Klipper is a distributed motion control system and 3D printer firmware that splits high-level motion planning on a host computer from low-level timing execution on microcontrollers. It utilizes a host-based motion planner to calculate optimized trajectories and a real-time step generator on the microcontroller to produce precise motor pulses.
The system functions as a configurable kinematics engine, allowing hardware settings and movement kinematics to be tuned via configuration files without the need to recompile or flash the firmware. This architecture supports multi-controller hardware coordination to manage several microcontrollers across a single printer.
The project covers high-precision motion control and trajectory planning to improve printing speeds and surface finishes. It manages hardware coordination through timestamp-based command scheduling and distributed hardware clock synchronization between the host and controllers.
