Build Your Own SLA/SLS

A lot of people have asked what is the 'standard' choice for setting up a firmware and controller board. You have a lot of options in this regard. Some people have taken the simple route and purchased a standard RAMPs-compatible controller. These controllers were originally designed for FDM/FFF printers, but they work unmodified with Creation Workshop and SLA printers. You can search on ebay for a variety of these boards:

Another route you can take is simply purchasing an Arduino board that is capable of running the firmware such as the Arduino 2560 . You'll also need to purchase one or motor stepper motor controllers such as this:

The next step is choosing and configuring a firmware to load on the controller board. There are several good choices for firmwares.
Sprinter
Marlin
grbl

This video shows the basic process of configuring your firmware to work with your board: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oe3HJzL1vQI

One thing to note is that some vendors will ship Arduino/RAMPS with firmware loaded for you. Ask if there is a question. It is not that hard to do but it might be one more thing to learn before being able to get the machine to lurch.

Also while it may cost a little more there is so much support for Arduino/RAMPS that it would make it a good choice for a newbie. Not that the other options are bad, just not as easy IMHO.

Hi Guys,

Firstly PacManFan, awesome software! Very intuitive and quick for slicing. There are some really nice builds showcased here on the forum and great part results - all exciting. Now if I could only get my Arduino end working... I'm new to this so hate to be a pain but need a little help.

I have connected a stepper motor, driver, end stop switch for 'z'min, and power supply, to my ramps 1.4, which is on the Arduino Mega. That is plugged into my laptop, and I have uploaded Marlin. All of this based on this forum - another big thank you. I have loaded and configured CW13. I try to move the motor and nothing happens.

Have I missed something somewhere?

I just went through the exact process. I couldn't get Marlin to work, or rather it didn't so I switched to Sprinter which works perfect. I believe Marlin needs the extruder disabled to work properly, I just found it easier to upload Sprinter.

Clinton

One thing to check with Marlin/Sprinter - make sure you've set the com port speed to be 115200.

Just wanted to post and say I have a working copy of Marlin now. I also have a servo working for a shutter as Sprinter would not play well with a servo.

Clinton

Fascinating, that would simplify or at least shrink the board complexity of my project. What is the minimum specs required for an arduino to run common firmware? Would anything with an At-mega 2560, 1280 or possibly lower work?

All common firmware will fit easily on a Arduino Mega 2560. You may have to omit a few things to make it fit on a 1280.

Smaller firmwares like Grbl easily fit on an Uno. Teacup can fit on a Teensy 2.0.

For more details, check out Most include the electronics that each can run on.

Is the smoothieboard 3x compatible? Seems like a nice low cost solution for getting an all in one board. Has anyone tried running CW with smoothie firmware?

http://shop.uberclock.com/collections/s ... ieboard-3x

http://smoothieware.org/smoothieboard