Hello i just purchased a CR-6 SE and i was reading on Reddit that there’s issues with it blowing up a Raspberry Pi when plugged in the USB port
Yes , that was corrected by Creality now.
The issues of Board MOSFET and Blown USB ports was all caused by the Bed’s rotating clap touching bed heater element.
That was corrected by Creality adding the Kapton Tape, and Customers printing PET-G Quick locks instead of the metal ones.
Creality has delivered the CR-6 SE with at least three models of motherboard, so far:
- 4.5.2 (the original 32-bit board delivered in most of the kickstarter units),
- 4.5.3 - a redesigned 32 bit board, which now uses 24vdc instead of 12vdc to drive the stepper motors, having removed the 12 VDC step-down regulator implicated in the initial “board fires”, and
- CR-ERA_V1.1.0.3, which may remove both the 12VDC step-down regulator and the diode through which the USB 5VDC accidentally feeds power into the printer even though the printer is switched off. (https://www.reddit.com/r/CR6/comments/kvfxxx/just_got_my_kickstarter_printer_went_to_install/)
You will need to know which board is in your machine, to be able to select the right firmware for upgrades.
There is also a known issue with 24VDC getting onto the frame of the printer - either through pinched chafed cables or through the glass bed clips chafing through the insulation on the bottom of the heated bed. The DC and AC grounds are isolated from each other on the printer end of the cable but they tend to be connected on other devices. The USB cable shield is connected to the printer frame, so when you plug the USB cable into the Pi or a PC, it causes a short circuit at the printer end, burning out one or more components. This fault is independent of the 5VDC issue or of the 12VDC step-down regulator issues, so you should still take care to protect your system before connecting any USB cable to your printer.
You will see a lot of discussion on this issue on Reddit, Facebook or Discord, so there is plenty of help available.
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Hello WhatWouldAnEngineerDo
Most of the issues with the 4.5.2 Control board were solved by adding Kapton Tape under Metal Bed Clamps or reprinting them in PET-G.
This solved the over heating bed MOSFET issue, and the 24VDC to the frame that would blow up USB devices when plugged in.
Hello, Keith.
I was a Kickstarter backer for the CR-6SE and I have been deeply engaged in the CR-6 Community since August 2020. I am quite familiar with the issues to which you refer, and several others not yet mentioned here.
Perhaps I misunderstood the original post. I thought you were expressing some concern and asking for more info.
If I can be of any help, please do not hesitate to ask.
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Good Morning W.W.A.E.D.,
I too have the Kickstarter one at home. Added the Kapton Tape, Both front Drawers, Under Screen Storage, Screen cover, Creality WiFi box, Zed Optical switch Cover/Shield
All metal heat break(Spun it up on 13" English standard Engine Lathe - 304 Stainless Steel)
I also have access to one of the Post kickstarter ones in my office. 4.5.2 board, pre-Kapton tape version(now been fixed).
What are some other “Fixes” you recommend?
I have a CR-6 that came with Kapton tape already applied, and the printer is working great, but I just don’t trust it 100%.
Is the 24V bed issue only with the front and back clips/screws and not the other bed mounting spacers/screws?
I just ordered a Wham Bam, so I will be removing these clips. If this completely eliminates the possibility for the fault, I would feel much better about it.
I would also recommend that the USB power wire be disconnected before connecting to any external equipment to help with the 24V fault and the powering up of the CR-6 electronics.
I don’t want this to sound like I am “bashing” the CR-6 SE. I like it a lot. Some users have not noticed any troubles at all, taking it out of the box and 3D-printing for the first time with excellent results.
I would just caution anyone new to their machine that this machine was still a very new product when it started to ship and some of the initial design and manufacturing process errors were still being worked-out as their early units started shipping. Consequently, although new units may incorporate most of the “fixes”, early units may not have been retrofitted & may still need corrections. Creality themselves are still making design improvements to systematically purge known design issues from subsequent units.
The Tiny Machines company in Texas is differentiating itself by offering a standard suite of safety upgrades to every CR-6 they sell. That may be a helpful set of photos & tips to review: CR6 SE Updates
Not everyone will use Facebook, but there is a very good CR-6 Community group there + Creality have an official support page there. It may be worth checking out, if only to access their troubleshooting guides. This unboxing guide is a bit dated but still a useful place to start, particularly if your machine is 2nd-hand: Redirecting...
The most surprising issue to me was that a lot of printers arrive with loose screws. I was glad to learn I needed to tighten all of the bed screws, for instance, before I pasted a magnetic sheet over them all.
The fact that the 5VDC line on a standard USB cable will actually feed power into a printer motherboard was something I first learned on my Ender-3, when I updated the motherboard to a 32-bit BTT mini E3. That same issue also affects the Creality 4.5.2 and 4.5.3 motherboards on the CR-6 SE, though it may not affect the CR-ERA motherboard.
At first, it seemed like a benign feature, but it has actually been implicated in the premature failure of the motor drivers. There are now numerous tips online for various ways to tape the 5VDC pin or cut the wire.
The power switch on some early units was of poor quality and prone to failure, so a lot of tips advise replacing that. I have not needed to, but some have suffered arcing and burning failures so there are tips and photos online about that.
Some of us like to modify our machines, and we may well be the authors of our own troubles in some cases, so I will not list a bunch of recommended mods here in case some of my favourites turn out later to have been ill-advised. I do however encourage folks who enjoy this side of the hobby to checkout the CR-6 SE Community Firmware Discord channel.
The Community Firmware is evolving into a very feature-rich and powerful upgrade to this already excellent printer.
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I had my CR-6 SE and had no problem. It is true that I didn’t use the USB port but I know I need to remove the 5V power. I am still at firmware 1.0.2. I hesitate to switch to community firmware because I have no problem. Not sure if the benefits are worth the risks?
I agree. If you are happy with the printer as-is, there is no reason for you to change it.
I wanted the EEPROM data to be stored on the motherboard, in the EEPROM, not as a .dat file on the SD card, for instance, so I upgraded to Creality v1.0.3.6.
I wanted to be able to adjust my Z offset values in increments of 0.01mm, not 0.05mm. I also did not like the screen going blank after 30 seconds or being limited to a 0.5mm Z Offset, so I changed to the Community Firmware.
Each update of that firmware has added more and more useful functionality, particularly for those reticent to use the USB port for any reason. Bugs in that firmware are sometimes fixed as quickly as 1hr after being reported, and everyone on the development team is not only very talented at software development but also vested and committed users.
I can certainly commend the firmware for your consideration, but only you will know whether it offers any value to you.
I think one of the factors that may put people off the Community Firmware at this point is that it is based on the next release of Marlin (2.0.7.3). Since that version of Marlin is not yet released, the Community Firmware team has adopted the stance that their firmware is a “beta” version. You may prefer to wait until the team is ready/willing to issue a formal release.
If you would like to investigate further, this is the GitHub channel where the team is maintaining a repository of their code, issues, and developer guides: Creality CR-6 Community · GitHub.
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