Solved BIGTREETECH Upgraded SKR Mini E3 V3.0 32 bit mainboard (Ender 3)

Turbojoe

Elite member
I tore the Ender 3 apart and made sure everything mechanical was in top shape. I replaced the old tired extruder assembly with a Creality direct drive extruder. Now the setup starts all over again......

I've had a BL Touch for quite a while. It worked on the V2.0 version of this board but the USB hood fell off of that board so I bought the V 3.0 version (much nicer board) Now with the V 3.0 board BLT homes then goes to position 1 of 25 then stops with a Z stop failure. The Z stop switch is fine. I've checked it with an ohm meter. "firmware-ender3-bltouch-for-z-homing.bin" has been installed along with "Maple". There have been no recent firmware updates that I can find for this board in the Ender 3. It obviously doesn't like having the Z end stop switch in the picture. If I lower the Z stop any further the nozzle will crash into the bed. Either I'm missing something or I'll have to wait for a firmware update. Oh, and I've been using the Creality 4mm glass bed if that makes any possible difference.

Anyone using the SKR V 3.0 mainboard had this issue? The BLT is mounted and wired in. It would just be nice to have it working.
 

LitterBug

Techno Nut
Moderator
Hmmm... BL touch is not something I have any experience with but I have read up on it and have cosidered adding it to my old XYZ enclosed printer. That said, It sounds as if the z stop is being hit before the BLtouch goes through it's full range of motion. Could be the height of the BLtouch is too close to the bed. I would recheck the bltouch install instructions and calibration steps.

My MonoPrice MP10 had an inductive probe that went bad. It started acting similar throwing an error early in the probing.

Cheers!
LB
 

Turbojoe

Elite member
I've tried all three firmware for this board and finally gave up on ANY BLT version and went back to original Ender 3 firmware. My issue now is understanding how to get the Z stop/first layer set just right. I finally got it close enough to make a print so I'm now printing an adjustable Z switch mount so I can fine tune from there. First layer is what is driving me absolutely bananas now as mechanically my machine is right on the money.

So many posts, sites and videos that really show nothing useful for the neophyte. So many people assume that we know what they know and we don't. I'd love to see a FIRST LAYER SETUP FOR DUMMIES post.
 

Turbojoe

Elite member
Starting to write off BL Touch. I just need some good prints...... I don't want to have to compile my own Marlin software/firmware etc. Why does this have to be so freaking hard? NO GOOD data for setting up Z axis from beginning to end for "newbies". Too many people blast through setup as if they assume we all know what they know. Worthless information. Getting Z settings just right is absolutely killing me..........
 

LitterBug

Techno Nut
Moderator
I've been having issues with my MP10. It's my "best" printer at this time, but has been struggling to get cosistent results lately. Beginning to think is may be the heating element on the hot end. I feel your frustration. They are finicky little beasts!

LB
 

LitterBug

Techno Nut
Moderator
My MP10 (300x300x400) is very similar to the Ender3. It still has the stock Semi-proprietary Monoprice controller on it but has upgraded extruder parts to replace the stock plastic flexible stuff. Half tempted to go down the BTT route with it and get a BLtouch. MicroCenter here in town stocks a bunch of the BTT parts. I already have an SKR 2 which is configured for my XYZ enclosed printer. with the 2209 stepper drivers, it can also be set up for sensorless homing/probing.

I have repetier/reprap firmware on all my printers. I've looked at Marlin, but it is not my firmware of choice.

LB
 

Turbojoe

Elite member
Oh boy, a couple of bad parts were the source of my troubles. First was a wonky Z stop switch. I used a DVOM to check the switch and it would start showing resistance fluctuations up to the point that the switch actually opened the circuit. A spray of electronics cleaner took care of that. Then when trying to get the BL Touch to work right I found many reports online about BL Touch wire harness problems. Sure enough mine goes nuts as the harness moves. A new one is on order from Amazon.

I won't go into how many useless videos I watched on Z offset etc. but I finally gave up on that and made mechanical adjustments to get everything set just right. Now I finally have a first layer of 0.22mm. My Z build height at 3.0mm is 3.0mm Prints are beautiful. I think I can finally get the print quality I knew was possible. I'll know after I start printing things other than calibration files.
 

Turbojoe

Elite member
Absolutely gorgeous prints FINALLY! Disabled BL Touch and may just remove it. Manual bed level X3 to get level just right. Now all prints are EXACTLY as set when designed in TinkerCad. Even downloads from Thingiverse are perfect. I seriously should NOT have been following the so-called experts on YouTube. They all suck to a massive degree. They post B.S. just to get hits and clicks to support their pay to them suppliers. They should all be shot! :mad::mad:
 

WillL84

Active member
Absolutely gorgeous prints FINALLY! Disabled BL Touch and may just remove it. Manual bed level X3 to get level just right. Now all prints are EXACTLY as set when designed in TinkerCad. Even downloads from Thingiverse are perfect. I seriously should NOT have been following the so-called experts on YouTube. They all suck to a massive degree. They post B.S. just to get hits and clicks to support their pay to them suppliers. They should all be shot! :mad::mad:

That seems a little harsh for someone recommending a BLTouch lol. I have one on my ender 3 V2 with UBL and a 9x9 mesh and it works so damn good.
 

Turbojoe

Elite member
That seems a little harsh for someone recommending a BLTouch lol. I have one on my ender 3 V2 with UBL and a 9x9 mesh and it works so damn good.
I never recommended it. I had nothing but troubles with the BL Touch. All troubles went away when I disabled it.


Joe[/QUOTE]
 

luvmy40

Elite member
I installed the CR Touch on my new $99.00 MC E3 Pro and it works perfectly. The Z stop limit switch is disconnected at the main board, per installation instructions.
 

luvmy40

Elite member
BTW, my son and I both picked up the E3 Pro at MC for $99.00 and they both have the same issue with saving settings. Seems like a systemic issue from the online chatter. This may be the reason for the great price.
 

LitterBug

Techno Nut
Moderator
There are days where I wish my original printer purchase would have been a higher $$$ printer. One can only guess if I would still now have 3 different printers that have all been upgraded or not and whether I would have "learned" as much as I have. I will continue throwing money at the three I have because they each have their strengths though. I can only guess 3D printers to me are like my fleet of flyers and I would just have three higher end more $$$ printers by now. LOL I prefer to learn and save $$$. Bigger fleet = more fun. LOL.

Build, Fly Crash, Repeat! What would the 3D printer equivalent of that be? Build, Print, Burn, Repeat??? (I've melted down 2 out of 3 hoteneds)

Cheers!
LitterBug
 

gv71

New member
I think the reason is you have both the touch and z axis home switch plugged in. This may help you.
. I think what you are looking starts around the 5:30 mark.

Greg
 

Nidee00

New member
I know this is late to the party but btt skr e3 v3 has its own firmware that you need to run with that board not just the Ender 3 firmware. I had the issue where creality use a GD 32 RET6 V4.22 chip in there boards durning the “chip shortage” and because of that I couldn’t get the Z offset to work because the drivers and that board did match up with the marlin firmware builds. It took me forever to figure it out by searching and searching forms and finally looking at the creality website I saw the GD 32 firmware and search that and figured it out. All the you tube video tell you to look and see if you have the V4.27 or V4.22 board and then download the marlin firmware off GitHub but nothing about GD 32 chip. So once I down loaded the firmware from the creality site everything worked but there wasn’t all cool settings and features so I decided to get the BTT SKR mini E3 V3 board and then more research to get the right firmware for that board. But I found a compiled version on https://github.com/mriscoc/Special_Configurations/releases/tag/LinearAdvance . Thanks to this guy everything works really good now, even tho they recommend not using and experimental version.. he also has stable builds for the btte3v3. I am sure by now tho your a pro at it looks like you were doing a lot of searching too.
 

Attachments

  • 3C439EEB-D3FC-48B5-97BE-ABA5E160A25B.png
    3C439EEB-D3FC-48B5-97BE-ABA5E160A25B.png
    693.6 KB · Views: 0
  • 78BD799C-D78B-4B21-8C79-39C742FCF9DA.png
    78BD799C-D78B-4B21-8C79-39C742FCF9DA.png
    468.1 KB · Views: 0