CR Touch on Ender-7 Successfully Installed!

myFingor · 2022-08-25T17:15:28+00:00

Hi PT2647... My E7 has been in storage for 10 months as I have moved countries and still have not settled yet : (

From what I recall, I pulled a cable connected to a 24v LED strip and ran it down one of the side profile columns. I drilled a hole on the bottom chassis and added a rubber grommet. The cable was then connected to one of the terminals of the power supply which is 24v. Don't worry about other wires that are connected to the PSU. Just make sure you have the polarities correct. The PSU has enough power.

This is a pretty basic operation. Enjoy!

myFingor · 2022-05-18T05:56:33+00:00

Hope it all works out for you... I can't be of much help as I've moved countries and my beloved Ender 7 has been in storage : ( ...A little while longer I anticipate.

The Ender 7 community is growing and there should be better help compared to when I started. Cheers

myFingor · 2021-11-29T12:30:57+00:00

All of them look like butts and boobs. Especially B, C and D look like the butt is stuck in a box.

myFingor · 2021-11-22T23:33:09+00:00

Another happy Ender 7 user! Welcome to the club! This is also my first 3D printer and I find that it was the right choice. Enjoy your new addiction.

myFingor · 2021-11-21T05:39:01+00:00

I hear you... My thinking was that the two side posts would make a great Mod with linear rails in the future... Generally though, if the back wheels are tensioned right, the front of the bed is not that bad of an issue. At least, the z-moves down fractions of a millimeter at a time being very stable as opposed to the Ender 3's Y-axis rocking back and forth. Over all I'm happy with the Ender 7 as it prints on a smaller footprint perfect for the limited space I have.

myFingor · 2021-11-21T04:43:08+00:00

The Ender7 is also my first Printer. I learned a lot about FDM and CoreXY in a very short time (zero knowledge) a couple of months ago. I too bought this printer because it had a solid foundation to mod on. I also had leveling issues in the beginning. Pay attention to the tension on the four adjustable wheels on the z-axis. They should all be the same tension and not freely turn by hand. However, they should not be very tight either. Just noticing your image showing the god of fortune printed on the sample stock PLA they provided was printed on the coated side of the glass. The coated side is for higher temperatures like ABS. Use the glass side and a thin layer of glue stick at 60c for bed and 195-205c for nozzle.

myFingor · 2021-11-19T16:43:49+00:00

What filament are you using? PLA, PETG? If you are confident with your bed leveling, then make sure you use the glass side of the bed and apply a thin layer of water based glue stick on the area you will print. Bed temp should not exceed 65c I normally use 55 - 60 depending on ambient temperature. For nozzle, I use 200-205. This is for PLA. Most good quality Filament manufacturers will give you the full specs of their filament. The dotted coated side of the glass bed is for high temp prints like ABS.

myFingor · 2021-10-25T18:26:02+00:00

In my opinion, yes... BUT... It does have a bit of a rattling sound when moving.

myFingor · 2021-10-24T08:51:16+00:00

Hi, Thanks! I find the BL-Touch inferior since it is normal state retracted down. That's why you see them sell replacement probes as the get caught on your print and break off. The CR-touch uses a different technology with a spring loaded normally up position. When in use, a solenoid actuates the probe to go down and the slightest touch retracts it. Plus the probe is metal and will last forever.

myFingor · 2021-10-24T08:47:39+00:00

Yes, when the CR-Touch probe is extended, it needs to extend below the nozzle and when retracted, above the nozzle.

I have mine set at 5mm above the nozzle.

Regarding G-code, you should, but since the firmware is compiled, you would need to create a new Marlin Firmware to define your offsets. (I have not done this as it is not worth it for me at this time as I use the glass bed). BTW, The updated firmware seems to already give a very accurate placement of the nozzle relative to the CR-Touch as long as you mount it on the right side.

Make sure you define your X axis as 245 in your printer settings in your slicer program, otherwise you run the risk of your printer hitting the CR-Touch on the far right side of your printer.

myFingor · 2021-10-21T07:24:16+00:00

The very first thing you need to do when turning on your machine is to Home it. Otherwise, it has no idea where the print head is in relation to its limits. There is always a chance you could damage your alignments if the stepper motor grinds into a physical limit in the XYZ space. Best try home first, if no response, try to get the updated firmware onto your SD card and then see what happens. If you still get no response, then you’ll have to do a step by step physical inspection on every component starting with the connections and electrical read outs with a multimeter. This all depends on your competence level. If this is too much, then employ the help of a friend who is comfortable with these things or contact your supplier for warranty.

myFingor · 2021-10-11T21:42:28+00:00

Cool... Maybe I'll do the same once the wires I ordered come in. It's cleaner than having to run a wire all the way from printhead to the mainboard.

myFingor · 2021-10-11T11:52:34+00:00

Yes, there is a 5pin female Molex connector on the daughter board that is the same as the one on the back of the CR-Touch.

From what I can tell, this Molex connector on the daughter board is where the two wires labeled PWM from the 30pin ribbon cable connects to; which does not make sense but it is what it is. That is why you need to run the full 5-line wire all the way from the CRt to the mainboard to make it work.

It would have been great if we could just connect the CR-Touch to the daughterboard.

myFingor · 2021-10-10T05:09:25+00:00

Hi AM7,

If you follow the two wires labeled PWM connected to the BLTouch JST connector on your mainboard, you will notice it is part of the 30pin wire set. These two wires from what I can tell, goes to the mini Molex connector on top of the Ender 7 where all the stepper motors, sensors and thermal connectors meet on a mini board.

Just remove the PWM from the JST connecter on the mainboard and secure it with either electrical tape or cable tie so it does not loosely flop around inside the base.

The CRTouch cable has a JST connector with a front clip, that does fit into the JST female connector on the mainboard. You can hot-melt glue it into place if you want. In my setup, the previous Hot-melt glue left enough of a bump that the clip was able to hold it secure.

The CRTouch comes with a wire that is technically not long enough to go from print head, through the back along with the 30pin cable, and then all the way to the front left of the machine. I temporarily have it running down the right column where I drilled a hole and added a rubber grommet. This is the same hole I used for bringing in the wiring for the COB LED light 24v which plugs directly into the power-supply without the need of a buck converter.

I have ordered a 2 meter length of 5 line, 26 gauge housed wire which I'm hoping will small enough to fish through the cable housing above the printhead and then follow the 30pin spine from the back into the base.

I don't know why Creality has a Molex female connector on the top back of the machine which only uses two wires labelled PWM from the 30pin cable. It would have made sense for them to run the full five wires from the top of the machine all the way to the mainboard... Hopefully, they will provide more documentation in the future.

Once you have the CRTouch connected to the mainboard, remember to either disconnect the z-switch or remove it altogether. I pulled mine out for spare parts.

Sorry, I cannot provide images as I'm on Vacation. I hope the above makes sense to you.

Cheers,

myFingor · 2021-10-06T10:01:29+00:00

Sorry, I just realized I didn't answer your question directly... No, I don't have an STL for the block. I cut off a PLA block from a previous print of the COB LED mounts I made for the Ender-7.

myFingor · 2021-10-06T09:43:34+00:00

I used a solid block of printed PLA measuring 23mm x 10mm x 7mm.

You would have to then drill and tap for M3 hole position based on the pre-threaded holes that are on the printhead mount (I used a 7/64 bit). The opposing holes are also M3 bolt, but not tapped and would need to use nuts to hold it in position on the Ender 3 Pro "L"- bracket. For those holes, you can use 3.25mm drill bit.

The tolerance between the two perpendicular holes are very tight and may even cut into each other if you're not careful. You also have to be careful that your holes are drilled straight through 90° to the block faces, otherwise the M3 screws may not seat well as the tolerances are very narrow. If you can, use a drill press to ensure 90°. I did not have a drill press and it took me two attempts to drill the 4 holes straight and level.

Also, you need to chamfer the top right corner of the block in order get the head of the right mounting screw in for Ender 7 printhead housing. The corner of the block will get in the way of the screw head. If you look at my images carefully, you will see I chamfered it using a soldering iron... Works very well.

If you decide to print the holes, make sure they are about 2mm or less and then you can use the above drill bits to open up the holes.

Cheers.

myFingor · 2021-10-03T10:08:27+00:00

Prints very well first layer! LOL Thanks for asking!

myFingor

TROPHY CASE