How to Add an OctoPrint Touchscreen to Any 3D Printer (Ender 3 + Others!)

In this episode, I'll teach you how to add a touchscreen to any 3D printer for use with OctoPrint, further improving your 3D printing experience. As an example, I'll be adding the OctoPrint touchscreen to my Creality Ender 3 -- but this video will work for any 3D printer that supports OctoPrint. I'll cover everything from hardware to software to what you'll need!
---
● See my full OctoPrint touchscreen guide on howchoo:
howchoo.io/ful...
● See my Ender 3-specific OctoPrint touchscreen guide:
howchoo.io/end...
● US - Everything you'll need (direct links to Amazon US):
1. Adafruit 3.5" PiTFT Plus touchscreen: amzn.to/309W0Vq
2. Raspberry Pi 3B+: amzn.to/309pcMh
3. 40mm USB fan: amzn.to/309peUp
4. Blue PLA filament: amzn.to/2QruTkC
● UK - Everything you'll need (direct links to Amazon UK):
1. Adafruit 3.5" PiTFT Plus touchscreen: amzn.to/2Aw9BqV
2. Raspberry Pi 3B+: amzn.to/2AsB4d9
3. 40mm USB fan: amzn.to/2No3wp9
4. Blue PLA filament: amzn.to/2ApUTSv
● Or, see all products in our Amazon US List:
www.amazon.com...
● Check out my review of the Creality Ender 3:
howchoo.io/cre...
● Guides mentioned in the video (in order of appearance):
[0:40] Full guide: howchoo.io/ful...
[2:23] Install OctoPrint: howchoo.io/how...
[3:12] Back up Raspberry Pi (Windows): howchoo.io/bac...
[3:12] Back up Raspberry Pi (Mac): howchoo.io/bac...
[12:04] Control a Raspberry Pi fan via GPIO: howchoo.io/ras...
[13:48] Power your Raspberry Pi using your 3D printer: howchoo.io/pow...
● 3D models mentioned:
Ender 3 touchscreen housing model: www.thingivers...
If using a Raspberry Pi 4, also print this remix: www.thingivers...
Adafruit/Ruiz Bros. freestanding housing: www.thingivers...
● Theme song:
"Microchip" by Jason Farnham from the KZbin Audio Library.
● Affiliate link/advertising notice:
I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to AMAZON Sites. When you click on an Amazon link above and buy something through Amazon, Amazon may give me a small commission.

[@Howchoo]

Update 2/1/20: It looks like Adafruit changed the location of their setup shell script, so the GET command in the video needs to be updated to the new path in this step: howchoo.com/octoprint/3d-printer-octoprint-touchscreen#configure-the-touchscreen Check out the full guide on howchoo! howchoo.io/octoprint-touchscreen-guide

[@m0r0nmonday87]

awsome!

[@galebourn]

I did everything exactly like in the guide, but I get constant errors, mainly this one: E: Repository 'raspbian.raspberrypi... buster InRelease' changed its 'Suite' value from 'stable' to 'oldstable' WARNING : Apt failed to update indexes! I can't see anything on my screen after everything's done.

[@Brian-mp7xy]

@@galebourn I to keep running into the same error

[@Barceque]

I did everything you've done and get this message after running the adafruit piTFT's script : [PITFT] Installing Python libraries & Software... Installing Pre-requisite Software...This may take a few minutes! E: Package 'python-pip' has no installation candidate E: Package 'python-smbus' has no installation candidate E: Package 'python-spidev' has no installation candidate WARNING : Apt failed to install software!

[@MegaBlastfurnace]

This is the problem with the internet, one minute you are happily watching videos and the next you see something you HAVE to have and are swallowed by a rabbit hole. ;) I need to start a spreadsheet to track the hardware needed and prioritize my upgrade prints. thank you for your content. I'm subscribing.

[@tomhirschmann2992]

I've looked at a bunch of guides to get my Touchscreen working with Octoprint and yours is by far the most thorough and comprehensive. Thanks for your time and effort putting this together!

[@reneseib6532]

this channel will be huge, so much attention to detail

[@PunakiviAddikti]

I already got a good raspberry pi case, the Argon One for the Raspberry Pi 4. It incorporates a breakout board, a safe shutdown power button and included fan and fan control script. It works wonderfully. A note: if your raspberry pi 4 stops connecting to WiFi, *restart your router* and it will work fine again. I learned this after reinstalling Octoprint and it still refused to connect. When installing the Argon One case, remove the SD card! The case bottom will actually fully encase the SD card slot, and if the card is already installed, it will snap it in half.

[@gwfranklin1]

I’ve been watching your videos on the Raspi/Octoprint for the Ender 3 and you’ve been the most helpful. Thank you

[@Andyinater]

My man this is some high quality tutorial. You deserve more subs, keep it up.

[@Howchoo]

Thanks!

[@DDuke7890]

Your videos are such good quality and well put together. Cheers, thanks for the tutorial!

[@EsotericArctos]

Really great guide. I ended spending a bit more than you and got the 7Inch genuine Raspberry Touch Display. It worked straight out of the box with no modifications in landscape. I think the one you have and also the genuine Raspberry display are a bit better than the ones that connect to HDMI as far as keeping cables neat go. Functionally though, HDMI works but some need some mucking around to get the touch matrix to align. Now I just have to find a nice case for the 7Inch display :)

[@woodypognon3961]

Yay!!! I did it!!! Great instructions!!!!!!! def earned my subcription!!

[@thomasgifkins9983]

Hiya! love the Channel! I looked through printable Items and could not find the Camera mounting and arm. can you point me in their direction. Thanks!!

[@caitlinmcelroy-salamun6973]

Great video! Super informative and easy to follow!

[@Howchoo]

Thanks! ;)

[@phenomenalprinting6555]

This is amazing! A little fast, but amazing. I can’t wait to buy my Raspberry Pi and implement this to my printer. Thank you so much for this

[@RonnieLaugen]

Would recommend looking into Octoprint-tft instead - more lightweight, and native. :)

[@Howchoo]

Yeah Octoprint-tft looks really cool -- but it has far fewer features (by design) than TouchUI so I shied away from it for this guide.

[@Gagliano17]

I'm confused, what's the methode to installing it, do you just install the deb on a rasp that already has octopi running? will it replace said octopi? is it a plugin/addon?

[@1PAPA]

Great Instructions, worked like a cham. I have only one question, I am building a fresh octoprint install for a buddy, and adding this screen to his setup. How do I add octoprint plugins after I get the screen setup done?

[@Howchoo]

You can install OctoPrint plugins through the web interface. We wrote a guide on that :) howchoo.com/g/owy0mtdimjr/octoprint-plugins

[@jcmental3236]

Hi, first off love these how to’s But I have to ask Why did you mount the pi with the USB ports on the outside and obscure the SD card on the inside? Also if you had mounted it that way round you wouldn’t of had to mess with the screen orientation.

[@Idlepit2]

you can power the fan by the gpio pins even with a screen attached if you solder wires to the reverse side of the pins this is how i installed my fan n had no issues just make sure its a 5v fan and you solder the right pins

[@Howchoo]

Good to know, thanks! I guess the important thing whenever attaching something to a GPIO that has a HAT or screen on it is making sure that pin isn't already in use by the board. This way, you won't have a conflict that can cause either or both to not function correctly.

[@jayphilbin2871]

#howchoo - I'm thinking of incorporating the shutdown/start button you describe in another video and the fan speed slider into the panel. It looks like the display panel attaches to the GPO header pins that the button would be attached to. Is there a work around?

[@AndreasLenze]

Great video, love it!

[@drasticg]

hi where did you print your raspberry pie case

[@Howchoo]

What do you mean?

[@RavenTheLabrador]

@@Howchoo I haven't looked I just finished looking at the video but I'm guessing they are referring to the thin case you show in the video the one you show snapping off a part of. Anyways again not sure but I'm guessing this was what they were referring to. 🤷‍♂️👍✌ Anyways thank you very much for the video I'm going to order what I need to do this on both of my Ender 3 printers.🙂👍✌

[@Nawlinsboy]

Very good descriptive video. Thanks. Do you have a video on making the lit up name sign in your intro?

[@tinkertv]

Man that's really useful! I should take a look at that for my diy 3d printers : Thank you man! Keep up the good work!

[@Howchoo]

Thanks! Definitely a nice upgrade.

[@ntx9design392]

I followed the guide but cant seem to get the screen to show anything. Raspberry Pi 3 with Ultronics screen. I even reverted to an earlier version of Octoprint.

[@MrRobertBassett89]

Great Guide!

[@ozmoderntx4718]

Is this necessary if you only access/control a 3d printer remotely? Is the interface much simpler/formatted better for iphone, would that be the #1 reason for doing this?

[@darkmatter00758]

Is this type of display a replacement for the factory Ender screen or does it run along side it?

[@pcysneros]

Will this screen work with raspberry pi 4?

[@Geeksmithing]

This is a great build man! Nice job!

[@Howchoo]

Thanks!

[@michaeltroll8429]

where can i get that camera holder model?

[@R_Forde]

Thanks for this helpful guide.

[@Howchoo]

No problem! Glad you enjoyed it

[@UkradliMiRolki]

i love that kind of videos on YT, i have same setup 1:1 and nothign works like here xD

[@Tronnic]

Thanks for the video! Really well made

[@Howchoo]

No problem! Thanks for sharing your model with us 🛠

[@DanielChaves1984]

I get as far as running the sudo command to install the TouchUI Helpers Install and it boots to command line secess but then when it runs apt-get update the next line states it failed. Suggestions?

[@richardmann105]

--Update-- i have gotten this to work. i had an earlier issue, this was for auto boot to chromium and was fixed by changing a line to fb0 from fb1. it turned out the same needed done for the touchscreen calibration file. I'm having calibration issues. Was calibrated before touchui was setup and was flipped afterwards. I have calibrated again and rebooted but no luck. Than tried xtcal and calibrated (though it says to do so from a pixel desktop it seemed to work). After rebooting it did not. I tried octodash as well and got the same results. Any help would be great. Tia.

[@joshuamns1]

hey, do you know of any way to use this but to connect to multiple pi's? like open more than one tab?

[@niceguy60]

Can I still access octopi in my windows browser to communicate wirelessly between the printer and my pc

[@pieter-6385]

Hello, I am wondering, are there many reasons to have a touchscreen with a raspberry (4) for 3d printing? And what do you think of the original raspberry 7 inch touchscreen? Thank you.

[@Howchoo]

The original 7” touchscreen is brilliant-I highly recommend it if you have one. And yeah, the same reasons I have for other models, as mentioned in the video

[@steveredstone1711]

How did you enter that terminal?

[@wangouthangout]

Can this completely replace the crappy stock lcd screen?

[@JACKxELITE]

Subscribed just for the epic intro

[@darrellallison1594]

are these pe3b+ strong enough to pull double duty? Like manage octoprint, then also have arcade games?

[@Longerofficial]

My friend, I truly appreciate what you do. We are looking for reviewers, would you like to review Longer's 3D printer & laser engraver?

[@finlandjourney6065]

How to get rid of the mouse cursor appearing when you tap anything on the screen?

[@spacks672]

where can i find the improved camera arm?

[@PavanKumar-os2qv]

Can we use multiple printers to one rpi with touch ui??

[@BMathiesen]

So I know this is for another screen but for the raspberry screen I can't get the Billy blade github part to work

[@reptilebeats936]

hi instead of using a usb connector could i just not solder onto the back of the pins?

[@lysergicpillamyd483]

My pi boots into ssh after installing the TouchUI. It say launching TouchUI was a success but it doesn't actually load it up. Anyone know why?

[@peterwalker2846]

I am very interested in this mod but i have a question, at the moment i run octopi on a raspberry pi via my mac. When i import gcode into octopi from Cura 4.5 it saves on my mac and then print. If was to use octopi on a mounted screen on my printer how would this work does it save it and where

[@pat8040]

Don't know if I'm missing something obvious but I get to the sudo ./adafruit-pitft.sh command and i get a syntex error redirection unexpected, any ideas for that?

[@samuelk009]

Can I add octoprint to my ender 3 if it has a skr mini e3 circuit board?

[@trez110]

Hi I followed your video but I don’t get anything displayed on the screen what have I done wrong

[@levistrnad2965]

so i have an issue. i got touchUI to run but my touchscreen shows white screen. now normally this is caused by driver not working but i know the drivers working because i could see the console on it and it also registers the touches so if i have it hooked up to a tv i can use it like a touchpad and see where its clicking on the tv. anyone got any solutions? edit: i should note im using a different driver here but it shouldnt make any difference? in fact the driver was suggested by Paul (touchUI dev) on his github post. edit 2: i managed to get the touchUI on client (raspi) to show up on display but once touchUI is done booting or what ever and it goes to the octoprint webage it just shows white screen again.

[@dericklong6191]

I'm trying to do this with Linux terminal and when it pops up for me to put in the password it just freezes and won't let me type in nothing the screen don't freeze I can do anything else exit out restart but once it pops up for me to put in the password won't let me type nothing else it's weird

[@ckafrouni]

Hey thanks for the video, exactly what I was looking for! But why do you still need the stock lcd panel? Do you have to keep it?

[@Howchoo]

Yeah, I'd definitely keep it-there are certain things you can only access from there (like firmware version); it's still convenient to use it for quick actions like disabling steppers as well.

[@plazmax]

Can u add camera mount link pls

[@Howchoo]

It’s included in the housing model files (in the video description)

[@starman316]

did not work for me, ender 3 neo max, the bed gets in the way of the front mount

[@galebourn]

I did everything exactly like in the video, but I get constant errors, mainly this one: E: Repository 'raspbian.raspberrypi... buster InRelease' changed its 'Suite' value from 'stable' to 'oldstable' WARNING : Apt failed to update indexes! I can't see anything on my screen after everything's done.

[@PunakiviAddikti]

If you have an old smartphone, print a stand for it and it's perfect for Octoprint. Tip: you can add Octoprint as a shortcut on desktop and home screen on Android or iOS.

[@dayz112]

Hi! And it's possible to add a camera to the phone? or use the camera of the phone? And having that old smartphone connected with the printer and wifi i then can see what my printer is doing when am outisde? I would loved to see more about that, i have a old HTC 11 that i could use on it. Thanks

[@funjions2538]

Really cool project, but I am stuck at getting the browser to boot onto the raspberry pi touch screen. It fails when trying to install dependencies. Installing dependencies (xinit xinput xserver-xorg xserver-xorg-video-fbdev x11-xserver-utils matchbox unclutter chromium-browser): - failed any advice?

[@funjions2538]

I am running OctoPrint Version: 1.4.0 and OctoPi Version: 0.17.0

[@lysergicpillamyd483]

Did you ever find a solution to this? I'm having the same issue.

[@imgmakr]

Hello. Do you have an updated link to the install script? I am getting a 404 error when trying to access it.

[@Howchoo]

Yep! Looks like Adafruit changed their script location. Try the updated code from this step: howchoo.com/octoprint/3d-printer-octoprint-touchscreen#configure-the-touchscreen

[@imgmakr]

@@Howchoo Thank you!

[@gregthomas7950]

Why does everything in Linux always involve 4000 command line steps? This is the only reason I still use windows.

[@kellytifaniparvin9573]

hey so when I get to "pi@octopi:~ $ git clone github.com/BillyBlaze/OctoPrint-TouchUI-autostart.git ~/TouchUI-autostart/ fatal: destination path '/home/pi/TouchUI-autostart' already exists and is not an empty directory. " it comes up with that is there anything I can do and figure out what I am doing because this is the only thing that isn't working properly

[@jayphilbin2871]

#howchoo In the video section on calibrating the touchscreen, after touching the 5 points with the stylus and restarting, it appears the point of contact of the stylus still doesn't line up with the screen's feedback showing where it detected the contact. I'm finding the same thing on my setup. Is there a way to get the physical point of contact and the screen's detection point to line up more accurately?

[@Howchoo]

Hmm unfortunately I can't think of anything else-this may be a hardware issue, but I recommend posting on the Adafruit forums for support.

[@jayphilbin2871]

howchoo can the calibration routine be run again?

[@peterwalker2846]

can this be adapted to except a raspberry pi 4

[@Howchoo]

Yep, the Pi 4 works great this.

[@Nordic_Goon]

Sad to see there is no support for 7" displays using this method

[@mrkabonster]

Wow. The screen you have linked in the video description is 39.99, not bad. But... with 42.99 shipping!?!?

[@Howchoo]

Dang, must be some individual Amazon seller jacking up the shipping-do a search for the screen and find it on Adafruit's website. :) They'll ship it directly to you.

[@FPVMgunit13]

I think you.were on limited edition because on original it's free shipping

[@printitforwardsnj190]

hey i just got the touch ui installed and upon reboot blank white screen :( i dont know python can anyone help??

[@jayphilbin2871]

Are you using the same screen as in the video?

[@travelandtechnic]

Hello. Can I print from the touchscreen usb port?

[@Howchoo]

I’m not sure quite what you mean.

[@travelandtechnic]

If I want to print,but unfortunatelity the micro sd card slot of the motherboard not work,because of broken the spring. If I buy such a touchscreen, can I print from the usb port?

[@russellrennier2224]

Yes you can

[@bizzy4kids]

i have a warning after select rotation of screen and doesnt appear octopi on screen its still white and empty WARNING: apt does not have a stable CLI interface. Use with caution in scripts.

[@dericklong6191]

There isn't an option for 5 inch screen

[@allanb181]

After i did this upgrade my webcam don't turn on??

[@Howchoo]

Did you ever get this figured out? Double-check your cable and make sure it’s still connected correctly?

[@russellrennier2224]

I had this problem - when I installed the camera into the printed case I inadvertently popped the cable that attaches the camera to the circuit board - easy fix once I realized it wasn’t the ribbon cable.

[@georgefreitas3068]

Hi! I can replace the raspberry with a cellphone ...

[@Howchoo]

Theoretically, if the phone can run Linux, yes. Because OctoPrint can run on other OSes.. I just wouldn't recommend it, it would take so much time that you're better off spending the $35.

[@georgefreitas3068]

@@Howchoo thank you. The phone already has the screen, the camera and a great processor. I think it would be easier.

[@beenun6010]

Can i use a rasberry pi 4 ?

[@Howchoo]

Absolutely. Same steps

[@austinpeterson4831]

is cr10s compatible?

[@Howchoo]

Yep. OctoPrint is CR-10S compatible, and this touchscreen works with any OctoPrint setup.

[@BitsOfBoris]

🥰🥰🥰 thanks !

[@DiamondDave216]

I'm stuck. I tried using the following script (git clone github.com/BillyBlaze/OctoPrint-TouchUI-autostart.git ~/TouchUI-autostart/ ) and I get a "bus error" message and it goes no where. What am I doing wrong?

[@Howchoo]

Most likely your SD card is corrupt or faulty, or there’s an issue with your power supply. I would try a different power supply and, if the issue persists, try reinstalling everything to rule out SD card issues.

[@tablatronix]

Is anyone working on a touchui alternative? I do not like the style of it at all.

[@Howchoo]

Is it the layout, or the theming itself?

[@tablatronix]

@@Howchoo All of it. lol

[@tablatronix]

I think I will take a look at the .less and see what I can do to make it better ( for me ) Also curious what framework it uses, I did not see it listed.

[@tablatronix]

Looks like it might be bootstrap, jinja2 templating, jquery, and python scripts, I can work with that

[@TheUnchartedBull]

I‘m currently working an on alternative, it‘s not finished yet but some features are already working :) have a look here: github.com/UnchartedBull/OctoDash

[@BobPulgino]

Or, dig around and find that old iPad Mini you haven’t used in a few years, print a nice stand for it, and use it to access Octoprint via Safari.

[@aaydn7]

ı dont works step :/

[@Howchoo]

Check out the full guide on howchoo! howchoo.io/octoprint-touchscreen-guide

[@RavenTheLabrador]

howchoo Just have a question once this is setup and installation is complete do you have to have internet access for the printer to use this or can this be used offline without any need for internet access for any reason ? Thank you very much.🙂👍✌

[@macanudo_jeff]

SELECT 1-9: 4 Select rotation: 1. 90 degrees (landscape) 2. 180 degrees (portrait) 3. 270 degrees (landscape) 4. 0 degrees (portrait) SELECT 1-4: 3 [PITFT] Checking init system... Found systemd /boot is mounted [PITFT] System update Updating apt indexes... ... WARNING: apt does not have a stable CLI interface. Use with caution in scripts. ......

[@mikev333]

I just want to share my experience as I was using a different LCD Screen. Below are the commands to install the drivers. www.aliexpress.com/item/32587995145.html sudo rm -rf LCD-show git clone github.com/goodtft/LCD-show.git chmod -R 755 LCD-show cd LCD-show/ sudo ./LCD35-show sudo ./rotate.sh 180

[@Hallettjs7957]

The directions do not work "exactly" any more. especially the touchscreen install scripts Easy Install | Adafruit PiTFT 3.5" Touch Screen for Raspberry Pi | Adafruit Learning System

[@galebourn]

Did you find a solution to this? I follow the guide exactly, but I constantly get error messages because of the changed directions.

[@MobileDecay]

My touch screen is my phone. ☺

[@mralabbad7]

So How does it connect to the printer🗿

[@Howchoo]

Using a USB cable-check out my full OctoPrint video for more details on that

[@TheRealzPope]

Is it me or does this guy sound like William Osman?

[@BecauseGames]

Why do all these kind of videos always use the term "go ahead and..."

[@Howchoo]

Matt Bryce It’s because the scenes weren’t shot continuously, but pieces together from a much longer piece of footage. It’s hard to realize when you’re repeating the same words until you go to edit it and you can’t really edit it out. But it gets easier over time with practice to not use those “intro” words and phrases to explain things. :) I also have a problem starting with “Now...”, but that’s easy to edit out due to the natural pause.

[@jetskier47]

all works great on video until i get to this command git clone github.com/BillyBlaze/OctoPrint-TouchUI-autostart.git ~/TouchUI-autostart/ i get a could not resolve host name

[@jetskier47]

never mind i cant spell lol

[@vasiliynkudryavtsev]

TouchUI looks so laggy in this video.

[@tjCooper88]

dependencies always fail

[@Howchoo]

Which ones? What’s the specific error message you get?

[@BMcC78]

You failed when you ordered a different fan rather printing your own replacement part...

[@srijantanwar3245]

You are grear

[@Brianreese83]

what a pain in the ass. why cant marlin just update their fucking resonance compensation?

[@JohnSmith-xl9bo]

The cases referenced and used in video are absolute CRAP

[@thediscoman2001]

great video but totaly useless otherwise, octapie is supposed to be for remote printing so why put it next to printer total waste of time as u can just print direct from printerr

[@Howchoo]

Because pulling out your computer just to pause a print or view remaining print time is a pain. This isn’t a necessary project but it is a fun and useful one.

[@permanentlypatriotic]

WARNING: DO NOT INSTALL THIS WHILE PI IS PLUGGED INTO THE PRINTER AND RESTART THE PI WHILE YOU HAVE A PRINT JOB GOING. YOU WILL LOSE ALL PROGRESS ON YOUR PRINT. I had to learn the hard way 6 hours into a 16 hour print.

[@thesupermariu]

that's should be common sense...

[@shrine010]

Useless

[@samuelk009]

Can I add octoprint to my ender 3 if it has a skr mini e3 circuit board?

[@johnjwatsonjr3835]

yes and I highly recommend it.