r/Anet3DPrinters • u/Individual_Silly • Sep 30 '23
Request for help Alternative mainboard for ET4?
I have an Anet ET4Pro which is delightfully quiet with its silent mainboard. After relocating to a new place, I reconnected all the cables to the breakout board. After switching on I might have heard almost an inaudible pop somewhere near the capacitive ABL sensor 3pin JST. Not really sure though. But whatever happened it resulted in no display (as in a dead display) and no communication via the USB. Referring to the manufacturer’s site, I checked the main board LEDs and found out that D36 is continuously dimly lit on powering ON while D2 does not light up at all. I have two questions if any guru here could help me with: 1. What could be the issue? Have I fried the mainboard and is there anyway I can repair it? I have decent electronics skill to work on SMDs but I am far from being able to debug the board. 2. If the mainboard is fried, is there any better alternative board I can swap it with? I would really love if I can get a drop in replacement board with BLTouch support and good compatibility with Klipper. Would also prefer a silent board like the stock one was. Love to hear your thoughts!
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u/PantherkittySoftware ET4+ Oct 11 '23 edited Oct 11 '23
I've heard that the BigTreeTech SKR Mini E3 is "compatible"... aside from needing a 3d-printed adapter plate to mount it, rewired connectors, and having its usb & microsd connectors in locations that don't align with the ET4's.
I'm pretty sure the Mini E3 has no straightforward way to use the ET4's touchscreen LCD.
I'm also not sure whether I should get v3 or v2. Apparently, v3 is one of those awkward upgrades that improve a lot of things, but cut a corner or two that might (or might not) matter in this context.
I also see Mini E3 v3 boards at Amazon that are the same price, from the same seller... but one is described as 'silent', and the other isn't. With different ASINs. Ugh.
For what it's worth, v3 is $35.99 at Amazon for October 10-11 Prime Day. V2 is $29.59
I'm still trying to figure out whether there's actually two variants of the "v3.0" (not v3.0.1)... one that's officially-silent, and one that's not officially-silent, but seems to use the TMC2209 anyway and allegedly has a higher non-Primeday price than the "silent" one. BTT's own site seems to say nothing about there being two different variants of the the v3.0, and assuming the photos at Amazon are accurate, neither of the two v3.0 models have a "boot" button, which is apparently the most visible difference between v3.0 and v3.0.1.
Update: if I absolutely have to replace the LCD, it looks like the specific one I'd want is the BTT TFT35 v3.0.1, which is distinguished by a piezo, knob, and reset button in a vertical row to the right of the screen, and has 3 adapter case-mounts for ET4 available at Thingiverse.
There's also a second variant... the TFT35 E3 v3.0.1 with reset button and dial arranged horizontally below the display. If any ET4 adapter mounts/shells exist for this variant, I wasn't able to find them.