The Upcoming Prunt Board 3 May Replace Klipper as the Reigning Champion of 3D Printer Motion Control

For years now, Klipper has been the gold standard when it comes to 3D printer motion control. Its sophisticated control algorithms, including input shaping, enable great print quality at the high speeds modern 3D printers are capable of achieving. It is how those pushing the boundaries are able to use incredible acceleration rates without sacrificing quality. But there is always room for improvement and Prunt may be the next step forward. It will be accessible through the upcoming Prunt Board 3, which will launch soon on Crowd Supply.

Almost all 3D printers read G-code, which is a series of commands like “move in X by 10mm” or “set the hot end to 220°C.” But G-code doesn’t tell the printer exactly how to go about doing those things. Instead, the 3D printer’s controller is responsible for figuring out the particulars, such as how and when to rotate the stepper motors. That gives the controller a lot of influence over the printing results. Fast processing and clever algorithms can yield much better prints, which is why Klipper has become so popular.

Prunt is a relatively new player in this space. It is 3D printer motion controller firmware that promises better results than anything else on the market. It does that through much more detailed motion profiles.

A motion profile describes the velocity of movement, of a single printer axis, over time. A typical motion profile that you might see from Klipper has an acceleration phase, a phase of constant velocity, and a deceleration phase. Graph that out and it looks like trapezoid, with three distinct phases. Prunt, on the other hand, has 31-phase motion profiles. It creates smooth transitions between velocity changes, which reduces the “jerkiness” that we would normally see when hard acceleration starts. In theory, that should eliminate vibrations and ringing artifacts.

To run Prunt, you need a compatible control board and that is why Prunt Board 3 is coming to Crowd Supply. In addition to running Prunt firmware, it has a lot of desirable features: six TMC2240 stepper drivers, two 15A heater outputs, four fan outputs, four thermistor inputs, four end stop inputs, and hardware timers. Prunt Board 3’s designers also put serious thought into safety, as there is short circuit protection for just about everything. That prevents both dangerous situations and hardware damage.

Prunt is open-source and the schematic for Prunt Board 3 will also be publicly available, for people that want to make their own boards. But if you just want to purchase an assembled Prunt Board 3, sign up for updates on the Crowd Supply page to get a notification when the campaign launches.