Glossary
Control board
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The control board, also known as the mainboard or electronics, is the “brain” of the 3D printer. It is a circuit board containing:
- A microcontroller
- Power management components
- Motor drivers
- Various input/output interfaces for connecting sensors
- Heaters
- Other peripherals
3D printer control boards receive G-code instructions from the slicer software and translate them into signals that operate motors, heaters, and other parts. Among the most popular control boards for 3D printers are RAMPS, Arduino Mega 2560 with RAMPS shield, Smoothieboard, Duet, and Prusa’s Einsy board.
