Duet 3 Mainboard 6HC - initial production run.

garyd9

@deckingman said in Duet 3 Mainboard 6HC - initial production run.:

@superwhisk Duet 2 will still be the mainstream product. Do you need to run more than 12 motors or motors that use > 2.8 amps?

You're talking to an audience that has either scratch built 3D printers, or torn down and re-assembled existing printers that worked perfectly fine. We download and use "beta" software daily. We push our printers to go faster with better detail, etc. Using an off the shelf printer as-is simply isn't an option for us.

What does "mainstream" mean?

dc42

What it means is that Duet 3 has high-end technology such as 6 high power stepper drivers, 240MHz ARM Cortex M7 processor and CAN expansion. This makes the Duet 3 expensive and it is gross overkill for typical 3D printers, also the RPi is a more expensive (but more flexible) option than the on-board networking of Duet 2. So it's going to be hard to justify using Duet 3 in low-cost printers.

Going forwards, we will probably offer a Duet 2 variant that supports the RPi instead of built-in networking. In its simplest form, this would be a Duet Ethernet without the Ethernet daughter board.

garyd9

@dc42 said in Duet 3 Mainboard 6HC - initial production run.:

What it means is that Duet 3 has high-end technology such as 6 high power stepper drivers, 240MHz ARM Cortex M7 processor and CAN expansion. This makes the Duet 3 expensive and it is gross overkill for typical 3D printers, also the RPi is a more expensive (but more flexible) option than the on-board networking of Duet 2. So it's going to be hard to justify using Duet 3 in low-cost printers.

Going forwards, we will probably offer a Duet 2 variant that supports the RPi instead of built-in networking. In its simplest form, this would be a Duet Ethernet without the Ethernet daughter board.

The more you talk about it, the more I want one (regardless of need.) I think my only hesitation right now (beyond being broke) is the uncertainty of a hard-wired display/control panel (such as the paneldue.) The current DWC doesn't work for me as an attached hard-wired interface.

I do wonder if the newer board would be able to run a simple 3 axis delta with 64 microstepping, interpolation, and without having hiccups all the time. Needed? No. Wanted? Absolutely!

dc42

@garyd9 said in Duet 3 Mainboard 6HC - initial production run.:

I do wonder if the newer board would be able to run a simple 3 axis delta with 64 microstepping, interpolation, and without having hiccups all the time. Needed? No. Wanted? Absolutely!

All existing Duets can do that when you print from SD card, except that the Duet WiFi/Ethernet can only do interpolation with the microstepping set to x16.

deckingman

@garyd9 said in Duet 3 Mainboard 6HC - initial production run.:

@deckingman said in Duet 3 Mainboard 6HC - initial production run.:

@superwhisk Duet 2 will still be the mainstream product. Do you need to run more than 12 motors or motors that use > 2.8 amps?

You're talking to an audience that has either scratch built 3D printers, or torn down and re-assembled existing printers that worked perfectly fine. We download and use "beta" software daily. We push our printers to go faster with better detail, etc. Using an off the shelf printer as-is simply isn't an option for us.

What does "mainstream" mean?

I take that you haven't seen my blog or YouTube channel that are linked in my description then? If you had, you would know that I currently have a scratch built 1.7 metre tall, 7 axis COREXYUVAB with dynamic load balancing gantry and 6 extruders.

Having been one of the first adopters of Duet WiFi, then Duet Ethernet, then Duex 5 expansion boards, and now Duet 3 and also having used all versions of Duet from the very first 06 , as well as being one of the first members of this forum, I am fully aware of the audience and what "we" do.

SuperWhisk

@dc42 said in Duet 3 Mainboard 6HC - initial production run.:

Going forwards, we will probably offer a Duet 2 variant that supports the RPi instead of built-in networking. In its simplest form, this would be a Duet Ethernet without the Ethernet daughter board.

I assume from your wording that this support will require a hardware change on the Duet 2? So if I buy one now it will not be able to take advantage of this later?

@superwhisk said in Duet 3 Mainboard 6HC - initial production run.:

@dc42 said in Duet 3 Mainboard 6HC - initial production run.:

Going forwards, we will probably offer a Duet 2 variant that supports the RPi instead of built-in networking. In its simplest form, this would be a Duet Ethernet without the Ethernet daughter board.

I assume from your wording that this support will require a hardware change on the Duet 2? So if I buy one now it will not be able to take advantage of this later?

I think you answered your own question........

samlogan87

@superwhisk It may not be that bad. Unlike the Wifi the ethernet has a removable board, so he maybe saying that you can just pull the ethernet board off and use the pins underneath.

Regards,
Sam

deckingman

Readers of this thread might find this interesting https://forum.duet3d.com/topic/11900/duet-gen-3-teaser

@superwhisk said in Duet 3 Mainboard 6HC - initial production run.:

I assume from your wording that this support will require a hardware change on the Duet 2? So if I buy one now it will not be able to take advantage of this later?

I guess it would depend on what you are willing/able to change yourself; if you're comfortable with desoldering the wifi or ethernet module and soldering up the 5 signals + ground and run over to the pi I guess you'll be able to take advantage of the future pi support.
(I'd opt for the ethernet version as you should be able to just cut the pins on the ethernet module instead of removing the surface mounted wifi module)

Anyone can check and work it out for themselves.

The Rpi SPI PINOUTS

And the Duet Wiring

I have previously posted a picture on another thread where the Duet3 to Rpi wiring is shown too.

dc42

@samlogan87 said in Duet 3 Mainboard 6HC - initial production run.:

@superwhisk It may not be that bad. Unlike the Wifi the ethernet has a removable board, so he maybe saying that you can just pull the ethernet board off and use the pins underneath.

Regards,
Sam

Yes, it should be possible to remove the Ethernet daughter board and connect the Pi to 5 pins of the daughter board socket. The Pi would need its own 5V power supply.

However, there isn't yet a firmware build configuration for Duet 2 with RPi and no local LAN interface.

@dc42 said in Duet 3 Mainboard 6HC - initial production run.:

Yes, it should be possible to remove the Ethernet daughter board and connect the Pi to 5 pins of the daughter board socket. The Pi would need its own 5V power supply.

Feasible to use Pi with future iteration of the Maestro as well?

dc42

Yes, potentially. We're already planning a WiFi version of the Maestro, so we can look at doing a variant to connect to a Pi instead.

mundsen

@t3p3tony I did order this one (model B) for the DUET 3/pi4 - seems like an ok capasitive lcd with high brightness
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32918420852.html?spm=a2g0o.cart.0.0.5d3d3c00DBkZPl&mp=1

mundsen

The new home for my Duet 3 + rpi4 + 7" LCD (design in progress)

hanshogeland

Hi, anyone know if it’s possible to add an extra stepper with for example a TB6600 to the Duet3? And is it also possible to get in queue for the 3HC expansion board?

T3P3Tony

@hanshogeland at this stage the main board we are producing initially (6HC) and the expansion board we have in prototype of (3HC) do not have the interface for external drivers. That said we plan an expansion board for external drivers as soon as we can. (but I can't commit to a date yet!). Further out I think there will probably be enough demand for a main board that has no onboard drivers and just uses external drivers.

I expect to announce more about ordering expansion boards as soon as we have completed some more testing on the prototypes. The production boards will have some (relatively minor) changes from the prototypes, but we need more testing to confirm we have identified all the required changes.

hanshogeland

@t3p3tony thx for the quick reply, yes we are eager to begin our journey. I need atleast 13 drivers so the Duet 3 is the choice

@T3P3Tony

Sorry to be a pain.. but if you are including a ribbon cable to go between the Duet 3 & the SBC do you offhand know the length of the cable that will be included ?

Im designing plate mounts so i can have the SBC side by side with the Duet so a cable length would be handy to know.