I agree. That’s probably why Printrbot is working on another board that fundamentally departs from the current crop
@Ross_Bagley I would be very interested in having feedback on this board!
Ok, so a question. If I bought the Printrboard Rev F, can I get it pre-flashed with the settings for an LC? The Printrbot site says that it is compatible with all current Printrbots, and my little LC is not so current and I very much want to update it. I know I’ve asked this before, but wanted to ask again…just in case, since my LC has a Rev (way way way before F) version. Why change it? Because I can.
@Samer_Najia as far as I’m aware - the printrboard can be made to be compatible with basically any 3D printer you care to. You just have to go through a bunch of hoops (reflashing firmware through a special atmel program) to do it.
@ThantiK and others, has anyone successfully done this for say, an i3 and do you have details sufficient to ‘flash’ and go?
@Samer_Najia @Stephanie_A has a branch of Marlin made for the printrboard. You configure it just like normal Marlin, because it more or less is. Then you verify it and save the hex and flash it. Once you do it one time you can get it done in about 5 min. Shouldn’t be too hard. I’ve done it a couple times.
Thanks @Griffin_Paquette . @Stephanie_A , I know you have a github repository or three…where should I go?
That’s true. If you want to change projects around its awesome for that. I have now 2 machines dedicated just as 3D printers. I actually stole the old arduino out of my old board for a new project which is nice but dedicated boards aren’t bad if you know you will keep the machine.
Arduino boards don’t have the horsepower to do the math involved in delta kinematics quickly. If that is your thing, you’ll definitely want to be using something else.
Ramps is fine for cartesians currently :P. I’ve had issues with the polyfuses sucking though… even on the real deal.
I had an Arduino variant called a Maple which was based on my favourite micro of the moment the STM32 running around 80MIPS. (72MHz at 1.25MIPS/MHz)
@Samer_Najia I have 2 Printrbot LCs (v1 and v2) with various mods and upgrades. I flashed the newer one with Printrbot’s own fork of Marlin after I added my own induction sensor. Printrbot has a github repo for their fork of Marlin here: https://github.com/Printrbot/Marlin. If you have a genuine Printrboard, then you will need Atmel’s FLIP program to reflash it: http://www.atmel.com/tools/FLIP.aspx, which BTW is a pain in the neck, IMHO, and you can get Printrboards with easier bootloaders that can do this with just the Arduino IDE. Also BTW, if you haven’t put an induction sensor on your old Printrbot LC, DO.IT.NOW. Flash the PB firmware and connect the sensor to your Z axis end stop. It is soooo worth it! 
For the TeensyluV1: https://github.com/StephS/Teensylu
for marlin: https://github.com/StephS/Marlin
@SirGeekALot now I’m going to need a step by step. I will go look at what version I have but it is an old V1 LC with some various upgrades (aluminum extruder, Z stiffener, etc.). Do I need any hardware besides my PC (i.e. do I need to change the bootloader)? I do have a spare induction sensor and I suppose I need a diode for that too (which I have). Don’t I need to fabricate a mount for the sensor?
@Nige_Cook I just looked at the Duet board you mentioned (a link always helps: https://www.think3dprint3d.com/Duet). It looks like a good (ibut a bit pricey) board. However, it looks like it runs a firmware authored by RepRapPro, and now that they’ve closed shop, I wonder what (if any) development on the firmware is happening. Speaking of firmware development for 32-bit boards, Smoothieware (http://smoothieware.org/) may be a good candidate for a successor to Marlin.
Also, don’t take it from me, watch @Thomas_Sanladerer 's video about it:
More info (I hadn’t looked closely at Smoothieware in a while, until just now): Azteeg X5 mini WIFI 32BIT All-in-one Controller
At $109, they may seem to be a bit pricey, too, but you get what you pay for: it has 128 microstepping!
Nice board. Hmmmm…and do you know if any other GLCD would work besides the Viki2? To be clear, the X5 V2 works with the usual ReprapDiscount controllers and the Viki 2 or some other combo?
No idea. I do not have a Smoothieboard, so my opinion is largely based on theory and opinions of other people whose knowledge in this area I respect (e.g. @Arthur_Wolf +Peter van der Walt @Thomas_Sanladerer ).
Ok, that’s it. One Azteeg X5 V2 coming up! No, make that 2 of those puppies. The SmoothieBoard that I have is reserved for +Peter van der Walt 's OpenCNC 
The reprap discussion channels are full of people with $25 RAMPS that failed. The failure rate is catastrophic, they are not made to specs, they are not produced well, and they are definitely not tested. If you get a RAMPS ( not sure why you would when RAMBO is much superior ), at least get a genuine one from reprapdiscount or ultimachine. Not the same price of course … but it’s done right, and doesn’t come attached with a significantly increased risk of burning your house down.
In an effort to bring Smoothieboard’s price down, we are looking at local manufacturers and new chinese ones, and are knee deep in quotations. You can not make good quality boards for the price people want their boards to be at these days. Bringing the price of a good quality board down too much just means you’ll ultimately go bankrupt, and then you can’t work on making new things and advancing the state of Reprap and OSHW. That’s no good.
$100 is what these boards should cost in the current state of electronics manufacturing, if produced correctly, and tested. If you think that’s too much, you don’t know anything about the reality of what it is to develop and produce these, and can not see further than your personal desrire to shave every last dollar off your printer build. Shaving dollars is fun, but doing so much of it is slowly killing many reprap-related businesses, replacing them with chinese manufacturers that do not care one bit for open-hardware. If those folks had been around from the start, it’s doubtful reprap would have even existed … Reprap would be known since the beginning as the “burn a bunch of plastic down” hobby
@Arthur_Wolf I couldn’t agree more. I toast RAMPS boards like, well, toast. Sadly when I buy a kit it comes with a RAMPS board so I usually buy it for the mechanicals and when/if able ditch the RAMPS for something else. The Smoothieboard I have (now that I know you are THE Arthur Wolf) is reserved for the jewel of jewels in my farm – my 3-in-1 all metal monster (hint hint, wink, nudge +Peter van der Walt ).