Mainboard for the MP Mini Delta - Normal or "Quiet"

GigDigit

$49.00 - $59.00
SKU:
M300-MAINBOARD
Availability:
Order will ship within 4 days after you email the stepper motor info to GigDigit. After this small batch sells out, it is unknown when more will be available. This is due to the chip shortage, specifically the STM32 MCU that the mainboard uses.
Maximum Purchase:
3 units
IMPORTANT::
Please read the section "INFORMATION NEEDED TO PROCEED WITH ORDER FULFILLMENT" within the product description. Failing to provide the stepper motor information and a picture of the mainboard (nothing needs to be unplugged for the picture) will delay

Compatible with:

  • Monoprice MP Mini Delta

Stock/Normal Version Includes:

  • One (1) mainboard with 4988 stepper drivers for XYZE motors.
  • * One (1) Hotend fan extension cable. This should only be needed for models that were received from one of the Indiegogo batches. This may also include some refurbished units.
  • The board will be tuned according to the motor information you provide.

* Depending on the picture of the mainboard that is sent to GigDigit. If the fan extension cable is not needed then it will not be included.

Quiet/TMC Version Includes:

  • One (1) mainboard with TMC2208 stepper drivers for XYZE* motors. The TMC2208 drivers are running in "legacy mode".
  • One (1) Fan adapter/cable with a 1/2 watt 150 Ohm resister that can be used for fan within the base of the printer. This is included as an extra and is not required to be used. Using the adapter will lessen the fan noise but at the same time will decrease the airflow.
  • * One (1) Hotend fan extension cable. This should only be needed for models that were received from one of the Indiegogo batches. This may also include some refurbished units.
  • The board will be tuned according to the motor information you provide.

* You may request to have the extruder stepper driver remain as the stock 4988 driver but please make the request either prior to your purchase or when submitting the stepper motor information after the purchase. If the option for having the extruder driver a 4988 is not showing as in stock, you may place the order for all TMC2208 and email your request for E=4988.
* Depending on the picture of the mainboard that is sent to GigDigit. If the fan extension cable is not needed then it will not be included.

Shipping Time: When available for purchase, estimated time to be shipped is 2-4 days for the quiet/TMC version and 1-3 days for the stock stepper driver version. Estimates are from the time the customer provided the required stepper motor info for their printer.

INFORMATION NEEDED TO PROCEED WITH ORDER FULFILLMENT:

  • After placing your order please provide the stepper motor model number from either the X, Y, or Z motors and also the extruder stepper motor model number. You may send this information via the contact us page or reply to your order confirmation email. Please be sure to include the order number if using the contact us page or if sending an email that is not a reply to the order confirmation. Without the order number being included somewhere within the email it will likely delay shipping.
  • At least one (1) picture of the mainboard. Nothing needs to be unplugged (but can be) for the picture but please make sure the picture is the entire mainboard. Multiple pictures is okay as long as the entire layout of the mainboard can be made from all the pictures.
  • The stepper motor model number is required to proceed with your order. There have been some recent changes to the Mini Delta motors. The Mini Delta has started using stepper motors with a phase resistance of ~2 Ohms. From the beginning and up until sometime in the first half of 2019 the Mini Delta has been shipping with stepper motors with a phase resistance of ~10 Ohms. Most users will have the 10 Ohm motors but confirmation is still needed to be sure that you are sent a board that is configured for your Mini Delta.

NOTES:

  • If mainboards with the original 4988 stepper drivers are in stock and should ship within 2 - 4 days after ordering (assuming the customer has sent the requested information to GigDigit).
  • Mainboards with TMC2208 stepper drivers are being made available to order prior to them being ready to ship due to many customers requesting this option. There is often a delay in shipping this version of the mainboard out but if they are available for purchase then it means there are boards in stock but may need to be modified and tested before shipping. 
  • The stock mainboard now comes with four HR4988 stepper drivers. Each stock mainboard has at minimum one test print ran with it to verify all is working. Most often the board is not tested until after ordered to ensure that it indeed was tested and working just before being sent to the customer.
  • Each "quiet" board is a stock mainboard modified by hand to remove the four HR4988 stepper drivers and replace with four Trinamic TMC2208 stepper drivers. Also each stepper driver circuit will have the charge pump capacitor swapped as is recommended by Trinamic. Each quiet board has two to four print tests ran totaling between 12 and 20 hours of actual print time.
  • It is not recommended to run the printer without a bottom fan to cool the motors and electronics. This applies for both the stock boards and the quiet boards. Printing without a fan may lead to failed prints due to overheating stepper drivers.
  • If you order additional items with the mainboard please know that they will not be shipped until your mainboard is shipped. If you would like those items right away please order those items separately. 

"QUIET" OPTION

Here is a Google Photos album with videos and a couple pictures that show off the TMC stepper drivers.

Basically it will make the printer much quieter when printing. The fans will be the loudest part of the machine and then maybe a little bearing noise but that will vary from printer to printer.

We will not claim that swapping the stock A4988 stepper drivers with TMC2208 stepper drivers will make prints come out better or print faster. I will say that this upgrade will make the printer much quieter without loss of quality or speed. No firmware modifications are needed. No hardware changes have to be made by the user to accommodate the upgraded drivers. As far as the user is concerned all is the same in regards to hooking up the board and printing with the same slicer settings as used before.

NOTE:

  • The TMC2208 drivers are running in "legacy mode" and cannot be changed. The TMC2208 will interpolate received step signals to 256 microsteps. UART is not available in legacy mode.

Marlin4MPMD (or other Marlin build):

  • Marlin4MPMD (or can be flashed to both versions of the mainboard. If you plan to enable linear advance with either Marlin 2.0 or with a fork of Marlin that includes linear advance please know that linear advance may not work with the quiet/TMC2208 version of the mainboard. You may request to have the extruder stepper driver remain as the stock 4988 driver but please make the request either prior to your purchase or when submitting the stepper motor information after the purchase.
  • If you plan to enable linear advance with either Marlin 2.0 or with a fork of Marlin that includes linear advance and you have already purchased a quiet/TMC version of the mainboard you are welcome to contact us to help you determine if your mainboard has the stock or TMC stepper driver installed for the extruder. If it is determined that it has the TMC2208 installed for the extruder then you can send the board back to GigDigit to have a stock stepper driver reinstalled for the extruder. The customer will be responsible for the cost shipping each way plus the cost of the stepper driver (~$2).

Warranty & Return policy:

  • As mentioned above, each mainboard is tested by GigDigit to verify the  functionality before it is sent to the customer.
  • If you do not plan to use the mainboard right away or are purchasing to have a spare on hand, please inspect and test the mainboard before storing for later use.
  • Please see the store's general Returns page for additional information.

If purchasing the mainboard as a replacement part, please be sure to fix the problem that caused the damage to the previous mainboard before installing the new mainboard. If this is not done before install the new mainboard, then there is a good chance the new mainboard will be damaged in the same or similar way.