Any suggestions on what accessories To purchase for the Creality Ender 3 and tips on setting it up?

Watch this guys Ender 3 videos and buy filament. My Ender 3 has been running non stop for a couple of weeks now. No Issues to report.

I'm printing a model of a Toyota 22RE motor right now. I have a long way to go.

This assembly video:
Creality Ender 3 assembly and pro build tips

These replacement parts for bowden tube & fittings:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FPJHRTQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Also recommended is updating the firmware.  I used the TH3D unified firmware version of Marlin :
https://th3dstudio.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/43000460446-th3d-unified-firmware-package   The software bundle is a free download.    With the updated firmware you can enable "manual mesh bedleveling".   This tremendously improves quality of first layer printing on the whole bed.  (Even glass beds aren't as flat as you might think.  Mesh bed leveling enables the machine to map irregularities & compensate on the fly)

To update the firmware (which you do from PC via USB connection on the printer), you first have to "burn" a bootloader onto the control board.  This is done by connecting to pins on the control board to an "ISP programmer".  You can use an Arduino Uno or equivalent to do this.    TH3D has a kit for this with all the needed hardware for about $16.99 here:
https://www.th3dstudio.com/product/arduino-uno-bootloader-flashing-kit/.  If you have an Arduino lying around & some breadboard style jumpers, you probably already have what you need.   The TH3D firmware bundle includes a preconfigured Arduino IDE & a preconfigured copy of Marlin ready for you to make some Ender 3 specific changes & install.

Upgrade the bed springs to a stiffer version - it will help keep the bed level from changing.  I bought these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FY47BX7/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1    I still have a few, I can send you 4 if you want to want to message me an address.

Browse Thingiverse.com  for parts you can print to upgrade your machine.  You will probably go through most of your first spool of filament just printing upgrade & add-on parts.   One of the first should be a cover for the fan opening on the electronics box.   A knob for the top of the Z axis threaded rod make turning it easier.

You can use a 5 gallon plastic bucket (like from Lowe's or Tractor Supply)  with a Gamma Seal lid  to make an inexpensive air tight container for filament.  Add some silica desiccant to control humidity.  You don't want filament picking up water from high humidity levels - it screws up printing.   An old food dehydrator can be modified for use as a filament dryer (trim out the center of a few of the platters with the round stacking style. If you do, get a decent thermometer that can read up to about 70°C - I use a digital cooking thermometer.

That's a start ....

The only thing I would change out of the box is the build surface. My current favorite is WhamBam.

Thanks for the tips folks. The Amazon got muh $$$.

I will get the probe and software for leveling the bed at a later date. I ordered those vibration dampers for the stepper motors also.

Just to clarify, no probe is needed for manual mesh bed leveling. The machine moves the head to each point & you manually (with the LCD knob) move he nozzle up/down until you get the right pressure on a piece of paper under the nozzle. You click the button, it registers the point & moves to the next one until done.  A probe can be added to automate the process but is not required. The only thing required is updated firmware.

This

No reason to add the probe IMHO.

Thanks for that info.

@fudimo1 ,... Make sure you print the required bracket for the Y axis limit switch BEFORE installing the Y axis damper!

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3016475

Got my Ender 3 setup and printing my test dog now.  2/3rds done!

Me personally, I'd go one step further and buy the dual port Creality control board (also available from TH3D) so you can upgrade to a dual extruder and print water soluble supports

I have been watching the Y Tube and came across this guy's channel. He covers a lot of tech/ maker stuff and of course Ender 3 upgrades as well as other printers.  Check him out.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbgBDBrwsikmtoLqtpc59Bw/playlists

May have to print some parts on my Ender 3 in ABS, what is everyone using for a surface for that?

I may, but some of the parts are going to be smoothed, glued, and painted.  I plan to do some test prints with each because it's going to be a pretty big job total and don't want to run into any issues half way through.

Probably a dumb question as these things are getting pretty common but is there any money to be made from 3d printing these days with a budget printer?

I'm not talking about starting up a second business here, but even bringing in enough cash to offset the cost of the machine?

Just little crap like aquarium decor, wall decor, etc?

My biggest problem would be I'm not very good at 3d modeling(at all) which I would gather is a huge hangup with this plan.

One thing to bear in mind if you were looking at selling specialty items is the amount of time required for a budget machine to finish a product & the way that could limit $ generating productivity.

For example, a table top marble machine (small sculpture of twisting runs w/crank to bring marbles back to the top)  might take 24+ hours to print & could sell for maybe $35.   I've seen folks that do lithophanes (picture "printed" in plastic to show image when backlighted) charging maybe $15 - $20 for one that might be 3x4 inches, which takes 6 - 7 hours of print time (high end versions with frames & lights can go much higher, though).   Simple components can easily take 3 - 4 hours to print & you might need several for a given project.    Some niche markets might be out there that could be exploited, like table top gamer, miniature railroad hobbyists, war gamers, etc.

I'd do it if it was something I enjoyed doing & maybe cover materials costs but wouldn't expect to make significant bucks off a single machine.  The folks that are serious about turn-around times are generally running printer farms - multiple machines all in operation at the same time.

Regarding model sources, there are lots of them out there.  Some prohibit commercialization, but most won't care if you are selling product & don't claim design ownership.  Some sources allow easy customization, like adding custom text, uploading pictures for lithophane production, custom size, etc.  & you always have control over color & material type as well as custom post processing like sanding, painting, adding hardware, etc.    A large portion of the McMaster-Carr catalog has 3D image files for the listed parts.  You can download these for things like plumbing fittings, gears, bolts, etc. & use them in various ways.  There are a number of free 3D editing resources out there & some are easy to learn & have a rich collection of samples & primitives.

Yeah, all this.

I plan on opening up my printer to the local homeschooling families, just asking them to cover the cost of material, along with helping them with fusion.

It's not a money making thing, just a charity of sorts. I have done some printing for hire, but most folks think that the hours you spend modeling shouldn't be billed a reasonable rate, as in anything.

I offer printing services through eBay. I charge $5 an hour and flat rate shipping. 95% of the time I load projects, calculate cost and send a quote and I then never hear back from them. People expect custom 4hr prints to cost $2

It would be best to find a market for an item you create. My full scale inert replica rockets make up 99% of my printing revenue.

Yeah I don't think I'd have any interest in going the on-demand route.  Probably just printing some stuff here and there and throwing it up for sale for a small profit.

Good luck!

Try to find something unique, not copy something that you can buy from a China Mart for cheap.

I've had money puzzle boxes be popular around Christmas.

I just ordered an ender 3 pro and am really looking forward to starting out on this journey. I ultimately want to be able to make accessories for my kayak. For that, I figure I will need to use ABS or PETG... from what I’ve read, printing on these materials can Ben very tricky. Anyways that’s a little ways down the road.

I started having some under extrusion issues unless printing very slowly.

After ruling out partial nozzle clog & loose bowden tube, I double checked the extrusion calibration.  That's where you mark the filament 120mm out from the extruder, have the machine slowly extrude 100mm & then measure the difference between observed & expected.  At first it looked like that was the cause, but when repeat tests showed inconsistent results I checked again with the filament just coming straight out the extruder & not passing through the hot end.  When I did that I saw the default value was actually sending the proper amount.  To me, that indicated the shortfall probably came from slippage at the extruder gear that had apparently been increasing over time.

I printed out (slowly) a replacement lever for the extruder that included a provision for an adjustment screw for spring tension as well as being slightly longer.   After installation, with a little bit of additional tension, the under-extrusions at normal print speed disappeared.   Shifting to an all metal extruder kit would probably have been a solution also, but this one only cost a bit of filament & a couple of screws.   Another benefit to the replacement arm was that it included a provision for direct installation of a piece of bowden tube material on the input side of the arm.  That provides the filament protection from grease on the Z axis threaded rod & functions as a guide for the filament.

The lever I used was a remix from this model https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2982512 (which contains all the needed components & shows pics of it installed). The actual remix lever I used was this model http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3404833 which consists of just the remixed lever component.

Attached File


In 25 hours I should have a physical part.

Is that a dickfer or a henway?

FYI, Trianglelab on Aliexpress is selling a full (almost) Prusa i3 MK3 clone. Trianglelab makes good stuff that’s a level or three above most of the Chinese stuff. You’d just need the filament sensor and an authentic or clone Einsy Rambo board. Shouldn’t be much more than $500 all in.

https://m.aliexpress.com/item/32963493248.html?trace=storeDetail2msiteDetail&spm=a2g0n.store-home.0.0.20527910NkTO10

ETA: At this price and with these features, this option should be near the top for people looking to get into 3D printing or looking to build a print farm. The Prusa build instructions and firmware will work perfectly for this kit.

I finally  got my Ender 3 printing. First let me thank you folks that gave me the pointers on what to get started with.

There was no small amount of frustration getting my first couple of prints done on the Ender but it prints pretty good for a newbie operator. After a couple spools of filament I should have this close to under control.

The printer surface that is shipped is disappointing, that needs to be brought up to snuff with an upgrade.

I will post some pics of Items made on the Ender and another printer I have used at our County's Maker Shop.



Chess piece file that came with Ender and a ABS Lithophane I made on a high dollar Stratysys F170.

Lithophane with monitor for backlight.

I like it.

Made some more changes on the Ender 3.   I used some green e-sun PETG to make tensioners for the the x & y axis and to pretty much completely redo the extruder.

A while back I had some layer shifts that I tracked down to being caused by a slack Y axis belt slipping on the drive pulley.   I tightened it up by loosening the roller end, levered the roller to get things snug the tightening the T-nut screws back again.   I figured I'd like a better handle on that, so found some tensioner designs on Thingiverse.



The Y tensioner:



The X tensioner:



While the spool was mounted, I went ahead & did a complete set of extruder feed updates:



This consisted of a new top plate for the stepper plus the extended adjustable lever arm I had printed earlier in PLA.  The new top plate fits a bit closer to the drive gear and also has a provision to insert a short piece of 4mm teflon tube (bowden tube material) that has been cut to a V point on the end by the gear (relief to clear the gear & tension wheel).   The lever arm got it's filament feed hole enlarged to allow the same tube material to pass all the way through.  It also has a V point to clear the gear & tension wheel.  The use of the two pieces of tube serve to keep the filament captive all the way through.  The idea is to be able to later print flexible filaments without them bunching up between gear & outlet hole on the extruder.   A benefit already noted is that when feeding new filament in, I can just push it to the gear then turn the wheel & have it feed itself into the outlet (which was not so easy with the stock setup).   A small change on the spring tension was to use a socket head screw instead of a printed button to fit between spring & adjustment screw end (partially visible in the following pic:).



The other new thing for me was getting to try out some Hatchbox wood PLA.  It took a few tries to find the temps I needed, but once I had a good first layer going I was pretty impressed.   Still printing but it is looking pretty good so far.

I got an Ender 3 back in November, been toying with it a little since. Have done a few upgrades including an aluminum extruder assembly, Bullseye duct, stepper dampeners, and a few others. Thanks for all the tips in this thread, been a great help getting started printing.

I could use some help choosing what to get for my next planned upgrade -the hotend. I have been prototyping a AR15 stock for a theme build and eventually want to print it with a stronger material than PLA. From what I have read I need to upgrade to an all metal hotend to prevent the bowden tube from overheating. I started looking at the Micro Swiss Kit but the $60 price along with the poor reviews are making me lean towards a knock off hotend kit for $22. Anyone have suggestions on which to get or any better options? Thank you.

Said AR stock:
Attached File

Can these machines be modified for an e3d hotend? I have nothing but outstanding consistent results with them.

I believe the E3Dv6 uses a different thermistor so you will need to be able to reflash the printer firmware to match. Other than that & splicing wires there is just the matter of printing  hotend & fan mounts. I know I have seen some for V6 on Creality printers at Thingiverse.

Not familiar with these machines, but are they Merlin based firmware, or proprietary?  Merlin/Arduino based machines are easy to deal with, generally.

Yes Ender 3 is Merlin based, but Creality only provides hex copies, not compilable source.  TH3D has a unified firmware package with specific instructions on configuration modifications needed for the Ender 3, currently based on Merlin 1.1.19. The full package includes a preconfigured Arduino IDE as well as the source files that make up the firmware.  Alternatively, you can download just their source files.

You would need to add a bootloader to the Ender 3 before trying to do the firmware update. Simple enough to do if you have an Arduino & some pin jumpers (like for breadboarding)
lying around.

sucks they don't release the .ino file. I generally don't get from companies that keep the files to themselves, especially since Merlin was free for them to modify and use/sell...

I may have miss-spoke re  the ino files.   I wasn't able to locate a Creality source, but after looking around some I found that the current Marlin download itself (at http://marlinfw.org/)  lists the ender 3 in the Creality sub directory in the example configurations directory.   The TH3D package supposedly is a bit more cleaned up (?) version with an easy list of things to change for the ender 3.

That is better.

With Merlin, just un-comment out the proper thermister option, calibrate extruder, and GTG.

Hard to beat the E3D hotend, IMHO.

Had to look up this ender 3. Impressive specs for $200 with free shipping.

Yep, that was what got me to buy and not just look & drool ...

Y'all fucking suck......

Ender 3 pro ordered....
Borosilicate plate, stiffer springs, all metal hotend, metal extruder, th3d bootloader kit, th3d screw kit, 5 pack of Amazon basics pla,

Soon: Ikea end table cover, Rasberry pi setup to remotely monitor and control, who knows what else.......

The magnetic print surface that the E3 Pro comes with is pretty nice. Just print PLA on it though. PETG will fuck it up.

Yeah alot of researched showed that so I'll use it while I learn and set it up then use the ender boro silicate plate when I swap to other more high temp mats

Boro will chip, so you know. Don't ever put petg on boro, they stick too well and the print will take glass with it as it cools.

I put a WhamBam surface on my Ender. Works great.

- Try a few prints with the machine STOCK.
- Watch a good build video twice before building it.
- If you have a problem, level the bed and clean out your hotend. That will fix 95% of the problems.
- All metal hotend + PLA doesn't mix.  Print a few times with the stock hotend, install the all metal one if you don't believe me.
- Do NOT mash the thremistor wire on the hotend by overtightening the screw!
- Don't do any upgrades until you print a few times.
- Find an STL that is small and complex.  Save it. Print one everytime you make a change (to the ender 3 or in Cura). Keep track of which is which.  Compare the results.
- My room is at about 35% humidity. After PLA is open for about 2 weeks, it gets brittle and prints for $#!+.  Get a few rechargable dessicant packs and a vacumm bags if you don't plan on blowing through a roll quickly.
-The dampers make the printer super quiet.

Base Ender 3 is now about $192 shipped:

eBay

Even with the eBay coupon, I couldn't get that price...

Will definitely print stock to verify it works as should.

Was looking at the medals in an earlier post, I have an edu email so I have the Autodesk suite.

Will I need a slicer on top of the Autodesk suite?

I have a bucket and lid with the electric dessicant coming as well, will take one of my temp/humidity gauges from my wineador and use it in the bucket.

Will order the dampers, seems that a good investment.

Cura v. 3.6 (a free slicer) has an Ender 3 profile available in the current install.  It should be on the SD card that comes with the system.  That is what I generally use.  It would probably make for a quicker load than the Autodesk package (I have Fusion 360, that is what I'm comparing).  There are a number of alternatives, though.  To get the most out of Cura you want to want to add some of the "Marketplace" (but free) plugins.  At the very least, you really want to add "Z offset" (gets added to bed adhesion section) for printing PETG.

USB connectivity  can be quirky with Cura - Ultimaker is their sponsor & their equipment doesn't depend on it.   What I found was that if the COM port assigned to the printer changes, Cura doesn't catch it automatically.  The work around is to tell Cura you are adding a new printer & then it will find the new port (it uses an auto-find mechanism rather than allow you to specify a port).

For G-code interactions I like Pronterface.  It has a good size window for display of the dialogue.