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Bobyni
One thing that still puzzles me is why we can not run our printer directly from a PC...
Without a secondary brain....
Since the PC is so powerful this days, why there's nothing out there that you can just connect PC to stepper driver......
I guess, it is about the cost of developing such SW, HW that we won't be able to afford
It's because PCs don't run real time operating systems, so they can't guarantee to keep up with the printer; and they don't have the right sort of I/O to interface directly to stepper motor drivers, heaters, temperature sensors etc.
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Bobyni
DC, does the Duetwifi accept encoder/DC motor?
Only if it comes as a module that accepts step and direction signals. We may yet make an expansion board for the Duet WiFi that drives BLDC motors with encoders, if/when we can identify suitable inexpensive BLDC motors. I don't think ordinary DC motors would be a good choice because the brushes would wear out too quickly in a 3D printer.