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I have a base Creality CR-10 that I have had for 10 months. Since then I have added Z-axis braces and a Z-axis dual lead screw. I have a Filament runout sensor that I want to add and I want to add a BLTouch bed leveling. I know I can probably squeeze those last two upgrades in using the V1.0 board that came with the CR10, but I really want to upgrade boards to the V2.0 that use the TMC2208 drivers.

My questions are:

  • Any issues compatibility wise or firmware wise that I might run into while upgrading

  • Also I know that the V2.5 board uses Marlin firmware, is that the same firmware that the V1.0 uses

  • Is it worth it to upgrade to BLTouch. I have viewed several youtube videos and read several websites/posts on using it but I am not that clear on whether you would have to ever use the manual bed leveling adjustments or does BLTouch take care of that forever?

Any insights, comments or links to useful posts/websites very much appreciated!

0scar
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apesa
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    Both boards are pretty terrible. I'd just go with a SKR Mini E3 v2.0 1) Should be fine 2) Yes, same firmware 3) Depends. I'd prefer flat beds and synced Z leadscrews any day. – towe Sep 17 '20 at 06:43
  • Thanks for that mention of BTT. I looked at that since you mentioned it and it looks like what I am going to buy. TIA.. – apesa Sep 18 '20 at 00:28

1 Answers1

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Any issues compatibility wise or firmware wise that I might run into while upgrading

These boards are 8-bit boards with limited storage capacity for your firmware, if you would need an update, as an alternative solution, a 32-bit board may be a much better solution.

Also I know that the V2.5 board uses Marlin firmware, is that the same firmware that the V1.0 uses

I do not own this board so I can't say for sure, a generic remark would be that the Marlin 2.x branch works fine on 8-bit boards (from experience with some of my own boards), but you frequently see (does not have be the case for this board!) that these OEMs use the latest from the 1.1.9 branch. The only drawback is that you sometimes need to be creative to fit the firmware on the board, the more options, the more memory is used.

Is it worth it to upgrade to BLTouch

That depends on the state of your heated bed/build platform. If the build platform is not flat, but is somewhat curved, you may see improvements in bed adhesion when you correctly add a sensor that maps the surface and adjusts for it during printing. If it is flat, manual leveling works fine.

I am not that clear on whether you would have to ever use the manual bed leveling adjustments or does BLTouch take care of that forever?

Even when using a sensor that maps the surface of the build platform, you should always try to deliver a bed that is as level as possible. In videos you often see the bed tilted (very much exaggerated); you need to remember that the printer will print in a plain level after about 10 mm (or to a different height, determined in your firmware or set by G-code), a skew platform will give you a skew print.

0scar
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  • Thanks for the clarification. I am going to go with a BTT SKR Mini as mentioned by @towe. Also as far as Bed Leveling, I have a glass bed that is flat and level. When I added the second Z screw I made sure to level the bed using a bubble level since I know the machine and the cabinet/floor are also level, I then used a micrometer to set the X-axis level across the X-axis plane so I know the Z screws are well aligned. However, I have that sickness where I can't leave well enough alone so I am going to add the BLTouch. – apesa Sep 18 '20 at 00:39
  • your bed doesn't need to be absolutely level, that's a misnomer. It needs to be perpendicular to the extruder, which is what "bed leveling" does. – dandavis Sep 18 '20 at 08:16
  • @dandavis For that reason I added the [link](/a/7892/) in my answer! But, good to repeat! Automatic leveling takes care of the bed surface when printing the first few mm's of your print to make it level after a few mm's. A printer itself can be inaccurately built/manufactured, hence the bubble level would not make sense, being perpendicular to the Z axis and parallel to the X-axis is all you want. – 0scar Sep 18 '20 at 12:12
  • @dandavis I understand your point. The only reason I leveled my bed as I described in my comment was to ensure that when I adjusted the second lead screw I had just added to the Z-axis I knew I was measuring the distance from the Bed to the X-axis gantry on a level surface. If the surface you're measuring from is level then everything you adjust from there on will be equidistant to that point. Once I had set the Z-axis lead screw correctly I then re-leveled the bed using the conventional process using sheet of paper and the leveling wheel just to make the print head had the correct spacing. – apesa Sep 18 '20 at 16:20