Hi there, I have a tevo tarantula that I need to upgrade the control board in it. If I put an old ender 3 board in it and made a custom cura profile would that work? I also have a bunch of MKS controller board too. Would all endstops work and would it work if I setup the build area for the exact size?
Ps, ik how to change the retraction and e steps and firmware I’m handy with that.
Cura is good for the settings, but board firmware can be specific. Like if its checking the endstops for normally open or normally closed. Or if its set up with a different screen. You can always try it, but i would have everything in the middle prior to doing your first homing sequence. That way you can test the end stops prior to the printer reaching them, or pull the plug.
That being said, firmware seems tricky to do, but usually isnt all that bad to compile your own. Ive compiled my own for a mks robin lite board to some success XD
But yeah, you can change any board to any board so long as the pins are defined correctly. My board dosent allow a bl touch, unless i want to give up my parts cooling fan. Just an fyi.
It’s an Ender 3 clone so, yes, putting an Ender 3 control board in it should work as far as I am aware.
A couple of things to check first:
- Does the power supply supply 24V? Some systems have 12V power supplies but Ender 3 control boards expect 24V.
- I do not know if the displays are compatible. If they aren’t, the display can be changed, or you may be able to compile Marlin Firmware to use the display the Tarantula comes with. Worst case scenario, it should be possible to control the printer via the USB port.
- If the voltage and display are compatible, put the board in and wire it up but test everything manually via the control panel first.
- Test each axis and the extruder individually via the control panel before you try to home it. I’ll get to the possible caveat with homing in a moment. Don’t just note that each axis moves; note that it moves in the expected directions. I don’t know the Tarantula, so it’s possible the stepper motor wire harnesses are wired backwards. A reversed wiring harness would still work if the Tarantula’s firmware takes it into account but when you switch to an Ender control board it’s going to expect the wiring to be done the Ender way. It’s not a big deal if it isn’t. The cables can be re-wired or replaced if necessary, or worst-case, you can configure Marlin Firmware to reverse any offending axis. This is the reason why I suggest testing manually and not running auto-home. If any of the cables are wired backward on the Tarantula, your print head or bed will take off in the wrong direction and keep going until it hits something.
- Limit switches have two options: Normally Open and Normally Closed. The Ender series expects Normally Closed switches.
Thanks for the replies, would y’all think it would work with a mks base v1.6? The stock one was a mks base v1.2 I believe
Also needs to be bltouch capeable