So I just ordered a new Btt GTR board for my printer last night, and got a 5 pack of 2209’s to go with it (currently on 2560+ramps+tmc2130). Then I started reading up on my fancy new board, and came across discussion of tmc drivers. In a nutshell, it seems the new tmc2226 are identical to the 2209, but with a different package that has better thermals.
I was curious if anyone has tried them in place of a 2209? I just read this info and am not in a place to do more research at the moment. So I don’t even know if the latest Marlin has a 2226 in the config yet, or if it is even needed. I mean if they really are identical other than thermals it seems we could just use the 2209 defines, tune current, and it work fine.
Thoughts on this?… I swear I feel like I am perpetually behind the tech curve with printers lol… trying to change my ways.
[edit… yep, works with the 2209 defines like I thought…
I’ve been happy with my 2209s and don’t see any reason to upgrade. Might feel different if it was a new build.
This field doesn’t adhere to quite as an aggressive upgrade curve as others so I expect the drivers won’t get out of date before the machine itself gets an upgrade unless there is a killer feature.
Oh and it looks like the 2 use the same chipset just a diff production method.
I agree printers adhere closer to the bleeding edge much more than Cnc. I was thinking since the alternative chip seems to run cooler, it would be a better chip to spec for newer builds. Reading the response from tmc reps posted on the GitHub issue, it seems the 2226 came out first for the cn market, and the 2209 was adapted for use in euro/western markets. Also it seems the long term pricing plan is not fixed yet, but the supply of 2226 may be more scalable.
Trinamic is pretty good about keeping things compatible with previous iterations. I’m doing research to build a control/driver board for my Primo CNC, and their TMC2660 drivers are perfect. They recently released the TMC2660C update which has done extra protection features added, but they can still drop in place of the old ones and function the same.
Their new TMC429 motion controller also has a pin-compatible modem to replace the TMC428 without modifications. Of course new firmware will let you utilize more functions.
Trinamic does really well with their portfolio of products, but newer stuff is a little more difficult to get. The new TMC2660C drivers are out of stock for at least a couple months from most distributors.
Interesting idea… seems those 2660 have been around a while (2014 docs) but probably haven’t become as common as like 2130, 2208, etc because they don’t have stealthchop. Since stealthchop makes little sense on a Cnc router. So nothing lost there but you gain 3A rms… vs say 2A rms with a 2209.
Unfortunately since printer folks are not interested, there is little market base to improve supply. Even the $65 eval boards are out 8weeks.
Sadly, you are correct. Not being highly popular will cause production to take a back seat. It also means there is a smaller chance of getting a counterfeit. I’ve seen a lot of 2130’s pop up as fake because the demand is so high.
I mainly want to go with the TMC2660C because of its power handling. Granted, most NEMA17’s like the MPCNC uses will top out at 2amps for the most powerful model, I’m wanting to be able to build a driver board for larger motors beyond the MPCNC design. The MOSFETs in the 2660 itself also have a drastically lower RDSon rating. The 2130 MOSFETS are around 0.4 - 0.6 Ohms while the 2660’s sit between 0.063 - 0.11 Ohms. That means the drivers will run cooler right off the bat with the same motors. They also come in 10mm QFP44 packages, so I can hand solder them without special equipment.
Its all just a paper project currently. 8 weeks until chips start coming in, so I have plenty of time to figure out if its worth the hassle.
I told myself a while ago not to mess with qfx packages… you are either very skilled or very brave hehe. I am interested to see what you come up with. Running a Cnc in my garage when it is 100F plus in there… could use a cooler driver for sure.
I originally was thinking that if more motor was needed then one of those common external drivers may do… but no doubt a lot of those have dubious specs.