Easy and cheap Ender 3 mainboard upgrade: MKS Gen L guide
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 พ.ค. 2024
- Some updates since this guide:
MKS TFT touch screen with SD card guide: • MKS TFT28 touch screen...
A4988, DRV8825 and TMC2100 setup guide: • TMC2100 guide - Steppe...
TMC2208 setup guide: • TMC2208 guide - Steppe...
TMC2130 setup guide: • TMC2130 Guide - steppe...
LV8729 setup guide: • LV8729 guide + compari...
Redesigned, much better electronics enclosure: • Ender 3 upgrades: EZR ...
Merry Christmas! Many have requested a guide to changing the Melzi mainboard to an MKS Gen L. I've put in the work to make this as simple as possible for viewers to follow.
The Makerbase MKS Gen L is cheap, yet offers a significant upgrade over the factory mainboard. Future mods will be a lot easier in terms on IO and firmware changes.
EDIT: I probably should have mentioned this has no effect on print quality.
My 3D printed housing/adaptor moves access to the mainboard underneath the printer. This is not ideal but was necessary to allow access to the USB port. At least this is easy with the hinged design. The mainboard cooling fan is now at the front, creating more room for different stepper motor drivers with taller heat sinks.
The method of upgrade shown here is the cheapest way possible. It reuses the factory LCD screen, but loses the SD card slot. If you want to retain this, explore the options on the links below.
My Creality Melzi wiring checklist: imgur.com/a/Zy7rdq4
My MKS Gen L Ender 3 wiring checklist: imgur.com/a/sRPggoY
My (updated) new case and MKS Gen L mount on Thingiverse: www.thingiverse.com/thing:368...
Bare MKS Gen L
Amazon: amzn.to/2QOdbXY
Banggood: www.banggood.com/custlink/DmD...
Aliexpress: s.click.aliexpress.com/e/bcfYAn2s
MKS Gen L with A4988 stepper motor drivers
Amazon: amzn.to/2V4OzZD
Banggood: www.banggood.com/custlink/mGv...
Aliexpress: s.click.aliexpress.com/e/bmOj7TNI
MKS Gen L with A4988 stepper drivers and touch LCD:
Amazon: amzn.to/2BDagaf
Banggood: www.banggood.com/custlink/Dm3...
Aliexpress: s.click.aliexpress.com/e/cpCB6VDQ
LCD with SD card:
Amazon: amzn.to/2QQU7IZ
Banggood: www.banggood.com/custlink/G3K...
Aliexpress: s.click.aliexpress.com/e/LQjriys
Purchase the Ender 3 from these links:
Ender 3 Pro Banggood ($30 off with coupon 1d1c08): bit.ly/2OUcEyS
Ender 3 Banggood (US warehouse, Coupon: f2bf59): bit.ly/2Efoi6B
Ender 3 Pro Amazon: amzn.to/2DpkbEs
Ender 3 Amazon: amzn.to/2xyJ23s
Ender 3X (glass bed version): amzn.to/2I7dG85
Buy quality and affordable filament from X3D. Buy 3, get 1 free and a free sample pack with every order: www.x3d.com.au
Take a look around and if you like what you see, please subscribe.
Support me on Patreon: / teachingtech
#ender3 #upgrade #mksgenl
![BOWKYLION - ส่วนต่าง (do it without me) [Official MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/7x-pwcMopzE/mqdefault.jpg)
Michael, thank you for the time spent so we can upgrade our machines. Board ordered last week.
Really appreciate your whole in-depth approach. I have no choice but to do this upgrade (bed mosfet burnout and aggravation over limited storage capacity).
it's the detail that is explained here that is amazing. Having just started the 3D printing most of this stuff is over my head but after a while I can return to this tutorial with more confidence . Thank you
This was a fantastic tutorial Mike! You really go above and beyond my friend!
What a fantastic instructional video for a really nifty and USEFUL upgrade! This is a much better mainboard to keep up with all the wonderful improvements in Marlin. These "hopped up" videos for low-cost 3D printers remind me of guys buying an old 1967 Chevy, and upgrading the heck out of it. :)
Michael, I have ordered all the items in your purchase list along with a full list of other improvements including a genuine BL touch. Thanks for providing all the help and information.
I've never been into anything that parallels current uploads on TH-cam, the world is really grabbing onto 3D printing. Thanks for helping us.
Switching to a Gen L was the first thing I did on my Ender 3. I switched over to a Gen L on my Tornado before they became stock, and I loved it.
Thanks for this video. I already have the board and some TMC2208 stepper drivers and an LV8729. Getting ready to upgrade and this video is very useful.
awesome video !!! thank you for sharing. Always a pleasure to receive a notification about your new videos..!!! Means I am always learning something new and always have a new project to undertake. lol
Thanks for this Michael, great instructions, all ordered! My Ender 3 will be dual-colour, if not 3-colour very soon!
Thanks for the video. I upgraded to a MKS Gen L and TMC2208 drivers today. Other than having to drill a hole for my non-pro Ender 3 in the new case and cutting off the tab on the display ribbon cable to flip it around, everything went smoothly and without any issues. The printer is so much quieter now!
this is the best channel on TH-cam about 3D printing, I mean it. the second was CNC kitchen. you are really good at teaching people to do sth. a very clear mind and step by step, you know which part is hard you have to emphasize and which part can just skate around.
Another great video Michael. I've just purchased the MKS Gen L board and some TMC2208 drivers to replace the stock controller on my Anet E10. Your video helped a lot cause I wasn't sure where to connect the correct fans to, but pics really help. Thank you. I would love to see a video on adding a touch screen to the controller, even though I use octoprint, I still like to have the screen in place.
Thank you. I have subscribed and liked. I'm new to all of this, but you are one of the most rational, and understanding of how to be rational individuals I've viewed. Please keep the knowledge flowing. Thank you again!
Thanks Michael, I've been waiting for a mainboard upgrade with a larger microchip. Cheer merry xmas
Big Thanks for the second ribbon cable advice and Stock screen settings
A very thorough tutorial....nicely done! I've thought about doing an MKS replacement to my Geeetech A10 motherboard.
Another outstanding tutorial. I’ll be doing this upgrade when I get back from my holiday. Michael take a hint and have a holiday yourself. 😁🇦🇺
Michael, What a nice Christmas present! Thank you!
Great video, as always.
I'd certainly be interested in the touchscreen and SD Card mods.
This represents such a major hardware change that it seems logical to go the whole way...
Very good! I was thinking about doing that to my ender when I had time to design a board case, but you did it first hehe.
Good job!
Great video. Very helpful to know that this upgrade is not much more expensive than paying for bootloading on my stock Ender board.
Great Videos Mike, Thank You for all the great work and Happy Holidays!
Thanks for yet another great guide. I am up and running with the new board, you make it so easy. I did make a few changes based on other videos/sites. I added a 5v 20MM fan to cool the board (found the print on Thingiverse based on yours). I reversed the LCD connection by trimming off the plug, so I only needed one cable and I did not make the changes concerning display in the firmware to make it work this way. I also switched to 2208 drivers (again found a video on setting voltage on those). Finally, added BLtouch, I found I needed a drop of hot glue gun glue to get that to stay connected on the board. If I hadn't messed up setting voltages on the drivers, things would have gone smoothly. After smoking a couple of those, I watched some video's on how to best do that. I can't believe how quiet my printer is now with the 2208 drivers! Thanks again for great videos, I have done so much to my printer and improved my prints!! I can't decide if I want LCD touch screen or not, I would like to hear from others that have made that change if they like the touchscreen.
Great video. I have had no luck getting my EZBL to work and have been avoiding the bltouch because of the memory issues on the stock board. This looks like the perfect solution. Great work.
Merry Christmas. Thanks for the video.
After many Ender 3 upgrades, an idea come to my mind while watching this video.... build a Ender 3 upgraded clone, from scratch. This would be a great series for this great channel...
I really appreciate your videos Michael. Been upgrading my printer over the last few months and just finished the cable management on the new mks gen l board today. Got the BLtouch v3 working, tmc2208s running and tried out the touch screen. The touch screen is gonna go in the spare parts bin. Losing the m600 function is just not gonna work for me.
So far ive done a filament runnout sensor of my own design. The hero men gen 2, upgraded the hot end fan to a 40x40x20 noctua, and a 5015 blower. The ezr extruder and some lighting. With your new case that freaking board fan is obnoxious so a noctua is on the way for that as well.
Thanks for all you do for the community.
Great tutorial! I was planning on doing this next, so your tutorial will come in handy. Thanks, and merry Christmas!
Thanks again for a great tutorial. Happy Holidays.
Wow, terrific video. I may make this change. Your videos are so helpful and well done.
We need a SkR1.3 guide just like this!
Hi guys, I did this mod just a week ago. it works fantastic. thanks for the tut Michael, Merry xmas guys!
Awesome! I should have this board as a backup. Great tutoring
Thanks for the Vids, this one was a huge help this weekend, just completed my upgrade :)
Merry Christmas , thank you for your videos
Awesome control board upgrade tutorial!
Thanks for this interesting video. Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year to you too.
Great vid as always, merry Christmas! 🎄🎁
I have heard about this board many times in various forums. Thank you for doing a video on it. I would love to see a video from you about TMC stepper motor drivers, both the pros and cons of them as well as how to install them on this board.
Me too, it's the only part of the guide I didnt understand
What are the benefits of this?
You my man, are ender 3 Guru... Thanks a lot and merry christmas
Your channel is very useful and contains valuable resources to learn new thing.
You are awesome, thank you! This also works on a CR-10S5, albeit just swap the examples for CR-10S and change the bed size. The whine from the motors was killing me. Just went through your tutorial on this, Vanilla Marlin, and rounded it out with the TMC2208. The beast is running completely silent now!
Awesome video, thanks loads. After a day watching all of your Ender 3 videos, I have a 3 pro being delivered tomorrow to give me more build space than my Flashforge creator pro :) Thanks for all the info and great upgrade tips This is going to be fun :)
Impressive totorial
Thanks for sharing 😀👍
I Think at the tmc2208 as an other stepper controller👍
Happy hollydays 🎅😀👍
Awesome video as always! I might try this in a bit.
Very helpful video. I am considering buying an Ender 5 and it doesn't seem too different as far as the electronics are concerned. Nice tip on measuring the driver current on the factory steppers and then duplicating it.
Merry Christmas and thanks for the video
Just purchased a ender 3 off Craigslist with a burnt board.only $50 for the printer and $40 for MKS, drivers & lcd has allow me to have my first 3D printer for under $100 thank you immensely for you work! Sincerely from me and others of the lBBC (low budget builders community)
That is awesome, well done on being so resourceful.
Merry Christmas and happy new year.
Another fantastic video, thank you :) Might do this along next year - if the stock ender-3 pro board doesnt get the magic smoke coming out in the meantime haha
Thank you very useful video. Happy new year !!!
A little late to the game, but I have installed the MKS Board. A couple of notes, I am retaining my stock display, in addition to the touch screen, as there are some features that I prefer, such as position and other information. You can also adjust the feed rate of the print from the original screen, even though you cannot enter the menus. It bears mentioning that if you do not use stock type 4988 drivers that you need to update the appropriate drivers in Marlin. I used DRV8825 stepper drivers and will see if the micro-stepping causes any issues. I also had to install a USB driver to communicate with the MKS Board to allow Marlin to upload. Even with these drivers, the machine is quieter, along with the fans not howling all the time. My next move will be to do the more sophisticated Trinamic drivers. So far, So good! Thanks Michael for a great channel.
My compliments. If an old man of limited intellect, such as myself, can follow your guidance, you have done well. My ender 3 now has a bootloader and is happily running th3d firmware. Thank you!
Perfect I bought this board last week
Another great video. Keep up the good work
Thanks for the video.
I'm in the process of setting this board up on my cr10s.
I have all the hardware and i'm just getting the courage to tearing my control box apart lol
You are awesome Michael. Thanks for all the great stuff on the ender3. Merry Christmas go enjoy it with the family and stay off here now lol 😁
Many thanks for this very good instruction. I did this modification on my ender 3 this weekend and it works perfect. I bought TMC2208 drivers and use them in uart mode. Now the printer moves absolutely silent. I had to change the wire for the Z endswitch (too short) and drill new holes for the screws on top and bottom of the new case (seems that my ender 3 has the holes 5mm nearer to the left side).
I got a RMA from Creality after my board fried during it's first print. Already spent effort replacing the oem board, but the Gen L was my alternative if they didn't send me a replacement. Might do this upgrade in the future anyway! Happily printing for now! Thanks for all these tutorials :-)
Thanks for the tutorial. I managed to install the board, along with the TMC2208 driver, no problem. Well, at least I thought there was no problem. Until I turned it on and had the printer preheat for PLA. Those temps ran wild up and down! Back to the original Creality 1.1.4 board again.
Have you tried adding a capacitor to the MKS board on the 5v supply side? A lot of research revealed a few forums where those with temperature issues have managed to gain stability by adding a capacitor. I'll try and find the post and link you.
im building another prusa i3 clone and will be initially setting it up with the ramps 1.4 that i already have but after seeing this, I have just ordered this board with the touch screen and 5 TMC drivers for £65. Will look forward to installing it all once it arrives!!!
Merry Christmas my friend
Nice. I upgraded mine with the v2.1 Creality board (for the CR-10S etc) which has the advantage it fits the existing metalwork unmodified on the Ender 3, but it doesn't have upgrade-able stepper drivers and that MKS Gen-L board does look better.
One thing I would recommend; when modifying connectors like you did for the end-stop connectors, try the flush cutters that come with the printer rather than a scalpel - found it very easy and safe. My fingers survived unmodified... (in my case it was needed to turn the LCD display connector around)
Jesus you guys are impressive. I can't even change the firmware without rendering my printer useless and you are changing electronics, software, measuring stuff with meters, etc.
Thanks for this! It’s great!
I don't have an Ender 3 but it was very interesting watching the process
Very nice helpful vid! Probably make a continuation video with the touch screen installation with the wifi module. Im an idiot with these sort of things. Your video is the go to guide for me. I dont mind blowing a few of coins building my ender 3 pro with more bells and whistles. Its just my bad habit of modding things to its peak performance.
Thx for the timing. My ender3 stock mainboard "overheated" yesterday and smells a bit strange... so I've project for the new year..
Awesome video, Looks like i might use this board to upgrade my Alfawise U30 (stock bed heater transister is blown, and many other board quirks)
Nice job! Thank you!
Hero! Cheers Michael!
I just ordered a CR-10S board to upgrade my Ender 3. I was looking at the MKS board, but seemed too much work to make fit. I should have waited for this video.
Edit: Just got the CR-10S V2.1 board working with Marlin 1.1.9 using the CR-10S config examples and changing the print dimension for the Ender 3, and the LCD config to be CR10_STOCKDISPLAY from REPRAP_DISCOUNT_FULL_GRAPHIC_SMART_CONTROLLER. The V2.1 (and probably V2.0) board does run fine with 24V, in case anyone was wondering.
Mostly the install was as simple as swapping the boards over. The 10-pin LCD connector needs to be installed 180 degrees rotated, which means you need to cut the locating protrusion off the connector (done easily with the blue side cutters). Seems the Ender3 connector was wrong, now they have fixed it to be the same as everybody else. The hot-end fan was bare wires and I needed to crimp on a 2-pin connector to plug into the new boards VIN connector. You could pick up voltage for the fan from the PSU connectors, but I wouldn't try to double up on the hot-end or bed connectors as a lot of current flows through these.
You DO NOT need an extra ribbon cable if using the original LCD. Use EXP1 on the MKS and EXP3 on the display, however on the display end cut the small tab on the ribbon cable plug off and rotate the connector when plugging into the display.
By doing this you can then use the EXP2 connector for a SD Card reader.
This is what I did on mine too and it works perfectly fine.
Mine doesn't work. It just lights up but displays nothing.
th-cam.com/video/OsJKF2UkJFA/w-d-xo.html
Do you know why?
@@matejsokolec2973 Is that on an MKS 1.4 or an MKS GEN L as your video title says 1.4. It looks like your rotating the cable on the MKS end where as I rotated the cable on the LCD.
@@totalretributioncouk It's a 1.4 board but the motherboard was flashed correctly. I will try to rotate. Thanks for the info.
did u finish with the marlin isntallation as i see it's still in the builds?
This just what I was looking for as I want to update my main board but keep the option of going back if my printer stops printing nicely. Would love to see a video where you update the screen for a touch version.
Very useful guide, thanks.
At 8:13 you suggest connecting a mainboard cooling fan to the controller's 5v supply.
Connecting a fan to the same power rail as digital logic may cause problems.
The 5v regulator may not maintain a stable voltage if it's powering a fan and the sensor values (temperature readings) may fluctuate.
The simplest solution is to connect the fan to the 12v/24v connector (connector G in the video), where you originally located it.
A better (but more complicated) solution would be to allocate a spare digital pin on the MKS Gen L to CONTROLLERFAN_PIN in the Configuration_adv.h file in the Marlin firmware and use that pin via a 220 Ohm resistor to switch an external mosfet that drives the fan from the 24v rail via connector G. That will turn on the fan when any stepper driver is enabled and turn it off after the set amount of seconds from the last driver being disabled.
This is correct for the stock 24v fan that comes with the Ender 3, but he said that he took the opportunity to change to a 5v noctua, so he's not trying to run a 24v fan on 5v.
Thanks, I didn't catch that he changed to a 5v fan. I've edited my comment accordingly.
Following this guide I ran into error when compling.. You need to go Sketch > Include library > > Manage Libraries and search for u8glib select install... It was driving me nuts as I watched this several times to make sure I didn't miss anything.. Keep up the good work!!
Really nice - thank you :) I think I may give this a go, if only for the touchscreen mod and easier future changes!
Just watched a few of your other videos - would this board make enabling thermal runaway protection easy? If so I may just buy one instead of an arduino to flash my current board! Thanks
great video. i've find a case for the MKS Gen 1.4 and installed it in my Ender 3. It works great.
How did you wire the part cooling fan? I have the same board but I was stumped by that.
@@MercutioLeonhart at the pins right of the heatbed Pins. its Label fan. reprap.org/forum/read.php?13,753796
Vape Buddy Thanks! I thought that was for the Hotend fan, doh!
Thanks that's an interesting change, personally I need the sd card so assume I would also change to the touch screen with sd card reader...I like the idea of the touch screen as well. Also planned to add the TH3D firmware and blt touch. So this sounds like an all in one thing to do... Laurie
Great one, considering doing this conversion, or maybe the Fysetc F6 board (but no one seems to be doing videos about those).
TOTALLY AWESOME !!!!!
Great tutorial! I changed my board with a Creality V2.1 and even the SD card and USB slots are in the same place. This board is the one which cames in the CR-10S. But I do not have replaceable drivers, they are on board.
You did this on an Ender 3? Where did you buy the v2.1 board from?
@@drewd423 From Creality Aliexpress Store. I made an adapter to have just one cable to the screen, but the easiest way is to add a second cable like Michael did.
great tutorial,thanx for your contribution to the community.
I recently dropped my Ender3, and completely bolloxed the frame.. Fast forward 2 months, and it's been rebuilt with a RAMPS1.6 / Mega2560, MAHOOSIVE linear rail and slider for the Y axis, Completely new frame, mosfet boards for the bed, extruder and all fans. Auto bed leveling and electronic sensors for all three axis using my XYZ-THING io board. My own power splitter with dual buck converters for PI's or additional LEDs, fans etc.. I've used vanilla MARLIN, had a few issues with the thermistor type (it's 5), but now that's sorted, all is good..
I reckon I've swapped 90% of the original ENDER3 to make the DefENDER3-HD beast!!
Your video's have really been a help in configuring the firmware and other bits.. BIG THANKS!! :-D
Dang I wanna be able to do all this
Pleasant job
Hi there,
Love your channel, you are very clear and informative! Clearly shows that you are a School Teacher keep up the amazing work!
I just have one small critasism, I am currently upgrading my Ender 3 with the MKS GEN L board, tmc2100s, bl touch, tft32 and EZR extruder.
When it comes to the firmware I'm a complete idiot and am trying to follow all your appropriate videos that include the fw instructions.
I am finding it soo hard to follow though as the fw alterations are scattered across so many videos that are not specifically fw videos!
Would be soo great if you could edit together a single video solely on vanilla marlin fw changes, rather than referencing "we did this in another video" but dont put a links to those in the description!
I hope that makes sense lol
Keep up the outstanding work 👍👍
First of all a huge 'Thank You!' to you Michael. Another great guide for a noob. Thank you as well to the folk who have added helpful comments and questions here - it's all good stuff for a noob like me.
I've just completed the swap on my Ender 3 and have a couple of minor notes. These apply to my machine which is quite new, so perhaps Creality have made a few small changes of late?. The stock Z axis ends top switch cable is too short to reach the MKS board socket - easy enough to extend but just a heads-up. The top and bottom M3 fixing screws for the new case have moved - I had to add new holes 7mm further away from the 'hinge' edge of the case parts. No big deal.
Thanks to all for the tip on the stock LCD/single cable. As noted by others below, DON'T un-comment REPRAP_DISCOUNT_FULL_GRAPHIC_SMART_CONTROLLER or comment out CR10_STOCKDISPLAY
I have yet to install and set up the BLTouch I bought...and have just ordered an MKS TFT28 and TMC2130 drivers. On a car forum I frequent, this is known as "Upgradeitus" :)
Great video, but a separate video for tuning drivers is needed and maybe a trial of different drivers with and without smoother boards. A link to purchase the fan would be nice too.
excellent video as always. Just wondering about settings? esteps, and PID etc, I suspect after the firmware is loaded into the new board one should go through those steps again. I will check your previous video's to see if that is covered. :) Merry Christmas and happy new year. :)
First things first, great video and I will acknowledge every build is different, so pardon my critical thinking in advance. I did this upgrade before this video came along, it is condensed for viewing and kinda excludes a few things. I got passed most of the hurdles and the only problem I have left is calibrating the center of the bed and the size of the print. I upgraded to different stepper motors with dampeners which means you need the adjustable sprockets/gears on the end of the stepper shaft. I assume once I changed those it changed the ratio at which the belt was moved in respect to stepper angle. So I attempted to fix that but need to try a few more things. There are a few snags I ran into along the way to include: The color coding of the limit switches doesn't correspond to the the colors displayed in Cura on it's virtual axis, so I miss wired the limit switches, next the comp port you choose for your firmware upload to the control board isn't always going to work the same, sometimes you need to unplug it just seconds before you load the stuff or you will get a time out error, also I wasn't aware that with this board, although you can choose a display, the MKS display needs it's firmware put on the SD card and it will load from there with a longer boot on the first power up. If you want to do an ABS only machine like I want to then you need extra long wires and different unit to hold this because an ABS set up is a hot environment that is no good for the control board, I imagine mine will be like the CR-10 set up. As far as the wiring goes, it is simple IF you do not use the separate board for the power to the heated bed. The MKS MOS25 is this device, it complicates things although I you can save a butt load of time by looking at the wiring of the FLSUN QQ because it has ALL the stuff already set up. If anyone messages me I can send you a picture of mine, I won't leave a link because most link comments are subject to review. Another side note is that you can save money on that borosilicate glass bed if you just go to a place that cuts glass for pictures or windows and ask for a 9 1/4 by 9 1/4 by 1/8 piece of normal glass.
Great video!!!
Well done!
Thanks a lot for this video, I wonder if you could do a tmc2130 video with this modification.
A couple of weeks ago I was thinking that Creality should make a PnP MB and touch-screen update for the Ender3. Since they went open other manufactures have already done this, so it would be a good upgrade for people with std Ender3's.
I must say, I do the same, marvellous job hands down :)
It looks as if the stepper motor plug is a JST plug. I make balance plug extensions for my RC lipo batteries which use the same JST connectors. They are cheep and can be ordered through Hobbyking. Simply pry up the locking tabs on the top of the plug, keeping the wire orientation correct so do it one at a time, and pull the wire out and reinsert the wire into a 3 plug JST.
Good stuff thank you
Awesome walk through Michael. I have a couple of questions on things you mentioned. Obviously I'm refering to my CR-10 S4 (v2.1 board), 1. S-curve, is it worth enabling? and will it work on my printer? 2. I'd like to add the temp controlled hotend cooling fan function, do you have a guide? 3. Would a touch screen work. Do you plan on making guide videos on these things?