Good review. I was just considering this board for a laser/cnc build upgrade. I would probably just use smaller stand offs and mount the boards back to back to get full access to all the GPIOs and connectors. It's not the size of the board, it's how you use it...
I really don't need a V0, I already have a small-format printer that I never use, but I really want to build one just to have an excuse to play with one of these.
Nice little simple board. I can see this being used on my bed slinger that has an older slower board that just had its drivers die or my custom corexy build. I don't need all the fancy bells and whistles like gantry tramming. I'm fine just using mesh bed leveling or if a probe is supported like a bltouch. I'm just curious what makes this tiny printer preferred?
Would work just fine, you really wont see any print quality difference, with klipper, performance is pretty much the same with any 32 bit MCU with tmc2209s, it all comes down to formfactor, availability and what features the board supports
@@CanuckCreator thank you. Is it available? What board would you recommend today that’s available? I’m thinking about doing Duet 3 mini because it’s available at least. But I would like suggestions.
@@thelightspeed3d712 The BTT in the link has em in stock, and i believe a few resellers have them as well, If you want to run RRF i the duet mini ive seen used. The vzero is a pretty simple printer in terms of what your controller needs to be able to support, xyze motors, xyz endstops, fans and heaters, no tramming, bed probe etc. so really it comes down to firmware choices/budget/availability/ features and room availability
My only concern with SKR Pico is why I have to connect it with additional Ras Pi for LCD? Why can't the existing Pi processor on SKR Pico itself be used for LCD?
I'm running my new built Voron 0.1 with the orange is zero and I'm pretty happy about it. It is much cheaper than RPI here where I live. I see the board is running at about 55 C. Should i put a small fan on it, or is that a normal temperature?
Yup. I love the direction BTT has been going with their design recently. First the Octopus and that awesome box, then the SKR mini E3 v3, and now the SKR Pico.
Ah, have wondered with the RP2040 would be used as a printer controller. Lack of independent dual Z motor controllers is a deal breaker for many of us with i3's though.
Thanks, Using an Sony a6400 a few weeks back, paired with a Tamron 24mm lens, also uploading h.265 4k master render of the final cut So a few things going on for the better quality
If I was starting a V0 today, I think I would probably go with this instead of the SKR mini. The additional fan controllers would have made hooking up a Nevermore a lot less effort, and losing the buck, etc. would be great. It should be possible to flash it by copying the file over USB directly from the Pi instead of having to bring it over to your computer. It just acts like a USB flash drive, and the Pi can mount a USB flash drive just as much as your computer can. You wouldn't be using the "make flash" command; you'd just be copying the file in fewer steps.. (instructions not tested; please check the documentation with respect to how the jumpers work) You'll want to have the SKR connected via USB to your Pi (you can leave it connected permanently.) The first time you do it, you'll have to set up your pi to automount usb drives: sudo apt install usbmount Shut down and turn off the printer, then install the boot jumper as described; I don't think you'll want the USB power jumper because it should be powered from your printer's power supply. It might not even be necessary to turn off the printer (you might be able to just install the jumper and press reset). I'm not 100% sure if the jumper is safe to install when powered on, so please check the documentation. When you power it back up, the drive should show up as /media/usb[0-7], probably usb0. Find out which with: ls -l /media/usb0 Go through them until you find the one that has the expected files. Then go through the usual "make" commands and just copy the file: cp klipper/out/klipper.uf2 /media/usb0 Then remove the boot loader jumper and press reset. I think it should be good to go at that point.
You can do almost the same setup using the skr mini if you go UART and Raspi Zero. I had that for a long while until input shaper came along which at the time with the much slower first gen zero just wouldnt work. Now with the second gen this should be totally manageable.
Just installing one on my new switchwire. Pi is in a case with a 3.5inch Touchscreen running klipperscreen and Fluidd, mounnted in place of the 12864 screen.
Do you still need the BAT85 inline for your probe? It seems like it shouldn't with the correct setting, given it is a 12/24v powered pin, but I want to check before I burn anything out.
I connected my Pico to the RasPi 3B via USB and not the UART controller, and not stacked but separated as if you were using other boards like the SKR mini. That way you can SSH into the Pi, put the Pico into Mass Storage device mode via jumper/reset button, then mount it as any other mass storage device in Linux and just cp the uf2 file over. It'll unmount, pull the jumper off the board and you're up and running
"...but the project is stalled while we scratch our heads and read datasheets." That gave me a good chuckle. It also will calm anxious folks because they are giving a reason for the delay AND solid evidence that they are working on it.
I ran Klipper for a while and for some reason I can’t recall switched back to a stock Marlin fw for an MKS Robin E3 but recently bought btt’s smart filament sensor and ran into constant problems trying to compile a new Marlin firmware for it. Put Klipper back on it and was up and running in an evening. It’s just so much easier to configure. I don’t think I’ll ever go back to Marlin ever again at this point.
@@CanuckCreator The other question. Aside the jumper necessity, why not "flash" it directly from RPi? I mean mount it over USB (as any other USB flash drive) on RPi and copy there? (for the automation, the jumper is quite an issue. Otherwise it seems to be a way to me).
You should be able to flash it by copying the file over USB directly from the Pi instead of two steps, copying it to your computer, and then to the SKR. But all the other steps with the jumpers and such would be the same. The Pi can mount a USB flash drive just as much as your computer can. Even though you have to mess with the jumpers, it would still be a lot more convenient though because you could just leave it plugged into your Pi's USB port instead of having to bring it over to your computer or vice versa.
@@fwiffo Yeah, the issue is that doing anything that requires placing jumpers every time klipper is updated (and requires firmware reflash, which seems to happen frequently) is not ideal, especially if this is designed for the Voron 0. Most users will have the back panel on so it's quite an inconvenience to have to remove it and fiddle with jumpers and usb cables. Hopefully this is something that can be remedied in the future (I imagine it will require a change to the bootloader possibly).
@@GregsMakerCorner Unfortunately, other things that need flashing usually need the same jumper dance (Klipper expander, various displays, etc.) I just avoid it by upgrading Klipper as infrequently as possible; it almost never actually *needs* to be updated. New releases are pulled from github at HEAD, so are broken pretty often anyway. And mainsail/fluidd, moonraker and system packages can be updated with minimal effort still. Compared to the SKR mini, Recompiling Klipper, copying it to your computer, then using the microSD card is almost as much work as using the jumpers.
Hey Nero I'm trying to do independent z-homing (4 z stepper) on a custom Voron2.4-like machine to print on slope surface, I use an SKR Octopus running Marlin with TMC2209, I tried everything, search every forum, can't seem to do 4 Z-axis sensorless homing. It will only use Z1 to home, once that one reach the gantry's end all z stopped (even some other Zs didn't), pls teach us some on this subject if possible, Thanks
Problem with SKR Pico: I have successfully flashed the Pico with Klipper firmware but find that my RPI V4 does not enumerate the Pico USB interface unless I manually press the reset button on the Pico. This prevents the Pico from being used to control the Voron unless I manually press the reset button each time it is powered up. Does anyone know how to fix this problem?
I live in the states so where does biqu ship from if you place an order with them? Their site says the address is in Hong Kong but do they ship from there?
Where would you get the 5V power for the V0 hotend cooling fan? I see that you are using the Pico's 5V power to power the Pi, so can you then just hook the +5V for the fan into the +5V on the Pi?
I have a Printrbot metal plus and sometimes wonder if I could upgrade from the printrboard it came with to one of these newer models and get quieter/better printing. Anyone done this?
A nice looking box shows a lot - that they actually care about the design of such, and (more importantly) they want to differentiate themselves from every other 3D printer board manufacturer that ships products in plain cardboard boxes. What’s more is that it doesn’t just stop at the box - look at (partially cosmetic because the majority of the heat comes from the bottom of the stepper driver packages, but I digress) the heat sink on top of the stepper drivers. They could’ve just had stick-on heatsinks like every other manufacturer. Instead, someone took the time and effort to design that heatsink. (And claimed double overtime for the SKR Pico Armoured.) Wonderfully excessive, but also amazing - and a great indication of things to come. 😄
Half the board is a buck/boost circuit haha its a cool little board. The Pico is getting a cpu update soon I think. You're from Canada, where do you get a pi at? I can find one for under 150 after tax.
@@CanuckCreator cool, that's where I check. Element14 is selling them for over 200 for just the board p4 4gb. I've got a pi400 a youtuber friend gave me because it was a review unit. I'm doing a switchwire and I think I'm just going to print a case for it after I see how big it is haha
@@CanuckCreator could you also comment on the heatsink placement? Is it attached to the top of drivers using a plastic package (no value) or to PCB pads soldered to the underside of the drivers (potentially useful)?
@@CanuckCreator That's not my question. The TMC chips I've seen are using plastic packages, which are not good conductors of heat. Instead, they have a large pad underneath that gets soldered to the PCB which then helps sink heat through the PCB copper. If they've placed a heatsink on top of the chip, thermal pad or not, it's not going to do much.
I just bought this board for my Anycubic Mega Zero a few days ago and I didn't realize that there might be a wattage limit on heated bed. There documentation doesn't mention this as you mentioned. Ugh... BTT really needs to do better documentation on their products. There are similar issues with their other boards and wrong pin out labels.
@@WhiteG60 oo that's good to know. I'm actually running a 12V power supply. I have the Mega Zero v1 and the hotbed is a mod. I'll grab an external MOSFET. Thank you!
I would *always* use external MOSFETs, both because I can pick overkill ones that support a *LOT* of power and later I can switch out the mainboard without worrying about how much the new onboard MOSFETs can handle.
The funny thing is, it was only this week that the availability of the RP2040 chips for businesses to integrate in to their own boards was announced. BTT seems to be ahead of the game.
@@RichardBronosky those are different. They are Raspberry Pi partners who are building their own versions of the Pico board for people to use for projects. The new announcement was for companies building products requiring an embedded microcontroller.
@@JonS Nope, the announcment says that you can buy MCUs directly from RPi foundation with no middle man, which means lower price in bulk orders. These RP2040s are available for a while for any project whatever you want.
MCU separate from the Pi is important, tho. It’s why the Beagle Bone and that line of hats with co-processors exists for 3D printers. ARM SoC is great at (in comparison to MCU) large computational loads, but hopeless at real-time operations, like sending accurate time-critical commands to stepper drivers. ...I mean, there’d be nothing stopping you from taking a custom motherboard, Pi4 Compute Module, TMC2209s, RP2040 co-processor, bundling it all up, and introducing it as the Taco raVico. 😉
The firmware update workflow is a total showstopper for me. Klipper often makes it necessary to re-flash firmware and having to open up the printer to do so is a massive backward step in today's marketplace. What was BTT thinking?
Updating the firmware on the MCU firmware isnt a commonly required thing, usually its just the interface/klipper/moonraker (on the rpi) that needs to be updated when something new gets pushed, only when theres a MAJOR revision to the underlying FW with the MCU controller is an update require, which from what ive seen, is like once year lately. There is work on being able to update the the rp2040 within klipper remote so that may be available in the future as well. Also the rp2040 is being used because its an MCU thats actually available in quantity currently due to the global chip supply issues. So thats what BTT is thinking
Look at what Adafruit has done with CircuitPython. Once flashed, a bootloader remains between updates. The bootloader makes the board show up as a USB drive. All future updates are just file copies. It's glorious. This community will catch up.
I don't think all this effort is necessary, as the Pi is also just a computer and can mount USB drives. You still have to dancing around with jumpers, but you don't need to bring it over to your computer and all that. I posted approximate instructions in a top-level comment; there might be some details, but there's no reason the idea shouldn't work.
Such a shame that it can only be flashed over USB with jumpers connected. This means that it has to be disassembled, everytime a new Klipper version comes out for the Pi, that isn't compatible with the version running on the board.
It's a perfect fit to Ender 3, Ender 2 and any other Prusas. My only concern is it has no interface to the standard 12864 display. 😭 P.S. I like programming RP2040, but the problem is it has no hardware support for floating point operations. Hopefully, all the math will run on RPI instead and SKR PICO( so the PICO will just drive steppers and listen to End-stops) most of the time.
I have my conserns more about the wrong usage of heatsink for these stepper drivers. It should be done via PCB, not via drivers package as Trinamics recommandation from its datasheet.
Hmm interesting little board. May throw one in my next aliexpress order for an experimental small printer I am wanting to prototype soon. I don't see why not but do you think it would workout fine for a delta? Figured it's best to ask someone who has had his hands on it.
