Get the Most Out of Your 3D Printer with KlipperScreen

KlipperScreen is a must-have accessory for any 3D printing enthusiast looking to take their printing experience to the next level. This intuitive touchscreen interface makes controlling and monitoring your Klipper-powered 3D printer easier than ever.

What is KlipperScreen and Why Should You Use It?

KlipperScreen is a LCD touchscreen designed specifically for use with the Klipper 3D printer firmware. It provides an intuitive graphical interface for controlling, configuring, and monitoring your 3D printer.

Some of the key benefits of using KlipperScreen include:

• Simplified Printer Control – With large, easy-to-press buttons and menu-driven interfaces, KlipperScreen makes basic printer operations like starting prints, moving axes, and adjusting temperatures simple and straightforward. No more struggling with confusing LCD menus and buttons.
• Detailed Print Status – KlipperScreen provides real-time feedback on your print progress, current temperatures, print time elapsed, time remaining, and more. You can monitor a print from across the room.
• Customizable Interface – Create your own custom menus and macros to streamline your workflow. Add frequently used commands and functionality.
• Remote Monitoring – Monitor and control your printer remotely via KlipperScreen’s built-in web interface. Check print status from your phone or computer.
• Raspberry Pi Powered – KlipperScreen leverages a Raspberry Pi board to provide a cost-effective and customizable touchscreen solution. Much more robust than basic LCD displays.
• Easy Setup – Installation is straightforward, with excellent documentation available online. Just install on a Raspberry Pi and configure to connect to your Klipper host.
• Open Source – As an open source solution, KlipperScreen benefits from an active community contributing ideas and improvements.

In short, KlipperScreen supercharges the capabilities of Klipper by providing an enhanced, user-friendly interface for your 3D printer. The intuitive controls, detailed print status, and remote access features make printing more convenient and reliable.

Hardware Compatibility

A major advantage of KlipperScreen is its compatibility with a wide range of hardware configurations. Here are some of the most common setups:

• Raspberry Pi Touchscreen – KlipperScreen is designed to work with the official Raspberry Pi 7″ touchscreen display. This integrated solution is compact, affordable, and provides great performance.
• Any Raspberry Pi + Separate Display – You can run KlipperScreen on any Raspberry Pi model connected to a separate display via HDMI. This allows using a wider range of monitor sizes and forms.
• TFT Touchscreen Displays – Many 3D printers now come with built-in TFT touchscreens. These can often be configured to run KlipperScreen firmware for an integrated, high-quality display.
• LCD 12864 Displays – It’s possible to use old-school 12864 LCD displays via an I2C serial connection. Helpful for upgrading printers with just a basic LCD.

KlipperScreen is also compatible with most common printer mainboards like the BigTreeTech SKR and Octopus boards. Overall, it’s designed to be flexible and work with your existing Klipper setup.

Installing KlipperScreen

One of the nice things about KlipperScreen is how easy it is to install and get running. Here is a quick overview of the installation process:

1. Flash the KlipperScreen image – Download the latest KlipperScreen image and use Etcher, Rufus, or a similar tool to flash it onto a microSD card.
2. Configure Raspberry Pi – Insert the KlipperScreen SD card into your Raspberry Pi. Connect the Pi to your printer’s mainboard.
3. Connect Display – Hook up your touchscreen or LCD display to the Raspberry Pi. This may require an HDMI cable or special display cable.
4. Power on and configure – Boot up the Pi and KlipperScreen will launch. Follow the on-screen prompts to configure KlipperScreen and connect to your printer.
5. Customize settings – Once up and running, you can further tweak settings like your macro buttons, notification options, and other preferences via the KlipperScreen menus.

Many printers now come pre-configured with KlipperScreen, making setup even easier. But even installing from scratch takes less than 30 minutes for most setups. Clear online documentation provides guidance during the process.

Key Features and Functionality

KlipperScreen packs a ton of useful features into its easy-to-use interface. Here’s an overview of some of the core functions:

Printer Control

• Start, pause, cancel, and restart prints
• Jog printing axes and manipulate the print head position
• Manually extrude and retract filament
• Adjust temperatures for hotends, heated beds, and chambers
• Access endstops and home printer axes

Print Status

• Progress bar and percentage complete
• Layer count and total layer count
• Print time elapsed
• Estimated time remaining
• Temperatures (graphical and numeric)
• Position of print head

Macros & Custom Menus

• Create custom macro buttons to execute common commands and G-Code scripts
• Organize macros into custom menus for quick access
• Change modes to access different menus for various operations

Notifications & Monitoring

• Popup notifications for print start, completion, errors, etc.
• Audible alerts
• Graphs for temperature tracking over time
• Mobile and web app to remotely monitor

Configuration & Settings

• WiFi, host, and moonraker configuration
• Screen layout options and menu tweaking
• Custom power options
• Update KlipperScreen and Moonraker firmware

This just scratches the surface of what you can do with KlipperScreen. The full functionality rivals much more expensive stand-alone touchscreen solutions. And the active Klipper community is continually adding new features and improvements via plugins.

Top KlipperScreen Plugins

One advantage of KlipperScreen being open source is that there are tons of plugins developed by the community to extend its functionality. Here are some of the most popular KlipperScreen plugins:

• Kiauh – An installer and manager for KlipperScreen plugins and firmware updates. Simplifies the process.
• Emergency Stop – Adds an emergency stop button to immediately halt the printer. Useful for quick shutdowns.
• Enclosure Plugin – For control of lighting, cameras, and climate control in printer enclosures.
• TSD – A plugin that adds easy Z-Offset adjustment during first layer printing.
• Klipper State – Provides notifications on Klipper’s print state and connect status.
• Autopoweroff – Shuts down the Raspberry Pi safely after a print finishes.
• Z Calibration – Helps calibrate Z steps/mm for more accurate Z axis movement.

The Klipper community has created plugins for everything from bed mesh visualizers to filament management. Browse KlipperScreen plugins on GitHub to find ones that fit your needs.

Common KlipperScreen Questions

For those new to KlipperScreen, here are answers to some frequently asked questions:

What display resolutions are supported?

KlipperScreen works with display resolutions of 480×320 up to 1024×600 pixels. The interface auto-scales nicely to different sizes.

Can I use KlipperScreen without a Raspberry Pi?

KlipperScreen requires a Raspberry Pi as the host device, so unfortunately cannot run standalone on printer mainboards.

Do I need any special cabling?

An HDMI cable will work for most displays. Some touchscreens use a ribbon cable or special adapter cable to connect.

What Raspberry Pi models are recommended?

Even a Pi Zero can run KlipperScreen. But a Pi 3B+ or Pi 4 provides better performance for smooth graphics and video.

Can I customize the interface and branding?

Yes, KlipperScreen is highly customizable in terms of layout, colors, icon packs, boot up logo, and more.

How do software updates work?

KlipperScreen can self-update from the menus. The Kiauh plugin also simplifies installing updates and new plugins.

Final Thoughts

KlipperScreen takes an already excellent 3D printer firmware like Klipper and makes it even better. The intuitive touchscreen interface, detailed print status feedback, and customization options make printing easier and monitoring more reliable.

With robust Raspberry Pi support, broad hardware compatibility, a great plugin ecosystem, and an active open-source community, KlipperScreen is the obvious choice for anyone wanting to enhance their Klipper printing experience.

The easy installation and wide compatibility with common 3D printer components means most Klipper users can benefit from KlipperScreen. Just flash, configure, and in minutes you’ve got an industrial-strength touchscreen controller for your printer.

So if you’re looking for a more streamlined and intuitive way to control your Klipper rig, install KlipperScreen. It provides one of the best fusions of power and simplicity available.