3D Printing Forum

My trusty 3DP-12 finally had a meltdown on the control board. I hit a thermal runaway error, and while diagnosing why the hotend fan was dead, I found that the power supply wire into the control board was completely melted through (see the picture).

Everything is original(!) and it's been running fine for like 5 years now. So the decision I need to make is:

1) Do I hunt down an original Hictop red board, just replace it and go?
2) Do I replace the board & LCD with a new kit from Amazon? like this:

3) Replace the board, lcd, AND upgrade the power supply to 24V? With all the rewiring that will entail?
4) Dump the whole thing and pick up a Creality Ender for a couple of hundred?

What does everyone think - is it work resurrecting the 3DP-12?

I purchased several Replacement controllers, when they were still available.

Doing a quick search I do not see any more listed anywhere.

If my last board goes bad I will be upgrading to BIGTREETECH SKR V1.4 or Arduino mega 2560 with Ramps 1.6.

I am already using a Arduino mega for my MPCNC machine an have configured firmware for the 3DP12.

An Ender 3 or CR10 controller may also work though I would use the BIGTREETECH V1.4 because of stepper motor driver modules

Like you, have had a problem with a printer control board.
My vote it to get an SKR V1.4 (turbo) as they are relatively cheap, have a more memory than my original, can be configured either 12 or 24V and it is very easy to use VSCode to make changes in the firmware to add features etc.

If the rest of your mechanics are good, replace the board and the necessary wiring between the power supply and the board. NOTE: This probably happened because of a loose connection or possibly undersized wire. The wires on my printer when new were undersized and got quite warm to touch so they were upgraded in size and we check all the power connections semi regularly. Also, it would be a good idea to pick up a ferrule kit that can be found in the usual suspect places.

Just my .03 worth.

Country_Bubba wrote: ↑June 12th, 2021, 9:26 am My vote it to get an SKR V1.4 (turbo) as they are relatively cheap, have a more memory than my original, can be configured either 12 or 24V and it is very easy to use VSCode to make changes in the firmware to add features etc.

If the rest of your mechanics are good, replace the board and the necessary wiring between the power supply and the board. NOTE: This probably happened because of a loose connection or possibly undersized wire. The wires on my printer when new were undersized and got quite warm to touch so they were upgraded in size and we check all the power connections semi regularly. Also, it would be a good idea to pick up a ferrule kit that can be found in the usual suspect places.

Your .03 cents is exactly what I believe. Never had the problem myself upgraded all wiring from day one.
My problem was wiring a stepper motor incorrectly and blowing the stepper motor drivers on two boards.
Second I installed a bar heat sink for cooling on Mosfets plus a cooling fan.
However did not know I could use either 12 or 24V though this should have been obvious.
Maybe I should just make the jump to BIGTREETECH SKR V1.4 this will also give me the added 32bit

Could most likely make the money back by selling my original controllers.

Yeh, and I like how easy it is to mod the firmware!

Now that VSCode has a "Marlin Autobuild" extension, it makes it real easy to change the environment. Just put the proper board in config.h, save the file, and then go to autobuild and it will setup the proper pins, environment, and architecture! Compile, transfer the .bin file to the sd card, insert and boot up!

Thanks guys - I should have noticed the wiring from the power supply. Seems weird that it hasn't been a major problem to date, although I guess I WAS pushing several prints through back-to-back for some Mom presents. Usually I start a print mid-afternoon and it finishes overnight, then the printer has time to cool down.

If I go for the SKR V1.4, which option is correct for the 3DP 12? I'm not sure which specific stepper driver I need. But I can definitely handle the VSCode option - I like the Marlin Autobuild.

Good Question??
The BIGTREETECH SKR V1.4 controller has plugin stepper motor drivers, in my case I already have the A4988 driver modules.
I really should look at the different driver modules an select the best for my purposes.

How do I know which stepper driver is correct for the default motors? Looking at Configuration_adv.h, I don't have the TMC26X enabled, so is it the A4988? I do find references throughout the code to the TMC26xx. I suppose I need to learn a little more about my specific setup.

If I am reading what your saying correctly, the 4988 drivers are defined by default. You need to replace the A4988 with the appropriate TMC designation such as:

ORIGIONAL:
#define X_DRIVER_TYPE A4988
#define Y_DRIVER_TYPE A4988
#define Z_DRIVER_TYPE A4988

With:
#define X_DRIVER_TYPE TMC26X
#define Y_DRIVER_TYPE TMC26X
#define Z_DRIVER_TYPE TMC26X

OR the appropriate setting your going to use as noted in the comments above the define statement.

And don't forget to change the extruder to your chosen driver also.

HTH

Ah - understood. The hardware driver module attached to the board is not linked to a specific stepper motor. I was coming at this from a computer angle where the software driver must match the hardware or things don't work. Which is true in this case, but I get to pick the hardware driver side when selecting.

That said, is there any significant performance difference between the different modules? or is it just a matter of preference?

You've lost me here.
The driver IS connected to a specific stepper motor. Next to each driver on the board is a connector that goes to the specific stepper motor for that label. This is controlled by the pins.h file which you generally will not mess with.

Are there differences between the different modules, yes and if you google each of them you will get many different (and sometimes conflicting) opinions of the pros and cons of each one. Also, some of it does boil down to personal preference of a desired feature such as sensorless homing.

HTH

Sorry, my confusion is showing.

I have the original red RAMPS 1.4 board with the driver modules embedded. If I'm going to get the BIGTREETECH SKR 1.4, the site gives me those options listed above for the different driver modules to include. So my question boils down to: which of those listed driver modules is the correct one for the original Hictop 3DP 12 printer? How can I tell which one is used or compatible with my printer?

Like I said, I'm comfortable with the programming side, but I'm not finding any of those particular driver module designations in any of the files in the Marlin config I've been using (Thanks Clif! I can't wait to get over to the Scablands for some camping. I'm on the west side of the Cascades).

I just don't want to order the wrong one and end up either having to order another batch, or worse, borking the stepper motors themselves.

Thanks for your patience.
Barry

As far as I know all the original ramps boards came fitted with A4988 drivers.
That having been said, the stepper motors for the most part (excluding closed loop and some hybrid types) are all the same. The steppers used on these printers can be run by any of the usual drivers as long as they are properly setup. By this, I mean for instance the 'max current' property is properly set for the stepper motor you have. Many drivers have a potentiometer on them while others can have it set in the software.

Many people today think the TMC2209 seems to be the best because they are quiet. YMMV (NOTE: I am reluctant to recommend any of these as the only experience I have is with the A4988's that came on my printers and these are the cheapest base models)

Perfect! Thanks - I may experiment with the quieter option. My wife will approve.