Replacement controller board for FT-5 R1 or pitch the dang thing

[bmosinski]

OK so looking for advice as to what I should do with my Folgertech FT-5 R1 that has served me well. Today the controller board for the E0 Extruder went bad. I would like to replace it but Folgertech is gone. Does anyone make a replacement board or can I replace it with different board that can use the same hardware?

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Bob

[Tin_Falcon]

The ft 5 kit is technically not open source s the prints and designs are not publicly available . However the thing was built with mostly off the shelf parts meaning they are readily available.
IIRC the kit came with an extra driver board.
did you try swapping it in?

the driver you are looking for is a standard POLOLU
A 4988 here is a link to the genuine article.

https://www.pololu.com/product/1182
Here are some imports on amazon

Amazon.com: BIQU A4988 Compatible StepStick Stepper Motor Diver Module with Heat Sink for 3D Printer Controller Ramps 1.4(Pack of 5pcs) : Industrial & Scientific

This would be another option

https://www.pololu.com/category/154/drv8825-stepper-motor-driver-carriers-high-current

IIRC you need to change steps per mm on your extruder.
You want to pitch it ?,Pitch it my direction.

[Ron]

I second that ^^^^^^^^, but would add that almost any "RepRap" stepper stick in that form factor should work.
Here are just a few (hundred) links for them on FleaBay.
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1311&_nkw=stepper+driver+a4988&_sacat=0
Other than having to set the drive current (like the originals) they should be plug-and-play replacements.

Or, you can upgrade to DRV8825-based boards as @Tin_Falcon mentioned, which will do finer microstepping (1/32 rather than 1/16).
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2334524.m570.l1313&_nkw=DRV8825+stepper+driver&_sacat=0&LH_TitleDesc=0&_odkw=quiet+stepper+driver+&_osacat=0

And of course there are TMCXXXX-based "quiet" drivers such as these-
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2334524.m570.l1313&_nkw=quiet+stepper+driver+&_sacat=0&LH_TitleDesc=0&_odkw=stepper+driver+a4988&_osacat=0
But I must confess that I had no luck using the TMC-series drivers myself, and they are set up differently than most RepRap drivers jumper-wise.
They did weird things on my printer so in the end I gave up on them.
I would not recommend these for the extruder drive, only for the XYZ motions if you want to use them.

My present board is a 32 bit MKS/SmoothieWare setup which is DRV8825-based for the stepper drives.
I am quite happy with it, and am running 1/32 microstepping on all motors.

So yes, you have many options when a stock stepper driver stick goes bad.
That is one of the beauties of the modular controller design that was used for the R1's.

FWIW...

[Tin_Falcon]

3d printer parts and filament are not quite as ubiquitous as say socks and T shirts . but a little google will find most parts found on a printer. and the handful that are not found can usually be fabricated. The hardest part is likely the occasional pcb this is where open source is very helpful because if you can find the board layout they can easily and reasonably be sourced out.
Also not a bad idea to familiarize you self with the various parts and keep spares on hand.
Of course murphy's law dictates if you buy a spare it will likely collect dust for eternity . And the one spare you do not have on hand is the one that will fail.

[csorrows]

IIRC the kit came with an extra driver board. did you try swapping it in?

Correct, it did in fact ship with fully populated drivers which leaves one spare. This would be the first step if you still have it. Make sure that you adjust it correctly using the assembly guide so you don't damage it.

It shipped with an MKS board with 4988 drivers. Pretty much any control board is going to work with some firmware configuration and stepper adjustment.

[bmosinski]

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1311&_nkw=stepper+driver+a4988&_sacat=0

Thank you everyone for the reply... I feel better about trying to bring it back to life.
Here are the steps I have taken so far. Everything is moving and it auto homes.
The HE still works and appears all is working except the E0 extruder.
So I opened it up and switched the cable for E0 to Z and was able to move with control panel move axis, so I know everything cable and connector wise is working to the extruder stepper.

I switched the driver from Z into the E0 position and nothing... so appear to be board.
I found this as suggested on eBay.

MKS Gen V1.4 Board+5Pcs A4988/DRV8825/TMC2130V1.1/2130V1.2 SPI/2208 V1.2 Driver. | eBay

I seem to remember something in the directions about it coming with software loaded on it from FT? or was that the drivers?
Anyway this appears to be the same board so I will order it and go from there.
Let me know how and what I might need to do to the board to prep it.. or is it just install and move over my drivers?

Thank you again to all those that take the time to respond. Regards, Bob

[csorrows]

I seem to remember something in the directions about it coming with software loaded on it from FT? or was that the drivers?

No, the board came stock. The setup instructions and firmware are linked in the main FT-5 topic.

FT-5 Large Scale 3D Printer [READ THIS FIRST]

Click the main category above for files and links. This is the place to get help, post mods, discuss, and show off anything related to the FolgerTech FT-5. Please post in the correct sub-category. Original (R1) links and files (discontinued) Official Product Page Folger Tech FT-5 Large Scale 3D Printer Kit Official Files Owner's Manual (Draft v12) Firmware V5.0) All Files R2 links and files Official Product Page Folger Tech FT-5 Large Scale 3D Printer Kit The latest FT-5 R2 files a…

[Ron]

When you install the new board, just do what the original build manual says to do for board installation (refer to Chris's links) and you should be OK.
Be certain to remember to set the motor currents on the little driver boards before connecting the motors up though (also covered in the links).
If the currents are set too high they can quickly overheat the motors or the drivers (or both) and cause issues.
Too low and the motors will miss steps.
And of course you should not connect and disconnect the motors while the power is turned on.

At least in my case the original V1.4 board did not come with firmware already installed.

The Gen1.4 boards are fairly simple to set up and work with.

[Tin_Falcon]

You are better off using an older version of Arduino to set up your board IIRC used version 1.6.7 or 1.6.9

[Ron]

I used Arduino 1.8.13 for a side project recently and had no problems with it.
But I do know that there were some "iffy" releases too (not sure which ones though).

[csorrows]

You are better off using an older version of Arduino to set up your board IIRC used version 1.6.7 or 1.6.9

Yup, with these older firmwares it's better to go with 1.6.7 for an error free flash. Some of the newer versions will give you errors.

[Tin_Falcon]

This may be a bit late and a really stupid question. but did you have the extruder to temperature. The extruder will not run unless the min temp parameter is hit.
It is a safety feature built into the firmware avoids stripping filament etc.