Overview

Integrated heat, temperature sensting, and motor control
The Thingomatic Heater Board is mashup of innovative 3D printing techniques. The heater board fulfils a number of roles in the Thingomatic. First, it provides a nice, flat printing surface with mounting holes. Second, the PCB itself is one large, flat heater which provides very even heating across the surface. Third, the PCB includes an on-board thermistor which allows the board to measure its own temperature. Last, but not least, the PCB includes a header for connecting it to the rest of the MakerBot electronics so that you can easily wire it up.
Interfaces
Main Input
The input is a 6 pin, .156" pitch header with right-angle connectors for attaching the pre-made wiring harness. This connector provides power for the heater, and the automated build platform motor. It also has connections for the temperature sensor output.
Pinout
PIN | NAME | FUNCTION |
---|---|---|
1 | GND | This is the ground for the analog thermistor measuring circuit. |
2 | 5V | This is the 5V input voltage for the analog thermistor measuring circuit. |
3 | SIG | This is the analog signal output of the thermistor measuring circuit. |
4 | +12V | This pin is connected to the +12V terminal from the extruder controller MOSFET. This +12V is to power both the DC motor and PCB heater. |
5 | HEAT- | This pin is connected to the - terminal of the extruder controller MOSFET. This pin will control when the heater is on or off. |
6 | MOT- | This pin is connected to the - terminal of the extruder controller MOSFET. This pin will control when the automated build platform motor is on or off. |

DC Motor Output
The Thingomatic comes standard with an automated build platform, and that build platform requires a DC motor to operate. The DC motor comes with a 2 pin header that corresponds to the 2 pin header on the PCB.
PIN | NAME | FUNCTION |
---|---|---|
1 | MOTOR- | This pin is the negative terminal of the DC motor. This is directly connected to pin 6 of the interface connector which is in turn connected to the negative terminal of the DC motor MOSFET. This pin controls when the DC motor is on or off. |
2 | MOTOR+ | This pin is the positive terminal of the DC motor. This is directly connected to pin 4 of the interface connector which is in turn connected to the +12V |

Schematic

Partlist / BOM
Source
The Thingomatic Heater Board v1.1 is Open Source Hardware and is licensed under the GNU GPLv3.
Download
History
The Thingomatic Heater Board v1.1 is a derivative of the Cupcake Heater Board v1.0 which was originally designed by Zach Hoeken of MakerBot Industries and Jordan Miller of Hive76.org.