Creality Ender 3 – 3D Printer
Ender 3 Helpful Hints, Tips, Upgrades and Information
Your First 3D Printer
The Ender 3 is our first 3D printer, and we are pleased with its operation. The 3D printer community has readily adopted this model and is continuously producing expansion items. Many can be printed by the printer and improve the overall effectiveness and quality of prints.
Presented here are some of our findings, along with handy hints so you too can get the most from your Ender 3 printer.
Ender 3 Accessories
New Creality Ender 3 accessories have started to arrive. Have a look in our online store for necessary add-ons to increase the productivity and reliability of your Ender 3.
- 24v Blower Fans are in. These are the fans used with the Petsfang cooling duct modification for the Ender 3.
- Replacement NTC 3950 Temperature Sensor assemblies have arrived.
- MAX7219 LED Display Kit has arrived. Can be interfaced with the Marlin firmware on the Ender 3.
- One of our most popular items is the SD to Micro SD adapter. This allows you to use a standard SD card with your Ender 3 eliminating the fidgety and fragile Micro SD card on your printer.
Ender 3 Tips, Firmware, Adjustments, and More
Machine Configuration Tips
- Guide: How to Assemble the Creality Ender 3
- Unboxing and Build (YouTube Video) – 3D Printing Canada
- Initial Setup and First Print (YouTube Video) – 3D Printing Canada
- 3 Build Tutorial: Good video for initial assembly
- reddit Creality Ender 3 New User Guide – as published by reddit
- Creality Ender 3 Review! And Build + Simplify 3D Profile (YouTube Video)
Firmware Updates and Bootloader Installation
- TH3D Unified Firmware Package: Link to website and additional documentation
- Ender 3: How to install a bootloader and update firmware (YouTube Video) – For TH3D Firmware
Adjustments
- Ender 3 Electronic Board Improvements (YouTube Video): Fixes and patches to the main control board
- Setting your Z offset the easy way in Marlin (YouTube Video)
- Hairspray on Glass or Mirror – How To (YouTube Video)
Slicers
- An equally import addition to your 3D printer is the Slicer. A 3D slicer is a piece of software, running on a computer. It acts as an interpreter for your 3D printer. You feed it a 3D file, usually, that’s an STL, M3F or OBJ file (which describe coordinates in a three-dimensional grid) and it will produce an optimized g-code which your 3D printer understands and will use to print. There are currently two major contenders for a slicer: Cura: Cura is a completely free and extremely popular slicer compatible with the Ender 3. More information on customizing is presented in this YouTube video.
- Simplify3D: Unlike other options, this Simplify3D costs USD $149.00. Although it is costly, it seems to outperform other free software. We have standardized on Simplify3D and are very happy with the results.
Basic Operation, Maintenance and Optimization
- How to fix your cr10, cr10s, mini tornado, ender, A10 and others jamming or under extruding (YouTube Video)
Updating The Print Bed
Adding a glass or mirror bed on top of the existing work surface.
X-Y-Z Test Cube – First pring from the Ender 3
Ender 3 Fan Cover Being Printed
Fan Cover Mounted on the Ender 3
Ender 3 LCD Back Cover Printed
Ender 3 LCD Back Cover Mounted
SD Card Reader and Fan Bezel Installed on Ender 3
TH3D EZABL (Automatic Bed Leveling) Mini Installed
Assorted Add-Ons Installed on the Ender 3
Closer View of Add-Ons Installed on Ender 3
Upper Filament Guide Installed on Ender 3
Must Have Add-Ons
- Fan Guard: (Tested and In Use On Our Ender 3)
Prevents printed bits and accessories from falling into the controller fan. There are a couple of options including a model with a grill (the model we use) and a second version without the grill. See Thingiverse Thing or download the local file version from us (model with the grill). - Upper Filament Guide: (Tested and In Use On Our Ender 3)
An essential upper filament guide provides a gentle guided slope on the filament. There are several versions available and this is the one we have standardized on trialing several models. Clips on to the top extrusion and holds exceptionally well (see Thingiverse Thing) or download the local file version from us - Lower Filament Guide: Fits beside extruder to aid in guiding in filament. Thingiverse Thing (see video)
- LCD PCB Cover: (Tested and In Use On Our Ender 3)
Covers the bottom of the LCD module. There are several versions of the LCD display cover from the contributor. We selected the model which is covered and has an opening for the integrated buzzer (Ender-3_Display_Cover_with_bell_closed.stl). This did require that we use 2 x M3x10 and 2 x M3x16 screws (discarding the old screws). Thingiverse Thing (see video) or download the local file version from us - Cable Clamps: (Tested and In Use On Our Ender 3)
We experimented with several cable clamps to guide and secure our ribbon cable going to the LCD display. Some were just too tight, while others were difficult to remove. A model was located that secures the cable into place, can be easily removed and repositioned as needed and is available in several sizes. Thingiverse Thing (see video) or download the local file version from us - SD Card Extender Holder: (Tested and In Use On Our Ender 3)
The Ender 3 uses by default a Micro SD card, which has become popular but is small a difficult to handle. There are adapters which allow for use the even more popular standard SD card in Micro SD card applications. The other advantage of the adapter set is that you will not be causing wear and tear on the built-in Micro SD card socket. The adapter is available with either a 48cm or 60cm cable. See the listing for an adapter tested and proven with the Ender 3.
There are several styles of holders available for the SD card adapter. We have tried and are using one of the models that install into the 2020 rail. Thingiverse Thing or download the local file version from us
Resources for Accessories
- CRC Dry Lube with PTFE: 16 oz. aerosol spray. Manufacture link.