Creality CR-6 SE USB Issues with Windows and Octoprint - Solved!
Channel: TheRenaissanceDoc
Date: 28/02/2021

The recently released Creality CR-6 SE has a lot going for it but its USB has real issues.  To access it with a windows PC requires special drivers, and to access it from a Raspberry Pi with Octoprint requires modifying the USB cable you use.

After scouring the internet for solutions, I found that I'm not the only person having problems with a Creality CR-6 SE USB port.

I first ran into it trying to use repetier host to try and update my extruder setting.

https://www.repetier.com/download-now/

Multiple windows computers would not recognize the USB port on the printer.

However, when I looked as the windows Device Manager control panel I noticed that it would flag an error whenever I plugged the printer in.

It was looking for a RS-232 serial driver to talk to the USB port.

A look across the internet took me to:

https://support.th3dstudio.com/hc/downloads/drivers/creality-printer-drivers-ft232r-chip-most-models/
https://support.th3dstudio.com/hc/downloads/drivers/ch340-drivers-th3d-uno-creality-v1-1-x-v4-2-x-board/

Which indicated that Creality uses FTDI F232R and CH340 USB to serial chips on their boards.

I tried their linked FTDI F232R driver....  nothing.

I tried their linked CH340 driver... AND IT WORKED.

Next was the problem of linking with a Raspberry Pi using Octoprint.

No connection, no connection, no connection.

Looking around the intenet and youtube, and from my own experience, I noticed that the printer will try and power up from the USB port if you plug in any computer.

I noticed that some people even experienced board failure on their printer.

Then I ran into this:

J. B. Bob
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAon9E2QZ90&t=962s
CR6-SE Octoprint mit Cura einrichten

It's in German (which I don't speak), but I noticed that he isolated the 5 volt feed (red wire) from the USB wire and was using Octoprint.

I tried the same, and it worked immediately.

So apparently Creality does not isolate the 5 volt line into their motherboard form the USB port which they convert to RS-232

And, of course, Creality doesn't seem to publish any of this... go figure.