Creality 4.3" Touch Screen with F1RST LAYER FIRMWARE for Ender 3/3 Pro / 3 V2 / 3 Max / 5/5 Pro for 4.2.7 Control Board ONLY with Upgraded Open-Source Firmware - Improved UI and Faster Operation

I had upgraded my old Ender3 Pro to the BTT SKR mini e3 v1.2 a while back. I was trying to review the Creality Sonic Pad and it was challenging to get the SKR to work. I decided to 'downgrade' my board slightly to the Creality V4 'silent' board and then tell the Sonic Pad that my printer was an Ender3 V2 4.2.7. (an option available on the sonic pad that doesn't require much work) In the end this worked. I have it running Klipper firmware now and although it seems that the steppers are a slight bit louder than when I ran them on the SKR mini, they are pretty darn quiet. (much quieter than the 8-bit board for sure) The board is running Klipper so its job is very limited now. It primarily controls the steppers and the heavy lifting is being done by the 64-bit ARM chip in the Sonic Pad. The Sonic Pad is pretty sweet. It is large, the touchscreen is great, the Klipper features and web interface are excellent.This was the easiest way for me to get this up and running. I did however have some issues with the CR touch. I was using a cable that had 5 pins on the CR touch side and a 2 pin JST connector and a 3 pin Dupont connector on the motherboard side. I ended up having to cut these off and make a 5 pin Dupont connector that fit in the BL Touch port on the mainboard. (A JST connector would have even been better, it is designed for a JST connector) It took me a while to figure this out and without access to the source for the firmware, I didn't know if I could use the 2 pin Z axis limit switch pins or not. I finally decided that since they added a 5 pin connector for the BL Touch (CR Touch in my case) that this is what Creality is probably using on the newer Ender3 line that uses the V4.x mainboards. The only thing I have not figured out is where to connect the main board cooling fan but I have not tried very hard yet. (it may only come on when it is needed) I would have preferred to stick with the SKR mini. The documentation is better, the firmware source is readily available and it seems a tiny bit quieter. The SKR mini also supported the TFT 35 touch screen that I bought years ago and the Creality obviously does not. I am not sure if I can change the current of the steppers with the TMC2225 drivers in Klipper and I do not know if they are in standalone mode or UART. (though I will find out at some point) I put a smaller NEMA 17 on the printer for the extruder and I actually increased the current to get it to run a slight bit cooler. (based on my infrared thermometers at least) All of my tuning is now gone and I am in the Klipper firmward world. Time to learn new things.

I picked this up for an Ender 3 Max, knowing it wasn't made for Ender 3 Max but it was supported. Setup is not too terribly hard. You have to attach some wires to your motherboard, which requires you to open a panel, remove some glue from the current wires attached to the board, pop them off, and then put the new wires on. This shouldn't be too hard for anyone who has even basic experience with building a PC or maintaining a 3D printer.Getting the correct firmware on the device was a little tricky but the reason why is because they have customized it to match your precise hardware configuration. It'll work on either version of the motherboard, with the auto-levelling device or without, and a number of options besides that.I couldn't be happier with the touch screen. The dial used to drive me nuts because you'd spin it, it might go fast enough, might not, might go backwards instead of forwards. No more! Now nearly every interface in the touch screen allows you to type in whatever number you want directly. Those that do not use a simple +/- type interface. It makes dialing in your settings a breeze.And did I mention their auto-levelling screen? After running their auto-leveller, which, automatically heats the surface like you're supposed to, it shows you how level the bed is. I tried to get mine perfect manually with a level and it was wildly off. The auto-levelling screen told me that and that information allowed me to get the bed almost perfect, which makes printing much easier, obviously.There are a ton of efficiencies to be gained with this screen. Some of it just simple stuff like when it preheats for PLA, it can do the nozzle and bed at the same time without you having to manually select a temperature for the nozzle. And setting the Z-Offset is wonderful. It allows a level of granularity far deeper than was available with the original screen.My only gripe with installing this on the Ender 3 Max is that the screws they used to put the screen on were pretty fiddly. It took several tries and a bit of luck for me to get it attached right. The other thing is the original screen is also the endcap for one of the main bars (not sure what they're called). So you lose the endcap. That said, I am sure one could just be 3D printed, I just haven't tracked down an STL yet.Oh, almost forgot to mention but their customer service is astounding. Though they're based out of China, so you do have to wait a day to get a reply from them, their answers were well-written and thorough. They also put up with me asking a ton of them over a device that really wasn't that expensive in the first place. They were willing to replace the device entirely because I couldn't get it to work until we mutually realized that the motherboard is a 4.2.2 in an Ender not a 4..2.4. WOOPS!Seriously, do yourself a favor and get this screen!!

So I also got the Creality Touch screen from F1rst Layer. Amazon cannot tell the difference between the main board I got earlier and the Touch Screen I just got. That's why my review lands here.The important part: You can get the parts all over, but it's really hard to get the firmware. Unless you deal with these guys, because they got the goods, they got the firmware, and they got the best customer service I've had the pleasure of dealing with on Amazon. Period. Buy from these guys, easily get the right firmware, and if you have a problem they answer your email. And not with a scripted or robotic response, they email you back and it's obvious that the support guy has read AND UNDERSTOOD your whole email!! (Thanks, Jeff!)I purchased this board because I needed the correct drivers for my CR touch/Ender 3. F1rst layer has the goods, I installed the proper firmware, but then had a problem specific to my machine. I contacted F1rst Layer, and Jeff responded with an answer that confirmed to me that he had read and understood my rather lengthy text. We figured out my machines problem (the adjustable pulley adapter was reducing total X travel) and it was a great experience getting GOOD tech support in a timely manner. I'll be dealing with these guys for future 3D stuff because the got the goods, and they have Stellar tech support!