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Leveling sensors

Alexander D. Kanevskiy edited this page May 19, 2021 · 12 revisions

Wiring your sensors

BLTouch (and clones)

General information

BLTouch usually have 5 wires connection. 3 pin and 2 pin. Wire colors might differ, so re-check color meanings on your BLTouch documentation before connecting to board.

  • 3 pin connector
    • Brown -- ground
    • Red -- Vcc or 5V, power for servo
    • Yellow -- Servo controlling signal
  • 2 pin connector
    • Black -- ground
    • White -- sensor signal

Tested sensors

  • Original Antlabs BLTouch v3.1 -- some sets are sold with wires that are using dupon 3 pin and xh2.54 2 pin connectors. Those extension cables can have different colors (e.g. using blue wire instead of brown) and have different polarity on 2 pin xh2.54 connector. Double check wire color and meaning while connecting it. Incorrect wiring potentially can damage board or sensor.
  • Fysetc clone -- best extension cables with dupont connectors on the end.
  • Trianglelab/dforce "3DTouch" clone -- slightly worse extension cables with male-to-male pin header to connect them.

Melzi (stock board)

Most common approach on Melzi clone boards is to use Beeper pin (pin 27 exposed on LCD connector) for controlling servo and Zmin for sensor input. To use PIN27 (beeper pin) for controlling servo, you will need to buy PIN27 adapter board. There are several ones available on Amazon or AliExpress. I'm using this one. However, Anycubic's stock Melzi clone board has available extension port EXT-A2, thus enables few additional connection options for BLTouch.

  1. PIN27 for servo + EXT-A2 for sensor

    Requires PIN27 adapter board

    Firmware IDs: amz_melzi_bl_a2, amz2_melzi_bl_a2

    Wiring example:

    pin27+a2

  2. PIN27 for servo + Zmin for sernsor

    Requires PIN27 adapter board

    Firmware IDs: amz_melzi_bl_zmin, amz2_melzi_bl_zmin

    Wiring example:

    pin27+zmin

  3. EXT-A2 for servo + Zmin for sensor

    Firmware IDs: amz_melzi_bl_a2_zmin, amz2_melzi_bl_a2_zmin

    Wiring example:

    a2+zmin

BTT SKR mini MZ/E3

Wiring color/meaning:

  • Brown -- ground
  • Red -- Vcc/5V, power for servo
  • Yellow -- Servo controlling signal
  • Black -- ground
  • White -- sensor signal
  1. Dedicated BLTouch port.

    The best way to connect BLTouch to BTT SKR mini MZ is to use dedicated 5 pin BLTouch header.

    Firmware IDs: amz_btt_mini_bl, amz2_btt_mini_bl

    SKR mini MZ and BLTouch

  2. BLTouch port + Zmin

    Some BLTouch variants are sold with pre-crimped 2 pin XH2.54 connector which is easy to use in with Zmin socket. Please double check polarity on this connector (GND/Signal) if you decide to use Zmin variant.

    Firmware IDs: amz_btt_mini_bl_zmin, amz2_btt_mini_bl_zmin

    TODO: add image example.

BTT SKR E3 Turbo

  1. Dedicated BLTouch port.

    The best way to connect BLTouch to BTT SKR E3 Turbo is to use dedicated 5 pin BLTouch header.

    Firmware IDs: amz_btt_e3turbo_bl, amz2_btt_e3turbo_bl

    TODO: add image example.

  2. BLTouch port + Zmin

    Some BLTouch variants are sold with pre-crimped 2 pin XH2.54 connector which is easy to use in with Zmin socket. Please double check polarity on this connector (GND/Signal) if you decide to use Zmin variant.

    Firmware IDs: amz_btt_e3turbo_bl_zmin, amz2_btt_e3turbo_bl_zmin

    TODO: add image example.

BFPTouch

  • BFPTouch - Poor's man BLtouch - a simple DIY BLTouch alternative. Requires few printed parts, micro servo and cheap optical endstop switch.
  • Wiring is similar to BLTouch, with few differences:
    • Pull-up is not enabled for optical endstop, thus check if your endstop has 3 wires and will require Vcc connected as well
    • Configure servo angles based on your setup using Marlin M281 G-code
  • Firmware IDs: amz_melzi_bfpt_a2_zmin, amz2_melzi_bfpt_a2_zmin

Inductive Sensors (PINDA v2)

Allen Key Probe

Calibration and usage