Total electronics newbie here…
I’ve got a 3D printer. It’s based on RAMPS, which is a USB-powered Arduino Mega and a separate wall-wart that powers the shield which drives the steppers and hot end and fans and such.
I also have a FEZ Spider Starter Kit on order.
I would very much like to be able to drive the printer from the Spider instead of (or in addition to) my PC - far more portable that way! The SD card and enet and touch screen could make for some pretty interesting interfaces to the printer.
Will I be able to power the Mega via the Spider USB Host module? This feels like a lame question that probably doesn’t include a lot of needed context and stuff but I’m not sure what else I need to include… :\
You should. I can’t see why not although this is a bad idea as you are using a processor board to power another board.
Thanks, Gus.
[quote]although this is a bad idea as you are using a processor board to power another board.
[/quote]
Bad in an electronics way or bad in a general-principles sorta way?
With power you mean electrical power, right?! Sure, why not.
In response to your other ideas: yes you can easily communicate with the arduino using the spider. This could be done over serial communication. You can send commands back and forth between both boards.
This is like when using a USB hand warmer on your PC. You can do that but is the USB post made to run a heater?
Haha gus indeed. Does that arduino not have a dj jack on board?
Your wall wart is also powering the 4 or 5 stepper motors, right? You will still need that.
BTW, I am working on some Reprap machines myself - new FEZ based software makes a lot of sense.
Yes. Exactly.
I don’t know why not!! 
Really… Total electronics newbie here…
Yup.
It’d be great if I could power everything (Spider, Mega & shield) from the wall wart but think that might be pretty tricky. It’s really designed to have the Mega powered by USB and the shield by the wall wart.
[quote]BTW, I am working on some Reprap machines myself - new FEZ based software makes a lot of sense.
[/quote]
They’re great boxes, when they’re not being crabby. I got an Ultimaker after a year of having a MBI Cupcake and it’s amazing how far these machines have come in that time…
Maybe in another year GHI will be selling a “3D Printer” Gadgeteer module…
A stepper motor module, why not
Thanks, Gus.
It’s very nice to see GHI publically commit to such a thing. I look forward to it showing up in the store soon!
Then why not hack a usb cable?
The usb has 4 lines: data+, data-, +5v and GND.
You can cut a wire in two, take the +5v (red wire) and the GND(black wire) and connect those to a wall wart.