Upgrade Duet2 Wifi - add the Duex5 or Duet3 Mini with 2+

SuperJETT

I have had my Duet 2 Wifi since Feb 2017, still a workhorse and love it, but I'm building a new printer with 3x Z motors so need some extra steppers.

I also have a Chameleon (that I haven't touched in 2 years) that I control with a small pancake motor that activates a switch instead of moving the gantry to hit a switch.

X, Y, Z1, Z2, Z3, E, Chameleon means I need 7 steppers total.

I could get the Duex5 to add 5 steppers but it's $120.
I could get a new Duet 3 Mini plus the Mini 2+ expansion board for ~$165 then sell my current board for maybe $50 so it would be a wash money-wise but with a new board.
The third option is the Duet expansion board and wire up some steppers I have here, $30 but not as elegant IMO.

Opinions? Money is a factor, but not the biggest one probably. No matter which option I go with, I'm going to have have an extra board.

oliof

@SuperJETT for future proofing, the Duet3mini plus 2 stepper expansion is the way to go IMO.

EDIT: It also means you get to keep your old printer running while the new one is being built.

SuperJETT

@oliof said in Upgrade Duet2 Wifi - add the Duex5 or Duet3 Mini with 2+:

@SuperJETT for future proofing, the Duet3mini plus 2 stepper expansion is the way to go IMO.

EDIT: It also means you get to keep your old printer running while the new one is being built.

Good points, thanks.

SuperJETT

@oliof done, ordered. Thanks for pushing me that direction.

Filastruder is running a 20% off sale, perfect timing.

o_lampe

@oliof said in Upgrade Duet2 Wifi - add the Duex5 or Duet3 Mini with 2+:

for future proofing, the Duet3mini plus 2 stepper expansion is the way to go IMO.

IIRC, there are already some limitations regarding RRF3.5 features?

@SuperJETT It might take a while, but you can look for a used genuine Duet3d 2+ driver expansion board for the Duet2.
I also had a working solution with a BTT M5 or a BTT Exp mot to upgrade a Duet2.

The M5 requires a bit of spaghetti wiring. I had planned to make an PCB- adapter for the ribbon cable, but it never happened. Now they both are hard to find on Aliexpress....

droftarts

@o_lampe it’s the Duet 2 WiFi/Ethernet that is slowly losing features (or rather not gaining new ones), due to memory limitations as it has 512Kb flash and 128Kb RAM. No problem on Mini 5+, which has 1Mb flash and 256Kb RAM, at the same speed as Duet 2 at 120MHz. The 6HC and 6XD has more memory, at 384Kb, are faster at 300MHz.

Ian