CNC Infomation System: controller

Showing posts with label controller. Show all posts

Raspberry Pi Zero 5$ Computer for Your Next 3D Printing Project

Raspberry Pi foundation released 5 USD computer: the Pi Zero. Yes, it is truly revolutionary at 5 dollars. It will certainly find many applications in DIY projects and 3d printers.

Here are the video introductions:

More detailed Adafruit overview:

Raspberry Zero tech specs:

A Broadcom BCM2835 application processor
1GHz ARM11 core (40% faster than Raspberry Pi 1)
512MB of LPDDR2 SDRAM
A micro-SD card slot
A mini-HDMI socket for 1080p60 video output
Micro-USB sockets for data and power
An unpopulated 40-pin GPIO header
Identical pinout to Model A+/B+/2B
An unpopulated composite video header
smallest ever form factor at 65mm x 30mm x 5mm

Zero homepage:

https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/raspberry-pi-zero/

Here is the Adafruit step-by-step guide on how to design 3d printable enclosure for the Zero:

... and here are more details on how to test and 3d print the enclosure:

You can download the file HERE,

Here is the first Raspberry Pi Zero hack adding a wifi module on it:

http://hackaday.com/2015/11/28/first-raspberry-pi-zero-hack-piggy-back-wifi/

You can add an ethernet port:

http://raspi.tv/2015/ethernet-on-pi-zero-how-to-put-an-ethernet-port-on-your-pi

...or audio output:

https://learn.adafruit.com/adding-basic-audio-ouput-to-raspberry-pi-zero?view=all

... and here is the more detailed review by Hackaday showing some problems and disadvantages:

http://hackaday.com/2015/12/01/raspberry-pi-zero-or-minus-one/

Things have truly changed trough the time...

Kamaq 3d printer controller software for embedded Linux systems

Kamaq is a control software that is completely unfamiliar to me. Does anyone have any experiences with it? There are no reviews to be found ...

Kamaq features:

Web interface with real-time monitoring and feedback via websockets.
Temperature plots for heaters
Direct motor control panel
Nifty print-speed scale slider to adjust printing speed in real-time
Real-time plot of current layer movements in 2D
Linux-based RepRap firmware written in Python, with a web-interface in HTML5/JavaScript and websockets. It controls up to 4 stepper motors (axes) via standard USB audio device, end-switches and heaters via GPIO and hw-mon.

Project description:

Kamaq is a 3D-printer (FDM) controller software running on an embedded Linux system. It is capable of controlling a RepRap-style 3D printer, but with different electronics. Stepper motor control is done using a 8-channel (7.1) USB audio device and some class-D audio amplifiers. Endstop switches are monitored via GPIO inputs (interrupt-capable) and temperature control for extruder and heated bed via standard hwmon-compatible ADC's and GPIO-outputs for heater control. The software has a web interface for machine control and monitoring.

RepRap wiki:

http://www.reprap.org/wiki/Kamaq

Kamaq GitHub repository:

https://github.com/yope/kamaq

SinapTec ultra cheap DIY 3d printer controller board

Here is a very simple open source controller board you can make yourself even with low skillset.

SinapTec description:

SinapTec AT328.02 is a 3D FDM printer controller board of very low cost, its operation is based on an Arduino Nano running a version of Teacup_Firmware. The board layout is designed so that it can be manufactured by any hobbyist, it is a simple face plate with through-hole components. The board was designed by: vdirienzo. SinapTec its fully open source.

Technical details:

1 Arduino Nano socket.
4 Pololus sockets (X,Y,Z y E)
3 Line in for X_MIN, Y_MIN and Z_MIN endstops.
2 Line in for Hotend and heated bed sensors.
3 Mosfets outputs for Heater, Fan and Bed (this last with independent power supply).

Development forum: http://forums.reprap.org/read.php?276,499849

Detailed wiki: http://www.reprap.org/wiki/SinapTec

Hackaday.io page: https://hackaday.io/project/5957-sinaptec-at32802-is-a-3d-fdm-printer-controller

Aakar Brainboard v2 Indian open source control electronics

Aakar Brainboard v2 is a new modular open source electronic controller board from India .

Here is the summary from the Indiegogo campaign page:

Aakar means Shape in Hindi. Aakar Brainboard v2 is a modular CNC controller board based on LPC1768/69 Cortex-M3 chip. Due to its modular design it allows easier upgrades as per requirements and easy replacement if there is any broken part. It runs on open source Smoothie modular firmware and is targeted at 3D Printers, Laser cutters, CNC Mills, Pick and Place and other small or Mid-size CNC machines. Upgrade your machines for higher performance and features.

Here is more detailed presentation:

Aakar Brainboard v2 tech specs:

Microcontroller

NXP LPC 1768 32-bits Cortex-M3 MCU, running at 100Mhz. 512kB Flash, 64kB RAM.
Drag and drop flashing : simply drop a new firmware file to the Aakar drive to update.
USB2 Composite device : shows to the computer as both a Serial device, and a Mass Storage device ( exposing the SD-card).
Ethernet.

Power outputs

Up to 3 through hole 10A, Mosfets sharing a power circuit.
Up to 2 Mosfets with options of regulated 12V output for Fans.
One Mosfet with separate power supply 20A, up to 36V.
One optically isolated DPDT relay ~240V,5A for driving AC loads like milling tools or vacuum pumps.
Regulated 5V and 12V headers.
Two standard servo connector powered from onboard 5V regulator.

Inputs

4 Thermistor (12-bit ADC ) inputs.
6 Endstop inputs.
Play/Pause LED and Button
Connector for Serial Graphic LCD Panel with encoder and buzzer.

Firmware

SD bootloader customized for Aakar Brainboard allows drag and drop firmware upgrades.
Runs the highly-modular Smoothieware firmware.

Stepper drivers

3 to 5 Allegro A4983 or DRV8825 stepper driver modules.
Each capable of driving bipolar steppers up to 35V and 2A(DRV8825).
Microstepping control of individual stepper to give greater flexibility.

Power inputs

True single input power operation by configuring jumpers(by default jupers are configured in this state).
Main 12-24V (Stepper drivers ) power can be connected using a 5mm screw terminal or standard 2x2 ATX CPU power connector.
5V input can be taken directly from the USB cable or supplied by a 5V switching regulator installed on the board.
Series fused input for heated bed MOSFET with seperate power input.

Extensibility

Regulated 12V and regulated 5V headers.
1 SPI connector with selectable 3.3V or 5V vcc.
1 SPI/UART connector with selectable 3.3V or 5V vcc
1 I2C connector with selectable 3.3V or 5V pull-ups and vcc.
1 I2C/UART connector with selectable 3.3V or 5V vcc.
1 UART connector FTDI cable compatible pinout.
All GPIO pins broken out on headers.
4 LEDs.
Stepper signal pins are broken out for connection external stepper drivcers.
Serial graphic LCD panel with rotary encoder or push button control panel, many connectivity options.

Design

Dimensions are 110x150mm.

Aakar website:

http://aakar3dp.in/aakar_brainboard/

IG campaign page:

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/brainboard-v2-demon-of-cnc-controllers

Alligator is new powerful open source control unit for your 3d printer or CNC

Alligator board is a new powerful electronic control unit for your 3d printer or similar CNC device. You can get it for 120 euro on their Indiegogo fundraiser.

Learn more about Alligator board or get your own unit at:

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/alligator-board-professional-3d-printer-controller

Best of all: Alligator is open source hardware!

Alligator Board Repetier Firmware on Github

Alligator Board Design Files on Github

Download Alligator Board User Manual

Download Alligator Board Wiring Scheme

Overview of Alligator versus other boards:

BBP controller for faster 3d printer and expansion flexibility

BBP is a new controller that wants to speed up your printer and provide it with flexibility to expand. It can also be use don various other CNC machines like CNC mills or laser cutters.

Technical specifications:

Microcontroller

Texas Instrument Sitara AM335x, 1GHZ Cortex-A8 ARM
2 Programmable Realtime Units (PRU) to generate really high frequency step and dir signals
4GB eMMC
512M DDR3 memory
10/100M ethernet
microSD card
USB Host to connect USB disk, WiFi, Camera .etc
USB Device interface, shows to the computer as a mass storage device

Stepper drivers

5 to 6 DRV8825 stepper drivers
1/32 microsteps / step
Each capable of driving bipolar steppers up to 45V and 2.5A
Digital control of the current setting for each driver

Outputs

3 heaters, 2 for extruder and 1 for HBP
6 connectors for fan or LED light belt, all adjustable

Inputs

3 Thermistor (ADC) inputs
2 Thermalcouple (MAX6675) inputs
6 endstops
1 connector for external power button

Extensibility

50 pins FFC connector for 24 bits TFT LCD and touch screen
connector for 2 extended steppers
connector for 3 extended heaters
Serial connector to print debug log
Lots of pins broken out, including step, direction and enable pins for the stepper drivers

Here is the comparison of BBP to other popular controller boards:

BBP KS campaign with much more information:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1177488680/bbp-making-your-3d-printer-faster

Raspberry Pi 2 released with much more processing power for same price

Raspberry Pi 2 is out! It is much more powerful for the same price of a previous model (35 USD). The tests show that it's up to six times faster as the old version. There will be some nice and fast 3d printing projects running on this one!

Technical specifications:

900MHz quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 CPU
1GB RAM

Like the (Pi 1) Model B+, it also has:

4 USB ports
40 GPIO pins
Full HDMI port
Ethernet port
Combined 3.5mm audio jack and composite video
Camera interface (CSI)
Display interface (DSI)
Micro SD card slot
VideoCore IV 3D graphics core
OS: full range of ARM GNU Linux distributions, including Snappy Ubuntu Core, as well as Microsoft Windows 10

Here is Make with video overview of new Pi:

... and here is a full in-depth review of the Raspberry Pi 2:

It even has a glitch, it crashes when exposed to a photo flash light:

I think it has the same form factor as the older model:

Source: Wikipedia

MatterControl Touch Android based 3d printer control unit

MatterHackers present their Android based touch screen controller: the MatterControl Touch. It is compatible with most (probably all) G-code 3d printers.

Some basic technical specifications:

RAM: 1GB
GPU: Quad Core 4x1.4GHz
Internal Storage: 8GB
External Storage: SD Card
USB interface
Camera Included
Voice Capable
Touchscreen
Wifi-Connectivity
Standalone Control
Web Monitoring
Price: 299 USD

Key features from the product page:

Simple Setup - Preloaded configurations make setting up your 3D printer a snap - plug it in and start printing in minutes.
Integrated Slicing - Give your printer the ability to directly generate print files from 3D models using MatterSlice.
Remote Print Monitoring - Keep an eye on your 3D prints from afar using your phone or any web-enabled device.
Automatic Print Leveling - Use software-based leveling to achieve printing excellence.
SMS / Email Notifications - Have your printer send a text message or email alert with a photo of your finished part.
Onboard Camera - Take a picture of your finished print or check on the status while printing.
Free Updates - MatterControl is a continuously improving platform and staying up to date with the latest developments is just a simple click away.
Open Source Software - MatterControl Touch is powered by open source software and libraries, including MatterControl, MatterSlice, the agg-sharp graphics engine, and the Android operating system.
Wifi Enabled, Not Required - Enjoy a fully standalone experience or connect your printer to the web to take advantage of cloud features
Send Files over the Web - Send models to your printer from anywhere, or transfer models between printers. SD Cards not required.
Model Editing Tools - Make simple changes to your 3D model quickly and easily prior to printing. Rotate, scale, mirror and position your models for the perfect print.
Full Preview - Preview and interact with 3D models prior to printing. Use the layer-by-layer preview to see exactly how your print will turn out.
Customizable Settings - Create and customize your own, or use built-in presets for material and quality settings to make switching filaments simple and convenient. No more failed prints because you forgot to change a setting.
Design Plugins - Get add-ons to make simple parts right on your printer.
Dual Extrusion / Multi-Material - Assigning different materials is a snap so you can take full advantage of any multi-extruder equipped 3D printer.
Mid-print Tuning and Adjustment - Fine tune your prints with on-the-fly adjustments to speed and extrusion rates.
Print History - Keep a record of your favorite prints so you can reprint your most impressive parts with the click of a button.
Design Library - Organize all of your 3D printable models in one searchable location for easy access.
Advanced Features - MatterControl Touch puts the full capability of 3D printing into the hands of power users. So if you want to adjust eeprom settings, create custom macros, or send terminal commands directly to your machine - you can.
Future improvements: Secure Cloud-based Control, Support for .x3g and .s3g 3D Printers, More Camera Integration (time lapse videos, streaming prints, etc), Voice Command, Developer API

Here is a video presentation of MatterControl Touch, it sure looks easy and powerfull :

MatterControl Touch home page:

http://www.matterhackers.com/store/printer-accessories/mattercontrol-touch

Is this machine worth your money? Well it depends. If you are able to use open source software and a cheap Android tablet, maybe you can get the most of functionality (but not all) for no cost. You could also use paid Android software like gCodePrintr to get some extra functionality.
You decide! Independent test and reviews are not yet available. We will se what will be user experiences in the future.

Photon Elephant Raspberry Pi based OS for your 3d printer

Photo Elephant is new Raspberry Pi based software product that will control your 3d printer via GPIOs. You can get your copy for 75 USD.

Here is the presentation:

they are on Kickstarter now:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/photonelephant/photon-elephant-a-real-os-for-your-3d-printer

Photon Elephant homepage: http://photonelephant.com/

German RepRap 3DPrintBox 3d print server

German RepRap just released their stand-alone 3d print server control unit. It can be used from web interface from any computer or smartphone, it connects to the internet via WiFi or LAN cable and with three USB ports to the controlled 3d printer. Web camera monitoring is also available via USB ports.

It is priced at 149 euro.

Is it too much? Maybe ... you can make something similar with Raspberry Pi and other similar devices from less money. I would like to see more test to see if there are any advantages like in stability, processing or reliability.

Product homepage:

https://shop.germanreprap.com/en/product?info=376

Robo 3d R2 printer with Titan controller and Makable marketplace

Robo 3D announced their new flagship, the R2 which will be available for pre-order this summer.

Robo 3D R2

R2 technical specifications:

10 x 10 x 10 inch build volume that is 40% larger than one on the Robo 3D R1
Equipped with dual nozzle and are therefore able to print with two different colors / materials combinations.
Metal hotends for multimaterial
Wifi enabled using the new Robo 3D Titan electronics board
Automatic leveling mechanism
R2 Rapid Speed Technology
LEDs
Teeter mechanism for ooze and knock prevention when extruding materials
Carbon filter to ensure safe, non-toxic 3D printing
Heated removable build plate
Nearly fully enclosed build chamber to get stabilized temperatures
Optimized software to get your printing quicker and easier
Price: unknown

R2 will be controlled with new Titan board:

Titan tech specs:

Power up to 25amps with 24volts = 600 watts
On board SD Card Port
Triple extruder capabilities or Dual Z drivers and Dual extruders
10 fans for optimal cooling of hot ends, motors and prints
On board rocker switch to turn printer on and off with flick of a switch
On board thermistor with fan control for active Titan cooling
2 RGB LED ports for lighting up your 3D printer
Use up to 6 motor drivers
Users the popular Arduino MEGA 2560 - works with Marlin, Sprinter, & Repetier Firmware

As many other 3d printer manufacturers, Robo 3d developed Makable marketplace to be the main space for getting models for their printers:

http://www.makable.com/

Looking good Robo 3D!

Replicape 3d printing BeagleBone cape

Replicape technical specifications:

1GHz of raw power
5 stepper motor drivers (DRV8825)
3 high power MOSFETs for 2 extruders and 1 HPB
3 medium power PWM controlled MOSFETs for up to 3 fans/LED strips
3 analog input ports for thermistors. Noise-filtered inputs and option for shielding
6 inputs for end stops
1 bus for Dallas 1W temperature sensor for monitoring the cold end. Up to 10 sensors can be added to the bus.
Microstepping individually programmable for each SMD from 1 to 32.
All steppers are controlled by the Programmable Realtime Unit (PRU) for hard real time operation.
Single 12 to 24V PSU, fans are still 12V.
Compatible with BeagleBone and BeagleBone Black
Controllable via Ethernet, USB and Manga Screen
Rugged connectors and lots of protection makes it ideal for development.
Open source software written in Python for maintainability and hackability.
Both hardware, firmware and software are open source under the CC BY-SA licence
Priced at 179 USD

Replicape homepage:

http://www.thing-printer.com/product/replicape/

Replicape wiki:

http://wiki.thing-printer.com/index.php?title=Replicape

T-Bone high performance 3d printing and CNC BeagleBone cape

New and powerful BeagleBone 3d printing and CNCing cape from Germany.

From T-Bone crowdfunding campaign:

The T-Bone is a cape for the BeagleBone Black, dedicated for motion control. These are 3D printers, laser cutters, milling machines, and other applications using stepper motors.
The T-Bone will come preprogrammed for Reprap Mendel 3D Printer. Best kown in the Prusa Mendel or Prusa i3 variant. The Software will include low level drivers, the printer application and a high level Web Interface for control. Just connect your steppers, heaters and sensors, configure the software and you are ready to print.

To join highest performance with flexibility and easy programming, we use a very powerful concept: Hard- and software abstraction layers! User interface, configuration, G-Code interpreter, and path planner are running on the BeagleBone. This makes it easy to use existing open source software components, using the existing toolchain on the Linux operating systems of the BeagleBone. Real-time communication with the BeagleBone is handled by a small microcontroller, placed on the T-Bone. The microcontroller is fully compatible with the Arduino toolchain, so everybody can easily modify it. Complex acceleration and velocity calculations for the stepper motors are done by dedicated motion controllers. These are dedicated hardware components, developed to get the maximum performance out of a given stepper motor without putting any workload to the host system.

The low level drivers for the motion controllers and realtime applications are written with the Arduino IDE in C. The higher level applications for G-Code analysis, motion control and web interface are written in Python. There are no special hardware drivers involved. Most of the hardware can be used on the built in Arduino or BeagleBone Black. All software will be released as open source software on github.

Here are the main features of the basic board:

5 stepper motor driver (run syncronized, 3 x up to 4 A, 2 x up to 1.5 A)
10 inputs for end switches (two for each axis)
3 inputs for incremental encoders (3 axis supporting closed loop control)
3 inputs for thermistors
1-wire interface for digital temp and other sensors
2 high power outputs (for extruder and heatbed, up to 12 A)
1 mid power output (for fans, LEDs, ..., also expandable)
Power supply for BeagleBone (5 V, 1.2A)
Input voltage 12 - 24 V
For more detailed description of the hardware features see here (to be continued...).

But that's not all. We are planning to create some additional expansion boards with special features. Here are some of the feature we are planning:
Support for rotary axis like driller, miller, ...
Support for laser cutters
External touch panel display
Support for other hardware platforms

And you can do even more! The software is easily adaptable to most CNC applications. If you want to connect your CNC mill you do not have to develop it from ground up, just adapt the printing logic a bit.

http://www.tbone.cc/

T-Bone Indiegogo campaign:

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/t-bone-cape

Here is detailed video overview of T-Bone:

3d sculpting and printer control with Meta virtual reality glasses

Virtual reality technology is advancing. There are many glasses with augmented / virtual reality interfaces. here is demonstration of Meta glasses that enables user to sculpt 3d model with hand gestures and then control 3d printer via virtual interface.

This is how Elon Musk is doing it:

http://diy3dprinting.blogspot.com/2013/09/elon-musk-is-iron-man.html

Company page:

https://www.spaceglasses.com/

ZeroUI 3d sculpting software:

http://www.zeroui.com/

Update (26.5.2014.):

Here is another similar project but with less interaction based on CastAR optics:

http://diy3dprinting.blogspot.com/2014/05/virtual-reality-interface-for-3d.html

How to install the Sainsmart Smart 2004 LCD Controller

Jaidyn Edwards shows how to connect on Sainsmart Smart 2004 LCD Controller to a 3d printer.

This Smart Controller contains a SD-Card reader, an rotary encoder and a 20 Character x 4 Line LCD display. You can easy connect it to your 3d printers board using the "smart adapter" included.

After connecting this panel to your 3d printers board you don't need your PC any more, the Smart Controller supplies power for your SD card. Further more all actions like calibration, axes movements can be done by just using the rotary encoder on the Smart Controller. Print your 3D designs without PC, just with a g-code design stored on the SD card.

Source:

https://www.youtube.com/user/chickenparmi?feature=watch

Here is link to Sainsmart Smart LCD 2004, it is priced at 43 USD:

http://www.sainsmart.com/3d-printing/3d-printing-modules/sainsmart-smart-lcd2004-controller-with-adapter-for-reprap-ramps-1-4-3d-printer.html

New Makible Makibox controller board the 5D Print D8 presentation

New Makible Makibox controller board: the 5D Print D8.

3D RTP v450 - first 3d printing real time processor from Denmark

Create it REAL are research and development company from Denmark focused on 3d printing. They just released 3D RTP v450 the worlds first 3d printing real time processor. The specification look interesting and it is a sign that the technology is moving forward. I am generally suspicious of companies who develop processing hardware who also develop DRM / control technology which limits users access, since Create IT REAL also developed technology which prevents 3d printing of weapons.

http://3dprintingindustry.com/2013/07/02/create-it-real-stops-3dp-guns-from-becoming-real/

Usually gun control or pornography control is precursor to various controls of intellectual property rights which limit the hardware usability and enforce various payment schemes.
It goes without saying that it is still to be seen how it will work in realistic conditions and independently tested.

From the company press release:

Create it REAL, a Danish 3D printing technology provider is pleased to announce the first worldwide 3D printing real time processor. After 2 years of research and developments, our team have succeeded in producing a range of chips that are going to boost the 3D printer industry.
Speed is the key breakthrough - the 3D RTP v450 can reach up to 450mm/sec which is some three times faster than typical desktop printers on the market today. 3D printer manufacturers will be able to solve the speed issue - which is blocking market adoption - without changing current designs and mechanics.
The chips are initially targeting Fused Filament Fabrication printers, but are also ready to support SLA technology (Stereolithography) and will support SLS (Selective Laser Sintering) in a near future.
Create it REAL partners will appreciate the ease of integration in their current range of printers. Using only the 3D RTP chip (installed on a standard dim socket), or the full motherboard including all the controllers for the different printer parts, OEMs will be able to release new versions of their products quickly.
Finally, Create it REAL also offers an optional intuitive software to print 3D files, optimized to take advantage of all the features included in the 3DRTP chip. If needed, OEMs can get a complete tailor-made package to meet their exact needs and make sure they offer unique value to their customers.

“Our objective is to support all the 3D printer players, from small start-ups up to large OEMs, and to offer them easy to integrate, state-of-the-art technologies so they can spend their time and resources on their most important assets: their customers” says Jeremie Pierre Gay, Create it REAL’s CEO.

Key Features Summary

• Worldwide first 3D printing real time processor

• Boost 3D printers speed up to 450mm/sec

• 3 different versions to address the different market needs from desktop to high-end

• Improved print quality thanks to smoother X,Y,Z (simultaneous control)

• Integrated temperature control for optimum filament extrusion

• Supports 3 motors, up to 2 extruders, 1 heated bed, 2 fans and 6 limit switches (start/end positions)

• Create it REAL’s Motherboard also includes an innovative semi-automatic calibration mode to quickly set up the printer

The development kit will be available end-January 2014 for 3D printer manufacturers eager to integrate Create it REAL technologies into their products.

Create It Real press release:

http://www.createitreal.com/download/3D%20RTP%20Create%20it%20REAL%20Press%20Release.pdf

Create It Real company page:

http://www.createitreal.com/

SAV MkI 3d printer electronics board

SAV MkI open source control electronics board made by RepRap CloneWars community is on Indigogo now.

From RepRap wiki SAV MkI page:

This 3D printer board electronics has been designed and developed using all the great contributions and feedback from the RepRap CloneWars group in Spain. All shortcomings from other similar boards have been addressed providing an affordable yet feature rich 3D printer electronics. The SAV MkI, improves upon the previous production-grade electronics set (Gen6, sanguinololu) by adding well dimensioned power MOSFETS, SD card support, on-board regulated 3.3V to connect to 3.3V level peripherals such us Bluetooth, as well as improving on USB link's reliability and reducing cost by eliminating the FTDI UART chip.
The SAV MkI is a derivative of Teensylu and the Printrboard, an AT90USB1286 development board originally based on Sanguinololu. The Atmel AT90USB1286 MCU has an on-chip USB, removing the need for the FTDI UART (USB-to-serial) IC. On-chip USB means that you will get faster firmware upload times, communications, g-code transfer and reduce the time file transfers take from the host to the on-board microSD card. The AT90USB connects at any baud rate regardless of firmware configuration, and operates virtually free of serial communication errors/pauses.

In addition, the SAV MkI has broken out the second UART with its levels adjusted to 3.3V logic. You will be able to connect any HC-05 or HC-06 bluetooth dongle to wirelessly control your printer.
Features
Feature rich yet affordable 3d printer electronics. The SAV MkI has been designed after taking feedback from the Clone Wars RepRapers out there. We have come through with an electronics that we believe will meet your expectations.
Hotend and heatbed well dimensioned FETs that can take up to 15A without heat-sinks.
High speed native USB interface connectivity going up to 12Mbps so that there is no lag on your prints.
As opposed to the 38400-115200 baud via FTDI. The end result is: virtually no serial communication errors (common with Sanguinololu and Generation_6_Electronics).
12V built-in fan controller for your layer fan or hot end cooling.
Micro SD reader for autonomous printing.
Bluetooth dongle (dongle not provided, tested with HC-05 and HC-06) interface adapted to its logic levels for wireless operation.
Expansion bus to connect a keyboard and LCD.
Support for 4 standard pololu compatible stepper motor drivers.

RepRap Wiki page with detailed information:

http://www.reprap.org/wiki/SAV_MKI

Indiegogo campaign:

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/sav-mki-3d-printer-electronics

Technical specifications:

Processor

Atmel AT90USB1286 Microcontroller @16 MHz
Native USB interface
Flash: 128KB
RAM: 16KB
EEPROM: 128KB

Supply: 4.2V to 5.5V
Voltage input: 12V-15V
Internal regulated voltage: 5V and 3.3V

Logic supplied by on-board voltage regulator through Vin Logic can also be supplied through USB (internal source selection).
Connectivity
Edge connectors enabling right-angle connections
2 x 15A switching connectors with high power N-MOSFETs.
1 x switching N-MOSFET for low power fan.
1 x on-board uSD connector
Bluetooth interface output levels adjusted for 3.3V logic (connected to UART1 - Rx and Tx).
4 x Endstop connectors supplied @ 5V. Includes X, Y, Z and E
2 x Thermistors
14 Extra pins available for expansion and development, with the following capabilities
UART1 (RX and TX)
I2C (SDA and SCL)
SPI (MOSI, MISO, SCK)
PWM pin (1)
Analog I/O (6)
JTAG (uses some of the ADC pins)
Dimensions: 100mm x 65mm

SW, Firmware and SDK

All preassembled SAV-MkI come pre-loaded with a bootloader and Marlin firmware. You may also upgrade the firmware, modify calibration data for use with another style of RepRap, or perhaps assemble your own board.
Highlights
Marlin (pre-loaded) - Marlin's main branch already supports the SAV-MkI (MOTHERBOARD==83)
you can also get a pre-configured version of Marlin for the SAV MkI.
Bootloader: LUFA's CDC Bootloader
SDK: Arduino IDE with Teensy add-on.
Windows users only, will need to install USB Serial device (will be downloaded with the Teensy environment).

To use a SAV MkI, you will need to load appropriate USB drivers, you can get them from:
Windows-only: USB Serial Device (PRJC.com)
Compatible Firmware
Marlin Marlin: Official support, use (MOTHERBOARD==83)
Repetier List_of_Firmware#Repetier-Firmware: No support yet.

(Other firmwares are currently untested but any firmware for an arduino mega should work with proper pin setup).

Improv - low cost powerful open hardware engineering board

Improv is very powerful and affordable electronics board that could replace Raspberry Pi in 3d printers and provide much more processing strength. connectivity and control options. I have not found any 3d printer projects with it. If you know any, let me know.

http://makeplaylive.com/index.html#/open-hardware/improv

Technical specifications from product page:

Open, Modular Design
The Improv is a modular engineering kit that comes with a CPU card and a separate feature card to connect it to. The CPU card powers the device while the feature card provides convenient access to the on-board capabilities of the CPU card through a variety of ports and pins on it.
This unique design allows one to have multiple CPU cards for different projects, upgrade the kit by ordering new CPU cards for additional features or feature cards for different sets of ports and off-board components.
Improv comes pre-installed with the Linux-based Mer operating system. We chose Mer because it has been designed specifically for device development, has a thriving community of both companies and enthusiasts and has a proven open governance model directing development. You aren't locked into this, however: you can install the operating system of your choice.

Hardware
Included CPU card capabilities
Processor: ARM® Cortex™-A7 1Ghz dual core (Allwinner A20)
GPU Mali400MP2 with OpenGL ES 2.0/1.1
RAM 1GB DDR2
Storage 4GB NAND flash
Micro SD card reader
Video Micro HDMI (video + audio)
RGB/TTL
USB Micro USB OTG
USB2 host
Networking 10/100 Mbit Ethernet
Other buses i2c, 8 GPIO, UART0
Weight Under 40 grams
Dimensions 85.6x54 mm
Feature board ports
USB Fullsize USB2 host port
Ethernet 10/100/1000 RJ-45
UARTO Pins:
1: GND
2: 5VDC
3 TX
4: RX
EEPROM 32K Serial EEPROM (i2c address 0x54)
SATA SATA II interface connector
Casing Sturdy metal case with guides for docking with the feature board

Power 6-12VDC, up to 2.5A. Recommended 9VDC or less.
Green power status LED.
Energy consumption (these numbers are for guidance only; exact draw will vary depending on use case):
At idle: 3.1-3.4 Watts (344mA @ 9V).
With a SATA drive, flash drive connected to OTG port,
keyboard and 2.4Ghz mouse via USB2 Host Port,
Ethernet active, playing a 720p movie: 4.4Watts (488mA @ 9v).
44 PIN DIL Pins:
1-29: RGB/TTL interface
30-31: i2c SDA/SCL lines
32-39: 8 GPIO for user's choice
40: uBoot (Short to GND to enable)
41-42: TX/RX UART0
43-44: GND/5VDC
Dock 68 pin header with guide rails and push-button ejector
Weight Under 60 grams
Dimensions 100x74 mm
Mounting holes 3mm diameter
92x67mm center-to-center

Manufacturer suggested retail price: US$75

Software
Pre-installed operating system
Distribution Mer OS
Kernel Linux 3.x: SunXI 3.4, upstream Linus tree merge ongoing
Init systemd
Userspace GNU
Package format RPM
Software management zypper
Build service dedicated OBS farm
Display X.org, Wayland, framebuffer, Linux console
Toolkits Qt4 with QtQuick1, Qt5 with QtQuick2, KDE Platform Libraries 4
Graphical environments KDE Plasma Desktop and Plasma Active
Developer SDK Mer Platform SDK

RAMPS v1.4.2 open source control board

RAMPS version 1.4.2 open source controller electronics board is available.

From product page (google translated from German):

The new RAMPS 1.4.2 promises significantly fewer failures and has other improvements , such as 2 motor connections per socket or a labeling slots . The RepRap Arduino Mega Pololu Shield (short: RAMPS ) is the centerpiece of a RepRap 3D printer . On the board there are all electronic components such as mosfets transistors , fuses, plug-in connections for the Pololu stepper motor drivers, etc. Previous versions of the shelf had the problem that the electronics are often failed.

The RAMPS 1.4.2 is equipped with automotive fuses instead of the usual thermal fuse now. These new backups are less sensitive to heating . In order to enhance availability, the strength of the traces of 35 microns were increased to 70 microns and its course optimized. The limit switches now have a capacitor that prevents accidental turn off .

Further improvements can be found at the bases for the Pololu motor driver . You have the RAMPS 1.4.2 through two ports and can use it to drive two motors per connection . There is now a slot for external reset, which has advantages when the RAMPS is installed in an enclosure , since you do not have to do without the reset button . By labels on the slots for a warmed bed , fan and extruder also the wiring is simple .

Our RAMPS 1.4.2 is of course open source. The board is a fork of the open-source project of ultimachine / Ramps 1.4 ( https://github.com/GermanRepRap/Ramps-1.4.2 ) and retrieve in Github .

It can be applied to all RepRap 3D printer with RAMPS electronics, such as the PRotos V2, use and runs on RAMPS 1.3 and 1.4 firmware with no change , so it can easily be exchanged for existing RAMPS .

The following connections are provided:

2 * extruder heating
1 bed * Heating
3 * Temperature sensor for Extruder 2 and 1 bed ( No more board longer necessary )
5 * for Pololu motor base
6 * opto end stop (3 * Min, Max 3 * )
1 * Connection option for SD card reader and LCD
1 * Connection for external reset
1 * Connection for FAN adapter.

Full open source documentation if you want to build it youself:

https://github.com/GermanRepRap/Ramps-1.4.2

You can buy it for 59,95 euro at:

https://shop.germanreprap.com/en/product?info=289

CNC Infomation System

Source of knowledge CNC system and information technology.

Pages

Sample Text

Unordered List