<p>I search about that topic, but all what I found, was the mechanical part of the 3d printer. But I didn't find, how to program it using arduino.</p>

<p>I want to make a cartesian 3d printer. I don't have a printer yet, but I will buy all the components that I need actually.</p>

<p>I know, how to control stepper motors, but I don't know, how I can program it in order to make the shape that I want.</p>

<p>This is my question: what I need to learn in order to let this 3d printer make this shapes?</p>

[{'answer_id': 2590, 'author': 'StarWind0', 'author_id': 2146, 'author_profile': 'https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/users/2146', 'pm_score': 3, 'selected': False, 'text': '<p>Yes. \nLook up Arduino Ramps 1.4</p>\n\n<p><a href="http://reprap.org/wiki/RAMPS_1.4" rel="noreferrer">http://reprap.org/wiki/RAMPS_1.4</a></p>\n\n<p>Following the programing is all done for you in the firmware. That said you can edit it. Just open the firmware files -- it is compiled when you upload them. Generally however one usually sticks to the preferences header alone..</p>\n\n<p><a href="http://reprap.org/wiki/List_of_Firmware" rel="noreferrer">http://reprap.org/wiki/List_of_Firmware</a></p>\n\n<p>Over all you are trying to reinvent the wheel. When I started 5-6 years ago it was barely a thing. Now you buy a proven kit and get to the printing. That said if you are truly interested in designing check out. </p>\n\n<p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/cncbuilddesign/" rel="noreferrer">https://www.facebook.com/groups/cncbuilddesign/</a></p>\n\n<p>If you want help on picking a kit. Or what I really think you are looking for. A good place to start. This is one of the larger 3d printing groups. Full disclosure I run this one, but at 6k members I don\'t recruit. </p>\n\n<p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/3DPrinterHobbyists/" rel="noreferrer">https://www.facebook.com/groups/3DPrinterHobbyists/</a></p>\n\n<p>I got my start in reprap IRC</p>\n\n<p><a href="http://reprap.org/wiki/IRC" rel="noreferrer">http://reprap.org/wiki/IRC</a></p>\n\n<p>Be aware there are trolls that now camp the IRC looking to sell you a printer. I would not engage with them, their printers are usually overpriced and sub par. </p>\n\n<p>Best of luck.</p>\n\n<p>Most of all I think you need to know it\'s Reprap all the way. Reprap forums, Reprap printers, Reprap kits, Reprap community. All the commercial printers started off the reprap project. Even if you buy a makerbot (don\'t) it\'s Reprap in it\'s roots.</p>\n\n<p><a href="https://vimeo.com/5202148" rel="noreferrer">https://vimeo.com/5202148</a></p>\n'}, {'answer_id': 2962, 'author': 'Jexoteric', 'author_id': 4654, 'author_profile': 'https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/users/4654', 'pm_score': 2, 'selected': False, 'text': '<p>While Star Wind\'s answer is best as far as addressing what was not asked, but was probably the intent of the question, for educational purposes:</p>\n\n<p>To control the printer you need an microcontroller (most popular are Arduino) which will interface with the motor drivers. Microcontrollers cannot output the current needed to control the motors, so motor drivers (such as this <a href="https://www.pololu.com/product/1182" rel="noreferrer">https://www.pololu.com/product/1182</a> ) are easy ways to control a stepper motor with higher current (and usually voltage). You can build your own if you are particularlly adventurous, they are essentially two H-bridge circuits.</p>\n\n<p>The Arduino programming environment has a library for controlling stepper motors through a driver built in, you just tell it which pin to send the pulses to, and how fast, and a separate pin tells it to spin clockwise or counterclockwise. </p>\n\n<p>For a 3D printer you need at least four motors working in unison, one for the X, Y, Z axis, and one for the extruder (E axis). </p>\n\n<p>The existing programs that 3D printers use (Marlin, Sprinter, Teacup, etc) are all doing these simple steps at their core, but have implemented libraries of G-code that the printer uses to make control the stepper motors in unison to make the correct shape. Slicing programs such as Cura or Slic3r take in the 3D model and output the Gcode that the microcontroller is programmed to understand. </p>\n'}]
['https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/1434', 'https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com', 'https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/users/2289/']