¶ Add Serial/UART/USB Port to AnkerMake Mainboard
The AnkerMake M5 is a fanstatic 3d printer, however it is a walled garden that does not integrate well with other 3rd parties (...yet). The biggest issue is the lack of a USB port or Serial Port that can be connected to. The USB-C port on the top of the printer is for uploading G-code files only and doesn't provide communication.
There are attempts to reverse engineer the MQTT protocol so that a proxy could be created. (e.g. to integrate with your favorite cloud software octoprint/simplyprint/astroprint ect...).
Until that is finished, an alternative solution is to solder a header onto the mainboard's UART connection.
The mainboard has two locations where a UART and a USB connection could be made. The microcontroller appears to not have USB support enabled, so we will focus on soldering headers to the UART connection.
Be sure to cross the TX and RX wires
TX on the mainboard should be wired to the RX on the TTL adapter and vise versa.
5v -> 5v
GND -> GND
TX -> RX
RX -> TX
¶ Connection
Once connected, use a program like Ponterface or Repetier or CoolTerm to connect to the printer
| BaudRate | 115200 |
| DataBits | 8 |
| Parity | none |
| Stop Bits | 1 |
¶ Parts
To connect, use any 5V USB to TTL adapter
USB to TTL adapter 1 https://a.co/d/f8PYexA
USB to TTL adapter 2 https://a.co/d/e0YU4MI
2.54mm headers https://a.co/d/dc2OGzS
Jumper Wires https://a.co/d/8BZYcqy