Chinese manufacturer releases ESP32-based 3D printer control board

Previously, I mentioned that it is only a matter of time before Chinese manufacturers start pushing out ESP32-based 3D printer control boards. I guess that time is here. FYSETC has recently released the FYSETC E4 which is based on the ESP32. It comes with 4 x TMC2209 stepper drivers already soldered. It does not use the I2S stepper stream.

The repository does not contain the Gerber, schematics, or PCB layout files, but I think these should be available soon, since FYSETC has made such files available on their repos for other boards.

It will run Marlin and a pull request has already been sent. Given that it looks to be the same as the MRR ESPA, it should be able to use Marlin with ESP3DLib with no issues. The new Marlin webUI should run too, though I have yet to test that out.

I am not a fan of stepper drivers being soldered onto the board, but that is a personal preference. The position of the ESP32 module is not in the recommended position, so if you intend to get one, get the one with the external antenna since the module's position is not optimal for using the PCB antenna variant. It seems the controllable fan is being controlled by a transistor rather than a MOSFET, so that means it should not be used to control a laser or something that requires more current. And with a 15A fuse for the heated bed, I think that means using 12V heated beds may be... challenging. Stick with 24V systems if you intend to use this board.

Otherwise, I like the small footprint design. And I guess it will be a matter of time before designs using the I2S stepper stream, like the MRR ESPE, will get their own Chinese versions. The I2S stepper stream actually expands the ESP32 greatly, I really don't understand why Chinese manufacturers don't just adopt this design from the start. Maybe FYSETC will pay me to improve the MRR ESPE's basic design for them to sell. 😁 I really want to redo the TMC CS pin header to allow for easy TMC SPI and UART configuration, but there isn't really any motivation to do so, especially when I know that any improvement I make will eventually just get cloned.

Anyway, a few MRR ESPE boards are still available for those who are interested.

Update November 11, 2020: Just saw the FYSETC E4 board being posted on the Facebook pages related to ESP32 and Marlin. Guess they have launched it.