StepStick Drivers


 * Vendor: Varies
 * Link: http://reprap.org/wiki/StepStick
 * Price: Varies

From the RepRap.org wiki: With the recent outage of Pololu A4893 stepper driver boards, I've been wanting to build my own, and break my dependency (no offense, I <3 you Pololu!). And after spending a lot of time designing the another board, I figured I could give this a go. This is an Allegro A4983 / A4988 x4 breakout board for Sanguinololu. It can be snapped apart at the score in case of Allegro failure, and replaced with another or a Pololu. Snap all 4 apart and get a pin-compatible clones for use on boards like RAMPS or Gen7. Now this is not for the iron wielding solderer. All parts are SMT, and somewhat small - there are some 0402 sized packages. Not to mention the Allegro's thermal pad - a solder pad on the bottom of the chip - can't be soldered without an iron of magic. That being said, I believe this is an easy to solder board using a toaster oven or hotplate reflow method. There is not too many pads facilitating easy solder paste application using a syringe, and the components should be spaced out enough that a steady hand with fine tweezers can place them. If you've built Sanguinololu with success, perhaps this is the next challenge on your soldering skills adventures. (Take a look at youtube for oven and hotplate reflow methods - not hard at all!) But if you're not up to the task, stay tuned and keep an eye on this place for a published list of places where you can get this pre-assembled.