BigTreeTech E3 RRF V1.1 Controller for Ender 3

When watching a 3D Printer create amazing designs from nothing but plastic, it’s easy to assume that all of the moving parts that are buzzing and whirring about are the stars of the show, as these typically do most of the grunt work to move the print head around and extrude filaments in very specific and precise ways. However, we often forget that underneath all those moving parts and metal sheets, there’s actually a “brain” telling all of the different parts what to do. These “brains” are typically referred to as Controller Boards in 3D Printing, and they connect up to all of the other parts and provide both the power distribution and instructions to tell them precisely what to do – and how to build the masterpieces that you love printing. With this in mind, it makes sense that you want to find the most effective and powerful “brain” for your 3D Printer, to enable advanced functionality and maintain a high level of accuracy even when facing extremely complex designs, and that’s why we love all of the new developments in controller boards, with the BigTreeTech E3 RRF V1.1 Controller for Ender 3 being a key player that we hope pushes the industry forward to a fresh new standard that others will be forced to follow.

If you’ve been keeping an eye of all of the awesome BigTreeTech Controllers & Upgrades that have been coming out lately, you may already be quite aware of their relatively distinct style, and how they don’t simply rest at “good enough”, but instead go far beyond the expected to add new forms of functionality and 3D Printing power for 3D Makers like you to enjoy in your ever-ongoing quest for 3D Print Perfection. The BigTreeTech E3 RRF V1.1 Controller is one such fantastic board created by the masters in 3D Printer aftermarket upgrades, and is designed to an extremely impressive specification, offering a powerful 32bit CPU coupled with loads of awesome features, such as integrated TMC2209 Silent Drivers with UART control and native sensorless homing enabled, support for all of the fancy bells and whistles like automatic power resume, filament runout detection and even RGB lighting, and of course excellent safety features not only on the power input, but on a variety of interfacing ports as well.

In addition to all of the fancy value-adding features that have become somewhat standard on BigTreeTech Controller Boards, the E3 RRF V1.1 is unique in the fact that it comes with preinstalled WiFi capabilities, with an ESP-07S module snugly fitted onto the back of the board behind the Micro USB Port. This has been enhanced with native support for both ESP3D and DWC remote operating capabilities, making the transition from physical interfacing to remote interfacing easier than ever before, and despite how awesome all of the other features are on this board, the WiFi and remote operation capabilities are really the true key features that really differentiate the RRF V1.1 from almost all other controllers on the market.

Please Note: The BigTreeTech RRF E3 V1.1 has been designed to work in conjunction with a daughter board called the BigTreeTech RRF IDEX, which is supposed to add extra functionality and the ability to incorporate a second extruder. However, unfortunately we haven’t yet had a chance to test and review the IDEX board yet, but once we get a chance we will make sure to update this description with the details you need. With that being said, the BTT RRF E3 V1.1 is certainly an excellent upgrade as a standalone board, and doesn’t necessarily need the IDEX daughter board to work (beautifully), and so unless you already know that you want the IDEX board with the RRF V1.1, then you really don’t need to worry about this.

Typical Applications for BigTreeTech E3 RRF V1.1 Controller for Ender 3:

While some 3D Makers will look at controller board upgrades and consider them to simply be quality of life upgrades with extra bells and whistles, the truth is that controller board upgrades can actually provide a lot of assistance towards that ever-common dream of 3D Print Perfection. Furthermore, controller board upgrades like these allow for even more customisation in an industry that is already rife with personalised modifications to almost everything on almost all models of 3D Printers, and while some of the features like print resume functionality and filament runout detection may seem like they’re purely for convenience, the truth is that these seemingly simple features can save 3D Makers a lot of time and hassle, while avoiding unnecessary filament wastage and hopefully even saving prints before they fail. These quality of life upgrades, coupled with the genuine value that these features can offer in the right occasions, as well as the integrated WiFi Functionality, makes this particular upgrade a true value-for-money offer even when compared to other boards in the BigTreeTech Controllers range, and we just can’t wait for it to be adapted for other 3D Printers too!

Additional Resources:

• If you want to dive deeper into the details of this awesome board, then be sure to take a look at the official BigTreeTech BTT E3 RRF V1.1 GitHub, which contains datasheets, firmware and further links to even more info.
  
  
• Furthermore, if you want a more professional review of the BTT RRF V1.1 and all of the key features – as well as minor features – that this board is ready to offer you, then the next place to visit is this 3DWork BTT RRF V1.1 Review.
  
  
• Next up, if you’re looking for a nice quick video demonstration of this board, how to install it, some of the cool features that it offers, as well as some extra tips and insights from a 3D Maker who simply loves to experiment with all kinds of 3D Printer upgrades, this BTT RRF V1.1 Review & Installation Guide from RuiRaptor is an excellent video to get you up to date and ready to upgrade.

Finally, we must admit that this board is quite complex, and if we were to explain every last detail then this description would end up looking more like a blog post. So, instead of making you read a full essay, we believe the following BTT RRF V1.1 Review & Installation Video is a far more engaging way to understand just what this board is capable of, how to get it up and running, and how to take advantage of some of the key features it offers – all in a nice visual format that’s relatively easy to follow:

As one of the rising stars in the world of 3D Printer Component Research and Development, BigTreeTech have certainly hit the ground running, entering the market in 2015 and spending their early stages primarily learning, researching, testing and developing, before producing some truly impressive results. From simple but effective upgrades to standard parts, all the way through to completely custom parts that no other brand offered at the time, BigTreeTech now have an incredibly diverse range, with almost no area of 3D Printing being left out.

Some of BigTreeTech’s most notable additions to the world of 3D Printing include the SKR Motherboard Range for numerous different 3D Printer models, the awesome TFT Touch Display Range with fancy features like dual-mode operation, as well as their very impressive Stepper Driver Range that cater to all tastes and preferences under the sun. And of course, to top it all off, BigTreeTech also have a sister company named BIQU, and we must admit that they have been producing some pretty impressive (and low price) 3D Printers, with the BIQU B1 possibly becoming a new rival to the Ender 3.

Of course, it’s easy to see that BigTreeTech are modern masters of 3D Printing R&D, and while we do still have a lot of different parts that we want to test out from them, so far we’ve been extremely happy with what they’re capable of producing – all while fitting into same kind of hobbyist budget that they used to operate on as Makers and Tinkerers themselves.