Solved Duet 3 mini 5+ with 8 stepper drivers?

[JKlaus]

Is there any way to get 8 stepper drivers with a 5+?
I have see the add on board that bumps it up to 7.
But is there a way to get 1 more without stepping up to the 6HC or back to a duet 2?

[Dougal1957]

@jklaus said in Duet 3 mini 5+ with 8 stepper drivers?:

Is there any way to get 8 stepper drivers with a 5+?
I have see the add on board that bumps it up to 7.
But is there a way to get 1 more without stepping up to the 6HC or back to a duet 2?

you can use a 3hc to give you an extra 3 high current steppers https://www.duet3d.com/Duet3Expansion3HC or you could use toolboards as well https://www.duet3d.com/Duet3Toolboard1LC

[Dougal1957]

@jklaus said in Duet 3 mini 5+ with 8 stepper drivers?:

Is there any way to get 8 stepper drivers with a 5+?
I have see the add on board that bumps it up to 7.
But is there a way to get 1 more without stepping up to the 6HC or back to a duet 2?

you can use a 3hc to give you an extra 3 high current steppers https://www.duet3d.com/Duet3Expansion3HC or you could use toolboards as well https://www.duet3d.com/Duet3Toolboard1LC

[jay_s_uk]

@jklaus yep, there are 3 ways
another mini5+ can be used to add another 5 drivers (making 10) over CAN
a 3HC can be used to add 3 drivers (making over CAN
a number of toolboards can be added adding a driver per toolboard over CAN

[dc42]

@jklaus said in Duet 3 mini 5+ with 8 stepper drivers?:

Is there any way to get 8 stepper drivers with a 5+?
I have see the add on board that bumps it up to 7.
But is there a way to get 1 more without stepping up to the 6HC or back to a duet 2?

Only by using CAN bus. see the responses above. We originally wanted to support 8 stepper motors on the Duet 3 Mini, but we ran out of pins on the microcontroller.

[JKlaus]

That is perfect, I wasn't sure if those other CAN accessories were compatible.
I had seen that it could control up to 7x 2209 so I didn't know if those other boards would work with the 5+

Thanks for all the responses.

I am trying to put together a pair of 600x600x200 IDEX printers to take care a bunch of large flat parts I will need to print.
They are going to be a stationary bed with a moving gantry all on linear rails.
Getting all the settings sorted out to get the IDEX up and working should be interesting.
But they will probably start with a single tool head to get that squared away before adding complexity.
Currently I have 2x printers with Duet 2's in them (1 ender 3 pro, 1 custom 400mm cube)

[dc42]

@jklaus if you are using direct drive extruders, then consider mounting tool boards on the print heads. That way you need only have power and CAN in the cable chains to them. Otherwise you will need around 15 to 18 wires to each tool head, to handle the extruder motor, heater, thermistor, 2 fans, Z probe, and endstop switch.

[JKlaus]

@dc42 I am planning on going direct with probably an orbiter/volcano setup. The toolboard is definitely interesting.
A pair of those along with the 2 channel 2209 add on board would get the job done.
And simplifying the wiring to the heads would definitely be welcome.
I need to see if I can work in that board into the heads.
Is there a 3d model of the board somewhere so I can throw it into Inventor to play with?

Edit: Nevermind, I just found the step file on the wiki.

[dc42]

@jklaus can you clarify why you need 8 stepper motors in total? A "normal" IDEX with single X, Y, Z and U motors needs 6.

[JKlaus]

@dc42 I am going to have dual steppers on Y and Z.
With the moving gantry it will be a little heavy so I want to be sure I have enough to power to move it all relatively quickly.
With the 2209's I am not sure if they have the power available to run a pair of motors and get the job done.
I may be wrong on that but I would rather have more overhead instead of being worried I was underpowered.

[dc42]

@jklaus, fair enough!