the normal RAMPS heat bed output - [1]
- Heater pad - [2] - but any load can be used for testing the relay heat power, such as a light bulb or electric heater.
Prototype Cost
Phase 1:
- RAMPS - $5.82 [3]
- Arduino - $12 - Not CH340 bootloader [4]
- TB660 - $10 [5]
- Stepper motors - $9 each for a pack of 5 [6]
Phase 2:
- Relay - $8
- Heater pad - $20 for 1000W, or DIY via nichrome wire.
Test
- Use Lulzbot Cura
- Use RAMPS + external TB660
- Connect 4 motors to one TB660
- Run them with cura
- That's it - if we can run 4 steppers with Cura, RAMPS, and 1 TB660 - we can then drive a CNC Torch Table.
Presentation
