BTT TFT35 dual mode touch screen guide

I'm a fan of touch screens, previously using the MKS TFT28 on a few 3D printers. There was some drawbacks, and understandably some people prefer the standard LCD display. Now the Bigtreetech TFT35 introduces new features and has the ability to switch back and forth between touchscreen and traditional LCD in seconds; it's the best of both worlds. These are a great match for any of the new BTT SKR boards, but are also compatible with ramps based boards such as the MKS Gen L.

This is a guide to installation and configuration, everything is timestamped below for your convenience. In case it wasn't clear, no firmware changes are required for the 3D printer.

Of the two TFT35s in this video, one I purchased as a customer and the other was provided free of charge by BTT. All opinions expressed are my own.

*UPDATE* Currently Octoprint + TFT35 works with the SKR mini E3 but NOT ALWAYS with the SKR V1.3. It seems the order in which they connect might be important, but I did manage to get both going at once.

Tip from viewer Dale for the SKR Mini E3 V2.0 connect easily to Octoprint when using a BTT TFT as well. Add this line to the "Additional Serial Ports" in settings: /dev/serial/by-id/usb-LeafLabs_Maple-if00

Purchase the TFT35 E3:

Purchase the TFT35 E3 NON E3

01:41 Specs, price and overview
02:50 Resources
03:27 Compatibility
04:30 Wiring
07:36 Firmware update process
09:16 Custom graphics
10:42 Custom firmware changes
12:05 Filament runout
13:26 Touch screen operation

Take a look around and if you like what you see, please subscribe.

[TeachingTech]

After reading some comments below, I retested Octoprint + the TFT at the same time. SKR mini E3 is fine but can confirm SKR V1.3 is not working. *UPDATE* and now it is working. Astrobox and Octoprint both connect at the same time as the TFT35, I can send movement commands back and forth from either without issues, but it took a few times to connect.

[mrclown]

Alternatively, instead of cutting the tabs off of the ribbon cable connectors, you can carefully lever up and pull the black plastic socket off the board, and rotate it 180 degrees. It just slides over the soldered pins.

[ImGriffinP]

Hey Michael! EzBoard designer here- I have one of these screens on the way to confirm it works with the serial pins. I’ll update this comment once I confirm but I have used the serial header in the past with zero issues!

[wadefallin]

Michael, your video came just in time! Two days ago I received my BTT TFT35 V3.0 Smart Touch Screen Controller and was going to wait to install it after I completed my current overhauls I’m doing to my Ender 3 printer. But now that you have provided this guide, I’ll add it to the rest of the items I’m doing to upgrade my Ender 3! Once completed, the Ender 3 won’t look much like a standard Ender 3.

Items I’m doing to it include:
1. Upgrading the firmware to Marlin 2.0.x
2. Upgrading to the BTT SKR V1.3 32-bit Motherboard
3. Upgrading to the BTT TMC2209 Stepper Motor Drivers
4. Adding the BTT BL Touch Auto Bed Leveling Sensor
5. Upgrading to the WINSINN Dual Gear 1.75mm Filament Extruder
6. Moving the motherboard case to the rear using your STL files
and now,
7. Upgrading to the BTT TFT35 V3.0 Touch Screen Smart Controller with a BTT ESP8266EX ESP-01S Wireless Module

After the mods are completed, I am also going to realign the vertical rails to insure they are square to the base rails, then also tweak the X-Axis rail is level to the top rail.

My first year mods (that have already been completed) are: New bed leveling springs, tempered glass build plate, a Meanwell PS, Capricorn PTFE XS 1.75 tubing, and a Raspberry Pi 3B (for Octoprint). I’ve also replaced the scorched knock-off XT60 connectors with original XT60H connectors.

Thanks for the videos! I know you work very hard to make sure the content is correct and up to date! Thanks again...

[ThePN]

I purchased the E3 bundle with the SKR mini a week ago. Wish I'd waited a bit longer to see this video before installing 😅. It was mostly painless. Thank you for such in-depth and easy to follow guides.
I have to say, I MUCH prefer using the touchscreen mode over Marlin. It feels snappier, more responsive, and just plain looks cooler too. The biggest downside is the knob is disabled in touchscreen mode, and I still find myself uselessly turning it for adjustments from time to time.

[thenerdlabofficial]

I saw your other video on the TFT28 and I ended up buying one to try it out and I didn't like it very much and quickly reverted back to the standard screen. I recently bought an SKR Mini E3 a couple of months ago because my MKS gen L was giving me quite a few problems and it's a fantastic board. When I saw the BTT TFT35 E3. I was immediately sold because it had amazing features as well as being able to switch between the Marlin screen and a touch screen. I put it on my printer a few weeks ago and haven't looked back

[munkpuppy]

If you want to switch between screen modes, it is not necessary to hold down the physical button! You can switch screen modes by holding your finger on the screen until the selecting option appears!

[Arek_R.]

Yet again Michael made me buy something...

[edbrady]

Great Video (as always)! One thing worth adding. The encoder wheel becomes all but useless when in Touchscreen mode (with one exception). In touchscreen mode, turning the encoder WILL affect the feedrate/speed of the print, but you can only see the new feed rate value if you switch back to LCD mode. The FR Icon in touch mode does not update automatically to show what the encoder wheel set, it will only show the last value you set in Touchscreen mode. I believe this is because no GCode commands exist that allow the touchscreen to query the value from the controller.


With the exception of the encoder wheel in touchscreen mode, I am happy with the TFT35. I can confirm that Octoprint and the TFT35 work well together on an SKR v1.1 Pro.

[jackwolfjr]

Great video, as always. Your channel has helped me tremendously. I have the btt tft35 v3 with skr 1.2 mini e3 and octoprint. It has communication issues when on the touch screen and printing from the octopi. When printing round surfaces and radiuses the steppers stutter and leave blobs and zits on the print. When you switch to the simulation mode no more problem. Works great when printing straight from the btt tft 35, or from the onboard sd card of the MB. I enjoy the ease of the tft screen but also enjoy wirelessly uploading to octoprint and the plugins. Hopefully they find a fix soon, til then can't use them together for prints with a lot of curves.

[MatthewWathen]

Those interested in purchasing the TFT35, be sure to pay attention to the revision number. I own the TFT35 V2.0; it does not have the click wheel and cannot do Marlin mode. V3.0 and above (with the wheel) are required.

[EdQuigman]

Here's a heads up - just installed a TFT35 E3 V3.0 on an Ender 3 Pro that has a SKR Mini E3 control board. When attempting to update the firmware to the Unified Menu version, the TFT would never fully update. The update finished in about 4 seconds and the resulting user interface looked like something that went through a malfunctioning Star Trek transporter and the TFT would say it could not connect to the the printer (the initial install from the factory worked perfectly without touching a thing). After fiddling around with it a bit - instead of using a Sandisk 64MB SD card I switched over to a different no-name SD card and tried again. That worked the first time. So, if you are seeing the update take only a few seconds, something is wrong with TFTs ability to read the SD card. Try formatting and using a different card. The update should take a minute or more and you should see all the new color icons display one after another during the install just like in the video above.

[boggisthecat]

Timely video for me as I received the dual mode screen and SKR Mini E3 bundle a few days ago.

(Second SKR Mini E3 I bought, as I got the early production one shortly after they became available. As I had a few problems with the first replacement board I tried — the MKS Gen L V1.0 — and didn’t want a repeat I procrastinated about installing it.)

[workinghard]

Using a small one on my MPSM v2. Love the idea and the open source approach of BTT. Thanks Michael for a good overview!

[trevorpowdrell]

You can also add a esp-01 wi-fi adapter module (I would recommend getting the usb adapter as well to make it easy to program). Then you can use ESP3D to control you printer over wi-fi.

[savageboredom]

Perfect timing on this video. I’ve been looking at the board/screen combo lately but have been cautious about pulling the trigger. Looks like this will be the next upgrade I do to my Ender 5.

[Peter-House-Jr]

Beware. The Firmware file structure has changed since this video was released. Both the firmware file and the support folder copied to the SD card are now in sub folders. Fortunately, they are easy to figure out and are named in a consistent manner.

[baodybag]

great video...i just installed this on a Sovol SV01 and after i figure out the tft cable was in backwards, works but screen is washed out, the only real problem i had was mounting it in place of the original screen..need a small spacer as tightened down snug it pressed on the screen and all you seen was the the graphic for switching screen modes. As i loosened the 4 lil bolts it worked fine

[IIMRCrashII]

Mate your video saved me hours of stress! i never coment or hit the bell but done it as you made my day! Skr mini e3 with a tf35 and on most website it showed the ports wrong way around! your the only video/reading information that has fixed my problems! btw have to cr-20s and an ender 5 upgrading them all too mini e3s tf35 and the 2 cr20s are also having two screens each the other screen is a tf24. Will have to make a print that will attatch the tf24 to the cr20s as they dont fit inside case... what a better time to upgrade and get into printing when were all stuck inside. Cheers again mate

[master-gbig]

Totally cool modification Michael. I saw a video earlier to day where this guy shows you how to install the touch screen, and motherboard on the CR 10. So, now I'm going to get me one. Thanks Michael your one of the best, stay alive brother.