Bigtreetech Manta M8P / M5P / M4P / E3EZ: Review and Complete Guide

• If we use a Bigtreetech CB1 module

• For a Raspberry CM4 module

• If we use a Bigtreetech CB1 module

• For a Raspberry CM4 module

• If we use a Bigtreetech CB1 module

• For a Raspberry CM4 module

• If we use a Bigtreetech CB1 module

• For a Raspberry CM4 module

In case our drivers support it, the ideal is always to use the intelligent SPI/UART management mode, one or the other will depend on the model of drivers we use.

These driver management modes allow the firmware to dynamically manage the driver configuration according to needs, as well as being able to adjust, for example, the vref/current that will be supplied to our motors and other functions available in each driver model.

• UART, is a type of serial communication between the electronics and the firmware to be able to manage the driver… Supported by drivers TMC2208, TMC2209, TMC2225 by way of example. To activate this mode we will simply place the jumper in the position of the following image and make sure that our driver supports and has enabled that mode (although they usually come already prepared sometimes it is necessary to perform a solder or put a jumper in it):

• SPI, another type of communication more advanced than UART because it has more bandwidth and is supported by TMC2130, TMC5160, TMC5161 drivers as examples. As in the previous case, we will enable it by placing jumpers as we see in the following image:

Finally, we have the traditional method or STEP/DIR (STANDALONE) that uses the default settings of the driver, we will have to adjust the view/current of the motors manually and specify the microsteps of it using the appropriate combination of the MS0/MS1/MS2 jumpers. Normally we will use this mode for older A4988, DRV8825, LV8729, ST820 drivers:

In case our drivers support it, the ideal is always to use the intelligent SPI/UART management mode, one or the other will depend on the model of drivers we use.

These driver management modes allow the firmware to dynamically manage the driver configuration according to needs, as well as being able to adjust, for example, the vref/current that will be supplied to our motors and other functions available in each driver model.

• UART, is a type of serial communication between the electronics and the firmware to be able to manage the driver… Supported by drivers TMC2208, TMC2209, TMC2225 by way of example. To activate this mode we will simply place the jumper in the position of the following image and make sure that our driver supports and has enabled that mode (although they usually come already prepared sometimes it is necessary to perform a solder or put a jumper in it):

• SPI, another type of communication more advanced than UART because it has more bandwidth and is supported by TMC2130, TMC5160, TMC5161 drivers as examples. As in the previous case, we will enable it by placing jumpers as we see in the following image:

Finally, we have the traditional method or STEP/DIR (STANDALONE) that uses the default settings of the driver, we will have to adjust the vref/current of the motors manually and specify the microsteps of it using the appropriate combination of the MS0/MS1/MS2 jumpers. Normally we will use this mode for older A4988, DRV8825, LV8729, ST820 drivers:

In case our drivers support it, the ideal is always to use the intelligent SPI/UART management mode, one or the other will depend on the model of drivers we use.

These driver management modes allow the firmware to dynamically manage the driver configuration according to needs, as well as being able to adjust, for example, the vref/current that will be supplied to our motors and other functions available in each driver model.

• UART, is a type of serial communication between the electronics and the firmware to be able to manage the driver… Supported by drivers TMC2208, TMC2209, TMC2225 by way of example. To activate this mode we will simply place the jumper in the position of the following image and make sure that our driver supports and has enabled that mode (although they usually come already prepared sometimes it is necessary to perform a solder or put a jumper in it):

• SPI, another type of communication more advanced than UART because it has more bandwidth and is supported by TMC2130, TMC5160, TMC5161 drivers as examples. As in the previous case, we will enable it by placing jumpers as we see in the following image:

Finally, we have the traditional method or STEP/DIR (STANDALONE) that uses the default settings of the driver, we will have to adjust the vref/current of the motors manually and specify the microsteps of it using the appropriate combination of the MS0/MS1/MS2 jumpers. Normally we will use this mode for older A4988, DRV8825, LV8729, ST820 drivers:

The case of the E3 EZ uses Bigtreetech’s EZ drivers, the E3 EZ supports SPI and UART drivers in parallel without the need for any type of pin adjustment.

For a connection of our drivers/motors to the general power supply (12/24V):

In the case of using HV drivers/motors, we remind you that these electronics support power up to 56V which we will connect to the HV-IN power connection:

For a connection of our drivers/motors to the general power supply (12/24V):

In the case of using HV drivers/motors, we remind you that these electronics support up to 56V:

For a connection of our drivers/motors to the general power supply (12/24V):

In the case of using HV drivers/motors, we remind you that these electronics support up to 56V:

For a connection of our drivers/motors to the general power supply (12/24V):

In the case of using HV drivers/motors, we remind you that these electronics support up to 56V:

In the case of the M8P model, we have:

• 2 Pin PWM Fan x 4
• 4-pin PWM Fan (4-pin PWM fan with tachometer) x 3

We have a 5/12/24V power selection jumper:

Also for 4-pin fans you have the following connection diagram:

In the case of the M5P model, we have:

• 2 pin PWM Fan x 3

We have a 5/12/24V power selection jumper:

In the case of the M4P model, we have:

• 2 pin PWM Fan x 3

We have a jumper for the selection of 12/24V, depending on the power supply of our electronics, or 5V.

In the case of the E3EZ model, we have:

• 2 pin PWM Fan x 3

In the case that we use a mechanical sensor type Bltouch:

In the case that we use a proximity sensor, we have a jumper to select power and one to indicate if the sensor needs Pull-Up:

• NPN (always on) we will connect it in the following way, it is important to check the power jumper (in the example at 24v):

• PNP (always off) we will connect it following the following scheme, it is important to check the power jumper (in the example at 24v) and to place the Pull-Up jumper:

In the case that we use a mechanical sensor type Bltouch:

In the case that we use a proximity sensor, we have a jumper to select power and one to indicate if the sensor needs Pull-Up:

• NPN (always on) we will connect it in the following way, it is important to check the power jumper (in the example at 24v):

• PNP (always off) we will connect it following the following scheme, it is important to check the power jumper (in the example at 24v) and to place the Pull-Up jumper:

In the case that we use a mechanical sensor type Bltouch:

In the case that we use a mechanical sensor type Bltouch:

You can install an accelerometer directly to your M8P as follows:

[adxl345]
cs_pin: PC4 # PB15 for V1.0
spi_bus: spi1
#spi_software_sclk_pin: PA5
#spi_software_mosi_pin: PA7
#spi_software_miso_pin: PA6

You can install an accelerometer directly to your M4P as follows:

[adxl345]
cs_pin: PD9
spi_bus: spi1
#spi_software_sclk_pin: PA5
#spi_software_mosi_pin: PA7
#spi_software_miso_pin: PA6

You can install an accelerometer directly to your E3 EZ as follows:

[adxl345]
cs_pin: PC15
spi_bus: spi1
#spi_software_sclk_pin: PC10
#spi_software_mosi_pin: PC12
#spi_software_miso_pin: PC11

The M8P supports a wide range of LCD displays with two EXP connectors:

The M5P supports a wide range of LCD displays with two EXP connectors:

The M4P supports a wide range of LCD displays with two EXP connectors:

In the case of the E3EZ we have a single EXP connector, of the EXP3 type that is used in Creality printers, and that in a single connector has all the wiring for all the functions of this type of screen.

In this case, the M8P has a DSI connector for displays and a CSI connector for cameras of this type:

In the case of DSI, if we use CM4 as a host whose default interface is HDMI, we will need to unload the DSI1 driver using the following command from SSH:

sudo wget https://datasheets.raspberrypi.com/cmio/dt-blob-disp1-cam1.bin -O /boot/dt-blob.bin

Once the change is applied we will restart our host and we should have an image on our DSI screen. If you want to use HDMI again, all you have to do is remove //boot/dt-blob.bin from your system and the HDMI output will work as it did before.

In this case, the M5P has a DSI connector for displays and a CSI connector for cameras of this type:

In the case of DSI, if we use CM4 as a host whose default interface is HDMI, we will need to unload the DSI1 driver using the following command from SSH:

sudo wget https://datasheets.raspberrypi.com/cmio/dt-blob-disp1-cam1.bin -O /boot/dt-blob.bin

Once the change is applied we will restart our host and we should have an image on our DSI screen. If you want to use HDMI again, all you have to do is remove //boot/dt-blob.bin from your system and the HDMI output will work as it did before.

In this case, the M4P has a DSI connector for displays and a CSI connector for cameras of this type:

In the case of DSI, if we use CM4 as a host whose default interface is HDMI, we will need to unload the DSI1 driver using the following command from SSH:

sudo wget https://datasheets.raspberrypi.com/cmio/dt-blob-disp1-cam1.bin -O /boot/dt-blob.bin

Once the change is applied we will restart our host and we should have an image on our DSI screen. If you want to use HDMI again, all you have to do is remove //boot/dt-blob.bin from your system and the HDMI output will work as it did before.

We also have support for SPI displays:

In this case, the E3 EZ has a DSI connector for displays and a CSI connector for cameras of this type:

In the case of DSI, if we use CM4 as a host whose default interface is HDMI, we will need to unload the DSI1 driver using the following command from SSH:

sudo wget https://datasheets.raspberrypi.com/cmio/dt-blob-disp1-cam1.bin -O /boot/dt-blob.bin

Once the change is applied we will restart our host and we should have an image on our DSI screen. If you want to use HDMI again, all you have to do is remove //boot/dt-blob.bin from your system and the HDMI output will work as it did before.

On the M8P we have two connections dedicated to the management of neopixel LED strips:

On the M5P we have two connections dedicated to the management of neopixel LED strips:

On the M4P we have two connections dedicated to the management of neopixel LED strips:

On the E3 EZ we have a connection dedicated to the management of neopixel LED strips:

We will then proceed to install the Klipper system in our CB1 module, we have two options:

• Use the generic distribution of Bigtreetech, you can download it from here.
• Using RatOS you have some advantages, and disadvantages depending on your level of Klipper knowledge, such as the pre-installation of various components, compatibility with various electronics and printers with pre-configured and default macros. You can download it from here.

Once we have our image:

• Once you’ve downloaded the Klipper distribution you like the most, you’ll use Raspberry Pi Imager or balenaEtcherto transfer the Klipper image to your SD card. A card of at least 16-32Gb is advisable. For this guide, we’ll use RatOS, which is the Klipper distribution we usually use.

• Once the process is finished and from our computer’s explorer we will access our SD where we will have a partition called BOOT.
• The WiFi configuration, in case you don’t use your CB1 with a network cable, we will return to our system.cfg file where we will adjust our WIFI_SSID and WIFI_PASSWD:

• Next, we’re going to configure the specific options for our CB1, which in this case we’ll do on our BoardEnv.txt file, where we’ll adjust the following:
  
  console=display – With this configuration the UART0 port of the CB1 will be used as the console port for the use of serial clients such as MobaXeterm for debugging. If we want to use UART0 to control our electronics from Klipper, we must set console=serial and Klipper can use //dev/ttsyS0 as a serial ID to connect with our electronics
  extraargs=video : normally our CB1 will detect the resolution of a screen connected by HDMI, in the cases that this does not work correctly we can specify the resolution using: extraargs=video=HDMI-A-1:1024×600-24@60 example for a BTT-HDMI7 (1024×600) extraargs=video=HDMI-A-1:800x480-24@60 example for a BTT-HDMI5 (extraargs=video=HDMI-A-1:1024x600-24@60)
  overlays=tft35_spi : if you have a TFT35 SPI display
  overlays=mcp2515 : in case we want to enable support for CANbus over SPI
  IMPORTANT!!! the use of CANbus and the SPI port of the CB1 cannot be used simultaneously on the same bus without multiplexing.

SPI1_CLK=PH6
SPI1_MISO=PH8
SPI1_MOSI=PH7
TFT35_SPI_CS=PC7
MCP2515_CS=PC11
MCP2515_IRQ=PC9

CM4 modules typically come in two storage formats, using traditional SD or using built-in eMMC storage. In the following image you have the different versions and how to identify them:

We will then proceed to install the Klipper system on our CM4 module with SD, we have two options:

• Use the generic distribution of MainsailOS from the following link
• Using RatOS you have some advantages, and disadvantages depending on your level of Klipper knowledge, such as the pre-installation of various components, compatibility with various electronics and printers with pre-configured and default macros. You can download it from here.

Once you’ve downloaded the Klipper distribution you like the most…

• We will use Raspberry Pi Imager or balenaEtcherto transfer the Klipper image to our SD card. A card of at least 16-32Gb is advisable. For this guide, we’ll use RatOS, which is the Klipper distribution we usually use.

• During the process, before installing the image on our SD we can see an icon at the bottom right from which we can access the pre-configuration of some options, of which we advise you only to adjust:
  • hostname: will be the display name or access name from our network instead of the IP, by default raspberrypi.local
  • wireless: we can leave pre-configured our WiFi access data, SSID or the identifier/name of our network and the access password
  • ssh, it is advisable to enable it, although normally the images we have suggested already have it

• We will follow the process:

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In the case that we have a CM4 module with eMMC storage, it is slightly different since we will first have to “mount” this storage on our computer so that Raspberry Pi Imager or balenaEtcher have access to it to install the system image.

• The first step will be to install the rpiboot utility (available for Windows and Linux/MacOS)
• We will activate in our electronics the USB OTG mode (normally switch 4) and BOOT (switch 3) to enter the BOOT mode, the way to enter this is usually through the microswitches that we can find near the module. By way of example:

• Once we have the microswitches in BOOT mode, we will connect the electronics to our computer with the USB-C cable (it is usually advisable that it is also powered by the printer’s power supply since some computers may not supply the necessary power for the CM4/electronics to work properly) and we will launch the rpiboot utility.
• If everything has gone correctly, our computer will detect our CM4 as a storage unit and we can follow the previous process to copy the image from Raspberry Pi Imager or balenaEtcher .

To be able to use Klipper on our M8P v2.x we first need to create, apply the Klipper firmware to it and get the serial ID to include in our Klipper configuration (printer.cfg).

• We will connect to our host (CB1/CM4) using an SSH client (Putty, Terminals, MobaXterm, etc…) and launch the following commands:

 cd ~/klipper
 make clean
 make menuconfig

• A menu will appear to select the options that our Klipper firmware will have, in the case of the M8P we will leave it as we see in the following image:

• Once the options are selected, press the Q key to exit the menu and Yes to save the settings.

To be able to use Klipper on our M8P v1.x we first need to create, apply the Klipper firmware to it and get the serial ID to include in our Klipper configuration (printer.cfg).

• We will connect to our host (CB1/CM4) using an SSH client (Putty, Terminals, MobaXterm, etc…) and launch the following commands:

 cd ~/klipper
 make clean
 make menuconfig

• A menu will appear to select the options that our Klipper firmware will have, in the case of the M8P we will leave it as we see in the following image:

• Once the options are selected, press the Q key to exit the menu and Yes to save the settings.

To be able to use Klipper on our M5P we first need to create, apply the Klipper firmware to it and get the serial ID to include in our Klipper configuration (printer.cfg).

• We will connect to our host (CB1/CM4) using an SSH client (Putty, Terminals, MobaXterm, etc…) and launch the following commands:

 cd ~/klipper
 make clean
 make menuconfig

• A menu will appear to select the options that our Klipper firmware will have, in the case of the M5P we will leave it as we see in the following image:

• Once the options are selected, press the Q key to exit the menu and Yes to save the settings.

To be able to use Klipper on our M4P we first need to create, apply the Klipper firmware to it and get the serial ID to include in our Klipper configuration (printer.cfg).

• We will connect to our host (CB1/CM4) using an SSH client (Putty, Terminals, MobaXterm, etc…) and launch the following commands:

 cd ~/klipper
 make clean
 make menuconfig

• A menu will appear to select the options that our Klipper firmware will have, in the case of the M4P we will leave it as we see in the following image:

• Once the options are selected, press the Q key to exit the menu and Yes to save the settings.

To be able to use Klipper on our E3 EZ we first need to create, apply the Klipper firmware to it and get the serial ID to include in our Klipper configuration (printer.cfg).

• We will connect to our host (CB1/CM4) using an SSH client (Putty, Terminals, MobaXterm, etc…) and launch the following commands:

 cd ~/klipper
 make clean
 make menuconfig

• A menu will appear to select the options that our Klipper firmware will have, in the case of the E3 EZ we will leave it as we see in the following image:

• Once the options are selected, press the Q key to exit the menu and Yes to save the settings.