Update

If you using MainSailOS, in the latest verision you need to do this step to fix the error: Arksine/moonraker#349

Klipper for Ender 3 V2

This guide is part of this Reddit post that I change it to work with BLTOUCH and BMG on Fluidd/MainsailOS with my own configuration files.

Step-by-Step Guide for Ender 3 v2 Klipper with BLTouch and BMD extruder. (Fluidd / MainsailOS)

# NOT for OctoPrint

What is Klipper?

Klipper is fundamentally similar to Marlin except that it runs on the Raspberry Pi vs. the motherboard itself.
The firmware on the motherboard becomes "dumb" and everything runs on a much more powerful CPU.

For more information about Klipper wach this

Why should I install Klipper?

Installing Klipper on an 8-bit CPU like the original Ender meant detailed prints were a lot better since they simply didn't have enough processing power. The Ender 3 v2 has a 32-bit CPU so this advantage is a bit smaller (though Klipper uses more advanced kinematics equations so the prints will still be slightly better). But, there are a lot of other advantages to Klipper:

• Faster print speed
• Better print quality
• Ability to have pressure advance (similar to linear advance) on any Ender 3 v2
• Ability to use input shaping to eliminate ghosting and ringing
• Better bed leveling
• Deep customizability without needing to recompile firmware
• Custom G-codes and Macros

if you print too fast, the quality suffers. If you print slower, the print comes out better, but at the price of time.

Warning: Installing Klipper will mean your printer's LCD is always blank. If you want control when you're physically at the printer, you'll need to add a touchscreen LCD to your Raspberry Pi instead and control the printer via Fluidd / MainsailOS.

What do I need to run Klipper?

Klipper requires a Raspberry Pi which you may already be using for OctoPrint. Once you install Klipper, the Raspberry Pi becomes the "brain" of your printer and the printer's motherboard is simply there to pass messages to the hardware.
You can use Raspberry Pi 2,3,4,Zero 2 W *(NOT Zero Version 1!)
I'm using Raspberry Pi 2 and it works fine but it better to use the newest version available.

Basic Installation

1. You'll need to install Fluidd / MainsailOS on a Raspberry Pi (don't use a v1 or a Zero).

2. You'll be doing work on the Raspberry Pi itself, so you'll want to SSH into it from another computer. You'll run a command like ssh pi@Mainsail where Mainsail is the IP address or hostname of the pi.
   The default password is "raspberry".

3. We'll generally be following this guide.

   • A. Flash Fluidd / MainsailOS to SD card.

   • B. Create bin file firmware for the printer:

   Change to the Klipper (via SSH) directory (cd ~/klipper/) and run the config tool (make menuconfig). Select the following in the menu:

   • i. Uncheck Enable extra low-level configuration options.

   • ii. Set processor architecture to STMicroelectronics STM32.

   • iii. Set processor model to STM32F103.

   • iv. Set bootloader offset to 28KiB bootloader.

   • v. And serial on USART1 PA10/PA9.

   • vi. Save and exit.

   • C. Type make and let it run.

   If you prefer a direct serial connection

   In "make menuconfig":

   select "Enable extra low-level configuration options", and select serial (on USART3 PB11/PB10).
   Which is broken out on the 10 pin IDC cable used for the LCD module as follows:
   3: Tx, 4: Rx, 9: GND, 10: VCC

4. The firmware file will be in ~/klipper/out/klipper.bin. There's many ways to get it out of the Raspberry Pi, but I used scp.
   From the main computer (where you ran ssh), type scp pi@Mainsail:~/klipper/out/klipper.bin klipper.bin.

5. Put the file on an SD card and put the SD card into the Ender 3 while the printer is off.
   Turn on the printer and it should flash the firmware. If it flashed successfully, your LCD will go blank.
   Don't worry, if anything goes wrong simply put Marlin firmware on it and flash it again.

6. You need to configure (Fluidd / MainsailOS) to communicate with the printer.

   • A. In Settings, go to Serial Connection and add /tmp/printer to Additional serial ports. Once you save,
     in the same menu choose /tmp/printer under Serial Port.

   • B. Under Behavior, select Cancel any ongoing prints but stay connected to the printer.

   • C. If everything is good, you should see /tmp/printer in the main connection page and you should be able to connect.
     If you go to Terminal and type status you should get back an error about config files.
     This means you're communicating with the printer's new firmware!

7. Now we want to configure the firmware for the Ender 3 v2.
   This is the equivalent of Marlin's configuration.h but you don't have to recompile firmware to change anything! It's pretty slick.

   • A. In the home directory folder (~/) make a file called printer.cfg.
     Do not do this in the Klipper sub-folder, it should be in your regular home directory.

   • B. Copy the contents of this Ender 3 v2 configuration file into printer.cfg and save it. Or you can download and add my printer.cfg file from this git and change the parameters that work for you

   • C. In the Terminal of Fluidd / Mainsail, type restart. You should see the printer restart and become ready without errors.
     You can also issue a status command. What's beautiful about Klipper is that whenever you make config changes,
     you just save and run restart and that's it. No recompiling!

Configuring BLTouch

For BLTouch, you have to do a bit more work to get Klipper configured. You should read the detailed guide, but this is a quick summary.

Add the following code to your printer.cfg:

If you use the original mount for the BLTOUCH from Creality than change: x_offset: -43 y_offset: -7.5

If you use the mount from Thingiverse change to: x_offset: -42 y_offset: -10

Also check this video

Probe calibration

With Klipper you can calibrate the x and y offsets more precisely and then you'll also need to add your z offset.
The sign is flipped between Marlin and Klipper, so for me the z-offset of -2.60 became 2.60 here.
Note that during calibration you will need to let the z axis go negative, so you can add position_min: -3 until you're done calibrating.

Important: Do all the tests with "Paper test" and only after you finish them with good results move on with the guide.

Configuring Mesh Leveling

There's a lot of bed mesh configuration options, but here's one that works for me:

[bed_mesh]
speed: 120
horizontal_move_z: 5
mesh_min: 15, 15 # min 15 mm for the probe
mesh_max: 193, 193 # max 193 mm for the probe
probe_count: 3,3 # Mesh points
algorithm: bicubic
fade_start: 1
fade_end: 10
fade_target: 0

Configuring BMG

This part is very important so don't skip it
To use BMG you need to calculate rotation_distance in your printer.
I calculated it with this klipper guide And dont forgat to add gear_ratio to the [extruder].
For me the settings are:

[extruder]  
rotation_distance: 22.288
gear_ratio: 3:1 # BMG gear ratio

and you can also use this video this video

Screw Measurement

What's amazing about Klipper is that it has a screw measurement feature. It runs BLTouch above each of the 4 screws and tells you how much to turn each one to dial your bed in perfectly (e.g., "CW 00:15" or turn clockwise 1/4 turn). To enable this, add:

[screws_tilt_adjust]
screw1: 70.5,37.5
screw1_name: front left screw
screw2: 240,37.5
screw2_name: front right screw
screw3: 240,207.5
screw3_name: rear right screw
screw4: 70.5,207.5
screw4_name: rear left screw
horizontal_move_z: 10
speed: 50
screw_thread: CW-M4

1. With all of this done, you can now level the bed. First, home with G28 and type SCREWS_TILT_CALCULATE to adjust the bed.
   You can type SCREWS_TILT_CALCULATE multiple times until it's close.

2. To level the bed, you can run BED_MESH_CALIBRATE. After calibration, make sure to hit SAVE_CONFIG.

   You can start it via G29 macro code

Advanced Stuff

Klipper lets you do a lot of advanced stuff. It's a lot to cover, but here's a brief overview of what you can do:

Tuning PIDs It's really simple to tune your extruder and bed PIDs.
Just run PID_CALIBRATE HEATER=extruder TARGET=200 and PID_CALIBRATE HEATER=heater_bed TARGET=60.
Don't forget to SAVE_CONFIG after each run!

Resonance/Ringing Compensation Do this before setting pressure advance, because it will change your values. When you start printing at higher speeds, you may see ringing. This is also fairly simple to fix by following this guide. Basically you print a model at very high accelerations, then measure the frequency of the ripples in the print. Then, you tell Klipper those frequencies and select the algorithm you want to make it go away:

[input_shaper]
shaper_freq_x: 45.5
shaper_freq_y: 46.8
shaper_type: ei

My input_shaper is:

[input_shaper]
shaper_freq_x: 40.42
shaper_freq_y: 33.90
shaper_type: mzv
**Take a look at the changes between ei vs mzv**

For more advance use this video or this video

Pressure Advance Setting pressure advance is really straightforward with these instructions. You just slice an stl file, then get the printer into a special mode, and print. Look for the height where your corners start becoming too rounded and calculate the value from there. Once you find the value, under [extruder] add pressure_advance with the number (e.g., between 0.5 and 0.9 for an Ender 3 v2) and you're done!
Now try printing at higher speeds and see how it goes.\

Also check this video

Babystepping Babystepping is easy with Klipper, enabling you to dial in your z-offset just right.
While printing, simply issue SET_GCODE_OFFSET Z_ADJUST=0.01 MOVE=1 to move the head up 0.01.
Reset to default with SET_GCODE_OFFSET Z=0.0 MOVE=1.

What is Macro?

A serias of commands to be run when a specific command is input

Custom Macros and G-Codes At first glance, it looks like Klipper doesn't support some g-codes that Marlin does. However,
what Klipper supports is custom macros so you can create any g-code. For example, my G29 is:\

[gcode_macro G29]
gcode:
  G28
  BED_MESH_CALIBRATE
  G0 X0 Y0 Z10 F6000
  BED_MESH_PROFILE save=default
  SAVE_CONFIG

Check this Klipper example for more Macros.

Also you can check printer.cfg for more Macros

You can also create your very own ones!
In Cura, my g-codes are now START_PRINT T_BED={material_bed_temperature_layer_0} T_EXTRUDER={material_print_temperature_layer_0} and END_PRINT with the actual commands defined in printer.cfg.
This enables much easier porting between machines and slicers.

Copy cura_klipper_start_end.gcode file and add to cura GECODE setting
And check if START_PRINT AND END_PRINT section in the printer.cfg works for you.

What to do with the LCD?

Check this github page and in this Reddit post you can find some important data.

I don't tested it yet because I have an old tablet that I use for my printer

Youtube

I highly recommend to watch Klipper configuration and tests in this channels:

1. Teaching Tech
2. NERO 3D
3. eddietheengineer

To Do:

• Add section about Printer Calibration. https://teachingtechyt.github.io/calibration.html#accel
• Add two cameras settings + settnig foe any type of camera. (in https://community.octoprint.org/t/usb-webcams-known-to-work-with-mjpg-streamer/21149)
• Add guides in sites.

Thanks:

• Miron Vranješ for his guide on Reddit and in his site which I based my guide on it.
• Teaching Tech, NERO 3D, eddietheengineer for their great videos that helped me a lot to configure and understand how Klipper works.

Klipper:

https://teachingtechyt.github.io/calibration.html#accel

https://github.com/teachingtechYT

https://www.reddit.com/r/klippers/comments/kj2h5r/stepbystep_guide_for_ender_3_v2_klipper_w_bltouc

https://www.reddit.com/r/klippers/comments/q6gl65/ender_3_v2_display_help/

https://github.com/GalvanicGlaze/DWIN_T5UIC1_LCD/wiki

https://github.com/bustedlogic/DWIN_T5UIC1_LCD

https://albertogrespan.com/blog/3d-printing/klipper-on-an-ender-3/

https://www.klipper3d.org/Command_Templates.html

https://gist.github.com/besser/30140a30312d5c7adceabf8a493472c3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJapxNsntsQ

https://www.youtube.com/c/Nero3D/videos

GCODE:

https://github.com/prusa3d/PrusaSlicer/wiki/Slic3r-placeholders-(a-copy-of-the-mauk.cc-page)

Macros

https://github.com/Desuuuu/klipper-macros