marlin tft display made in china

Marlin deals with a variety of different displays and needs to display a lot of different languages in different scripts on them, within their capabilities. The system described here solves some of the related problems that need to be overcome with in a limited environment.

Marlin 1.0 and 1.1 currently support: HD44780 (and similar) with Kana charset A00 HD44780 (Page 17) These are very common, but sadly not very useful when writing in European languages.

On all these displays you can define 8 custom symbols to display at once. In Marlin these characters are used on the Boot Screen, and on the Info Screen for the Bed Temp, Degree symbol, Thermometer, “FR” (feed-rate), Clock, and Progress Bar. On the SD Card listing screens some of these characters are re-used again for Up-level, Folder, and Refresh.

Graphical displays provide complete freedom to display whatever we want, so long as we provide a program for it. Currently we deal with 128x64 Pixel Displays and divide this area into ~5 Lines with ~22 columns. So we need monospace fonts with a bounding box of about 6x10. Until now we’ve been using a custom Marlin font similar to ISO10646-1 but with special symbols at the end, which made ‘ü’ and ‘ä’ inaccessible at 6x10 size.

All these languages (except English) normally use extended symbols not contained in US-ASCII. Even the English translation uses some Symbols not in US-ASCII (e.g., ‘\002’ for Thermometer, STR_h3 for ‘³’). In the code itself symbols may be used without taking into account the display they’re written on.

The upshot of all this is that on Western displays you’ll see a ‘~’ while on Cyrillic an “arrow coming from top - pointing to left” (which is quite the opposite of what the programmer wanted). The Germans want to use “ÄäÖöÜüß”, the Finnish at least “äö”. Other European languages want to see their accents too. For other scripts like Cyrillic, Japanese, Greek, Hebrew, … you have to find totally different symbol sets.

The Japanese translator dealt with two scripts, introducing a special font for Graphical Displays and making use of the Japanese extended character displays. Thus he ended up with two pretty unreadable language.h files full of ‘\xxx’ definitions. Other languages either tried to avoid words that included special symbols or just used the basic symbols without the accents, dots… whatever.

Make output functions that count the number of chars written and switch the font to Marlin symbols and back when needed. (ultralcd_impl_DOGM.h) (ultralcd_impl_HD44780.h)

Make three fonts to simulate the HD44780 charsets on dogm-displays. With these fonts the translator can check how the translation will look on character-based displays.

Split ‘dogm_font_data_Marlin.h’ into separate fonts and delete. (+dogm_font_data_6x9_marlin.h, +dogm_font_data_Marlin_symbols.h, -dogm_font_data_Marlin.h)

If you make extensive use, your file will look like language_kana.h and your language file will only work on one of the displays (in this case DISPLAY_CHARSET_HD44780 == JAPANESE).

If you want to make use of more than a few symbols outside standard ASCII or want to improve the portability to more types of displays, use UTF-8 input. Which means defining another mapper.

The mapper_tables do their best to find a similar symbol in the HD44780fonts (for example, replacing small letters with the matching capital letters). But they may fail to find a match and will output a ‘?’. There are combinations of language and display which simply have no corresponding symbols - like Cyrillic on a Japanese display or _vice-versa. In those cases the compiler will throw an error.

In short: Choose a mapper that works with the symbols you want to use. Use only symbols matching the mapper. On Full Graphic Displays all symbols should be fine. Using the graphical display, you can test for bad substitutions or question-marks that would appear on character displays by defining SIMULATE_ROMFONT and trying the different variants.

If you get a lot of question marks on the Hitachi-based displays with your new translation, maybe creating an additional language file with the format language_xx_utf8.h is the way to go.

In this file specify the mapper (e.g., MAPPER_NON) and font (e.g., DISPLAY_CHARSET_ISO10646_1) and translate some of the strings defined in language_en.h. (Remove #ifndef #endif from the defines.)

If there’s no existing mapper for your language then things get a bit more complex. With the Hitachi-based displays you can’t make something useful without a matching charset. For graphical display… let’s take the example of Greek: Find a matching charset. (Greek and Coptic)

If you want to integrate an entirely new variant of a Hitachi-based display. Add it to Configuration.h and define mapper tables in utf_mapper.h. You may need to add a new mapper function.

The length of strings (for menu titles, edit labels, etc.) is limited. “17 characters” was a crude rule of thumb. Obviously 17 is too long for a 16x2 display. So, language files are free to check the LCD width and provide shorter strings in the following manner:

On 16x2 displays, strings suited to a 20x4 display will be chopped to fit. So if shorter string isn’t provided, at least make similar strings different early in the string. (‘Someverylongoptionname x’ -> ‘x Somverylongoptionname’)

All translatable strings are first declared in language_en.h and then language maintainers follow up by providing translations in their own languages. Marlin includes a script named findMissingTranslations.sh which list the strings needing translation for one or more languages.

To find out which character set your hardware uses, set #define LCD_LANGUAGE test and compile Marlin. In the menu you’ll see two lines from the upper half of the character set: JAPANESE displays “バパヒビピフブプヘベペホボポマミ”

If you get an error message about “missing mappers” during compilation - lie about your display’s hardware font to see at least some garbage, or select another language.

MAPPER_C2C3: This is a mapper set by some language files, and indicates that Marlin should use the mapper for Unicode pages C2 and C3. In this mapper, strings are converted from raw UTF-8 input to single ASCII characters from 0-127, and indexes from 0-127 within the combined two 64-glyph pages C2 and C3.

SIMULATE_ROMFONT: Languages can opt to use the HD44780 ROM font special characters on graphical display. This method can be used for accented Western, Katakana, and Cyrillic if they don’t supply their own fonts, or just for testing character-based mappers on a graphical display.

DISPLAY_CHARSET_ISO10646_1: To support a graphical display, a language file must specify either SIMULATE_ROMFONT or a display character set. This specific option selects the Western font for use on graphical display. Others include ISO10646_5, ISO10646_KANA, ISO10646_GREEK, ISO10646_CN, ISO10646_TR, and ISO10646_PL. If no character set is specified, Marlin assumes ISO10646_1.

MAPPER_ONE_TO_ONE: Most character sets on graphical displays (including SIMULATE_ROMFONT) map the character index directly to its position in the upper half of the font. This is possible for character sets that have only 2 contiguous pages of Unicode containing all the special characters. Other mappers use logic or a lookup table to locate the glyph.

These sets of symbols covers 100% of symbols used in corresponding language.h files, so text lines defined in these files will be correctly displayed on TFT screen.

The only only exception here are 5 Combining Diacritical Marks used in Vietnamese language. These marks requires special logic to be processed as part of preceding letter and are not displayed well without it. Therefore Combining Diacritical Marks are intentionally ignored and not displayed at all.

Other languages should fine, unless I"ve missed some characters. Unknown symbols are be displayed as ?, so this will not prevent user from printing from these files.

However one should keep in mind that only one of these extra character sets is loaded, so Marlin with Czech interface will not be able to display filenames written in Greek.

In recent time, China domestic companies like BOE have overtaken LCD manufacturers from Korea and Japan. For the first three quarters of 2020, China LCD companies shipped 97.01 million square meters TFT LCD. And China"s LCD display manufacturers expect to grab 70% global LCD panel shipments very soon.

BOE started LCD manufacturing in 1994, and has grown into the largest LCD manufacturers in the world. Who has the 1st generation 10.5 TFT LCD production line. BOE"s LCD products are widely used in areas like TV, monitor, mobile phone, laptop computer etc.

TianMa Microelectronics is a professional LCD and LCM manufacturer. The company owns generation 4.5 TFT LCD production lines, mainly focuses on making medium to small size LCD product. TianMa works on consult, design and manufacturing of LCD display. Its LCDs are used in medical, instrument, telecommunication and auto industries.

TCL CSOT (TCL China Star Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd), established in November, 2009. TCL has six LCD panel production lines commissioned, providing panels and modules for TV and mobile products. The products range from large, small & medium display panel and touch modules.

Everdisplay Optronics (Shanghai) Co.,Ltd.(EDO) is a company dedicated to production of small-to-medium AMOLED display and research of next generation technology. The company currently has generation 4.5 OLED line.

Established in 1996, Topway is a high-tech enterprise specializing in the design and manufacturing of industrial LCD module. Topway"s TFT LCD displays are known worldwide for their flexible use, reliable quality and reliable support. More than 20 years expertise coupled with longevity of LCD modules make Topway a trustworthy partner for decades. CMRC (market research institution belonged to Statistics China before) named Topway one of the top 10 LCD manufactures in China.

Founded in 2006, K&D Technology makes TFT-LCM, touch screen, finger print recognition and backlight. Its products are used in smart phone, tablet computer, laptop computer and so on.

The Company engages in the R&D, manufacturing, and sale of LCD panels. It offers LCD panels for notebook computers, desktop computer monitors, LCD TV sets, vehicle-mounted IPC, consumer electronics products, mobile devices, tablet PCs, desktop PCs, and industrial displays.

Founded in 2008，Yunnan OLiGHTEK Opto-Electronic Technology Co.,Ltd. dedicated themselves to developing high definition AMOLED (Active Matrix-Organic Light Emitting Diode) technology and micro-displays.

The Robin series from MKS features the STM32f103vet6 microprocessor, including a FSMC interface. This way the display can directly be driven from the same microprocessor and memory. The typical other TFT screens usually run on their own and are just interfaced via G-Code.

I can just guess the advantages and disadvantages until now, but I always disliked the idea of the standalone displays and also sticked to a classic 128x64 LCD on my other 32bit machine.

Has any other printer on the market, that is not a 1:1 Prusa clone “borrowed” and customized Prusas’ software for their printers? Not that I’m aware of. It’s the opposite, Prusa and other heavy Marlin modders are actually contributing their features back to the main branch to enhance the firmware for everyone, also for the chinese printers.

This out of the way, we can all agree, that having the latest Marlin build on your printer, together with reasonable controls, would be great YES and that the current MKS firmware limits this printer to just the printer it came for under 300 Euros, not a base for more experiments. BOO

Since there was no real instruction manual for doing this and the files from the main branch of marlin wouldn’t load I had to research a bit and found the clue: the bootloader looks for Robin_nano35.bin and not Robin_nano.bin like the compiler spits out. So has been customized by MKS/TwoTrees. (with v1.0.3 - Edit: apparently there are different versions out there, some with different bootloaders)

After an evening of digging through github, forums, datasheets, correcting compiler fails and dozens of SD card in-and-outs, I had 2 versions of marlin running on my printer with a decent configuration, that would actually print on the Sapphire Pro:

unfortunately the class, that prints the marlin on the screen was made for a different resolution and only has basic configuration options burried in the code.

so the display is too small, stuck in the 0,0 corner, while the touchzones were correctly upscaled. This may work and one could use it like this, but let’s be honest: that’s not a final solution either.

The u8gdevtft320x240upscalefrom128x64 class, that feeds the display, just did what it’s called: Upscale the ancient 128x64 pixel UI by 2 and shove it in a framebuffer, that’s connected via the FSMC to the TFT. Wow, that’s not only elegant, but also really easy to adjust.

I just have to hope, that the whole framebuffer-FSMC-TFT construct would allow higher resolutions, than the hardcoded 320x240, as the 3.5” TFT actually has 480x320 pixels. (I guess this was coded for a smaller 2.8” TFT, that is also distributed by MKS)

STONE Technologies is a proud manufacturer of superior quality TFT LCD modules and LCD screens. The company also provides intelligent HMI solutions that perfectly fit in with its excellent hardware offerings.

STONE TFT LCD modules come with a microcontroller unit that has a 1GHz Cortex-A8 CPU. Such a module can easily be transformed into an HMI screen. Simple hexadecimal instructions can be used to control the module through the UART port. Furthermore, you can seamlessly develop STONE TFT LCD color user interface modules and add touch control, features to them.

You can also use a peripheral MCU to serially connect the STONE HMI display via TTL. This way, your HMI display can supply event notifications and the peripheral MCU can then execute them. Moreover, this TTL-connected HMI display can further be linked to microcontrollers such as:

The famous china LCD display manufacturers. It is the world’s leading semiconductor display technology, products, and services provider. Products are widely used in mobile phones, tablets, laptops, monitors, televisions, cars, digital information displays, and other display fields.

Focus on the development and production of china HMI (Intelligent TFT LCD Module) LCD display manufacturers, production, and sales of LCD display modules for 16 years. The company master TFT LCD technology and software system. The main products are industrial electronic series, advanced series, and civil and commercial series. Application scenarios include automation systems, medical beauty equipment, vending machines, smart lockers, energy, and power equipment (refueling machines, charging piles), elevators, smart homes, and offices, measuring instruments, public transportation, etc.

The company serves the consumer display market of the mobile terminal and professional display market. Its products are widely used in many fields such as smartphone, tablet computer, smart wear, car display, medical display, industrial control, aviation display, and smart home, and provide the best product experience for customers through TIANMA and NLT brands.

Mainly committed to the r&d, production, and sales of TFT-LCD/stn-LCD /OLED display modules, it is a modern high-tech enterprise that provides a full range of product LCD module technology and manufacturing support services for TCL group member enterprises and international electronic enterprises.

Set an LCD display module (LCM), capacitive touch screen (CTP), fully integrated touch display module (TDM), LCD thin technology development, production, and service in one national high-tech company.

Domestic size of the top four small and medium-sized flat panel display manufacturers. The products cover medium and small-size TFT-LCD display modules and high-precision miniature cameras, which have been widely used in the fields of smartphones, medical treatment, and industrial display.

The LCD business division is specialized in the r&d, production, and sales of the LCD display (LCD) and LCD module (LCM) series of products. It has ten semi-automatic COG production lines, 1.5KK of monthly COG products, covering COG, TAB, COB, and other LCD module products, TFT, CSTN, and other color LCD display products, and OLED display products. touch screen manufacturers.

Byd IT products and business mainly include the establishment of rechargeable batteries, plastic parts, metal parts, hardware, and electronic products, mobile phone keys, microelectronics, LCD display module, optoelectronic products, flexible circuit board, chargers, connectors, uninterruptible power supply, dc power supply, solar energy products, mobile phone decoration, mobile phones ODM, mobile phone test, assembly operations, laptop, ODM, manufacturing, testing and assembly operations, etc.

The company has long invested in the research and development of the TFT-lcm LCD module, focusing on consumer products and industrial control products. Currently, 3.5-11.6 inch modules are available, among which 4.0, 4.3, 5, 6, and 10.1-inch products have reached the leading level in the industry. Products are mainly used in vehicles, mobile TV, PMP, DVD, EPC, security, and industrial control products.

Professional development, design, production, and sales of LCD display module (LCM), products cover COB, TAB, COG, and other LCD module products, TFT, CSTN, and other color LCD display products, as well as OLED display products. Products are widely used in mobile phones, communications, digital products, household appliances, industrial control, instrumentation, vehicle display, color screen display, and other fields.

Mainly engaged in research and development, manufacturing, and sales of the LCD display and LCD display module. Products are widely used in all kinds of electronic products and equipment HMI interface, such as medical equipment, instruments and meters, audio, household appliances, telephone and clocks, game machines, and other different types and use.

Focusing on the LCD module industry, is a collection of research and development, manufacturing, sales as one of the high-tech enterprises. TFT module size from 1.44 to 7 inches, product specifications cover QVGA, WVGA, qHD, HD, etc., the market prospects are broad.

The display manufacturers company mainly researches and develops the LCD display, charger, battery, and other products of mobile communication mobile phone, telephone, MP3, and other high-tech products.

The company integrates research and development, design, production, sales, and service into one, and provides comprehensive touch and display integrated solutions for the complete machine touch screen manufacturer of smartphones, specializing in the development and manufacture of Sensor sensors, capacitive touch screens (GFF/OGS/GG), small and medium-sized LCD (TN/HTN/STN/CSTN/TFT) and corresponding modules and glass cover plate products. The company’s products are widely used in communication terminals (smartphone, tablet computer, etc.), household appliances, car electronics, digital products, and other industries, exported to Europe and America, Japan and South Korea, Singapore, and other countries.

Mainly produces medium and small-size LCD display module (LCM), multi-point capacitive touch screen (CTP), and other high-tech products. At present, more than 1000 models of 1.2-12.1 inch products have been developed. Products are widely used in mobile phones, GPS, mobile TV, tablet computers, digital photo frames, e-books, and other consumer electronics.

It is a professional development and production of small and medium-sized flat panel display upstream materials manufacturers. The company’s main products include LCD display panels, color filter, ITO conductive glass (CF), TFT LCD panel, and capacitive touch screen with multi-touch control functions (sensor and the final module), can provide complete medium and small size flat-panel display device using the solution of raw materials, product specifications varieties complete, widely used in 10.4 inches below the smartphone, tablet, PMP, digital camera, digital camera, GPS and other products of the display panel.

Committed to 3.5~4.3 inches, 5 inches, 5.88 inches, 6.2 inches, 7.0 inches, 8.0 inches, 9.7 inches, 10.1 inches, 12.1 inches medium size FOG, backlight process production, products should be widely used in high-end communication phones, tablets, notebook computers, car TV, navigator, and other display products. automotive LCD display touch screen manufacturers.

The company has an injection molding business division, SMT business division, FPC business division, backlight business division, irrigation crystal business division, TFT module business division, SIN module business division, products involving touch screen, LCD display module, backlight, black and white screen, flexible circuit board.

Is a professional engaged in LCD display module, electronic components, production, design, research and development, sales as one of the high-tech enterprises. Products are widely used in mobile phones, game consoles, PDA, portable DVDs, video phones, intercom doorbells, car video, industrial control medical, and other fields.

STONE provides a full range of 3.5 inches to 15.1 inches of small and medium-size standard quasi TFT LCD module, LCD display, TFT display module, display industry, industrial LCD screen, under the sunlight visually highlight TFT LCD display, industrial custom TFT screen, TFT LCD screen-wide temperature, industrial TFT LCD screen, touch screen industry. The TFT LCD module is very suitable for industrial control equipment, medical instruments, POS system, electronic consumer products, vehicles, and other products.

Why the SKR Mini? It contains a nimble and fast 32-bit ARM Cortex processor that will handle just about anything you throw at it. It has the latest TMC 2209 silent stepper drivers on a 32-bit board. This thing has quiet performance that will not wake the baby. Best of all, it is pre-loaded with Marlin 2.0 firmware so it is ready to go but may need some adjusting if you have mods installed.

Everything works great. It is a easy swap (ender 3 pro). I was also upgrading the mainboard to SKR mini E3 V3. Just be aware of the TFT pins order/placement on the mainboard. The cable is split into 4+1 pins. I´ve had it connected backwards at first and I was getting a "No printer connected" message in the touch mode.