Electronics Close Up pics
Electronics Close Up pics
by robosavvy
Fri Dec 03, 2010 5:22 pm
Hi
Here are some close up pics of the electronic parts. We haven't been able to figure out the model of some of the ICs onboard but we're still looking for schematics!
Extruder Controller v3.6
Stepper Motor Driver for driving each of the axis.
More details on the driver are here: http://wiki.makerbot.com/smd3
The page also links to a blog mentioning the Allegro A3977 driver chip, the chip you see used in the PCB above.
With regards to the Motherboard we don't really know much. The WIKI has no details on it (just a "Coming soon" announcement).
It looks like a super sized Arduino breakout board (no Microprocessor on it). It seems to breakout the pins and do the important tsaks of power distribution:
- It takes the main connector from the ATX PSU (which offers different signal levels)
- The bulky ceramic part looks like a condenser for High Voltages (we've googled the numbers written on it but the result was not conclusive...).
We haven't found any pics of the underside of the board though but it's unlikely there are any components since it sits on top of the Arduino.
The Heater Board and Heat Sreader.
This goes on top of the ABP and heats the lower part of the model to attenuate the temperature difference betweent he bottom and the top of the printed model where the extruder is laying material at > 200ºC.
By heating the bottom and reducing the temperature difference you reduce deformation from temperature and improve the build quality.
Finally the included ATX PSU to drive the whole system (motherboard, axis, and extruder).
These are the boards involved in the main setup of the Thing o Matic.
As you can see there is plenty of room for expansion and customization and that's one of the reasons why the new Thing o Matic is such an important milestone for Makerbot: it paves the way for future developments and extensions.
The most remarkable improvements in the area of extensibility are the upgrade to an Arduino Mega, the support for 2 additional axis (A and B) and the upgrade of the whole Power System with High Power MOSFETs to supply all of the different components.
RoboSavvy
Here are some close up pics of the electronic parts. We haven't been able to figure out the model of some of the ICs onboard but we're still looking for schematics!
Extruder Controller v3.6
Stepper Motor Driver for driving each of the axis.
More details on the driver are here: http://wiki.makerbot.com/smd3
The page also links to a blog mentioning the Allegro A3977 driver chip, the chip you see used in the PCB above.
With regards to the Motherboard we don't really know much. The WIKI has no details on it (just a "Coming soon" announcement).
It looks like a super sized Arduino breakout board (no Microprocessor on it). It seems to breakout the pins and do the important tsaks of power distribution:
- It takes the main connector from the ATX PSU (which offers different signal levels)
- The bulky ceramic part looks like a condenser for High Voltages (we've googled the numbers written on it but the result was not conclusive...).
We haven't found any pics of the underside of the board though but it's unlikely there are any components since it sits on top of the Arduino.
The Heater Board and Heat Sreader.
This goes on top of the ABP and heats the lower part of the model to attenuate the temperature difference betweent he bottom and the top of the printed model where the extruder is laying material at > 200ºC.
By heating the bottom and reducing the temperature difference you reduce deformation from temperature and improve the build quality.
Finally the included ATX PSU to drive the whole system (motherboard, axis, and extruder).
These are the boards involved in the main setup of the Thing o Matic.
As you can see there is plenty of room for expansion and customization and that's one of the reasons why the new Thing o Matic is such an important milestone for Makerbot: it paves the way for future developments and extensions.
The most remarkable improvements in the area of extensibility are the upgrade to an Arduino Mega, the support for 2 additional axis (A and B) and the upgrade of the whole Power System with High Power MOSFETs to supply all of the different components.
RoboSavvy
