Key Features
Tech Stack
It's only after a few more seconds back on the HN front page that I realized my mistake.
Less exciting than what I read but cool project nonetheless.
I thought it was pretty clever but they admit it was tricky to make work at all, let alone get good results.
I found myself traveling recently and missed my 3d printer. There were a few neat things I could have done if I had a printer in a carry on. It would be kinda awesome to have a self contained 3d printer with a battery to take wherever I go.
If you're near a harbor freight, they have cheap rugged cases. Maybe design around that form factor, since they're easy to get?
The year-in-review design review is worth watching just to see the decision/optimization process. Really nice
I have a couple idea's on how I wanted to do it: - Belt printer fitted into a briefcase (the harbor freight case form factor would be good for that!) - Positron style - Maybe mess around with double four-bars
Making it self-contained with a battery is also a really cool concept I'll have to explore!
>4 layers
That's quite the jump for a noob. Would you mind sharing how you learned to produce such advanced output so fast? I mean my first ~50 PCB we're still just 2 layers.
The Mini Sparkle is a 4 layer and available on their github https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit-Mini-Sparkle-Motion-PCB
There are many more available at OSHWA : https://certification.oshwa.org/list.html
It's also just double the price, so I can get 4 layer boards for like $8 from JLC and it just makes everything much more easily.
You still do want to build up to it though, I made a macropad, then a keyboard, and then made this, so it's definitely not just an immediate jump, but I built those 2 projects within the span of a couple months!
Consider using a slightly higher level connection to the print head: just power and a serial protocol. That way you are immediately future proof. What firmware are you running on this?
I think the term is/was originally a product name for a small, rectangular module with a stepper motor driver on it [1] from 2012. Then it seems the term has been made more generic, with updated versions like the SilentStepStick [2] featuring a driver chip by Trinamic instead.
I guess my point is that for some readers, the stepper motor features on OP's board could be made more clear and perhaps use actual chip numbers, too. :)
Great job!
[1]: https://wiki.geeetech.com/index.php/StepStick_A4988_Stepper_...
I think we're only a few years away from BLDC servo motors taking over from steppers in 3d printers.
Ideally control algorithms for them would go into the MCU so there is proper force feedback too - ie. The system will know that there is an extruder clog by the increased extrusion force, or even set print speeds to be 'the fastest you can follow this path' rather than a fixed number of mm/sec. Ie. If the bearings get a little stiff it'll go slower rather than skipping a step.
https://www.omc-stepperonline.com/ac-servo-motor
These are EtherCAT AC Servos for a couple hundred bucks, Any small cnc project that uses steppers/small bldc is a joke IMO
You might find it interesting to look into AI-powered PCB design tools for your next iteration. There are some cool tools popping up that can use AI to assist with the trace routing and layout, which could make the process much less tedious for you.
The problem with most AI powered tools is that they don't understand the context of your board, which is absolutely crucial for routing. Like so-and-so trace could be switching really fast and an AI powered design tool wouldn't understand that and wouldn't route it properly. Or like power for example, different things have different power requirements and I feel like we're not at the point where these tools are referencing every datasheet on the planet to figure out trace/fill sizes and whatnot.
There's also some concepts I don't think these tools can wrap around quite yet. For example, minimizing loops, consistent ground planes, proper impedance control, and just all of these factors lead to an inferior board.
Not saying that humans are perfect and understand all of these too, I just feel like if you understand what's happening with your board, you can do a much better job.
At the end of the day, you'll be spending more time fixing the mistakes, which are actually pretty hard to spot without checking every single trace sometimes, then actually just routing it yourself, but maybe one day we'll get there!
I'd love to hear some other takes though ;)
So maybe a version which is optimized for Can-Bus toolheads?
And more driver slots, 4 is not sufficient if you want a self leveling bed.
Vorons need 4 drivers for the gantry alone.
If you need (emphasis on need - if it's not in the requirements, don't bother!) to make it smaller, you can fold the low power/compute section underneath the power section by putting it on another board and using either a mezzanine connector or FPC/FFC/ribbon cable to connect them.
You can also integrate the motor controllers directly onto your PCB and give them a combined thermal solution i.e. one heatsink with one fan if needed.
But likely your effort is better spent on making the rest of the printer rather than this :)
Not affiliated with Hacker News or Y Combinator. We simply enrich the public API with analytics.