I going to shop for stepper drivers and some other parts for my Mendel90. What options for these are there and why? Also what other suppliers ya’ll geeks might have to offer would greatly be appreciated.
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I don’t have an answer for ya; but I’m sure with all our members who have experience building 3D printers, others should! 
Type, Lisa. Also more specific to the ramps and boards that support them.
The ramps compatible Pololu boards typically use A4988 chips. There are also TI based ones.
It boils down to peak current capacity and micro stepping.
The TI DRV8825 supports adjustable micro step up to 1/32.
Check ebay and google for pololu stepper driver
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There are three on sale most of the time.
Good picks? Nema 17 steppers, and a RAMPS system with whatever drivers you want to place on it.
As far as steppers go, it really depends on how big the job is. most desktop 3d printers use the nema 17. This is more the frontplate profile of the drive, and not the strength of the drive as they can be longer. But the wider the drive, normally it is stronger and requires more current.
Thanks Andrew! Do you have a preference on ramps?
I’m using a pololu package using the TI DRV8825 chip which does higher resolution microstep and higher current. They’re a little more expensive.
Here’s what I got:
http://www.panucatt.com/mobile/Product.aspx?id=37854
You can find Chinese stepper drivers for your RAMPS cheap but not sure of the quality.
Is that just for one. And your driver board type and where to get it. Also can you drop these in a mega board in place of the A4988’s.
Yes its just for one so 4 stepper drivers is about $48 and they are a drop
in replacement for the A4988 they go on the RAMPs
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I bought 5 DRV8825 driver boards for $10+$2 shipping from china.
Everything is made in china. Don’t kid yourself 
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How long did they take to arrive tazbot?
This is an interesting question.
I ordered a set of electronics “From china” and it arrived in 3 days. Then I ordered a set of hardware/rods from the US and it’s taken over a week. I just ordered the set of 5 DRV8825’s the other day, so I’ll post when I get them.
Some of these chinese suppliers have US warehouses. But it still says “Ships from china”
Best bet is to contact the seller and ask. I tend to look more and more carefully at the location, description, etc. Been trying to avoid buying from china directly because of shipping times. But these epackets man sometimes they are fast. I think they put them all on a plane at once 
Because it sure isn’t coming here by boat.
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Ok so I did some digging.
If you see a seller using “Epacket” delivery, then it is 7-10 days delivery time. This is a special service coordinated with USPS and Hongkong post, orchestrated probably by Ebay as well.
http://www.ecommercebytes.com/cab/abn/y11/m08/i31/s02
As for the “free shipping” part, it’s amusing that they can ship to us for free, but if we have to return it we can’t use e-packet, so we have to use international post at $$$$ lol
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Not really… I get mine off ebay, and they work just fine.
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Is this a good deal? What ya’ll think?
http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/10-PCS-CNC-Nema17-for-1-7A-3400g-cm-40mm-length-4-Lead-2-phase-Stepper/905351_643371211.html
I think that’s similar to what we used in the Mendel90. That would equal to a little over $11/motor. I bought my set at $15/each. You’ll save a little bit.
I bought a couple from Adafruit on the last group order… $9.80 each.
Yeah that Adafruit group discount is awesome, I should have ordered most of the Mendel90 parts with that. Maybe next time…