BigTreeTech SKR V2 32Bit Controller for RepRap 3D Printers

Watching 3D Printers lay down individual planes of material to build items one layer at time is always a beautiful sight, and as Makers, we often can’t help but wonder about what exactly is going on under the hood. Fortunately, as Makers, although that does interest us, it’s not vital to enjoy the benefits of 3D Printing, and we’re quite lucky that so much development has gone into the industry, as this means we don’t have to start from scratch, and we can nowadays simply buy powerful and multi-functional Controller Boards to do all of the hard work for us, while we reap in the benefits of high quality prints among other cool features.

This is why we get so excited with each and every new motherboard we bring in, and this is especially so with the BigTreeTech SKR V2 Controller Board, as this board is filled to the brim with amazing features, while maintaining a cost that even rivals the original Arduino Mega2560 with RAMPS combo. With all of the very best features from the past few years of 3D Printer component development, as well as some fantastic features that are unique to the BigTreeTech SKR Motherboard range, there are very few controller boards that can quite compete with the speed, efficiency and overall functionality of the BigTreeTech SKR V2 Motherboard.

What’s New on the BigTreeTech SKR V2 Controller Board?

If you’ve been keeping up with the latest boards from BigTreeTech, then you will know that the SKR 2 motherboard is the latest upgrade, compatible with a wide range of 3D printers. Enjoy a fantastic new upgrade for your Creality CR-10 or Ender 3 V2. While the BigTreeTech SKR V1.4 and SKR V1.4 Turbo motherboards had amazing performance, the new BigTreeTech SKR V2 Motherboard has everything they did and more. Expanding from an already great design, this board steps up the game with a new powerful MCU, greater protection for your components, and expansion interfaces.

So, without further ado, let’s dive into the key features that we simply love about the BigTreeTech V2, and what kinds of cool benefits this board offers:

• A More Powerful MCU: The SKR V2 boasts an upgraded main control chip, the ARM Cortex-M4, with a core frequency of up to 168MHz. This improved microprocessor offers higher work efficiency, allowing for faster and more precise printing. Combined with the standard 32bit processor we expect to see on advanced 3D printers, this board offers faster potential printing speeds, smoother arches and curves, and overall more power to accommodate future upgrades and advances as 3D printing continuously evolves.
• Advanced Protection: This motherboard includes advanced safety measures such as a thermistor protection circuit and a thermal runaway circuit, which enhance the overall safety performance. Additionally, the integration of Marlin's anti-reverse stepping driver protection design adds an extra layer of protection for your 3D printer.
• Sensorless Jumpers and Easy Installation: The SKR V2 introduces TMC Diagjumpers, eliminating the need to cut pins when sensorless homing is not required. This simplifies the installation process and enhances ease of use.
• Dedicated WiFi Port: With a dedicated WiFi interface, the SKR V2 accommodates an ESP8266 WiFi module (such as ESP12S or ESP-07). This allows users to utilize RepRapFirmware for wireless connectivity and control.
• Three Controllable Fans: The motherboard is equipped with three PWM controllable fan interfaces, enabling efficient heat dissipation. This feature is particularly useful for maintaining optimal temperature conditions within the printer, preventing overheating and improving print quality.
• SD Card Interface & USB Connector Improvements: The SKR V2 offers a simplified device setup with an on-board push-pull TF card slot, operating in SDIO mode, and a U disk interface. These enhancements provide convenient options for storing and accessing print files, offering flexibility in data transfer.

Overall, the BigTreeTech SKR V2 motherboard brings significant improvements to 3D printing enthusiasts. With its more powerful microprocessor, enhanced protection features, dedicated WiFi port, multiple controllable fans, and improved SD interface, this motherboard provides a robust and versatile platform for high-performance 3D printing.

Please Note: This board can operate on both the main DC power input as well as USB power, and you need to choose between the power inputs by using a jumper over the 3 onboard pins with the “VDD” & ”USB” labels in order to avoid causing unexpected damage. However, it must be noted that this board cannot actually print from USB power, which means that the USB power select is primarily just for interfacing with the board when setting up or flashing firmware.

Additional Note: It’s important to realise that this board does not come with Stepper Drivers included, so if you don’t have any spare stepper drivers, be sure to check out the stepper driver compatibility of this board below, and then consider getting a few drivers from our dedicated Stepper Driver Category.

Additional Resources:

• View the BigTreeTech SKR 2 User Manual for all the information and diagrams.
• To begin, it’s always a good idea to visit the BigTreeTech SKR V2 GitHub Page, as this contains a wealth of information, including the user manual, firmware, datasheets and schematics, and other useful resources that are sure to help.
• Next up, this is the fantastic BigTreeTech Printables List, which offers awesome STL files for enclosures that incorporate the SKR V2 and upgrades into popular 3D printers, with designs that cater to all kinds of machines, styles and tastes.

Finally, if you’re eager to get a more visual understanding of what’s on this board, as well as how to setup and install this beautiful board in a 3D printer, the following video by Makers Mashup does an excellent job at explaining the new features compared to the older version.

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.