RA Assembly Instructions
With the demise of the elefu.com Web site, it became necessary to archive the Assembly Instructions. Unfortunately the photos are missing.
This is a guide to assembling your RA Board and all its peripherals. It includes info on soldering the kits together, and then info on how to connect all the boards to each other. Be sure to read it through once before you begin soldering.
If you got assembled versions of RA, you can use this link to skip to the connecting boards section of this guide.
If you're just looking for the firmware, go to https://github.com/kiyoshigawa/Elefu-RAv3 for the current RA firmware. You will need to update your firmware with settings specific to your printer.
If you want to download the mp3 voice sets so your printer can give you audio updates, they are available at https://github.com/kiyoshigawa/Elefu-Mp3.
###Parts List
- (2) 8-pin Male Headers
- (1) Stepper Driver Board
###Build Instructions
- Solder in (2) 8-Pin male headers per stepper driver. You can do this in a breadboard if you have one, or place the female headers in the RA Board (without soldering them yet) to make sure they align properly.
- Make sure to turn the pots on the stepper all the way down (Counter-Clockwise) before you turn things on, then adjust them up to just where you need them.
- Steppers are rated for 2A max, but this is only with active cooling.
- Don't use the stepper pot above half power without active cooling. (Pics of stepper pot positioning to come)
-
NEVER remove a stepper motor or driver while the power is on, or you could
destroy your stepper driver.
###Parts List
- (49) Screw Terminal Pairs (There may be an extra or two, don't worry)
- (2) Rows of 40-Pin female headers
- (2) Rows of 8-Pin female headers
- (1) Piezo Transducer
- (3) 10A Fuses (Look for the 'GF1000′ on one side)
- (2) 5A Fuses (Look for the 'UF500′ on one side)
- (1) 24-pin Molex Connector
- (1) 8-pin Molex Connector
- (1) RA Board
###Build Instructions
####Screw Terminals
- Make sure to put the holes facing out. The terminals can be slid together and attached.
- Slide together (2) rows of 22 pairs.
- Slide together (1) row of 5 pairs.
- Solder in the two end pins for each row and check fit and position before soldering them all. You can reheat each end and shift them around a bit to get them just right.
- Flip board over and it will be flat while soldering.
- Solder in all the screw terminals.
- You may have a couple spare screw terminals. Enjoy them.
####Pin Headers
- Take one of your finished stepper drivers and plug it into the two 40-pin female headers. Make sure they are both lined up.
- Next, put the assembled stepper-header into the RA board. This will align the headers and keep them from shifting sideways as you try to solder.
- Flip the board over while holding the 40-pins and stepper in place and set it upside down on the table. Then solder the 40-pins into the RA Board.
- Repeat the above three steps for the two 8-pin headers.
- Solder the piezo into the socket with the '+' sign on the piezo towards the USB port. There's no mark on the RA board to indicate direction, so make sure to align the '+' on the piezo towards the USB.
- The two 5A fuses have 'UF500′ written on them. Solder them in first.
- The three 10A fuses have 'GF1000′ written on them. Gently bend the legs out and solder them in second.
- The Molex connectors will snap into place. They have a plastic alignment pin on one side, so don't put them in backwards.
- Flip the board and solder them into place. They will hold themselves.
###Parts List
- (6) Screw Terminal Pairs
- (1) Encoder Knob
- (1) Control Panel Board
###Build Instructions
- Snap together (1) row of 6 pairs. (pic to come)
- Solder in the two end pins for each row and check fit and position before soldering them all. You can reheat each end and shift them around a bit to get them just right. (pic example to come)
- Snap the encoder wheel into place (pic to come)
- Solder in the three pins on one side and the two pins on the other side. (pic to come)
- (2) Screw Terminal Pairs
- (1) 16-Pin Female Header
- (1) 16-Pin Male Header (This is used on the LCD screen)
- (1) TWI LCD Backpack Board
- Snap together (1) row of 2 pairs. (pic to come)
- Solder in the two end pins for each row and check fit and position before soldering them all. You can reheat each end and shift them around a bit to get them just right. (pic example to come)
- Insert the 16-pin female pin header such that it is facing down from the top of the board. (pic to come)
- Solder the 16-pin female header into place facing down (away from the IC). (pic to come)
###Parts List
- (1) 16-Pin Male header (Included in TWI LCD Backpack Bag)
- (1) LCD Screen
###Build Instructions
- Insert 16-pin male pin header such that the pins are pointing away from the screen. (pic)
- Solder 16-pin male header into place (pic)
- When connecting the LCD screen to the TWI LCD backpack, insert the LCD such that pin 1 and pin 16 line up. (pics showing pin labels on blue and green LCDs to come)
- When it is connected, you need to turn the pot on the back of the TWI LCD backpack until the characters on the screen are visible (pics of pot and turn ranges to come)
###Parts List
- (4) Screw Terminal Pairs
- (1) TLC5947 RGB Module
- Snap together (1) row of 4 pairs. (pic)
- Solder in the two end pins for each row and check fit and position before soldering them all. You can reheat each end and shift them around a bit to get them just right. (pic example to come)
- Since every printer is different, it's up to you to figure out where to want your LEDs.
- Cut (4) wires to length per RGB LED board you want to place, and solder each end to the matching pin locations on the TLC5947 board. (pic for 1 RGB LED)
- Note that you can use a common V+ wire for all the LEDs on each TLC board, but each RGB LED board needs its own R, G, and B wires.
###Parts List
- (4) Screw Terminal Pairs
- (1) Mp3 Board
- Snap together (1) row of 2 pairs. (pic)
- Solder in the two end pins for each row and check fit and position before soldering them all. You can reheat each end and shift them around a bit to get them just right. (pic example to come)
- solder in the remaining two screw terminal pairs. (pic)
###Parts List
- (1) Heated Bed PCB
- Solder in 2 wires (use 16GA wire for the heated bed to avoid overheating and fire) (pic)
- (Optionally) Solder on your own 0603 smt LEDs on the two sets of pads in parallel. Have each LED face a different direction. Then, solder one 0603 smt resistor onto the single set of pads. Alternatively use any through-hole LEDs and resistors. These are optional parts that indicate when power is applied to the heated bed. They are not needed for normal operation, and the RA board has an LED on it as well.
###Parts List
- (1) LED Light Ring Board
- Solder in 2 wires noting the positive and negative leads for future connection to the RA board.
###Parts List
- (3) End Stops
- Can be soldered in either Normally Open (NO), or Normally Closed (NC) configurations.
- Default Mode: NO
- Solder this way if you want to use the endstops for homing only and not as emergency stops (this is the default way) (pic to come)
- A-Typical Mode: NC
- This mode is typically used if you are using 6 endstops and not just 3. It is also often changed to use them as actual emergency endstops in the firmware. For most people, this is not needed on their 3D printer. It also has the downside of making the axis unable to move in a direction if that endstop is accidentally unplugged. (pic)
###Parts List
- (1) pre-assembled camera board
###Build Instructions
- We assembled all of these for you already. Enjoy them.
This section will walk you through all the pins and connections on the RA board and its peripherals to tell you how to hook everything up. Read this entire section before setting up and using your RA board.
Molex Power: Support for 20-pin or 24-pin with 4-pin CPU power and 8-pin CPU power 12V supplements.
- 20-pin power provides main power for the RA board.
- 3.3V, 5V, 5V standby, and +12V require at least the 20-pin connector to be inserted. The board will not work without the 20-pin inserted.
- Good for up to 2A of 3v3,
- good for up to 500mA of 5V standby (this is used to power the 2560 chip, and TWI communication, as well as temperature sensors and end stops),
- good for up to 5A of 5V power,
- and good for up to only 6A of 12V power.
- if you add the 4-pin to the 20-pin, or use a 24-pin connector
- Same as above, but good for up to 12A total of 12V power.
- if you add a 4-pin CPU power connector to the 24-pin
- Same as above, but good for up to 24A max of 12V power.
- if you use the 24-pin and an 8-pin
- Same as above, but good for up to 36A max of 12V power.
12V
- This is your auxiliary connector for 12V power. It is fused at 5A, and can be used to power 12V devices, such as the Mp3 Board, and the LED Light Ring. Connect positive leads to 12V and negative leads to GND. This power is on whenever your PSU is on (i.e. not in standby mode).
Double 12V PWM
- This is designed for use with heated beds. It is two fused 10A 12V transistors controlled by a single pin. They will both be turned on or off at the same time. Connect your heated beds to 12V and NEG for either connector. Each screw terminal is rated for only 10A, so if your heated bed draws more, split it into both connectors, or use your own relay to control it.
12V PWM 1
- This is a 12V switched PWM output, most commonly used for your extruder 0 heater. Connect the heater wires from your extruder to 12V and NEG
12V PWM 2
- This is a 12V switched PWM output, most commonly used for your extruder 1 heater. Connect the heater wires from your extruder to 12V and NEG
12V PWM 3
- This is a 12V switched PWM output, most commonly used for your extruder 2 heater. Connect the heater wires from your extruder to 12V and NEG
5V PWM
- This is a 5V transistor driven PWM output, commonly used for controlling a 5V cooling fan. It is fused along with the entire board's 5A fuse for the 5V line.
X Limits, Y limits and Z limits
- There are three types of connections here. GND, 5V and +/- Limits.
- GND is as described, the ground or neutral wire.
- 5V is as described, and will only be needed if you are using powered optical endstops with your printer.
- The +/- connectors are for the limit switch signal. If you are using our mechanical endstops, connect them between the +/- pins and GND, and do not use the 5V pins, as this can result in a short to ground causing your fuse to shut off.
TWI
- This TWI connector is used for controlling TWI devices, such as the mp3 player, and TWI LCD Backpack. All TWI devices use the same 4 wires, and must be chained together.
- V+ is a power connection from off of the 5V standby line (so communication with powered devices will continue even if the PSU is in standby mode). Chain the V+ line for all TWI communication devices together. Do not use with 3.3V TWI devices (All Elefu TWI Devices run on 5V).
- SCL is the clock signal for the TWI line. Any device using TWI uses the same SCL wire connection, so chain them all together.
- SDA is the data signal for the TWI line. Any device using TWI uses the same SDA wire connection, so chain them all together.
- GND is your common ground. Connect them all together.
Encoder
- This is used in the Elefu Control Panel (CP). Connect the encoder wires for GND, S, B and A to the same letters on the CP.
RST
- This is tied to the main RA Board reset button, and is for use with the CP. Solder the two wires to the arcade button legs (pic to come) and screw them in here. This is essentially your Emergency Stop button for the printer. You need to hold it down for a second and release it, and your printer will reset (this will tun off all heaters and stop all motors from moving).
CAM
- This is a generic Arduino pin that is used in conjunction with the Elefu Camera Board. You can connect the Camera Board with these two pins to the GND and CAM pins on the Camera Board.
- You will also need to connect to the +5V line from the Camera Board to somewhere else on the RA Board. A good place would be by using one of the limit switch auxiliary +5V connections.
SD Card
- This is used with the Elefu Control Panel. Connect the GND, +3v3, MISO, MOSI, SCK, SS, DTCT, AND R/W pins to their matching pins on the CP.
- This is also the only +3v3 aux connector for the board, so use it for any custom 3v3 devices you may have.
SLP/WK
- This is a sleep/wake pin planned for future use that will allow you to put your PSU in stanyby mode or wake it from standby mode by pressing a button. The software does not currently support it, so it is just a generic arduino pin currently.
DISCO
- This set of pins is used to control our chainable TLC5947 RGB Lighting modules.
- Connect the SCLK, BLANK, XLAT, GND and 5V pins to all TLC boards (chained).
- Connect the Sin from the RA Board to the first TLC5947′s Sin, then connect the Sout of the first TLC5947 to the Sin of the second TLC5947, and on and on.
- Connect +5V from the RA Board to Vled on the TLC5947. If all the RGB LEDs are turned on to full brightness white light, each board can pull nearly 1A of current at 5V, so make sure to limit the number using the same power connector for Vled power. You can use red wires from your PSU's unused connectors for additional 5V power if you require it, but be sure to remain within the PSU's max current limits as well as those of the RA Board.
Thermistors
- These are connectors for thermistors. Connect each thermistor between the GND pin and the pin of the thermistor you are using (Tbed for the heated bed, T0 for Extruder 0, T1 for Extruder 1, and T2 for extruder 2).
- If you don't have a thermistor, you can disable them in the firmware by changing their entry in pins.h to -1.
Motors
- These are the connections for your motors. Each corresponds to the stepper of its name, and Z has 2 motors attached to 1 stepper.
- When connecting our Kysan motors, you should attach them such that the pin order goes Red, Green, Yellow, Blue corresponding to 1B, 1A, 2A, and 2B respectively.
- When using other stepper motor brands, look at the documentation for your steppers to determine pin order.
PWRSW
- When the software power switch is disabled in firmware, a hardware power switch can be installed to manually switch your PSU from standby mode to power-on mode. Be sure to disable software power control in the firmware before you connect a physical switch to avoid damage to your RA Board.
USB IN
- This is a USB Mini-B plug that is used to upload your firmware to the printer in conjunction with the Arduino IDE.
AUX Pins
- Pins A4-A15 and D2-D5 are available as auxiliary pins on the board alongside a 5V rail and a GND rail for whatever purposes you would use them for. Enjoy them.
Stepper Microstep Selection
- Each stepper driver slot has 3 pairs of pin header holes adjacent to the MS1, MS2, and MS3 pins of the stepper driver.
- These are used for selecting microstepping settings for the stepper motors.
- The default setup has all three connected (16X microstepping) and this is what most people will use for their printer.
- To change the values, you can cut the trace between the two circles (pic to come) with a knife and your microstepping will change based on this table:
(Table to come, check the A4982/A4988 Datasheets in the meantime)
- If you need to reconnect them, you can solder in pin headers and use jumpers (only do this if you have cut the trace beforehand, as once the pin header is in it will not be cuttable anymore).
RESET Button
- This is a hardware reset pin on the 2560, and pressing it for a second and releasing it will reset your RA board.
RTS/DTR pads
- These select the type of reset signal sent by the FTDI chip to the Arduino. Windows and MACs and most flavors of Linux use DTR as the reset signal, but some flavors of linux and unix will send RTS instead. The RA Board is configured for DTR by default, but if you need to use RTS, cut the small trace between the DTR pads and solder a bridge between the RTS pads.
ICSP Header
- This is for direct programming of the 2560 chip using AVR programmers. Advanced users may have a use for this.
- Note that it will only work if your SD card is unplugged.
I'll write a longer explanation here in the near future, but here's the basics. Your RA board already has a copy of the Marlin firmware on it. Unless your printer is somehow totally identical to the printer we have at Elefu, you'll need to download a copy of the firmware and modify it to match your printer. To do this, you first need to click on this link to our github page and then click on the button labeled 'zip' on github's website to download all of the firmware files at once. Once you have downloaded the zip, extract the files and open the file called 'Marlin.pde' using the open source Arduino IDE (available here). You will then need to read through the files called 'Configuration.h' and 'Configuration_adv.h' and change the settings to match your printer's configuration. Finally, you need to upload the firmware to your RA board by clicking on the upload button in the Arduino IDE. In order for this to work, you'll need to have the RA board plugged in via USB to your computer, and also plugged into a working ATX Power Supply.