Other than the SKR coming with an LCD when buying the kit while being cheaper, whats the difference vs a full rambo?
Is the SKR less fully featured? Does it lag behibd in firmware updates? Is the rambo flat out better?
Want to save a bit of money where I can while still having the option for dual endstops and other features that might be nice but am unaware of right now. Basically i want the most capable board, but if the difference between the SKR and rambo is insignificant ill take the savings.
Is the SKR less fully featured? Does it lag behibd in firmware updates? Is the rambo flat out better?
From a pure specification standpoint the SKR Pro wins. It has a 32-bit microprocessor vs. the 8-bit of the Rambo, the microprocessor has built-in math functionality, and the LCD is a nice upgrade. In a recent post, Ryan mentioned he was able to push his laser burning notably faster with the SKR Pro then with the Rambo. And firmware upgrades for the board are just dropping a .bin file on and SD card and rebooting. Most other boards used on the MPCNC require the firmware be compiled and uploaded via USB. On the downside, we see more issues on the forum related to the SKR Pro…LCD cabling issues, separate firmware for the LCD issues, and the like.
The Rambo is the longtime workhorse for the MPCNC. Low failure rate. Robust. Built-in drivers means there are never driver configuration issues. From the forum, I see wiring mistake made on on the Rambo board that would blow pins or voltage regulators or worse on other boards, and the Rambo comes through unscathed. And at CNC router speeds and driving your MPCNC from another computer, most of the bells and whistles of the SKR Pro don’t come into play. Rambo boards purchased from Ryan have the latest V1 firmware flashed and tend to be plug and play for an MPCNC.
Firmware for all of the V1 supported board are released at the same time.
The rest is true. The skr is neat, if you’re into that kind of thing. If you want to just get going and stop thinking about the controller, the rambo is a tough sob.
Okay good to know. I do want flexibility so the skr seems like the way to go. I eventually plan to throw a lazer on it for engraving wood and having the ability to go faster if needed would be nice.
I assume buying the skr from the store here I wouldnt have to worry about driver issues? Or by configuration you mean how they are set up in the firmware?
Another question. Since i eventually want to do dual endstops, is there a way to set it up without the endstops using the wiring kit designed for dual end stops? That way I can assemble it for use of the stops, but not use them until Im ready.
I have the SKR Pro in my build, and I’ve got it flashed with the firmware for the dual endstops but I don’t have them plugged in and it works fine. The only thing I will say is that if you have a TFT, it seems to be upset when the board first powers up because if left alone it will beep every few seconds until you enter a menu. Not sure if that’s because it expects the endstops to be connected or not, but either way I absolutely love the SKR Pro.
There shouldn’t be driver issues with either board.
They are designed for 3D printers, and Ryan and I make configurations to work better for the V1 cnc machines.
If you buy a rambo from Ryan, Ryan will flash the latest. Upgrading on the rambo is done by platformio or arduino from your computer.
The skr pro has a micro sd card and to change the firmware, you just have to put the new file on the sd card. Because it is so easy, Ryan doesn’t flash the skr pro before shipping.
Spec sheets listed WIFI, but as you say it is not native. Digging deeper, there is a socket for a ESP8266 ESP-01S WIFI Module. Not sure what firmware changes would need to happen to enable the module work. Edited my post.
True. The driver “issues” are only when you purchased from somewhere besides V1 and use drivers other than the two they support for the SKR Pro…and it only an issue in that you would have to tinker with the firmware to set it for the driver. If you buy a Rambo, then there are no driver choices.
Use serial wiring and serial firmware and deal with the upgrade in the future
Use serial wiring but use dual end stop firmware. This works, but you will still have to completely replacing the wiring for dual end stops.
Dual end stop firmware and wire up just the steppers in a dual end stop configuration (each stepper gets it own drive). The downside to this choice is that the wire connections for the end stop switches will likely end up inside tubing or cable chains, or sleeves.
Dual end stop firmware and install the wiring for both the steppers and the end stops, but don’t install the end stop switches or otherwise hook up the end stop wiring.
Do a full dual end stop install, but don’t invest time in getting it running. Put some hours on your machine and then come back to end stops on a rainy day.
If you are pretty sure you are going to want dual end stops eventually, then running the wire but not adding the switches or doing any hookup seems like a good middle ground to me. If you are buying from Ryan, and if you order the dual end stop wiring harness for your kit, you will get the dual end stop firmware on the board and not have to deal with changing your firmware. You will need some extra 2-conductor wire and optionally some form of male Dupont connection to extend the harness for the end stops.
Our firmware does not have the wifi port enabled. We can only enable two and we have the tft and usb enabled. It can be changed (to port 6) and recompiled to work with an esp-01.