Creality Ender-3 3D Printer Review – All You Need to Know

Today we’re going to review Creality Ender-3 3D Printer and everything that you should know about Creality Ender 3 in detail. This is a full review with close-up shots of the 3D printer, printed test prints, components, and what upgrades parts I recommend. Let’s get started.

Ender-3 3D Printer – $189.00
from: CREALITY

Creality Ender-3 3D Printer Introduction

Creality, a renowned leader among Chinese 3D printer manufacturers since 2014, has been at the forefront of 3D printer design, research, and production. In a groundbreaking leap forward in 2018, Creality unveiled the Ender-3, an impressively affordable 3D printer that quickly became a crowd favorite. With a generous build volume of 220 x 220 x 250 mm, the Ender-3 stands out for its resilient ability to resume printing seamlessly after any power interruption. Additionally, its boldly designed extruder frame, crafted from high-quality aluminum extrusions, showcases a sleek style that is as functional as it is aesthetically pleasing.

What are the Main Features of Creality Ender-3 3D Printer?

• Resume Printing Function: The Ender 3 is equipped with a feature that allows for printing to be resumed seamlessly even in the event of a power outage or interruption.
• Effortless and Efficient Assembly: With multiple pre-assembled components, assembling 20 nuts meticulously can be accomplished within a mere 2 hours.
• Cutting-Edge Extruder Technology: The extruder has undergone significant enhancements to significantly decrease the likelihood of clogging and subpar extrusion. Its V-shape configuration, combined with POM wheels, ensures noiseless, smooth, and long-lasting movement.
• Power Supply with Enhanced Safety Measures: The hotbed can reach a temperature of 110 degrees Celsius in a mere 5 minutes, providing a power supply that is well-protected and safe.
• Stringent Testing: Prior to delivery, key components undergo rigorous testing to ensure optimal performance. Additionally, lifetime technical support is readily available.

How to Setup Creality Ender-3 3D Printer?

The setup was fairly straightforward. It took me about an hour to have it fully set up and powered on. All the tools needed are provided with the unit to complete the full setup. The new design leads through copper which looks great and this print removal tool finally has a plastic handle.

Nozzle Assembly and Wire Clamp Installation:

Step 1: Start by placing the nozzle assembly onto the mounting back panel of the extruder. Use four M3x6 hexagons, socket head cap screws to pre-lock it in place, and then tighten them to secure it.

Step 2: Attach the wire clamp to the back panel of the X-axis motor.

Gantry Frame Installation:

First, gently move the right profile of the bottom component about 35mm away from the desktop to expose the installation holes.

Next, position the gantry frame into the slot of the base and use two M5x45 hexagon socket head spring washer combination screws to pre-lock it from the bottom to the top hole.

Then, rotate the bottom assembly by 180° to ensure that the profiles on both sides are level. Use two M5x45 hexagon socket head spring washer combination screws in the left hole and tighten them to fix it.

Lastly, rotate the bottom assembly by 180° and tighten the screw on the right side.

Display Installation:

Step 1: Place the display bracket on the side of the right profile and secure it using three M4X18 hexagon flat round head screws.

Step 2: Align the pins on the back of the display with the large holes of the display bracket and insert them. Then, slide it down to fasten it tightly.

Material Rack Installation:

Step 1: Locate the material pipe accessories and attach the threaded end to the right side of the material rack.

Step 2: Fit the front slot of the installed material rack to the front slot of the profile, and press it down to secure the bottom of the profile.

Ender-3 3D Printer Level Adjusting

For level adjusting, the Creality Ender-3 3D Printer is using these new oversized 11 wheels which I do like as it’s much easier to reach them and do the fine adjustment. Only the right-back one is still a bit hard to reach as the LCD Display is standing in the way.

Ender-3 3D Printer Connectivity and Slicing Software

When it comes to connectivity This machine is supporting printing over USB ports or a micro SD card. For slicing software, you can use pretty much any slicer you like. And I want to point out that the machine software files are available as an open source which is great for the community.

Ender-3 3D Printer Print Quality.

My first test print on this machine was this small dog, which was recoded on a micro SD card. The print looks great and there is nothing to complain about, I am happy with the results of the first test. The unit itself is very sturdy. I do not foresee any issues with quality in the future.

I print this rocket to quickly test the alignment on the z-axis, and the print looks great! There is no sign of any layer separation or misalignment. Next, I found these awesome redesigned predator clamps and I print them in a blue PLA. The print speed was 16 millimeters a second reaction distance of 8 millimeters, and a retraction speed of 80 millimeters seemed to work very well with this printer and it did not leave any stringing on the printing model.

They are open and closed very nice without an issue, and only minor complaint is that the clamps should be designed a little tighter, but my guess is that not every maker has a perfect tune for the printer. So that was the more logical choice. Great design anyway.

Next, I want to print something larger to see how this printer will perform in the long print. I found this model of the human heart and I printed it in real size. The print took 22 hours to complete and after I take all the supports, the results were awesome. I bring this model at a 0.15-millimeter layer height to save some print time and indeed it looks very nice.

Next, I bring the Caesar sculpture which is a pencil holder and it looks great. A small problem with the chin support as it was created very thin, and the print speed was 50 millimeters a second on that tiny part, so the support fell over. I tried to use some black silicon glue to hold support in the place and I lower the print speed in hope that support will not fall out and eventually support did fall out. But still, the print looks great.

Next, I print this awesome design miniature from the fat dragons In 20% scale using the silver PLA and the print results are great. There are so many cool details on these models and they are looking great even if I use only 0.50 Millimeter layer height.

Ender-3 3D Printer Bed Temperatures.

The heat bed warms up very fast and it only needs 5 minutes to reach 110 degrees. And the maximum hit by temperature was around 110°, which I confirm with my infrared meter. Those are very good results and you can print with ABS with any model.

Ender-3 3D Printer Noise

The noise level when printing is around 57 decibels, which is not too bad as most of the sound is coming from the cooling fans and some from the stepping models, but that depends of course on what kind of surface you’re printing.

To lower vibration on engine Ender 3, Creality placed these rubber pads but they are pretty thin. I was using these foam pieces to lower vibration. You can simply cut a few corners of the packaging foam and place it under every corner. They work fine but they don’t last too long as they can’t really support the printer way longer than they are.

What you can do is simply print these vibration numbers in the PLA and place them under the corners. These dumpers are made for Ender 3 and they’re working very well. Just remember to bring them in 100% infield and they will be pretty stiff and stable.

With the leg dampers, I was able to lower vibration from the frame to the table but not so much vibration noise that comes from the stepping models, which still can be annoying to some people if you’re sitting directly next to the printer.

If you want to make your Ender 3 or any 3D printer almost completely silent without too much of a hassle, there is an easy solution that works brilliantly. These are called the stepping model dampers and they are designed to absorb vibration that comes from stepping models and stops them from not being transferred to the frame. They’re made from two metal pieces with hard rubber in between.

They can be installed on almost all 3D Printers that use the standard stepping models and they should not make any difference in the print quality. They are very easy to install and since I test just two of them on my printers, I would blow away how much noise and vibration they absorb and what difference they make. After that, I brought a full bag of the dumpers and I will install them on all 3D printers. Here are the Ender 3 noise tests with the dumpers and without.

Now I want to point out a few small but very important upgrades that should be installed on every Ender-3 printer.

In my opinion. First, this filament guide will make sure that the filament doesn’t rubber on a Z. Rod which can be oil or grease, and that also lowers the angle of the filament going to the extruder. Next, you should print and install this LCD enclosure to protect LCD from shorting out or freezing if you accidentally touching from another side. Next, you should print this case fan intake. This will save your fan from stopping if some of the filament or support pieces fall on it.

Where to Buy Creality Ender-3?

Conclusion

Anyway, I believe that the Ender-3 will become the most widely sought-after 3D printer under $200. Potential rivals will undoubtedly face great difficulties in surpassing Creality and providing a superior alternative to the Ender 3.

So, that concludes my review of the Creality Ender-3 3D Printer. If you’re interested in purchasing one for yourself, I’ve included a link below. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave them in the comments section.