Ender 5 Conversion (Manta M4P, Direct Drive, Rear Mounted Electronics)

THIS THING IS A WORK IN PROGRESS - PICTURES AND IMPROVED INSTRUCTIONS TO COME LATER.

About:

I bought an Ender 5 years ago and have never been satisfied with it's performance - the print quality was fine, but it was wobbly, slow, and I was regularly frustrated by the standard hardware/firmware, even with Octoprint - So I decided I was going to re-build it completely into a Klipper machine, and to see how far I could push it, without replacing the entire motion system, because if I'm doing that, it'll become a CoreXY or something basically-unrelated to an Ender 5.

All files included here are either my original designs, or links are provided to their original creators. Some links below are referral links and using them helps me to keep me publishing free designs for everybody to enjoy, or feel free to leave me a tip on my Ko-fi if you like my work.

Hotend Upgrades:

The stock hotend+extruder combo is basically garbage, so some sort of upgrade is HIGHLY recommended. 

• At the bare-minimum, a knock-off geared extruder like the HGT Extruder, still running in a bowden configuration.
• Some sort of direct drive hotend is highly recommended for improved print quality.
• Years ago, I bought this kit (since I didn't have a working printer to make it myself at that time) and added in a Red Lizard K1, an Orbiter V1.5, and a BLTouch probe kit and shortened the extension cable.

Printer Stiffening:

• Ender 5 Super Struts 
  • I added these to reduce bed vibrations as I was wanting to increase print speeds and accelerations.
  • A dual-Z configuration would be a better upgrade for even better speeds but is a lot more involved.
• Frame Stiffeners
  • I printed 6 of the 95mm version and installed them using M4 screws and drop-in t-nuts.
  • You could add 4 more of them if you wanted, but they wouldn't add as much stiffness as the ones around the bottom do.

DIN Rail Mounting:

• Digikey DIN Rails, cut to ~405mm long
• Mounts directly to the 2040 uprights with M5-6 screws and M5 T-nuts.
  • I used roll-in T-nuts for these, but you can use whatever you want.

Front-Mounted Switch:

Since I relocated all the electronics to the back of the machine, I wanted a more convenient power switch mount.

• Covered in more detail in it's own thing. 
• Recommended cable clips: 5 or more of the 0.250 size recommended.
• The wires route along the inside of the lower 2020 extrusion on my build.
   

Power-Supply DIN Mounting

• Requires:
  • 1x Ender 5 Power Supply Body.stl
    • 4x M3x4x5 threaded inserts
  • 1x Ender 5 Power Supply Lid.stl
  • 2x Ender 5 Power Supply Din Spacers.STL
  • 2x DIN Rail mounts (1x Left and 1x Right)
  • LRS-350-24v PSU (comes with the printer)
    • 2x M4-6 button cap screws (optional, side screws)
  • Power Outlet / Fuse Combo (comes with the printer)
    • 2x M3-8 countersunk screws
    • 2x M3 hex nuts
  • 4x M3-8 Button cap screws (hold door to housing)
  • 4x M4-12 countersunk screws
• Instructions:
  • More detail coming later 
  • Screw the outlet into the housing.
  • Screw power supply into the holes in the side of the housing.
  • Mount DIN rail mounts and Spacers to the power supply
    • The lower screws go mount→housing→power supply. 
    • The screws on the side furthest from the terminals go mount→spacer→power supply.

BTT Manta M4P DIN Mounting

Any DIN Rail mounted control board will work with this conversion, if I did this again I'd use the M5P instead so I could add a dual-independent Z-axis to the printer.

• Requires:
  • 1x BTT Manta M4P
  • 1x BTT CB1 (recommended)
  • 4x TMC 2209 Stepper Drivers
  • JST-XH Connectors/Crimper
  • 2x Din Mount Clips
  • 1x Manta M4P Mounting plate
  • 4x M3-? Button Cap screws
  • I'm planning to add a cooling fan and cover file later, but it's been running fine open-air for now.
• Instructions:
  • To be added
     

Front Mounted Mini12864 LCD Display (BigTreeTech or FYSETC).

• Requires:
  • BIGTREETECH Mini12864 LCD
  • 1m extension cables (if you need them)
  • Printed parts and hardware that are covered in the link below.
• Covered in detail a separate model I've posted
   

Cable Management

• 3x Large Cable Clips for routing on rear of the printer
• 2-3x Zip-Tie Cable Clips for pulling loops tight to the printer
• Assorted 2020 Cable Routing Clips
  • I used:
    • 4x of the .188" size for the cables going up to the Y-axis motor, Y-axis end stop, and the Z-axis end stop (I'm working on the config to use this as a fail-safe in case the BL Touch fails to deploy.
    • 5x of the .250" for the power switch cable

Antenna Upgrade (optional)

I was getting spotty connectivity using the stock antenna on the M4P, so I upgraded to a better antenna.

• 1x PI CM4 Antenna Mount.STL
• 1x CM4 Antenna Kit
• M5 screw (I think it was 8mm long) and an M5 t-nut (drop in recommended).

Klipper Config

• I've included my config.g file for you to build off of.
  • I re-named it “printer.txt” so printables would allow me to upload it.
• Verify the settings match your configuration. This is just intended to provide a solid starting point.
  • Things to verify for your build: X Y and Z motor directions, [stepper_z] rotation, all the [extruder] settings, build volume, etc.
  • Since I've changed so much on my printer, verify ALL the settings match your build.