20 Best 3D Printer Controller Board (2022 Updated)

Great little device, especially for the price. Note that it does display temperature to a tenth of a degree, BUT since there are only three numeric digits, any temperature 100 degrees and higher no longer shows the tenths.

This is regardless of Celsius or Fahrenheit setting. I’m using “Inky” as a digital temperature display on an older hot tub. The desired temp zone for a tub tub is 100-104f. I had to switch to Celsius to get the desired resolution.

I’m still getting used to that. I did try using the thermistor from a pool heater. It worked fine, though the temp was about 2 degrees off. The calibration function would take care of that. I was able to make a suitable thermowell and decided to use the original sensor.

I’ve had it in service for two months now without problem. Even if it does fail in a year, it’s a great value. I’ll buy another.

temperature is precise , but my friend who recommended it to me said his ” blew up ” after a short while. I need it for the precision of temperature accuracy. Gonna throw a external commercial relay on mine.

He bought another one and I bougght a few more. So far , so good. I would recommend this item to others regardless. Practice makes perfect.

Be advised that this is ONLY the micro controller without any wires or outlets. (Hot and cold controller). You must figure out how to wire it yourself. No wires included other than the thermostat sensor.

You can wire it to only use the cold/refrigerator sensor, or heating control sensor, or both. YouTube has videos.

Goodman furnace, throws single blink occasionally, restarting worked for a while then a 3 blink for the vacuum switch. Replaced that and it stopped running after a week this time 4 blink for high limit, both switches test fine (continuity, proper ohms), ran new wires to the switches, worked.

So I buy a new wire 12 pin harness, I install that and start it up and for one cycle it worked great. Then it gave me a 4 blink, the heat switches test fine. Even if i jumped them it wouldn’t work. So its 11pm on a Tuesday, 30⁰ F outside and I have no furnace.

So I buy the control board from SupplyHouse, best price and closest expected delivery date. Tuesday at almost midnight I ordered it, today is Thursday and I got it delivered around 4pm. Furnace running great by 4:30.

Not the same as original, in a better way. All wires were easily switched over 1 for 1 from old board. Thank you so much Supply House.

Fortunately, I found a Control-Board with this Company, because it has a good price and original part for my gas Furnace Goodman. The board arrived in 2 days, only. My Furnace was condemned by a technician, but I trusted in a new board for it.

BINGO !!! Now, my furnace is heating up as a rocket !!! Sincerely, Hassan.

Product delivered as promised. Well packaged & undamaged. My technician was able to install it quickly & the furnace fired up immediately. The price was competitive, but, the ability to return the part if needed clinched the deal.

I will rely on your products & service in the future. Thank you.

The machine itself is a sturdy bit of kit and is delivered in really well thought out packaging. It’s easy to set up and the level of detail in the cuts you can make is excellent. However the always online issue is annoying especially as it means there’s no way to easily and quickly repeat a cut.

which, sadly, is pretty much all we do! It’s very frustrating having to wait for the same design you’ve just cut to run through the server again and it makes our projects take so much longer. This is not a feature on any other laser we own or use on a daily basis! Hiding some of the other basic features behind a subscription paywall can be a bit irksome aswell.

There’s been a few times I’ve quickly needed to change text or add a basic shape – not a problem for our other lasers – you can just freely edit it in the software provided. Here however you will have to reopen the file in your design app of choice, re export it, re upload it and then wait for the server to do its thing.

Maintainance and repair is also a bit hit and miss. They have simplified using the laser massively. The plus side of this is that most operations are easy and intuitive. the down side is you can’t repair or check anything yourself.

Want to see if the fan is doing it’s thing or just move the laser head around the bed to check everything? Well, you’re out of luck! Again, super easy to do with any other laser. Overall I’m in two minds about the machine.

It is a workhorse and has stood up to long periods of use in many different weather conditions but the software / ecosystem needs a bit of a rethink.

Glowforge is really focused on using what they call their Proofgrade materials. When using their materials, set up is supposed to be super easy. The material is covered with a masking tape like covering that protects the wood from soot and has a QR code that Glowforge is supposed to read.

In theory, you simply put the Proofgrade material in, shut the lid, and the Glowforge reads the code to automatically dial in all your settings. Entering the “uncertified materials” realm means you must manually enter all the settings for the laser.

One of the major issues I wish I knew beforehand is the focus on using Proofgrade and the fact that Glowforge has been sold out of many/most of the materials for the last few weeks. Their store page lists 33 items, with all but 4 being out of stock.

In other words, you are buying a machine optimized to use specific materials but 88% of those materials are out of stock. I understand that 2020 is a unique year, but I might have considered waiting on my purchase if I understood the focus on Proofgrade and the fact that it doesn’t seem to be available.

Another consideration is that you need their software (which is cloud-based, you don’t directly have it) to interface with the tool you “own. ” In most situations, you buy a tool, and it’s yours to use as you see fit.

However, without their software, my Glowforge is just a $4000 paperweight. A concern is that they launched a premium subscription with a list price of $50 per month. When you have a premium subscription you see a message when cutting that says “You’re in the Fast Lane! Your print is being processed on the most powerful, ultra-high-performance servers, exclusively reserved for Premium member.

” In other words, this implies that those that don’t spend money for the Glowforge premium subscription are going to end up in the “slow lane. ” Big picture, this represents a huge concern for me as it illustrates the power that the company has over how you might be able to use a tool you fully paid for in the future.

In theory, they could make not upgrading to premium (or whatever other future programs they decide to offer) so slow and painful that paying for premium essentially becomes needed. Hopefully, that doesn’t happen, but it is definitely something I wish I would have known about before buying.

Without the concerns above, I would be happy with my Glowforge. I am not sure how to quantify the concerns about their intentions with premium subscriptions. It would be great not to have to worry about it, but with a list price of $600 per year, the company clearly views this as a revenue center.

I’ve had my Glowforge for a few months now and I love it. It is incredibly easy to use, even for someone without much design software experience. The Glowforge user interface is really easy to use and the proofgrade materials that come with the unit make it so you can literally open the box, set up the unit and get started creating things right away.

You can create items you purchase from the Glowforge design catalog or you can create your own files in an easy to use free software platform they suggest (Inkscape). Inkscape can also open a ton of different file types and it’s pretty easy to learn the basics on your own or to google how to do something.

And there are lots of free svg files out there so you can usually find what you’re looking for. There is also a large community of Glowforge users and you can find a lot of information, inspiration and assistance from them on the Glowforge website.

I would definitely recommend this item to someone!.

IT makes life far more simple when preparing prints And using a good solid glass bed. Take your time setting it up and testing out various z-axis settings to hone in on the exact right setting for it.

A bit of trial and error and learning makes all the difference in okay upgrade to an essential one. There are plenty of tutorials online to get started installing and setting up and modifying your gcode outputs to auto bed level every time you do a print.

A nice addition to any printer to alleviate bed leveling headaches. I was able to simply plug and play it into my printer with a skr mini v2 board and then with a bit of firmware editing I was up and running.

Rearranging the wires is not required and the improved all black look and metal tip are also nice improvements over the BL touch.

Was having a tough time getting my bed level so I bought one of these. You’ll still have to manually level but definitely not as often. Installing the special firmware for the motherboard was fairly easy for me.

Improved my print quality greatly.

I have two of these for a HOSAS setup in Elite Dangerous. Works great, both were detected immediately and I was able to set in-game bindings without issue. Comfort: Very comfortable, perfect size for my hand (a bit on the small size, but larger hands should fit fine) and all buttons are easily accessible.

When using it in the left hand (such as for a dual-stick HOSAS setup), there is no wrist rest and the side thumb button is not easily accessible. That said, the grip is not uncomfortable and I didn’t get fatigued, but I would not recommend using this as a left-handed stick for people with large hands.

Build quality: It’s a cheap stick, so don’t expect top-notch quality. The plastic on the handle feels fine and the buttons are reasonably tactile, though I wish the trigger had a bit more travel. The base is nice and weighty with some decent rubber feet, so it’s not going to slide unless you really push on the stick (or have a non-grippy desk).

My main issue arises with the hat switch. On one stick it works fine, but on the other it feels mushy. Software: Any game I tried it with detected the stick automatically, so there’s no need to install software.

If you intend to play a game that doesn’t support sticks, Logitech’s software allows you to bind keys to it. This worked well, despite the age of the software. Think of it like a macro customizer. The software also automatically supports multi-stick setups.

Accuracy: Despite the lack of hall effect sensors and a 20 year old design, I’m pleasantly surprised with the accuracy of the stick and use only a small deadzone (mostly to prevent my resting hand from providing an input).

For the hat switch, I recommend using it as a 4-way hat instead of an 8-way hat because it’s easy to skip between the directions. One small note about the throttle on the back – there’s no feedback when it’s centered.

If using this for a space sim, set the throttle control to be only in the forward direction, or don’t use that throttle at all.

All buttons and sticks are easily programmable and they immediately update in real time, no restart needed (must first install the stick’s driver and software). 12 buttons, two joysticks and a switch tab.

The base platform is wide and heavy enough to keep it firmly planted on a flat surface so the entire device does not tip over when doing aggressive moves with the stick. Product weight says 2 pounds, but to me it feels more like 4 to 6 pounds.

Moving the stick feels firm, which is good so you don’t over shoot your movements and frantically move back to align. The plastic material feels solid as steel. USB cable is long enough, about 6ft. Can’t beat the price! The corner holes make it easy to set on a DIY side table if you build your own gaming seat simulator, you can use the holes as channel locks or run straps through them.

I honestly can’t think of any cons with this thing. It’s perfect.

I looked everywhere for this stick at MSRP. Finally found it at Micro Center, whom seem to be the only ones out there not willing to sell multiple things to a bot. 1 per house hold. Thank you Micro Center! Anyhow, I use this in a dual stick setup for my games, like Elite: Dangerous.

The stick has an unbelievable amount of buttons for the price, and most games allow you to use them as macros (I think that’s the correct term) so if you press and hold button 1, for example, and then press button 2, it could be assigned to an entirely different action.

This makes your usage increase beyond the simple 12 button scheme. The stick itself moves smoothly and without resistance. Compared to my older Logitech Attack 3, this thing is leagues ahead of it. The build quality is superior, though there is an uncomfortable plastic seam on the handle, but you get a much needed change in the palm rest at the base of the stick, a curved button for your thumb, a HAT joystick and an easy to reach “dial”, which can be used for thrust.

The software you can download for it is a must have. Seriously. I couldn’t even get it to work in games without it, despite the sticks appear. Within the software, you can adjust all sorts of things for the sticks to fine tune it further.

Overall, I am quite pleased by the product and would completely recommend it, especially if you have a tight budget!.

I love my Glowforge and I love what I believe it is capable of creating, however there is a definite learning curve. I do not feel there is enough training directly from Glowforge, particularly in regards to the settings.

It would be fantastic to be able to use Proofgrade materials and never have to worry about the settings, however the Proofgrade materials are on the higher end in pricing and more importantly, they are almost always sold out, out of stock, and unavailable for use.

Purchasing materials through other vendors has only caused more issues in regards to settings. Although I’ve read completely through the manual, community forums, and the online help center, I still feel that most of the training or information I have received is through watching Youtube videos.

I’d prefer to learn from Glowforge directly, what is provided I feel is vague and could definitely be improved. I just hate practicing and wasting materials and money while trying to figure things out.

This is my first experience with any product of this sort and from what I read, GF is quite easy compared to others so I am very happy with my choice. What I have created, I love. I am also very happy with my premium subscription and the tools available through the GF print software! Overall, I am happy with my purchase and look forward to learning more so that I can use it to its full potential and proceed with creating a business I love!.

This thing is amazing. I absolutely love it. It does get dirty quick and needs to be clean and maintained. Alcohol wipes are best for cleaning as the alcohol cleans everything well and evaporates leaving no moisture.

A can of air for hard to reach places and electrical components. I had mine for a couple months now. I’m only worried I will need a new filter cartridge already though and they are expensive. So as a new buyer, venting out the window would be a far far far cheaper option than replacing the filter in the long run.

Also there isn’t any way to tell if the filter is done or not. I don’t like they way you have to turn on the filter. A design that automates that would be much better.

We bought the Glowforge Pro to get our feet wet and to bring R&D and some of our business production in-house. My opinion is it’s a good entry-level or hobby laser. The interface is easy to use and get started.

The user controls are intuitive, so it’s easy to learn. The results are beautiful and professional. The laser isn’t super powerful (even the Pro), which we knew going in, so engraving is quite slow – too slow for a serious business to make a profit at the amount of time it takes to engrave.

Cutting is reasonably fast, though. I gave a 3 star review for two reasons. 1) We’ve been disappointed that there isn’t more control with positioning materials on the bed and getting the laser to print exactly where it needs to.

Sometimes the laser prints as much as 1/4″ away from where you intend it to cut. Even when we put the materials in the exact same spot and put the art in the same spot, the results can vary. This has resulted in a lot of wasted materials over time.

2) We’ve also been disappointed with the customer service when something is wrong with the laser. We’ve had the laser under a year and have already had to contact customer service twice for issues. The customer service is all email – no phone.

And it sometimes takes several days for Glowforge to return emails. It’s frustrating when you’re trying to trouble shoot and have business orders stacking up and can’t get a quick response. We had to send our laser back at one point for a repair that we couldn’t do here, and our business was down for over a week.

It would have been down longer if I hadn’t contacted them and insisted they send a new laser instead of waiting even longer for a refurbished one to be ready. I’d say this isn’t the laser to run a serious business with because the precision of the laser and the customer support aren’t up to par for professionals.

A great upgrade for the ender 3 pro. Easy to install and works great. The fans are quieter and the machine seems to be printing a little better than with the original board. The thermal runaway feature worked flawless as I experienced an episode of that for the first time.

Great new edition to my machine.

Board was quiet. Board fit perfectly. Make sure you’re looking at what you buy, inside the box!!! Microcenter sells 1. 1. 5 (8-bit) boards under the same SKU as 4. 2. 7 (32-bit) boards. the 32-bit boards are superior, especially if you intend to add things like a bltouch, runout sensor, and roll your own firmware.

It’s silkscreened on the board, and you can just pop it open and look at what you’re getting.

So the stock Ender 3 pro mainboard is great and all, but dont you wish it was a bit (lot) more quiet? Well look no further. This Mute Mainbaord does what it says on the box. Simply plug the already marked wires in the already marked spots from the old board, and presto! The Ender 3 will be quieter than she was before.

And hey my layer lines got a lot better! Grab one, its worth it.

Been using the E2 for a week, currently testing it for various applications and with different materials. Recently started printing with the ASA. Even without post-processing, the results are astonishing: smooth surface and highly detailed.

Planning to tweak the slicing settings a bit and see the results. I like the device so far!.

Not my first 3D printer but the most advanced and high-end one so far. It took less than an hour from getting the device to producing the first print which turned out to be a good one. This is high-quality hardware.

The instructions helped me to set the machine up and everything was quite simple: calibrating the device and getting the first print. I’ve been printing for 2 months on this machine and it has been a beast.

Some of our clients specifically ask for the prints to be made on the E2.

The device gets the job done, great for our business.

I struggled to give this unit a 5 star rating, but in the end it is an industrial grade temp controller that is sold without wires because of the multiple applications the unit can perform all requiring different wiring schemes.

I am using to manage a kegerator. I read some of the reviews here on Home Essentials Direct before purchasing, and most described the wiring diagram as simple and easy. I managed hooking it up correctly but it took some time and concentration.

One pit-fall I could see happening to someone is the use of a ground (don’t use a 2 wire lamp cord) use a 3 wire cord. The wiring diagram doesn’t show any ground wires. Your fridge must be grounded so I connected the grounds inside the unit but I didn’t see anyway to bond the unit to ground.

Another helpful hint, you need to cut a small jumper wire to go from the line side terminal block to load terminal block. I hope this doesn’t scare anyone off from buying this unit because once it is setup it has some great options for controlling heat or cooling and the LCD display adds a level of comfort that things are working as they should.

There is also an LED light that indicates when there is power going to what ever you are controlling. I was also concerned about the units memory and set points in the event of a loss of power. I tested this and the unit does not lose the settings, I left it unplugged for ~24 hours and it picked right back up with no settings lost.

After installing all the wires I hooked it up to a drop light in the garage, stuck the thermostat probe in the freezer just on the off chance I had screwed up the wiring, this way I’m only out a shop light not a fridge compressor.

Sous vide is a cooking technology that has come into popular use within the past decade. It might also be described as a fresh food preservation technique. My family really needed this, as it allows my teenage sons to cook for themselves with lower cost, less wastage, and better flavor and health prospects than they can get from fast foods.

I combined the Johnson Controls A419 with an aquarium air stone to turn a simple 7 qt. Crockpot into a circulating water bath cooker that compares well with home sous vide controllers that are priced between $350 and $500.

I combined the Johnson Controls A419 with a water heater element ($6 on EBay) and the air stone to turn a 28 qt. Coleman cooler into a high capacity sous vide cooker that can easily precook 100 entrees per day.

The A419 relay output has been durable for me under heavy loads that are rumored online to do damage to the typical PID controller. The 1 degree F hysteresis of the A419 sounds like trouble to PID controller users who fool themselves into believing their water baths are accurate to 0.

1 degrees, but it turns out that only the average temperature matters, as demonstrated by the excellent flavors of the prepared meats.

This unit is just what you need if you want to convert a chest freezer into a kegerator. The instruction manual that comes with it is very good. I bought mine without cords and added a heavy duty, 12′ power cord from Home Depot.

I made a jig to use a small router to make the exact-sized hole for it to fit into, on the front of the wooden extension (waist high) that all kegerators have. It looks sharp. The manual tells you how to program the lowest temp, highest temp, and anti-short-cycle delay.

The temperature controller was purchased about 18 months ago, and it is working great.

I did a fair amount of research prior to buying my first printer, I decided on the Biqu B1 over the Creately product as I would have upgraded the control board to the dig tree tech anyway. The YouTube reviews were as good as the Ender 3 v2.

The magnetic build surface is a great feature. A few upgrades you should plan right away is the addition of theBL touch, and the second s axis lead screw, warning, do not try and use the Creality BL touch upgrade unless you are a good tinkerer.

You will need to print a mount as the included will not work, and you will need to make firmware changes to get things working correctly. The not so good things. This printer requires assembly and setup, it is not plug and play! The included instructions are not that great, check YouTube, there are quite a few videos on setup.

Failing to setup correctly will cause things like braving the print Joseph accross the bed doing damage. The Biqu tech support was s based in China, it is ok, but be prepared to ask question more than once to get your question across.

Send pictures etc to help out. If your not ready to learn what makes a 3D printer tick before your first print, you may want to look at the Creality ender series. One other great item. This thing prints wood pla+ flawlessly.

The inland pla works well also.

You’re getting a lot for your money with this printer. Many people looking for an inexpensive printer will buy an Ender 3, but they’ll eventually replace the controller board and LCD to the SKR 1. 4 and LCD35.

These already included with the Biqu B1 printer, so you’re instantly getting an improved printer. Plus the build quality is good, and assembly instructions are fairly straightforward. Caveat #1: There’s a huge community built around the Creality printers, and though this one is a Ender 3 v2 clone, it’s not a one-to-one clone – so you’ll be flying solo occasionally.

For example, the hot end on this printer is not the same as the Creality. Normally this isn’t a big deal, but just note that if you go to buy a silicon sock, nozzle, etc. , you’ll need to hot end parts specific to this Biqu B1 printer.

There are forums for Biqu printers, but they’re not nearly as active as those for the Enders and other well-known printers. Caveat #2: The fan in the base of the printer is ridiculously loud!.

Fitted my blazecut to my 72 Kombi no worries,can drive the old heap reassured I’m protected from fire.Kit came earlier than I’d anticipated all intact. Thanks

Perfect product, great service and very efficient. Have already recommended to others and will help with your business

Fitted cannot gauge effectiveness unless van catches fire