Hey folks! I’ve been researching and slowly building my MPCNC plasma table for about a year now, and finally got around to building it. Currently bench testing my electronic portion before installing it on the bed and I have a few questions I was hoping to get help answering.
The most important question I have is in regards to the Marlin firmware for my Ramps 1.4. I’m using v1cnc ramps dual 2.0.9.2. The ramps kit that I purchased came with the reprap discount 2004 smart controller.
I changed marlin firmware to remove the full Graphic interface and select this one instead. When compiling a couple of dependency errors popped up so I fixed them and then it compiled so I assume it was good to go. But when I plug it in and boot it up, the LCD lights up for about 5 seconds and then blinks very quickly every 1 second.
Im able to connect through pronterface (after disconnecting the LCD) and able to control the motors that way, but am trying to get the LCD controller figured out.
What did you use to build? Platformio should be used now, Arduino IDE is broken, and the Marlin devs won’t fix it.
But my best guess is that something is wrong with the wiring on the screen. One of the cables is in the wrong way or something. They aren’t very consistent with the keys on those cables.
I tried again and again installing, reinstalling Arduino never worked. Platformio worked in a dime.
One question, is Ramps 1.6 drop in replacement for 1.4. should i make any configuration changes to marlin if I use all same parts used by Ryan for Lowrider 2.
I scanned some web pages trying to figure out the differences between Ramps 1.4 and 1.6. From Marlin’s point of view, it is a drop-in replacement. What I couldn’t figure out was what benefit 1.6 provided over 1.4. Reading between the lines, it seemed that 1.6 is viewed as a step back in terms of quality and reliability.
The RAMPS 1.6 is the second RAMPS iteration released by BIQU/BIGTREETECH. It replaces the original green power connector with a pair of screw terminals, adds a larger heatsink over the MOSFETS, and has a larger bed MOSFET. It maintains the surface-mounted fuses and flush MOSFETS of the RAMPS 1.5.
Also, the positions of the D1 and D2 diodes have been swapped from the positions in RAMPS 1.4, the D1 diode is now the diode closest to fuse F2. The same is true for RAMPS 1.5, also manufactured by BIQU/BIGTREETECH.
I can’t see how any of the above would require firmware changes.
After a little more reading, it appears BIQU/BigTreeTech is not complying with the open source license requirements for their mods to the RAMPS 1.4 boards.
There was also a RAMPS 1.4.4 development thread updating RAMPS to use the shield with 32 bit processors and 24 volt power supplies. From the discussion thread it looks to have been successful in early testing/use, but the last post to this thread was on 11/28/2021 and it appears that project has been set aside. Files are on Github.
Yes, there are two opinions. Some claim Good, some bad. As far as i have read it has better hardware and less prone to dying. Has more copper in pcb to dissipate heat. A claimed better quality and better heat resilience and visibly better build quality.
