CR-10 Smart + Pro Version – How to Update the Firmware

Transcript

Hello everybody and welcome to another video tutorial. In today’s video, we’ll be covering how to update the firmware for the CR-10 Smart since this machine has a very particular way in which it prefers to update. As always, do this mod at your own risk, and I’m in no way responsible if any damages may occur.

In order to update the firmware, there are a couple of things we need in order to do so. You’ll, actually require, two SD cards that are 8 GB in size. The size of the card is important in this case, since you could run into issues if you don’t set the correct parameters. You’ll need one regular sized SD card and one that’s a micro SD card in order to do this upgrade. The regular SD card is used to update the motherboard through the SD card slot that you load your printing files from. As for the micro SD card, that one plugs into the reader that’s inside the LCD screen and must be opened first.

Before we can use either of these cards, we’ll first need to format them in a specific manner. Insert the SD card into your pc or mac and format it so that it follows these requirements. As mentioned previously, the card should be 8 GB in size since other versions may not have the correct settings available or be compatible with the upgrade. The file system option should be set to FAT 32. The allocation unite size needs to be changed to 4096. We can then select “Quick Format” since we don’t require an in depth version to be done. After making these changes, we can then choose Format.

There are a couple of different alliterations of this machine, therefore we’ll need to check and make sure that we have the correct firmware to do this upgrade. On the main website, you’ll go to the download section and select the firmware that you want to download. Once downloaded, there’s a README file which gives you information on what type of firmware goes with which motherboard. In my case, I had the CRC-2405V1.2 and was able to use this version of the firmware at the time. Unfortunately, the only way to find out what type of motherboard you have is to open the machine and check, so I’d recommend doing this at the same time as the safety upgrade which is included in the follow-up video.

Before we begin upgrading the machine, there’s some very important things to know prior to starting. The first, is that you can only use a file name once to do an update with the .bin file, so make sure to use a simple name which can be changed in the future. The second thing to know, is that you have to hold down on the power button until the update completes, otherwise you’ll render your machine inoperable. The easy fix, if you make this mistake, is to re-flash the firmware after having renamed the .bin file.

In order to update the motherboard, we’ll transfer the .bin file to the regular sized 8 GB SD card after having formatted it to the proper specifications. We’ll then turn off the machine and also turn off the power supply button in the back. After having done so, we’ll insert the SD card into the slot in which we load our 3D printing files. You can then turn back on the power supply button and press and HOLD the power button until the firmware finishes updating. You will know that the update is complete when you are brought to the home screen.

To update the LCD screen, we’ll first need to open it up to get access to the micro SD card Reader. First turn off the machine before unmounting the screen. You can then unplug the monitor from the rest of the machine and unscrew the back to open it. With the micro SD card properly formatted, you’ll transfer the DWIN_SET folder to the card without renaming it. Unlike the motherboard, the LCD screen doesn’t require that you rename the folder, so leave the name unchanged since these files need to be referenced, and it may not work if you change them. With the machine completely turned off, you can then insert the micro SD card into the LCD SD card slot. You’ll then power up the machine and wait for the update to complete. This can take a while to finish, but you’ll know when it’s completed when you see “SD Card Process….. END!”. You’ll then need to power off the machine and turn it back on to see that the menus have been updated.

With everything now updated, you can then do a couple of test prints to help ensure that everything is working correctly. Unlike most machines, I can verify that some of the issues I had encountered have been addressed with this update and I would therefore consider this update mandatory since it greatly affects the machines’ performance.

CR10 V3 – Safety Mod

Transcript

Hello everybody and welcome to another video tutorial. Today we’ll be addressing an issue which is quite common among budget friendly printers and isn’t discussed all that much. The CR10 V3 like many other 3d printers in the market today, have tinned wired connections at their terminals, so today we’ll be replacing those with ferrules. As always, what you see here represents my own opinions, and undertake this at your own risk. I’m in no way responsible if any damages that may occur.

Now, there’s a couple of reason why you might want to change the main power connections to ferrule ones, however the main one is for safety. Not having ferrules means that maintenance will generally be more difficult since you’ll have to deal with the wires unravelling when being placed inside the terminals. Tinned one’s on the other hand can make the strands more susceptible to vibration, loosing and corrosion, all of which are to be avoided when it comes to the main power connections. So for this reason we’ll be taking a closer look at how to replace the those connections on the CR10 V3 by Creality.

Since the CR10 V3 has a separate case for the electronics, I will be removing this portion from the rest of the machine to make things a little easier to manage. In order to get access to the terminals, we first need to open the box and to do this, well need to remove the screws on the bottom of the case as well as those holding the power supply in place. There shouldn’t be any need to disconnect the power supply from the motherboard, but you will need to put it to the side as you work on the components.

According to the wiring diagram, you can see that we have a couple of terminals, which we will need to double-check for tinned wires. I’ve turned the diagram around so that it matches the orientation of the video footage. It does seem to be typical with most 3d printers, is that both the hot end and main power tend to have tinned wires. I have come across some that also have the sensor tinned as well, although that it more rare.

To make things easier to keep track of, we’ll only remove one wire at a time by unscrewing the screw at the top of the terminal. With wire cutters, you’ll remove the part that tinned before beginning to prep the wire for the ferrule. In order to have proper contact with the ferrule, well need to strip the tip of the wire by using one of the two methods. If you have wires strippers, you can use those to strip the wire connection, if you don’t, you can use your wire cutter to do the same thing by gently adding pressure until you’ve cut through the outer protective layer. You’ll then be able to remove the coating by holding the cutter’s partially open while pulling that part away. When choosing a ferrule, you want to choose one that just barely fits onto the wire to help ensure a proper connection when crimped. By making sure to twist the wires first, you’ll have an easier time inserting them into the ferrules. If you have a ferrule crimping tool, you can use that to crimp the connection, if not you can use a pair of pliers’ to do the same thing. Always test the connection before putting it back into the terminal.

In the end, I’ve found that I had to replace both the hot end connections and main power with ferrules. This means that we’ve ended up replacing the connections for 2 terminals. By only disconnecting one connection at a time, you’ll be able to keep track of what connections need to be changed next. This is the method I generally recommend so that you don’t end up mixing your connections. When you re-attach the connection, make sure to double-check that it’s properly secured before moving on to the next one. Once you’ve finished upgrading the terminal connections, you can then put back together the machine and do a quick test print to make sure everything is working correctly.

I hope this video has helped some of you out, and if there’s a video you’d like to suggest, please leave a comment down below. I hope you guys enjoyed this video and I hope to see you guys soon. Thank you and take care.

CR10 V3 Fix – Filament Sensor Mod

Video tutorial on how to Upgrade the Filament sensor for the CR10 V3.

Download Files

Instructions

In today’s article, we’ll be covering how to go about modifying the filament run out sensor that came with the CR10V3 so that it stops catching. As always, please do this mod at your own risk, and I’m not responsible if any damages may occur.

So as I mentioned in my previous review of the Creality CR10 V3, the sensor was very much holding back the potential for this machine. Because of the initial design for the filament intake, it caused a severe amount of friction to occur, which in some instances prevented the proper flow of filament through the nozzle. Before trying to create a new housing, I did run a test to see if I could simply replace the existing sensor with one that I had lying around, however this produced an error which prevented the printing process from starting. Instead of modifying the firmware, I decided to change the housing, which I believed to be the main cause of the issue. The electronics themselves were very well-designed, so doing this also makes this modification easier for other’s to undertake.

So the very first step was to remove the existing component and open it up to see what was inside. Luckily, this was fairly easy to accomplish because of how it was assembled on the machine. Once you remove the 4 screws holding it in place, you are immediately greeted with the electronic components. To make my life easier, I did decide to remove the filament stand, however this is not a necessary step.

Once the electronics were visible, I removed the two screws holding them in place so that I could get a better look at the housing that already existed on the machine. The first step was the remodel of the area where the sensor would be sitting, and once that portion as completed, I was then able to focus on the entryway for the filament. The issue with the stock version is that the angles were too sharp, and this was what was causing the large amount of friction. Also, the alignment was slightly off and this caused the filament to get stuck in the switch portion of the mechanism. In order to address these issues, I created a gradual entryway for the filament to the pass through and changed the point where the filament intersected with the switch. This produced a much more gradual entrance, which reduced the friction significantly.

With this out of the way, it was now time to create the connection points in which the two halves of the sensor would meet and combine to make the shell. I then added the bolt indents to further make this easier to assemble. So after a couple of prototypes, I finally had the final version that I would be installing on my machine.

IF you decide to install this one in your own machine, you’ll need to do the following. You’ll need to add the two screws to hold the switch in place, after which you’ll add the screws and bolts for the housing. In my case, I only had longer screws available, so I ended up only installing two of these across from each other. This also allowed me to place a much longer screw going in the opposite direction to attach this to the sensor mount. I added a bolt behind it just to make sure that it didn’t come off later on. With that completed, I installed it onto the machine and quickly tested it with both flexible and PLA filament. After doing my first print, I can say that it’s still working quite well, and I’m happy with the results. This was the resulting test cube, which was printed with a 0.8 nozzle and scaled to 130%.

Although this may seem like a simple mod, I found this to be one in which I appreciate the most since the friction being produced has caused my filament to break in mid-print on certain occasions. In the next article, we’ll upgrade the hot end to use an all metal hot end one for higher temperature printing.

Checklist

Download + Print Files
Remove original sensor
Careful take out electronics
Place into new housing
Assemble

1.75 to 2.85 – Changing Filament Type I3 Mega

Instructions

In today’s article, we’ll be covering how to modify an FDM printer to take 2.85 mm filament instead of the standard 1.75 and see if it’s worthwhile. If you’re doing this yourself, please keep in mind that I do not take any responsibility for any damages that may occur as a result, so do this modification at your own risk.

To begin, I ordered a new Hot end since I was already looking to upgrade my machine. If you’re doing this modification, all you would need is a replacement Bowden tube, since it will fit into an existing nematic fitting. You’re going to want to pick up a Bowden tube which is 2.85 to 3 mm in width for the inside diameter. Since I was also ordering the components from abroad, I made sure to order 2 along with an extra Bowden tube of the right size. I personally already own a Bowden tube cutter, however you can use the standard filament cutter’s as long as you fix the opening after cutting the tube and make sure that your cut is straight.

The first step in this project was to look into what component I would need to modify in order to keep the original functionality of the machine. In doing so, I discovered that there would be two main components which would need to be changed. In this, I would need to change the filament guide which is connected to the nematic fitting and modify the housing case for the electronic components of the filament run-out sensor. I will not be going over how to upgrade the hot end in today’s video, but keep an eye out for future videos if you want to see that at a latter date. Important to note, I did discover that this modification works best with a larger nozzle size, therefore you may wish to change your nozzle of 0.8 size since that’s the one I tested and achieved good results.

When installing the new Bowden tubes, there were a couple of things that I learned throughout the years. First off, you’ll want to make sure that it sticks out as straights as possible otherwise, if you’ve cut the tip of your filament on an angle it will puncture the tube. I tied this tube to the wires which were already secured to the machine and this fixed the problem. When removing the Bowden tube, you will need to press down on the nematic fitting while pulling on the tube without bending it. This releases the mechanism which keeps the tube from being pulled out during normal operations. When using filament which is so thick, there’s a large amount of pressure that’s built up in the tube, which causes the tube to want to deform. You’re better off having a little extra room in order for it to bend around corner’s easily. Too long, however, and you’ll end up wasting more filament when you’re at the end of your printing spool. This filament will be quite difficult to deal with, and you should keep in mind that you will be wasting the amount that you have left in your Bowden tube unless you have a filament welder Connector. This is something that I’ve since ordered and will hopefully be testing in the future.

When creating this modification, I was only able to replace the guide leading from the gears to the nematic fitting. The area where the filament enters into the gears was too small for FDM printing and therefore a resin print would be required, however most resins remain too brittle. Should I get enough requests to continue this in the future, and I’ll create a follow-up video showing this being addressed with a resin printed part? I will need to do quite a bit of research to ensure that I use a resin which will remain flexible, so this will take quite a bit of time to achieve.

The Bowden extruder while simple in design does have a spring mechanism that like to shoot out, so be very careful when removing this component. I would highly recommend using some form of tape to help hold it in place while you work, or remove it entirely to keep losing the spring. With this portion opened up, I was then able to take the two components which I wanted to modify out and replace these with my own. You’ll want to keep these parts in a safe place should you need to switch back in the future. I personally put these into a small transparent bag with all the original components, just in case I required them in the future.

When remodelling the filament guide leading from the nematic fitting to the gears, I originally attempted to use a Bowden tube for this purpose, however it created enough problems that I ended up extending the part instead. Should any of you decide to use this file, you’re going to want to make sure that you sand down and clean up the printed replacement as much as possible to help reduce any friction that may occur. When re-installing the nematic fitting, it’s important to make sure that the Bowden tube it’s cut flat and that you take your filament cutter to slightly widen its entry point. This will help ensure that it doesn’t get pushed back into the machine and that the filament doesn’t get caught on its edges. When cutting Bowden tubes, this is a simply trick that will help remove any pleats if you’re using your filament cutter’s.

With this portion complete, I was then able to begin working on the filament sensor modifications. In order to do this, I had to remove the original sensor from is plastic housing to see which portions would need to be modified. In this case, I wanted to keep the pre-existing parts so that I would be able to transition back if needed. What this meant is that I need to recreate the housing to fit its original functionality while accounting from some size changes. With the portion for the circuit board completed, I then changed the filament section to accommodate the new filament size. I also included the original hole so that it could still be attached to the frame of the machine with a longer screw. This is the final model that I ended up using in the end.

It was finally time to level the bed, which in my case was pretty close and only required some minor tweaks to get it working. Then came the part of changing my print settings until I had something which was closer to what I had originally had. Now keep in mind that this is a large nozzle size, and therefore it isn’t really designed to get details, it’s best suited for larger prints that you don’t want taking a long time. So in my case, I use this machine to create tools and rigs for my internal manufacturing process. If you plan to sand and finish a piece anyway then this will also still work, but you may want to print a lower height and seal the parts of some form of epoxy based putty too so that it doesn’t take as long to finish. So in the end, was this mod worth doing? Well, for most of you, it probably isn’t. Unless you happen to get a lot of filaments that’s in the wrong size, then you might want to look into doing this, however there are quite a few issues which could arise. First of, this filament is far more brittle since it has a much larger diameter, so trying to get it to print without interruptions can be a challenge. Secondly, you’ll want to see if you can even print at higher temperatures that will be needed. In my case, I had to increase it by over 15 Degrees Celsius to get completed prints. Anything less and the filament was too prone to clogging within the nozzle, and the extra pressure also caused the filament to break more often. Another important thing to note, is that you’ll have to work with your flow compensation to get it perfect, otherwise you’ll have issues with how it comes out of the nozzle. Removing clogs was often tedious at best since the method I found was to remove the Bowden tube entirely and then do a “cold pull” to remove any residue. I believe that this mod is best suited for filaments which are less brittle but flexible, since these will be less likely to break or bend within the Bowden tube. So if any of you attempt this at home, I’d be interested in hearing what you have to say amount this mod in the future.

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