Panda Touch, rebuilt as a multi-printer screen

Open-source ESP32 firmware that turns the BIGTREETECH Panda Touch and K-Touch 5-inch screen into a live status display for many 3D printer brands at once, with no soldering or host computer.

Build sheet

Device page: Panda Touch →
Hardware: BIGTREETECH Panda Touch / K-Touch
Method: Firmware flashed from browser
Stack: ESP-IDF, LVGL
Printers: 7 brands + Klipper, OctoPrint

Can I build this?Beginner · AI 5/5 · $45–70

Difficulty: Beginner
AI-buildability: 5/5
Time: An evening
Cost: $45–70

Parts

ESP32-S3 5in touchscreen

Tools

USB cableweb browser

Starter prompt

Based on "Panda Touch, rebuilt as a multi-printer screen" on Afterware: https://afterware.xyz/p/panda-touch-rebuilt-as-a-multi-printer-screen

Write ESP-IDF firmware with LVGL for a 5-inch ESP32-S3 touchscreen that shows a list of 3D printers, each with state, progress, nozzle and bed temperatures, and time remaining. Fetch printer status over the local network from a Klipper Moonraker API. Add pause, resume and a stop action that requires a confirmation tap before sending the command.

Estimates based on the original write-up. How AI-buildability is scored. The maker built this with AI tools: more vibe-coded builds. Building with an AI assistant? Connect it to Afterware (free MCP server).

Story

BIGTREETECH sells one 5-inch touchscreen under two names: the Panda Touch for Bambu Lab printers and the K-Touch for Klipper printers. Tiger Touch is a new firmware written from scratch for that same hardware. Once a user signs in to a free TigerSystem account, the screen finds the printers declared there and talks to each one over its own protocol at the same time.

The screen shows printers as live cards or a list, with state, progress, nozzle and bed temperatures, filament units and time left. Controls are limited to pause, resume, stop with a confirmation step, and the printer light. The firmware updates itself over Wi-Fi and rolls back if a new version fails to start.

The project is built on LVGL and documents installation through the browser. The repository includes instruction files for AI coding agents, so the code was written with AI tools.

Resources · 4

Repository Install in browser (English)Klipper setup Bambu Lab setup