This is the 6th post in an ongoing series detailing my efforts to build a RepRap Mendel, an open source desktop 3D printer.

All the blocks are built, the extruder’s been assembled. At this point, it was determined that a quick electronics test would be invaluable. Far better to test the electronics now than to find a problem later and be forced to deconstruct the axes.

Earlier this summer, my family purchased one of the last Cupcake CNCs which I built for them. (Best 4th of July weekend ever!) Those machines use ReplicatorG for CAM processing and control. Not knowing any better, I started with that.

After a bit of reading, I found out the Generation 6 electronics that shipped with my Mendel kit utilize a slightly-modified variant of the RepRap5D firmware. I set that as the machine, set up the appropriate serial port and… no dice. After an hour or so of messing around with various settings, I discovered that connecting and ReplicatorG required use of a fairly slow 19200 baud rate. The electronics connected, and I was ready to test.

It turns out ReplicatorG is not fully compatible with the Mendel-Parts Generation6 Electronics. Still, I was able to successfully test that all of the XYZ stepper motors moved, and that the extruder heats up successfully.

Unfortunately, ReplicatorG does not interface with the Generation6 electronics perfectly, and, as such, I was unable to verify that the extruder stepper motor actually turned. For that, I needed to use a different CAM toolchain; specifically, RepSnapper. Testing in RepSnapper, all motors moved correctly, and the extruder motor and heating element also worked correctly.

Before ending, I should mention that while I verified that the extruder stepper and heating element both worked, I did not try an actual extrusion test. This has proven to be a bad idea, so please, do yourself a favor and make sure that your extruder actually extrudes before putting your machine together.