I've updated my Ender 3 with V4.2.7 mainboard, BLTouch and 400XL kit (extends the capabilities of your Creality Ender 3 3D Printer to a 400 mm X, 400 mm Y and a 500 mm Z printing platform). Now I need to update the firmware. YouTube did not provide any help: i.e.: out of date, so cryptic as to be unusable. Marlin & Creality had overly complicated, for what I need, solutions. Trying these led only to frustrations! Any ideas?
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4 Answers
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Without knowing exactly which Youtube videos you've looked at, I think where I would start is by downloading the latest Marlin Fimrware and configuration files for the Ender 3 with 4.2.7 board:
Latest Release of Marlin Firmware on Github
Configuration File Repository on Github
If I were doing your upgrade in your place, I would refer to this video for how to compile the firmware for the correct board. I've had to compile firmware for my Ender 3 a few times and I sometimes forget a step. This video is the best that I've found for showing/reminding me of each step.
Essentially, what I think you need to do is compile your firmware as if it were a stock Ender 3 V2 using the settings files I linked above but then change your print area the configuration.h file to match the X400 x Y400 x Z500 print bed area.
Look for the following:
// The size of the print bed
#define X_BED_SIZE 200
#define Y_BED_SIZE 200
Change to the following:
// The size of the print bed
#define X_BED_SIZE 400
#define Y_BED_SIZE 400
And then look for
#define Z_MAX_POS 200
and change to:
#define Z_MAX_POS 500
There are other changes you'd need to make to the settings file (refer to the video for those). I haven't done your particular upgrade on my machine, so I'm just guessing those extra couple of changes would work for you.
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I've done the board upgrade on my Ender 3 Pro. As I've read the BLTouch is easy to install. I'd go over to the Creality forum/help site. You can open a support ticket. They actively have information on firmware in both "release" and "beta" threads. Look there & see if you can get your answers.
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Shortly after my post I found this commercial Marlin site 1). It offers firmware for Creality & other printers. You can order 'off the shelf' firmware or customize it yourself. Customizing is quite easy & self explanatory; 5 min. after submitting my requirements, I received a zip file, which I un-zipped & copied the needed file to my SD card. Then I inserted the SD card into my printer & started it. The printer recognized the new firmware & updated its self.
1) This service is not free. Membership of \$15.00/year, is required.
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1$\begingroup$ You have to have a yearlong membership for a one-time download? $\endgroup$– RykaraCommented Mar 27, 2021 at 9:05
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1$\begingroup$ Many thanks for answering your own question. Getting someone else to do the configuration for you is also an option which I myself never considered. But, for those on a tight budget, there are multiple sources that deliver the correct configuration for the Ender 3, the only difference is the larger printer volume dimensions, this is covered in this answer. Please consider the other answers before accepting one. Thanks, happy printing! $\endgroup$– 0scar ♦Commented Mar 27, 2021 at 10:40
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A quick solution is obtaining a pre configured configuration file for this custom extended version of the Ender 3. While it should be very easy to find configurations for Ender 3 with or without BLTouch, the only difference this extension has is an updated printer volume specification. A ready made configuration is found here (please note that it contains an errand for the maximum build height, change #define Z_MAX_POS 250 to #define Z_MAX_POS 500.
The basic changes are:
// The size of the print bed
#define X_BED_SIZE 400
#define Y_BED_SIZE 400
Z_MAX_POS 500