That wasn’t a fun weekend.
It started last Thursday evening. I’d been printing a set of six brackets, two at a time on my Ender 5. The first pair printed perfectly. I started the next set and went to bed. In the morning, no brackets. The printer was buzzing, the display flashing “STOPPED.” And so the fun began.
Some background - this printer and I have a... relationship. She is just three years old. I have kept her happy with a regular diet of expensive gadgets and upgrades. She is stubborn. She is picky. She pouts. She vomits miles of filament when upset. And worst of all she doesn’t talk to me when she gets snitty.
By Friday afternoon, I’d narrowed it down to the height sensor (BLTouch), which seemed to pass its tests but threw that dreaded “STOPPED” every time I tried to print. Hours disappeared into Reddit threads and YouTube “solutions.” The consensus? My motherboard was probably fried. Amazoom had a replacement board, and $93 later, I was crossing my fingers.
The new board arrived at 8 a.m. I swapped it in, loaded firmware, and... “STOPPED.” So I stripped everything—main board, display, sensors—and laid it all out on the bench. Firmware loaded, everything looked good, tested again and she was happy! I reassembled, powered up... “STOPPED.”
Another Reddit dive revealed the BLTouch could get dirty inside and fail to deploy. Another $60, and Amazon would have a new sensor at my door by Sunday morning. I sighed, flipped the printer again to check connections, and out fell plastic shrapnel. Turns out, the power supply fan had shattered ages ago, hiding its carnage. Another $45 order.
Sunday: new BLTouch, new board, old PSU. “STOPPED.” Frustrated, I stripped her down again, tested each part—she was fine on the bench. Reassembled... nothing. Just smoke. A motor plug had come loose, and the Z-axis driver chip burned out. Another board dead.
I ordered a new board—an upgraded shiny SKR Mini E3 with extra features for only $93. When it arrived, I realized it needed a new touchscreen, too. Fine, $35 more.
Then the next journey began. Firmware. The Creality board and the SKR board are about 5 years apart in terms of the hardware technology, and the firmware has evolved as well. No, there is no published firmware available for the SKR board. None. I have to edit source code and compile it. Back to Reddit.
By Thursday, I’d finally compiled the firmware, tested everything on the bench, and the new touchscreen looked sleek. Reassembled, she passed all self-tests— so time for a print. I loaded a model, sliced, connected to my Mac, and... “PRINTER NOT CONNECTED.” The SKR board’s USB connection was dead on arrival. That one is heading back to Amazoom.
Saturday. I was back to my original board. Firmware rebuilt, everything tested, reassembled, and ready. But on the first print attempt, “STOPPED.”
The new BLTouch couldn’t be the problem—only the cable remained. On close inspection, I saw the cable had been pinched, near the head where is flexes slightly when the head moves to the start point.
Why? Because earlier, I’d swapped a noisy head fan and, unknowingly, trapped the cable under one edge. Blahhhhhhhhh so simple!
It started last Thursday evening. I’d been printing a set of six brackets, two at a time on my Ender 5. The first pair printed perfectly. I started the next set and went to bed. In the morning, no brackets. The printer was buzzing, the display flashing “STOPPED.” And so the fun began.
Some background - this printer and I have a... relationship. She is just three years old. I have kept her happy with a regular diet of expensive gadgets and upgrades. She is stubborn. She is picky. She pouts. She vomits miles of filament when upset. And worst of all she doesn’t talk to me when she gets snitty.
By Friday afternoon, I’d narrowed it down to the height sensor (BLTouch), which seemed to pass its tests but threw that dreaded “STOPPED” every time I tried to print. Hours disappeared into Reddit threads and YouTube “solutions.” The consensus? My motherboard was probably fried. Amazoom had a replacement board, and $93 later, I was crossing my fingers.
The new board arrived at 8 a.m. I swapped it in, loaded firmware, and... “STOPPED.” So I stripped everything—main board, display, sensors—and laid it all out on the bench. Firmware loaded, everything looked good, tested again and she was happy! I reassembled, powered up... “STOPPED.”
Another Reddit dive revealed the BLTouch could get dirty inside and fail to deploy. Another $60, and Amazon would have a new sensor at my door by Sunday morning. I sighed, flipped the printer again to check connections, and out fell plastic shrapnel. Turns out, the power supply fan had shattered ages ago, hiding its carnage. Another $45 order.
Sunday: new BLTouch, new board, old PSU. “STOPPED.” Frustrated, I stripped her down again, tested each part—she was fine on the bench. Reassembled... nothing. Just smoke. A motor plug had come loose, and the Z-axis driver chip burned out. Another board dead.
I ordered a new board—an upgraded shiny SKR Mini E3 with extra features for only $93. When it arrived, I realized it needed a new touchscreen, too. Fine, $35 more.
Then the next journey began. Firmware. The Creality board and the SKR board are about 5 years apart in terms of the hardware technology, and the firmware has evolved as well. No, there is no published firmware available for the SKR board. None. I have to edit source code and compile it. Back to Reddit.
By Thursday, I’d finally compiled the firmware, tested everything on the bench, and the new touchscreen looked sleek. Reassembled, she passed all self-tests— so time for a print. I loaded a model, sliced, connected to my Mac, and... “PRINTER NOT CONNECTED.” The SKR board’s USB connection was dead on arrival. That one is heading back to Amazoom.
Saturday. I was back to my original board. Firmware rebuilt, everything tested, reassembled, and ready. But on the first print attempt, “STOPPED.”
The new BLTouch couldn’t be the problem—only the cable remained. On close inspection, I saw the cable had been pinched, near the head where is flexes slightly when the head moves to the start point.
Why? Because earlier, I’d swapped a noisy head fan and, unknowingly, trapped the cable under one edge. Blahhhhhhhhh so simple!
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