Built In CANBUS! Makerbase MKS SKIPR Klipper Board

[@geauxracerx]

For Klipper set up Raspberry Pi imager is superior to Balena Etcher, because it lets you set up your WiFi and host url before flashing. Great vid as always 👍

[@ModBotArmy]

I have used it quite a few times in the past but was not sure if there were certain image limitations. (I assumed this since Etcher is what the manufacturer recommended). If it does/would work with this image file then 100% I would recommend that over Etcher.

[@joediragi4258]

This would not fix the issue in this case. Makerbase made it this way *on purpose*. It’s in the changelog.

[@csforesman]

Really glad I found this video. I bought one of these for my merc 1/ hydra build, but the poor/limited documentation and relative lack of community support had me second guessing the decision. It really seems like a great value for a feature packed board, especially considering the built in, all in one klipper support. If the hardware can do everything it claims it's a shame it hasn't been supported/documented better or more widely adopted.

[@multioskar28]

I agree with you completely. I have tried to get the bosrd working for many months now. Good thing that there are atleast some videos on it on youtube, but havent gotten a print out of my machine yet…

[@treowayne]

Alternate approach: connect your wifi dongle AND the Ethernet cable. SSH into the Klipper host over the wired Ethernet connection and set up the WiFi that way. And honestly I can't be mad for bad Wi-Fi documentation when they've provided an Ethernet jack right there on the board.

[@largepimping]

Couldn't agree more! You do have to find the IP address, but to me that's much easier than connecting via serial.

[@ModBotArmy]

This is probably the best route to go. My modem is on the other side of the house but I definitely could have done it. That being said, I do try to follow manufacturer instructions as much as possible assuming that most users will do the same. It also helps point out any issues or pain points. You are absolutely right though in that being a great option.

[@covertpluto]

Or an even better way is to broadcast a wifi network whenever it can't connect/not set up yet, you join the network and the captive portal has a textbox to enter your ssid and password. Pretty much every smart IOT device does it this way except for ones that use an app

[@kevincosta1977]

For those with wi-fi problems, this is caused by the bad kernel support and drivers, SKIPR and MKS PI are trapped in a limbo with an EOL 5.16 kernel. This could be easily solved if MKS had minimum care to update the device tree to 6.1 LTS kernel, or better, 6.6 LTS, but I'm pretty sure they won't do it. Second party solutions are a bit buggy and somewhat unstable like redrathnure builds, which I had major stability problems with CAN bus interface. For wi-fi, I tested around 8 adapters and the only one that had stable drivers for the 5.16 kernel are the ones based on MediaTek MT7601, anything with Realtek are garbage. If kernel were update to a more recent LTS version, driver support would be better and we could have WiFi6 adapters working.

[@joshuaseagoe544]

I got this board a few months ago in one of their bundles that included a Comfast CF-WU810N network adapter. Using that adapter consumed 100% of one of the four cores, constantly. It's not necessarily a problem, but I'm happier just using ethernet. I haven't set up CAN yet, but my understanding is that it's a bit awkward: You need to configure the bus through Linux, but it's connected to the MCU, not the Linux host. The alternative is to set up the MCU as a USB to CAN bridge and configure Linux to use that over USB, but the MCU is connected by a serial bus, not USB. So you end up needing to connect the two halves of the board using a USB cable.

[@alex59292]

The future of micro controllers keeps getting better and better

[@sonex_vince]

We are a long way from the Intel 4004.

[@NexGen-3D]

Hi bud, good see this board getting some recognition, its not Ferrari, but more of Hyundai, great balance of value, reliability, performance and features at a competative price, I'm a reseller for select Makerbase boards and I use the SKIPR board in all my builds now, I also supply them in my QIDI TECH and KINGROON printer upgrade kits, I love it, has everything you will need for even the most advanced build, but take it from me CAN has no place in a 3D printer, it has some severe short comings, I will have after this weekend a full tutorial up on my GITHUB with links and config files for a clean OS and Klipper install along with the THR36 and THR42 Tool Head board in USB mode, the CAN mode will ultimately fail, please don't waste your time, I will also have a link to an article explaining why CAN is not good in a 3D printer, I wish I had seen that before I wasted many days of my life on CAN, you will suffer from timeouts and other systemic issues, also the OS image MKS supply is terrible and there is no source code provided, it also develops issues over time and ends up taking way to long to boot, I recommend setting up over ethernet first, once that is done, then connect the Wifi USB Dongle, and I highly recommend the MKS 5" display, not the 3.5", but if you have either, you can at least input your wifi directly through Klipperscreen, and the cheapest TP-LINK WN722N USB Wifi adaptor works far better than the one supplied by Makerbase, and if you need something with better range and the ability to use an external antenna then the TP-LINK WN725N also works perfectly.

[@ModBotArmy]

I would love to just go with USB but from what I can see we are going to need new controllers for this. The options from what I can tell are use a standard USBA-C which would allow you to use data but you would need separate ground/voltage wires. This method is not ideal because you need to run additional wires. The best scenario I can see is USB-C which most controllers still dont really ship with. This way you can use the 240W USB-C cable which will be plenty for anything on a toolhead. Although the SKIPR looks like it could be perfect since it has USB C and this is what QIDI is running with USB to their toolhead boards. Definitely curious to hear more about your setup.

[@NexGen-3D]

@@ModBotArmy Thanks for replying :) I totally agree, but you can if feeling creative is make a 5 wire USB cable, 3 wires for data , and 1 pair for 24v power, as 5v is not actually required, but I opt to run a single tuff braided USB-A to C and a pair of 18g UL1332 power wires, so its only 3 feeds and your done, but I agree, I would love to see USB-C PD + USB 2.0 Data, as that's all we need, PD supports 24v and more than enough wattage. But currently the USB implementation on the THR boards works flawlessly, my current in house designed and built NexGen 3Dimension runs default Bambu Lab print profiles all day, but can actually go much faster, all with the Makerbase Boards.

[@KarmicJustice10424]

I recently built a Siboor Voron 0.2 kit that came with a Mellow-3D Fly Gemini v3 board. Pretty decent board, but the SOC chip is a bit on the slow side (think Pi 3), but you can use that eMMC/WiFi card you showed in the video, and it also has CAN built in. I ended up replacing that with a BigTreeTech Manta M5P, which is considerably more expensive, but oh so nice!

[@SlinkySlonkyWaffle]

i was already sure i wanted to use the SKIPR exclusively from now on for my printers, and this video makes it *way* easier to get into klipper!

[@bleach_drink_me]

I have been using the mks skipr on my vzbot for about a year now. It has held up pretty good. I also have mks boards on my flsun q5,SR and 2 of the enders. Mks seems to offer solid bang: buck Would like to say, i had a difficult time getting wifi working on mine too.

[@aztrose1023]

Dang! full printer mainboard with a built in PI for 40 bucks, count me in

[@Basementn3k0]

the board diagram screams “get in the schematic, shinji”

[@sonex_vince]

These printer control boards 5:27 have come a long way since the original Marlin class boards. Thanks for the review 😊

[@deathcube2006]

Yes! Been waiting for a review of this!

[@ModBotArmy]

I really like the board itself. The setup was pretty annoying on the network side but its a small detail in the grand scheme of things.

[@billkaroly]

Artillery Sidewinder X4 is using a custom SKIPR board.

[@winandd8649]

@ModBot : Please test the Canbus functionality of this board! (seems to be troublesome) and also; The KLIPR has it's own on board 'raspi board' , but would it be possible to connect the board using an external Raspberry pi? (so not using the internal one?)

[@Polar_Ted]

The SKIPR was on my boards to get list awhile back.. I need to go take a look at it again.

[@ModBotArmy]

For the price this is super solid. Would love to hear your thoughts on it.

[@jacksoni349]

You should do a video on your top 3 boards at the current date

[@ModBotArmy]

Ooh that is tough! Alot of it is extremely situational for a build.

[@JohnOlson]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y3TSkmCtbJyWjdE Really wish we (content creators) start by instructing all users to change the root password. A little bit of security goes a long way. MKS boards are being used a lot more now. These are full Linux devices on our networks. We wouldn't (or shouldnt) leave our personal computers, or routers with default passwords, why would we not do the same with our klipper setups? Raspberry Pi made a security change last year.

[@JohnOlson]

Or at least encouraging putting these devices on their own network and isolate from your own devices, or blocking them from outside traffic if you need them on the same network as your other devices.

[@ModBotArmy]

I am not a shining example of network security. Most of my printers are not online long term if not in use and I only access them locally but I realize that is not the case for all. After talking with a few others I am going to put together a video talking about this and covering some of the things that can be done. Changing login credentials as a bare minimum is just good practice.

[@JohnOlson]

@@ModBotArmy Love to hear that!! ♥

[@ngwoeijiang7468]

I using the lastest firmware flashed, and connect wifi using klipperscreen, No SSH needed. Just current issue i encounter was my microusb reader cannot read the eMMC, MKS ask me to buy their USB3.0 to eMMC adpater lol

[@MacBaerFFM]

Have you managed to have Klipper talk via CAN to a CAN device (e.g. tool head) without the USB/CAN Bridge through an USB Cable from Pi USB to MCU USB-C? Following the MKS instructions lead nowhere and according to postings in a Klipper forum, the CAN Bus is a function of the MCU and not of the PI side where it belongs and not reachable through the Serial Bridge between Pi and MCU. Even worse: as soon as there is a USB Cam on the bus, the Klipper stalls with timeouts. The "Armbian" image is even beyond outdated. Together with the 5" Touch it is, as of now, a EUR 110 experiment for the trash bin.

[@Nukle0n]

Balena Etcher never seems to work the first time, but I don't know what else you'd use on a Mac

[@jacksoni349]

I cannot believe how cheap these boards have gotten

[@ModBotArmy]

Its incredible. I remember the cheapest 32 bit board printer controller being like $100 with most being even higher.

[@MrPancakes98]

if this board is capable of supporting closed loop steppers, this might just be exactly what im looking for. from what ive seen thusfar, the only support ive seen for closed loop stepper motors are on reprap boards

[@ModBotArmy]

I couldnt see why not. I am only running them on one of my printers and from what I recall the driver/electronics are on the stepper itself and then a wire goes from the motor to essentially a "dummy" stepstick so that it can be controlled by the board. I dont recall any other unique hardware requirements.

[@lolzlarkin3059]

I just changed my Internet provider and had to change the WiFi on my printers. One with a biqu cb1. The wpa supplicant didn't exist on there either. But there was another config file with it in. Needed to be opened with notepad++ to view/edit.

[@johnysmrz]

If the file is not there just make it :) This is common thing in many software.

[@Thirtybird]

Are the MKS TMC2209 drivers a good choice for this board to support all the features or should we be looking at a TMC5160? (if it matters - it's an older TEVO Tornado CR10 style printer)

[@1fareast14]

60 usd on amazon rn, might still go for it

[@TheShorterboy]

The problem with all this is no CAN io, no CAN fans/heater drivers/anything you have one semi affordable CAN board extruder head and that's it, the old LPC11C14 had this @$2/1k so boards were never the issue, I guess people like 300 wires everywhere.

[@aidarovb]

Oh, You are not touched CAN bus connector... This is another big punishment for enthusiasts.

[@daverobinson4558]

How does this compare to the BTT all in one solution? I am looking for the most stable canbus connection if anything

[@dragnet53]

I don't see what wifi can be used for unless you only use Cura.

[@zeendaniels5809]

11:12 I'm still waiting for the follow up after seeing all those parts...

[@Rok_Satanas]

Anyone know what the CAN bus connector is? Or where to find a cable for it to connect my toolheads? Edit: For anyone wondering about the CAN bus connector, like me, it's a Molex Micro-Fit 3.0 (Housing Model No: 430250400 and pins series No: 43030)

[@fahmialias]

which one is better? MKS SKIPR or BTT Manta M8p with CB1?

[@michaeld954]

Is this board any good i was thinking of upgrading my printers

[@christianmontagx8461]

Phewww. MKS sounds always good on paper but in reality my experience with them is not so good. Bugs, inverted connectors etc.

[@Idiot_Engineering]

03:55 what would be a reason to use this, aren't individuele addressable steppers better? They can always be tied to together in software. Also, thanks for the "Upgrade Your Fans With Klipper Firmware" video, being able to run noiseless until heating starts has made tinkering much more enjoyable.

[@JonS]

Saves money

[@ModBotArmy]

Like Jon mentioned it does save money but in this case with a board that has so many port options I dont fully understand it. In a scenario with say an i3 and motors tied together with a belt sharing one can be fine but I will always take individually addressable when given the option. That is great to hear :)

[@kilianlindlbauer8277]

Typical dual z setups have both z axis tied together via a belt, so there is no need to have an 8th driver. Also packaging is a reason to have only 7 drivers. Just look at all the aftermarket ender 3 boards, non of them has 5 drivera because they simply dont fit, the only exception is the manta e3 ez because of the narrower drivers. There are only fairly rare occasions where you jeed 8 drivers, all of them have to do with multi colour/material. A tripe z printer needs 8 drivers when using a mmu or a voron v2 with canbus toolhead could need the 8 drivers for a mmu. Also a triple z idex printer like the tridex could need 8 drivers, but in this case is much more useful to have the toolheads connected of CAN, just imagine the amount of wiring you have to do. But otherwise not really needed.

[@danielpaternoster2873]

Is this board a good option for a Mercury One.1 build?

[@skaltura]

uh oh ... you cut this short ... Yes, there is more to a control board than configuring wifi

[@ScottHess]

I’d guess your Mac terminal issue was a crlf issue with screen. IMHO not worth figuring out, since you’ll probably never do it again…

[@bobbydigital9323]

Just wondering, could we just create the WPA supplicant file in the boot folder instead of using a windows machine?

[@ModBotArmy]

This could work if you know the contents of the file. I guess I could have tried that as well. A few have also pointed out that temporarily plugging it in over ethernet would let you get it on the network so that you can ssh in and set up wireless so there are a couple other options.

[@barisama]

תודה!

[@tonykyle2655]

Some of us do not have a Windows based system to work with. Could we maybe create the file and then update it?

[@ModBotArmy]

I am not sure about just creating the file but you can either hook it up via ethernet to ssh into and then configure wireless or try a different serial connection. I used what was baked in but there are going to be alternatives that might not have the issue.

[@hongtse6723]

you know, one day I don't have to upgrade my printer 😅

[@thaejsooriya3313]

Why is so expensive on the canadian amazon😢

[@Kman31ca]

Cause our dollar sucks arse and the inflation due to our stupid monetary policies.

[@ModBotArmy]

Could be reseller? I really dont know. Sometimes Amazon prices are higher. Could be related to their shipping costs.

[@thaejsooriya3313]

@@ModBotArmy Its listed under Makerbase so not a reseller, oh well makes me decide if I really need it

[@thaejsooriya3313]

@@Kman31ca yeepppp couldn’t agree more

[@3D_Printing]

4K bits please :) Pay videos on a display

[@ModBotArmy]

Im still so torn on this. Partially because I dont even have a 4k monitor to view at. That being said I shoot everything in 4k so it wouldnt really change workflow to export at 4k.

[@orestes29]

I had the same issue with installing Klipper on the MKS Pi... The issue with those images are that they are extremely bloated, do not work (updating components like Fluidd is impossible with some versions, while with some others the whole install gets trashed after a "successful" update) and as you mentioned, the "wpa supplement" file is only present in the oldest image that they provide, which in my experience at least, does not want to update any component, so you are stuck with whatever version of Klipper/Moonraker/Fluidd is installed. The eMMC module is only usable with a computer that is running Linux, it is impossible to flash a different image on a Windows PC as it shows up as a 2TB drive and as such it is impossible to flash an image onto it successfully. Oh and don't forget the fact that the included USB WiFi adapter was not being recognized at all with the newer images. The only solution is to use an alternative Armbian OS image that someone has made and uploaded onto Github without all the bloat. I have written down the process I had to follow to get my Pi to work here: www.printables.com/model/486927-ender-3-mks-pi-mount-tips-on-installing-klipper

[@joediragi4258]

Wait what the hell yours came with a dongle? Mine did not): wish I would’ve seen this a few days ago. It’s a solid board once you get a normal armbian image on it

[@orestes29]

@@joediragi4258 do you mean the WiFi adapter? I bought the MKS Pi, not the board mentioned in the video, the Pi had a few buying options, one of them included a WiFi dongle plus a eMMC flash memory module with its specialized adapter. The board works quite well with a clean image, I do not know why they'd go to all that trouble just to distribute a bloated image that simply does not work.

[@tomaszkarwik6357]

Why would you not just connect via ethernet for the initial config and then just disconnect after the wifi starts working. Also i hope you at least changed the password for the root user. Even better if you added a difrent user and gave it sudo privileges and dissable root login. THIS IS A SERVER you will get attacked, my server has about 5000 login attempts per day (before i added fail2ban)

[@ModBotArmy]

That is a great method of doing it and would simplify things by quite a bit. Generally I try to stick with the instructions provided at least as a starting point. IMO many will do the same and if I do that and run into issues like I did it does at least allow me to provide that feedback in hopes it helps others or the manufacturer corrects it.

[@tomaszkarwik6357]

Should have actually checked it and not just put a "large" number (that I remembered was correct at some point) the "large" number of 100 per day came in as not existent in comparison to the actual number of 5000

[@ThantiK]

Why is everyone using CANBUS anyhow? We have controllers available with native USB support? Along with Power Delivery we should be able to have a hotpluggable, auto-enumerating system. USB even has asynchronous notifications, getting rid of the common trope of "but usb is slooow" (0.125ms latency) . Yet somehow everyone has been all head over heals over this 1 megabit max speed old-as-dog-shit CANBUS system which has to be terminated like some old 10-base T network and daisy chained to each device...

[@jettachamp26]

I agree. I do work in the automotive space and they love their canbus. Except everyone uses their own standards... so yeah, it sucks

[@ModBotArmy]

The biggest issue I can see right now is that there are no boards that do this from what I know. There are lots of controllers that have a USB-C port which is great for 5V and data transfer but they wont output input voltage. There are PD USB-C up to 240V but no way to get the voltage needed for fans/hotend. It would be cool to see hardware allow for USB that still allows you to make your own cable. But I would not be upset to see board come with a special USB-C port capable of outputting enough power to drive the toolhead electronics. It just isnt there right now and yes CAN is a bit of a pain but once setup it has worked very well for me.

[@Alperic27]

🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

[@mahendradhungel8011]

Who read this as cannabis?

[@Mr.melteds]

first?

[@ModBotArmy]

First 😊