With all these fancy new 32-bit electronics, the good old RAMPS sure seems like a relic from long-forgotten times. But honestly, i feel there’s still very little that would speak against using it even for a new printer.
What do you guys think, is the RAMPS still worth considering?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYJn6FuWOv4
I’ve not used one but you can buy a RAMPS with the fuses replaced from https://shop.germanreprap.com/de/Ramps-v1.4.2 and they made a few other changes which are documented at https://github.com/GermanRepRap/Ramps-1.4.2
The biggest reason why I still choose RAMPS is simply because it’s cheap. Chinese manufacturers make it. It does what I need it to do. And there doesn’t seem to be a clear winner out there as far as ARM boards go.
I’d like to go smoothieboard, 4pi, Duet, etc, but I’m not ever buying a board with on-board drivers. Seriously. Fuck that stupid ass shit, give me headers and modular DRV8825 drivers like in the Azteegs, with digipots. If on-board drivers let the magic smoke out, it’s a dick to replace or repair. And nobody seems to be interested in making a board that has headers for 4-5 extruders, etc.
@Mark_Hindess cool stuff, i didn’t know GRR made a proper one!
@ThantiK you could easily make an expansion board for the RAMPS with all the components necessary for extra extruders (or other fancy stuff). The rest is simply editing pins.h
@Thomas_Sanladerer , I do plan on that at some point. But with smoothieware, a custom rolled board, and headers. Even the damn Azteeg x5 mini has the damn drivers on the board. GAH!
@ThantiK Azteeg X3pro has headers for 5 extruders.
@Mark_Fuller and isn’t 32 bit ARM. I have one of those boards.
Hmm, sounds like there’s a market opportunity. I keep hoping for proper isolated I/O.
I just bought a ramps fd from China along with a due. Seems like a logical progression from RAMPS, especially as you can still run marlin on it. Shame the due boards don’t normally have onboard Ethernet.
I have only ran RAMPS. Mostly due to being lazy. I can wire one in less than a min, and have preconfiged marlin. Still face the issue of weak bed power connection and fuses, but that’s only an issue when I push one hard… 12"x12" @ 100 for 5 hours normally does it, :-).
RAMPS is still a solid performer for most purposes, I think we are still waiting for the ultimate RAMPS replacement.
@Tim Rastall Marlin runs on Due now?
@Tim_Rastall
I have a comment on that thread. 
AFAIK there is no port and no one is working on one, although I have been tempted. I wouldn’t want to create another hardware dependent port though. I’d prefer something like mbed platform, but there is no mbed library for Due.
There is Repetier firmware though.
cheap, easy to use and it works. its all i use
Arm isn’t needed currently. More cost doesn’t mean better performance. How often do stepper drivers burn out? I haven’t seen an issue with them on printrboard. I understand the value of easily replaceable, but no data I have suggests its necessary… I am probably at 20,000 printrboards in the wild, so I feel good about my data. Rev f will beef up USB and fan protection against user errors, and screw terminals replace heat bed connections. Digital pots will help mal-adjusted pots too
Brook
@Brook_Drumm Timing precision and ease of update. I am looking at a smoothie board for my next one. I really like the idea of drag and drop programming.
When I started getting into 3D printing, I did manage to fry a whole bunch of drivers (also on a Ramps). Definitely due to user error from pushing axis around with no PSU connected or from disconnecting steppers while the drivers were still powered up. As long as you know not to do those two things and maybe don’t run them right at their thermal limit, a stepper driver pretty much lasts forever.
@Brook_Drumm , I’d have to disagree as well. ARM boards that I’ve used have had much quieter operation, likely due to better (more consistent) step pulses , and the Deltas that I’m using are already pretty much on the brink of the calculations they can do. The machines I work with could probably go much faster if I weren’t constantly emptying the buffer.
@bob_cousins Woops, sorry - too much blood in my coffee stream this morning. Meant Reprap firmware:
http://reprap.org/wiki/RepRap_Firmware
I can see the advantage of replaceable drivers, but i have never seen a blown SMD driver yet. They can dissipate the heat better i believe is one reason. They do have the thermal protection that i have not intentionally tested several time and my Printr board still keeps on ticking.