In this project we are using RAMPS 1.4 control board attached to an Arduino Mega board to control the Ender 3 Creality 3D printer. RAMPS 1.4 controller enables control for up to 5 stepper motors, namely the X, Y, Z, E0 and E1 axes. Currently, we are only using the X, Y, Z axes to control the movement of 3D printer, and the E0 axis to control the pressing and releasing motion of the microsyringe and micropipette. For the micropipette system, we are using the E1-axis to control the pipette tip ejection motion.
We are using the pololu A4988 stepper motor drivers for our project. Jumper caps are attached to allow for microstepping for better precision in movement of stepper motors.
A control panel with LCD screen is also connected to the RAMPS 1.4 control board which allows us to control the Ender 3 Creality 3D printer directly.
The RAMPS 1.4 control boards, control panel and A4988 stepper motor drivers with jumper caps that we are using were obtained from the Making and Tinkering lab.