Hi everyone. Everyone's favorite person is back (that's me) with some good news. I've decided to join the world of FDM printing.

Yes, I'm still planning on a DLP printer build, but I've realized that if set up correctly, the quality of a filament printer is good enough, and in particular, some of the filament types can do things that you can't do on a DLP resin printer.

The ones that are commercially available just can't do what I want to do. The build areas are too small. Some have very tall Z axis, but this isn't a priority for me. It's not the build volume that is important. I simply want more movement in either X or Y so I can orient a larger part so there is less risk of delaminating than you would get by printing a fairly narrow tall part with a tall Z axis. I've realized that for the cost of a new printer, I can build one with much better linear components.

I have some left over linear components from a CNC build. I have been working on a design for my own 3d printer. The only question is whether I will buy a small printer to 3D print some of the parts for it, or make it all out of metal. Belt drives for the X and Y and two screws driving a fairly large Z plate is the current plan.

I will need help on the electronics side. For example, I understand that the arduino mega and ramps 1.4 can only drive up to 6 motors, is that correct? Also people have been saying that this combination limits the speed of their printers because it can't keep up? Correct me if I'm wrong, I have heard that.

Here's what I want to do........

Dual motors driving the Y axis, I also want to have two limit switches on one side for a homing sequence on startup to make sure the gantry is always square. I want two motors because I prefer to keep the design simple, I'd like to use Nema 17's all around, and because my gantry will weigh a bit more than the average 3D printer, so the extra torque from two motors is a good thing. I realize there are other design options out there, but right now I'd like to pursue this one. This may change if I can't find the electronics solution I'm looking for, but let's focus on the electronics I seek for now please.

One motor driving the X axis.

Two motors driving the Z axis, I also want to have two limit switches on one side for a homing sequence on startup so I keep my build plate level.

Two extruders (actually have been thinking of perhaps even 3). I've been looking at E3D hotends and bowden extruders. I'd like to have the capability to go up to 300 deg C as a maximum.

So that's 5 motors driving the motion, and 2 to 3 for the extruders, with the ability for two axis to have homing to two independent switches each.

I'm also planning on a Z axis proximity sensor / switch and a heated bed,

Also a couple other prox sensors / switches in case of crashes (not related to homing, on the other side of movement to homing), but those can be wired together in series so they only really count as one switch as far as the electronics is concerned.

What kind of electronics hardware do I need to do this?

Is there a different shield available for the arduino mega that can accomodate more motor drivers?

I'm not really sure what options are good ones. Can anyone offer some advice, or a review on something they have tried? I'm good with the mechanical side, but the electronics, not so much.

Thank You in advance for any info!