Pre-configured Marlin for SKR Mini E3 v2 on Ender 3

This is pre-configured package for the 2.x Marlin Firmware for SKR Mini v2 boards on Creality Ender 3. The configuration files were specially crafted to extract the maximum performance of the printer while maintaining the manufacturer recommended settings. The download packages include both the source code and the compiled binary files.

This firmware will not work with 8-bit boards or Creality 32-bit boards.

Features

Extra features enabled over the standard Marlin firmware configuration.

  • Official Marlin Firmware with the latest updates
  • Ready for Octoprint
  • PID adjustments and auto tune from LCD (nozzle and bed)
  • BLTouch using the probe as Z-Endstop or manual Mesh calibration
  • Bilinear bed leveling with multiple slow probing for maximum precision (5x5 array)
  • Filament runout sensor enabled (3-wire sensor, EZOut compatible) - can be disabled from the LCD menu
  • Restore bed leveling after G28 - no need of custom slicer GCode to load the bed level data
  • LCD based bed leveling
  • Z safe homing (avoid hitting the printed parts)
  • BLTouch voltage menu on the LCD (for BLTouch 3.0 and 3.1)
  • Show filament consumption on the LCD
  • Show remaining, elapsed and estimated printing time in the LCD. If the slicer added the time estimations to the GCode, it will use the slicer information.
  • Power loss recovery - can be turned on/off from the LCD
  • Babystepping
  • Arc support (G2/G3)
  • Bezier curve support (G5)
  • Support for level test (G26)
  • Adjusted the filament change settings for the official Ender 3 bowden tube length
  • Customized menus with the "famous" Heat and Level command
  • Pins debugging (M43)
  • Advanced pause - filament change (M600)
  • Hot End idle timeout - turn off the heater after 5 minutes
  • Host Action commands - enhanced Octoprint integration
  • Homing bump - extra precision to the end switches
  • Adaptive step smoothing
  • Probe offset wizard
  • Enhaced serial float precision - for Octoprint and external LCDs
  • Detailed position data (M114)
  • Soft reset via serial (using KILL or ^X)
  • UTF Filename support for SD Cards
  • Linear Advance + S-Curve acceleration (experimental).

Note about the bed leveling strategy

There are two ways to perform the automatic bed leveling, the first is before every print and the second is only when necessary. Based on my experience with the Ender 3, it's better to do an extremely precise bed leveling when necessary instead of a simpler one before every print. This firmware configuration reflects this choice.

Unified Bed Leveling (UBL) is not recommended and will not be implemented. This feature adds a lot of complexity but does not bring any significant advantage in comparison with the bilinear bed leveling in cartesian printers (delta is another story).

If you want to do quick/imprecise bed leveling before every print you will need to reconfigure the firmware.

BLTouch comments:

  • BLTouch is a convenience for Ender 3 users but not mandatory. Mesh Bed leveling does exactly the same without the hardware additions and does not take much longer to perform.
  • BLTouch 3.0 is problematic, try using higher (3.1, for example) or lower versions (1.x or 2.x).
  • BLTouch sensors are low quality devices and are very susceptible to wiring related problems.
  • Bed level failing is not a problem with the firmware! The only thing you can do from the firmware perspective is setting the correct voltage (you can use the LCD menu).

Note about new version updating strategy

I tend to be very conservative regarding new Marlin versions. The "stable" versions on their website are not that stable at all and installing every minor release can cause more problems that solutions.

New versions of this firmware package will be released according the following criteria:

  • Critical bug fixes: problems that could crash or damage the printer. Small bug fixes like text labels or in features not related with the printer and/or the enabled features will be ignored.
  • Build version increases 2.0.6.1, 2.0.6.2, 2.0.6.3... will be ignored unless there are critical bugs to be fixed.
  • Minor version increases: 2.0.6 to 2.0.7 will be released after after I test the version for a few weeks in my printer.
  • Major version increases: 2.0 to 2.1 will depend on what changed and if the hardware supports.

Requirements

  • SKR Mini E3 v2.0 32-bit board
  • For BLTouch enabled printers:
    • Z-stop switch removed and the BLTouch endstop wires (black and white) connected to the Z endstop pins in the motherboard
    • IMPORTANT! BLTouch tip height must be adjusted according to the official instruction manuals. There are different BLTouch sensor clearances and the YouTube videos tips are wrong most of the times
  • For printers with filament sensor:
    • 3-wire sensor plugged in the E0-STOP port (EZOut compatible)
  • Microsoft Visual Studio Code only if you plan to compile and install from the source code
  • PlatformIO IDE extension installed on Visual Code only if you plan to compile and install from the source code
  • Pronterface (optional): send custom G-Codes to your printer from the USB interface. Very useful to find errors and calibrate the printer. Octoprint does the same.

Instructions for installation from the Source Code

  1. Download and install Visual Studio Code.
  2. From Visual Studio Code extension menu, install the PlatformIO IDE.
  3. With all requirements running, unpack this entire Marlin source code downloaded from the link below to a folder.
  4. From Visual Studio Code select File->Open folder and select the folder where the platformio.ini file is located. Attention! Use the "open folder" command, not the"open file".
  5. Select Terminal->Run Task->Build . It will take a few minutes for the system to download all dependencies and compile the code.
  6. If the code compiled properly you will see something like this in the terminal: "=== 1 succeeded in 00:00:30.050 ===".
  7. Copy the file "firmware.bin" from the folder "YOUR_PROJECT_ROOT\.pio\.pio\build\STM32F103RE_btt_USB\" to the printer SD card
  8. Backup the current firmware from the card by copying the file "firmware.cur" (if exists) to a folder in your computer. Do this before inserting the SD card back to the printer.
  9. Insert the card in the printer and reboot to update the firmware

Instructions for installation from the binary files

  1. Download the package appropriate to your hardware configuration.
  2. Open the ZIP file and extract the "firmware.bin" from "\.pio\build\STM32F103RE_btt_USB\" to an SD card (NOTE: This folder might be hidden in some operating systems)
  3. Insert the SD card in the printer and reboot to update the firmware.

Post-installation configuration

  1. Manually pre-level the bed! This is important because the BLTouch has limited max/min detection ranges and the print quality can be affected if the Z-Axis moves too much (even without BLTouch).
     
    1. Cool down the bed and the nozzle. Heating should have little to no effect on this specific procedure.
    2. Disable stepper motors using the LCD menu command.
    3. Place a credit card on one the bed, the thickness of the card will be used as a reference distance.
    4. Turn the Z axis with your hand until the nozzle hits the credit card.
    5. Move hot end to several positions of the bed, starting from the 4 corners. For each position, adjust the bed level knobs to keep the nozzle at the credit card thickness distance from the nozzle. This is what you would do in manual calibration but instead of using a paper you will use the card for convenience. The card thickness does not matter because the BLTouch probe will redefine the Z reference.
       
  2. Heat the bed to the printing temperature and run the bed level command from the LCD (Motion -> Bed Leveling -> Level bed) or use the G29 GCode or the Heat and Level command from the custom menu (recommended). Note that the Heat and Level command waits 2 minutes after the bed is hot to allow the mounted surfaces to expand/contract properly.
  3. Save the settings using the LCD menu or the M500 gcode (if you used the Heat and Level custom command, they will be automatically saved).
  4. After enabling the bed level, print something large and flat to adjust the Z offsets. The nozzle tends to be far from the bed until you adjust the offset to a negative value (Configuration -> Probe Z Offset). Don't forget to save the settings after the print to keep the offset in the memory.
  5. Optional steps:
    1. Adjust the extruder steps (menu avaliable in the LCD)
    2. Calibrate the hot end and bed PIDs (menu available in the LCD)
    3. Set the linear advance K-Factor using Marlin tool.
    4. Set the desired Z fade distance for the bed level compensation. I recommend around 5mm for the Ender 3. (menu available in the LCD: Motion->Bed Leveling)
    5. Save all previous setting to the EEPROM.

Troubleshooting and FAQ

  • I don't want to use the Linear Advance feature: Just set the K to 0 in the LCD menu.
  • The S-Curve should not be enabled with Linear Advance: This firmware is using the experimental mode that allows both features to co-exist. After many hours printing with both features enabled I didn't noted any problems with this printer/board. If you set the K to 0, only S-Curve acceleration will be used.
  • BLTouch is probing outside the bed or too far from the edges: Adjust the probe offsets (Configuration -> Advanced settings -> Probe Offsets )
  • Bed or nozzle are not centered: Please adjust the home offsets (M206) and the hotend offsets (M218).
  • Why not use the ENDSTOP_INTERRUPTS feature? Bigtreetech did not enabled this feature in the original firmware. I am still trying to figure out the reason for that.
  • Want to go back to the previous firmware: If you did the backup of the original firmware, just rename the firmware.cur file to firmware.bin and then put inside the SD card and reboot the printer.
  • Does it supports TFT35, TFT43, TFT50, TFT70, etc... displays: Yes, no modifications required. Please remember that such displays have their own firmware and not all functions will be reachable from the graphical interface unless you use the "Marlin mode".
  • Does it work on the Ender 3 v2? If you are using the SKR E3 Mini v2.0 board and the CR-10, Ender 3v1 display or the TFT35 display (or similar) it will work. If you are using the SKR board with the standard display the answer is no (different wiring).
  • I don't have a filament sensor: No problem, the filament sensor is a switch that closes when there is no filament. If there is no switch installed, the printer will ignore that. If you want to install a switch, just plug the wire and it will work instantaneously (unless it is a rare switch that works with an inverted signal).
  • Why the downloads are so big? Because I included all pre-compiled libraries with it. This allows you to recompile the firmware with a single click in the compile button. Before I included the libraries, many users had problems downloading them.
  • Temperatures are going up and down like crazy: Please calibrate the PID for the bed and for the nozzle, there is a menu in the LCD for that. Alternately you can use the PID Autotune (M303).

If you have problems compiling the firmware...

I can compile the firmware for you. Please see here for more details.

Other Marlin downloads for Ender 3

Files
Version
Marlin 2.x
Platforms
Ender 3 with SKR Mini v2.0 boards
File size
80 to 180 MB
Checksum
SHA256: 7C5F788E1F6D813F8EC8031CD976B9C931B85908EC4D334D4D4AC210F3361A57
SHA256: DA9B86E7DFDAC61D9C3B9D19ECB65A1F13C591B70D663F2A6BE2D69464ED311A
SHA256: e130b8c760e9ce40bc763be5b87f59c333347546f8d8b7bb7ede01c17ad73875

Post Categories

Comments

Submitted by Robert on Mon, 02/19/2024 Permalink

Thanks for this, helped me massively when I fitted a SKR Mini v2 to my CR20 Pro printer!

only issue I'm having now is my Cura Start G-Code is looking messy! Does anyone have a clean example I can use as I don't need it doing 25 point levelling before EVERY print anymore.

Cheers

Submitted by Niamh on Mon, 08/28/2023 Permalink

Does the board have any firmware os stock or just a bootloader?

I've fitted a board to my E3 Pro and when I power on the display lights up but has no information.

It should have test firmware, not intended for actual use, but should work for all tests, including screen. Your screen may not be what the test firmware is set to, or wired differently from default. (Usually CR10 stock screen). Good luck. 

Submitted by Forge on Sat, 05/06/2023 Permalink

my z axis wont go down during homing ender 3 skr mini v2 i have the z motor in ZAM the bl touch is deploying and triggering but the z axis doesnt go down when homing will go up though

Submitted by Everton Silva on Thu, 04/27/2023 Permalink

Brother tem alguma atualização dela uzando mesh bed ? Ou parou na 2.0.9?

Submitted by Niamh on Tue, 04/11/2023 Permalink

When I installed the 1.1.9 firmware to a 1.1.5 board some years ago I hed to change these to suit the Micro Swiss Direct Drive installed, do I have to do this with this firmware or is it now set through the controls?

#define X_PROBE_OFFSET_FROM_EXTRUDER -42
#define Y_PROBE_OFFSET_FROM_EXTRUDER -5
#define Z_PROBE_OFFSET_FROM_EXTRUDER 0 
Submitted by Steve on Wed, 02/22/2023 Permalink

I would like to adjust my XY homing position so that the nozzle doesn't leak filament into the build area.

 

How can I go about defining that XY homing positions to do this while using Z_SAFE_HOMING?

Look for:

#define Z_SAFE_HOMING

#if ENABLED(Z_SAFE_HOMING)
  #define Z_SAFE_HOMING_X_POINT ((X_BED_SIZE) / 2)    // X point for Z homing when homing all axes (G28).
  #define Z_SAFE_HOMING_Y_POINT ((Y_BED_SIZE) / 2)    // Y point for Z homing when homing all axes (G28).
#endif

 

Change Z_SAFE_HOMING_X_POINT from ((X_BED_SIZE) / 2) to the value you want. Same for Y.

After flashing, reset EEPROM and  make a new mesh, to be on the safe side.

Submitted by drguild on Fri, 11/18/2022 Permalink

This firmware needs a update for Marlin 2.1.1 which has become the standard firmware now.

BigtreeTech's Touchscreen's which I have now have a minimum Marlin 2.1.1 dependency now.

Plus a bunch of bug fuzes about SPI and other things printing quality related have been introduced.

https://github.com/bigtreetech/BIGTREETECH-TouchScreenFirmware

Marlin Dependencies

Minimum Marlin firmware version: 2.1.1
Distribution date: 2022-08-06

Submitted by Sebastian on Thu, 11/10/2022 Permalink

Hey guys, do I need to do anything to get the ender 3 pro stock lcd to work With the skr mini?

The Ender 3 Stock LCDs (CR-10 style) will work as is. Connection and firmware are the same.
Ender 3 V2 LCDs will need customization and updates on the board and LCD firmware as well, but not the CR-10 style screens.

Thx.  I have the old fashioned lcd on my ender 3 pro. So that should work - right?

and does this count for both stock firmware AND this danbp Firmware?

 

thank you!

I have the old fashioned lcd on my ender 3 pro. So that should work - right?

Yes. They are the same. Also the BTT TFT screens in "Marlin Mode" should work.

and does this count for both stock firmware AND this danbp Firmware?

Yes. both firmware are set for the the CR-10 display.
Firmware for Ender 3 V2 may not work.

I would recommend that you get the source files and look at the configurations files. Then reapply the changes he made to Marlin 2.1.1, and compile.
That way you will have the same features but on the newest version of Marlin.

Submitted by Adam on Mon, 05/30/2022 Permalink

I use your firmware for my V2 and absolutely love it, but my buddy has the new V3, and I'm curious if this firmware would work on it?

No this firmware is not compatible with other boards. They use different MCU, beware not to brick your board.

What you can do is use the config files provided as reference, and change what is needed to compile to a different board.



I used his config files as reference and applied the changes he made to the example config files for the SKR Mini E3 Turbo, compiled and got working firmware to that board - with a few adjustments for personal preference.

You can start with the example Marlin config files for the SKR Mini E3 v3, use a text compare tool, as in Notepad++, and remake all the changes he did in this firmware (they are all commented)  and  then compile your own firmware for the V3 with the same feature set. Good learning exercise as well. :D

Hey bud this Elon, we need your compiled file to launch. We don't have time to do it and the SpaceX team would appreciate it. Let me know.

I tried your firmware, but after the first Z-homing attempt via Bltouch, it always errors out saying there's an error with BLTouch. Official marlin builds of the firmware seem to work fine.

Any ideas?

Submitted by stelios stamatakis on Sun, 05/08/2022 Permalink

Hello,if you enable power outage feature and store settings then the printer halted at the start of any  print.

For some reason, Bigtreetech SKR v2.0 board waited for a signal from the corresponding pin on the motherboard for this feature to work.

Can you resolve this issue in the mesh firmware?

Submitted by stelios stamatakis on Fri, 05/13/2022 Permalink In reply to by stelios stamatakis

Hello i dont want to use bltouch becouse are easy to fail.

I want to use inductive sensor that works on 5V directly  from the board and  is NPN NO.

For that  i need pullups activated in the software for Zmin axis and endstop inverting true.Thats it.

Am i correct or i am missing something?

Thanks!

Submitted by dock harris on Thu, 04/28/2022 Permalink

what do i put on the sd card for ender 3 pro with out bl touch?

There are two zip files for download on the Article.

One for use with a BLTouch and one for machines without it.

And also the following instructions:

Instructions for installation from the binary files

  1. Download the package appropriate* to your hardware configuration.
  2. Open the ZIP file and extract the "firmware.bin" from "\.pio\build\STM32F103RE_btt_USB\" to an SD card (NOTE: This folder might be hidden in some operating systems)
  3. Insert the SD card in the printer and reboot to update the firmware.

* = With or  Without BLtouch.

This. But maybe you should read the other sections too.

You just need the 'firmware.bin' file on the root of an SD card.

The card should be 8gb or less and formatted FAT32.

Insert the card, power down the printer, and then turn the printer on again.

If you did it right, it will update and rename the file on the card to 'firmware.cur'



There many video guides, but the steps for flashing are the same. Try this one, but only for the instructions of flashing.



https://youtu.be/CN6dOI6QxAs?t=141



He is using files from BTT- Don't do that.

Just use the firmware.bin from here, and follow his instructions.

Submitted by drguild on Thu, 04/21/2022 Permalink

Firmware with the bltouch seems to work fine probing compared to the BTT broken one.



The Neopixle header on the SKR Mini E3 2.0 doesn't seem to work with WS2812 LED light strips or is disabled in the firmware.

Is the HOTEND_IDLE_TIMEOUT Submitted by Myzhar on Fri, 09/10/2021 being looked at or fixed?

I have the BTT Smart Filament Sensor and will hook up to E0-STOP as you mentioned, can it work in the TFT35 Touchscreen mode or just Marlin simulator?

Also does it pass the information about filament breaks to Octoprint using the host function?

Submitted by Gavin Fennell on Fri, 04/01/2022 Permalink

Hi. Thank you for the firmware. I've been trying to do this for months with no success. The CR touch itself seems to be working ok but when i switch the printer on I get 'printer stopped due to errors. Fix the error and use M999 to restart' then it comes up with 'STOP called because BL Touch error - restart with M999' and then 'Failed to enable Bed Leveling'. Is there anything that needs changing in the firmware? I can't access BL touch wizard in the TFT menu either. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks Gavin        

I'm not sure if this config file uses the 5 pin connection method (direct into BL Touch slot on motherboard), or the 3 pin plus 2 pin connection (3 pin to BL Touch slot and then 2 pin as a replacement to the Z endstop slot on the motherboard).
If its the 3pin plus 2 pin connection, you will need to wire it as per the picture linked. Using the end of a paper clip, you can pop out the existing terminals on the Z-axis JST and refit the red and blue wires from the CR Touch.https://imgur.com/a/f1gqW0k

Hi

I just wanted to thank you for this firmware.

I wasted much of last Sunday trying to compile firmware with no success.

Your website and firmware has saved the day.

I have an Ender 3 Pro but just upgraded to a dual drive Z axis, Micro swiss all metal direct drive extruder, everything worked very well before the upgrades but I just wanted to try printing higher temperature filaments.

I should have read your Requirements list as I had problems after installing the firmware as my Zstop was still the mechanical switch :-(

I removed the black and grey wires from the BL Touch plug and fitted them to a new 2 pin plug and put that in the zstop socket on the PCB.

Everything worked perfectly after that.

I am now trying to tweak the offsets etc to get a nice print.

 

Thanks again.

I will link to you from my youtube channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFTnQHvgadDIbSlP7qLmBkg

Trevs Shed

Submitted by Guy Berkovits on Sun, 03/13/2022 Permalink

Hi

I really like this firmware! 

Everything works fine but I can't figure out how to stop the auto bed leveling with my bltouch before every print.

I turned off the auto bed leveling option in the printer's menu and removed the G29 command from my gcode but it still auto level.

Maybe I missed something?