Heh..., I'd feel guilty for sending Colin yet another question. Don't know how he does it! So..., I thought I'd try calling on Virtual Colin from the forum.

I'm leaning towards the 12" i3v. If I were to go with the "stock" configuration, I would probably stick w/ the RAMPS board, but my sense is long heat times for the 12" bed might start to bug me. (If anyone cares to share their heat times w/ the stock 12" @ 12V, that would be great, I've seen mention of 20min at 12V)

So.

I'm considering building a 24V system from the start.

One of the nice features of the RUMBA is that it can be run off of 24V directly, all necessary regulation being done onboard, without modification (i.e., no removal of diodes, etc).

I THINK that would mean that the build of a 24V vs 12V system would be exactly the same with the following exceptions:

  • 24V 400W supply.
  • RUMBA
  • MK2B heat bed
  • Maybe need to upgrade heated bed SSR.


This leaves the following questions in my mind:

  • Does the RUMBA do all necessary regulation for the hot-end, fans, and steppers. I.e., would some additional work be required to either add necessary regulation or replace components to deal with 24V?
    • The reprap wiki for RUMBA mentions regulation for 12V fans/lights. And I THINK it suggests voltage is selectable for the hot-end. I've read conflicting things about the steppers. It may be a matter of firmware config..., not sure.

  • Will the stock SSR for the heated bed deal w/ 24V OK?


Sorry for the verbosity..., I'll stop here.

Thx!