This is a copy of the instructions from http://beginner3dprinting.com which has been offline. There are no photos and I haven’t been in touch with the author yet since the website is offline but I have referenced it for reference.

 

General Info

This guide is intended for anyone who would like to convert their Duplicator i3 from Melzi to RAMPS. RAMPS is not the only board replacement available, but the only one that will be covered in this guide. The process is essentially the same for the other boards.

Parts Required

  • Wanhao Duplicator i3/Maker Select/Cocoon
  • Ramps 1.4 Board
  • Arduino Mega
  • 4 Stepper Drivers
  • 15 Jumpers (included with some ramps 1.4 boards)
  • 2 Pin Dupont Connectors
  • 2 4 Pin Dupont Connectors

Optional Parts

  • Raspberry PI
  • ATX PSU
  • Ramps LCD/SD/Controller
  • Ramps Adapter plate for stock controller housing

Basic Concepts

This conversion is fairly straight forward project. Before you start I recommend familiarizing yourself with a few things:

Assemble Ramps 1.4

  1. Print or open the Ramps 1.4 PDF. This diagram will be very useful throughout the RAMPS conversion process.
  2. Inspect the Ramps 1.4 Board.
    The RAMPS 1.4 board I received had a few bent pins that required attention before mating it to the ARDUINO. Take a few moments and check both your RAMPS and Arduino Mega and make sure everything appears as it should.
  3. Follow steps 1-3 in the RAMPS pdf
    1. Install Jumpers for Stepper Drivers
      Install 3 Jumpers for each stepper driver to enable 1/16 micro stepping for each motor.Before:After:
    2. Connect the RAMPS board to the Arduino MEGA
      Place the Arduino MEGA onto a smooth clean work surface.
      Carefully align the two boards. The Ramps power connector should be centered over the arduino power connector.
      Slowly push the RAMPS 1.4 board down into the MEGA
    3. Install Stepper Drivers:
      • ATTENTION – It is very important to install your stepper drivers facing the correct direction. Failure to do so can and most likely will result in your drivers giving up the smoke.
      • Depending on the stepper drivers you purchased, you may be required to adhere the heatsinks to the boards.
        1 – Remove the adhesive backer and be careful not to contaminate the adhesive with finger oils.
        2- Place the heatsink over the chip and lightly press down. Making sure that the heatsink does not short out any of the exposed pins on the driver board.
    4. Each stepper driver has a small screw potentiometer. The stepper drivers should be installed into the RAMPS 1.4 board with the screws on the lcd controller side of the RAMPS 1.4 board.INCORRECT Stepper Driver OrientationCorrect Orientation
    5. Align the stepper driver with the terminals, facing the correct direction, and carefully push the driver down into place.
    6. Repeat these steps for each of the 4 Stepper drives. ( I recommend buying a few extra)

Disassemble Duplicator i3

  1. Disconnect the power cable from the back of your machine
  2. Remove the 12 screw securing the top of the controller enclosure. Do not lift the top yet.
    Remove the top three screws from the front cover.
    Remove the three screws from both sides of the cover.
    Remove the top three screws from the back cover.
  3. Slowly lift the front of the top enough to see the lcd cable.
  4. Disconnect the lcd cable from the lcd screen.
  5. Slowly remove the top of the enclosure
  6. Remove the four screw securing the MELZI board to the enclosure top.
  7. Carefully check that all of the wires are labelled and labelled correctly. Label any wires that are missing labels.
  8. Check and label all the wires coming from your power supply unit.
  9. I recommend taking some pictures of your MELZI Board, power supply and all of the wiring now just in case you have questions later on.
  10. Disconnect the wires from the power supply.
  11. Carefully remove the hot glue that is used to secure the connectors on the MELZI board.
  12. Disconnect all of the wires from the MELZI Board.
  13. Your Duplicator i3 is now ready to accept the new controller setup.

Connect Printer to RAMPS

  1. Connect the x y and z stepper motors to the RAMPS 1.4 setup
  2. Connect the Stepper motor into the E0 stepper connector
  3. Connect the Heated Bed to D8
  4. Connect the Hotend to D10
  5. Connect the Print Cooling fan into D9
  6. Connect the end-stops
    • X End Stop
    • Y End Stop
    • Z End Stop
  7. Connect the Hotend thermistor to T0
  8. Connect the Bed Thermistor to T1
  9. Connect the Power

Configure Firmware

  • Download Repetier Firmware Here
  • Download Arduino IDE
  • Configure and Flash Firmware
    • Open Repetier.ino using the Arduino IDE
    • Build the firmware
    • Flash the firmware onto the Arduino Mega using the IDE

Install/Configure Octoprint

Photo Gallery

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Source :
Original Blog Source