A 3D printer wants one thing to inform it which approach to zig and zag — the quantity every stepper motor ought to rotate at any given second — and that’s the job of the controller. As 3D printers have grown extra advanced and complex over time, controllers have needed to evolve to assist new options. That has resulted in lots of controllers changing into fairly massive, which could be a downside for compact builds. That’s why Kai Pereira designed the ultra-compact and open supply Cheetah MX4 Mini 3D printer controller.
This can be a new design and it isn’t even clear if Pereira has constructed a prototype but, however the Cheetah MX4 Mini already appears to be like promising. On its customized four-layer PCB is an STM32H7 microcontroller, 4 TMC stepper driver headers, three thermistor inputs, a probe enter, three fan outputs, and two high-current heater outputs. It has assist for an LCD display, an SD card, and USB-C enter. Energy can are available in by means of the USB-C port or an exterior energy provide (12V or 24V).
The Cheetah MX4 Mini ought to work similar to some other 3D printer controller and must be appropriate with all the common firmware choices. That features Klipper, which has shortly change into the go-to selection for thus many people.
These options aren’t notably groundbreaking and a number of different controllers supply related advantages. However the Cheetah MX4 Mini’s large promoting level is its dimension. Its footprint measures simply 90×80mm (3.54×3.15 inches), which may be very compact. For comparability, the Duet 3 Mini 5+ is 123×100mm. There are smaller controllers on the market, however the Cheetah MX4 Mini has a number of options for its small dimension.
In case you’re serious about attempting a Cheetah MX4 Mini your self, the open supply recordsdata are already on GitHub. Pereira has the board setup with JLCPCB for simple ordering or you need to use the recordsdata with some other PCB fabrication service.