Creality Ender 3 V3 SE 3D Printer, 250mm/s Printing Speed
Creality Ender 3 V3 SE 3D Printer, 250mm/s Printing Speed FDM 3D Printers with CR Touch Auto Leveling, Sprite Direct Extruder Auto-Load Filament Dual Z-axis & Y-axis, Print Size 8.66 * 8.66 * 9.84i
My first 3D printer and so far it’s just been great. I’m. Really glad I went for the KE model as I use the built in cloud printing alot and it just makes it very easy to send your models to the printer. I’m really impressed with both speed and resolution at this price point! Would definitely recommend. Also a nice touch was the amazon store reaching out to me afterwards to make sure I had received my printer and was happy with it 🙂
The Official Creality Ender 3 3D Printer has been a game-changer in my DIY projects. Its fully open-source design allows for endless customization and upgrades, providing a dynamic and evolving printing experience.
The printer’s efficiency and reliability are commendable, consistently delivering high-quality prints with precision. Its user-friendly interface and robust construction make it suitable for both beginners and experienced 3D printing enthusiasts.
Being fully open source means a supportive community and a plethora of resources for troubleshooting and enhancements. It’s a printer that grows with your skills and needs.
In summary, the Official Creality Ender 3 is a fantastic choice for those seeking a reliable, customizable, and open-source 3D printing solution. It has become an integral part of my creative process, earning a well-deserved five-star rating.
I did a fair amount of research ahead of buying this gift. It is the best all rounder for the price. A great machine that would suit most home DIy/hobbyist printing projects. Upgraded the bed to a glass one though but only cost an extra 17.
This is a good entry level printer beginners. That allows a beginner to do alot. The assembly is straight forward. Updating the firmware needs to done. Printing of models is easy you have lot of sites you can use. I started printing replacement parts they would if cost more to purchase. Printing jungle animals for my daughter. There’s not much you can’t do with a 3d printer.
I really like the fact you can customise this printer which is amazing adding different nozzle sizes, changing the extruder, and the hotend. Good every level printer with lots of expansion options.
Brought this for my son last year he used it a few times and it seemed ok then it just stopped working we have tried to reuse it and also recalibrate it but it does not work we have downloaded stuff and tried and tried but it just does not want to work so if I was looking at buying a 3d printer I would buy some were else not this one
– Quite complicated and time consuming but a great setup video can be found on YouTube on 3D Printing Canada’s channel. Search for video “The Ultimate Creality Ender 3 Quick Start Guide”. I used this instead of even attempting to understand the manual
– Calibration can be a bit painstaking but is a must
Print quality:
– It can be quite an irritating thing, trying to perfect your print at times but once you’ve mastered it, print quality is amazing
Times:
– Pre-heat is done in a flash. No issues there
– Printing takes a bit longer than software tells you
– The screen starts at a stupid high completion time and mustn’t be trusted for about 30mins
Other:
– System doesn’t let you have a list of pre-sets for printing which is a shame
– Some people say it’s a little loud… I am not sure what to compare it to, but it’s certainly not quiet. Put it this way… Your other half might ask you to print in a different room whilst they are watching TV
– No wireless print functionality
– No USB option of printing
– This isn’t one of those devices that nobody on the internet has heard of. It’s a well-known device with so many users, meaning there’s support out there for any issues
It takes about 2 to 3 hours to assemble and an hour to set the bed level.
Then straight to printing a sample unfortunately it ran out of filament before the end of the print. Good job I ordered a roll of filament with the printer.
Fitted the new roll and printed the sample no problems.
I very happy with the purchase.
I didn’t have any problems building it, i found assembly pretty straight forward. It was like a flat pack from Ikea. Took me about an hour, maybe a bit more.
I didn’t read any instructions and went head first into printing. BIG MISTAKE. I thought the machine was broken or something.
After many failed prints i eventually downloaded a gcode file to level the print bed, tightened the belt, realigned a bunch of stuff, after that everything came out great. Seriously, my advice to anybody is spend some time watching a YouTube video of how to do it first.
My bed was so poorly leveled i actually tore through the original mat and had to buy a replacement because i rushed into it.
Also, don’t expect this to be quick. That ocarina i just made took 6 hours.
So in summary the machine is GREAT but be patient.
This is not a paid review or anything like that. I rarely bother writing reviews but if you’re in 2 minds i suggest just buy it, but keep hold of the tools that come with it!
Firstly, well built, robust and excellent value. The sum of the parts would be considerably more than the cost of the whole, so, great value.
But, trying to get results out of the box demands great patience and lots of research.
Essentially the manufacturer fails completely to deliver any reasonable methods of working. Too much on the internet appears simple to follow but is contradictory as there are different models and different solutions.
So. We have upgraded the machine with stronger bed springs and levelling wheels and a BL Touch auto levelling add-on. BUT, even this was unnecessarily complicated by Creality’s terrible lack of instructions. BL Touch is sold without reference to the fact that the circuit board revision number is critical. You only discover that when removing the cover under the machine. So, the latest version (4.2.2) needs a specific model of the BLTouch.
Overall verdict? A fascinating, cheap and versatile machine hampered by appalling support and contradictory advice from other users.
Recommended with a large helping of patience, research and diligent attention to detail.
Our machine now prints really well and is proving a great investment. Be prepared for disappointment and discovery – and the need to invest in add-ons
The next issue is the heat bed: It can warp. I have fixed this by simply placing picture frame glass there and using a glue stick to make a better printing surface.
Apart from that, the printer works perfectly! The filament that comes with it (although there is very little of it) works brilliantly and after over 50 combined hours of use, I have only had 1 partial clog with many different filaments (Which is to be expected). Z-axis just needs the 2 bolts loosening (There are some good videos online about it) and the online community for this printer is above anything I have ever seen before. Any issues you have will be fixed by the helpful facebook group members.
Final verdict: I definitely recommend picking up this printer. It creates brilliant prints with quality very comparable to higher end printers around the 400 -500 mark or higher. The issues that I have talked about have fixes and Creality is working with the customers to make this printer a better product for everyone
Setup: I am technically minded. I found the setup to be incredibly fun. The supplied instructions are not good enough to get things right first time. I HIGHLY recommend you load up a youtube build video and go through it step by step on video. It will make such a difference to your build experience. It took me an hour to build,.
First print: It is important to level the bed of the printer carefully. You need to see the first layer squashed down onto the plate like smeared toothpaste not beading on the surface like a bead of glue. You can adjust the wheels as the print is going so I recommend doing gentle adjustments as the first lines are printed to try to get an even coverage.
I also highly recommend a slower printing speed. Whilst printing, turn the knob left and adjust the FR (flow rate) percentage down. People who are struggling with bed adhesion and other issues are probably printing too fast. I tend to go for 30% for the first layer or two. Up to 50% speed for the next few layers and increasing to 80% or more for the rest of the build.
It printed a benchy for me first time. So far, I have had only minor issues with bed adhesion. The heated bed supplied seems to do a good job and I have not yet needed adhesives to help.
The rest: This printer is a total steal at under 200. If you take care on build and take the time to fiddle with levelling and speed/quality, you will get professional quality results. I loved it so much that I have just bought another one. MY last few points are:
It is not particularly quiet out the box but there are cheap upgrades that can cut down on the noise hugely. Cheap stepper motor dampers really do look effective.
I highly recommend the range of 3d printed upgrades for the Ender 3 (thingiverse.com) you use your new printer to actually print these in your first few days and they really improve the user experience. Ones not to miss are:
The filament guide, The fan cover, The anti-snag back leg and the LCD cover.
There is a strong smell of plastic for the first day. This is not permanent. It only made my house stink for one day.
Be aware that this thing will produce lots of fine plastic waste and plastic dust. I would not have this printing in the babies room. Keep away from young children..
I have had no problems at all with build quality or part failure. So far, amazing.
BUY ONE.
I have been printing with SunLu PLA+ (various colours) which is awesome, and also Geetech wood PLA which is also very good. Put it at 200 nozzle and 60 bed and it just works.
I had issues with the fan in the print head and also the base, but Comgrow resolved this via email (back-and-forth to China), and sent replacement fans.
The PLA they sent you is useless, just don’t bother as there is not enough to make a viable test print.
UPDATE: I had an issue with the printer again, and upon removing the base cover I found one of the screws holding the fan had fallen loose and was lying on the motherboard. I guessed it had shorted it, and Comgrow eventuallly confirmed this to be issue. They sent me a replacement motherboard via Amazon so it arrived next day!!! Again, awesome service from them.
This came well packaged, all the instructions were easily labled (Although watching YouTube videos helped a lot!) and all the parts were labled and in their own packages, took just under an hour to assemble (taking time to check, re-check and check again) but was very easy to assemble.
Setting up the Print bed and nozzle height took a long time, but thats because I wanted to get it spot on, my first print was a simple peice of track (for wooden train set) and it came out flawlessly printed at 0.02mm with a brim, I found 205c Nozzle and 80c bed worked wonders, I was using PLA and I know this isn’t supposed to need a heated bed, but when I tried without I got a lot of curling up as the print cooled.
I have had this for a couple of months now and it has been a solid work horse, running flawlessly since, I have done a lot of prints on it a nice warhammer scenary set as well as a nice set of models from my favourite games (all models are from Thingiverse too)
Yes it is noisy, I will be honest and there are many modifactions you can do to relieve this noise, I might invest in it one day, but I have learned to ignore it now. There are some must have printed mods for the printer you can find on thingiverse.
A cover for the fan, a cover for the control panel (back is exposed PCB) and a tray that fits in the gap underneath are a few I have seen (I only have the fan and control panel mod myself)
I use my 3D Printer on a mostly daily basis now, printing out home hacks, or just models. My little girl loved painting models from the kits you can buy, but now I just print a load and she paints them, and there are some xmas gifts in the bag.
I wouldn’t say 3D Printing is for everyone, these do require a bit of TLC and a lot of patience to get going and make sure everything works well. But if you are interested in 3D Printing, as a hobby then this is a great introductory printer that will give some outstanding quality prints (if everything is setup just right)
Oh also, a little bit of hairspray keeps prints on beds too if you don’t want to use the heated bed element, not sure of the implications of using hairspray, but it might be easier to obtain that some of the 3D print glue and stuff.
The price may give the impression of this being a less capable 3D printer, truthfully, this is a brilliant printer, ridged frame, proven design and produces the best prints I have seen.
It comes with Cura as the slicer to convert your STL files to gcode for use with this printer. I upgraded Cura to the latest version and after a print the screen still shows abort or cancel but nothing can be clicked on. This is a Cura issue not the printer.
This is a smart device that will continue after a power fail, it leaves off where it stopped, this can be a problem too. If the system thinks the power has failed as it keeps track, it will come up with a message awaiting ‘Awaiting User’ which requires a push on the knob to continue. Again this isn’t physically the machine it’s the firmware used in the controller over reacting.
I have used the Geetech I3 Printer and the Ender 3 wins hands down in every respect. Some people have concerns with the part sticking to the bed. This bed just needs proper leveling, and just a wipe with Rubbing Alcohol to make it free of any surface issues. PLA I run at 60degrees for the bed and 200 degrees for the extruder, usually 0.2 mm layer height, and boy are the prints clean and smooth.
If there is one negative point, it doesn’t come with a USB cable which is a standard to mini, not micro as in many phones, it’s the older type. It’s not essential as you have a memory card to USB adapter to transfer your gcode prints to Micro SD, and insert in the controllers slot to run independently of a PC hookup.
Having messed about with this for a few days now pretty impressed it did print right out of the box…. but the bed really needs leveled and there is NO auto leveling, but for the price that is not a surprise. But once the bed is level I did not need to relevel it again.
I printed loads of little add-on attachments (google for ender3 mods and you’ll find them). Shame the printer didn’t come with them really as some are so obvious.
I added a LANMU microSD card to SD card reader (from amazon) as I have a pile of fill sized SD cards so can print sliced STL files, converted to gcode directly from printer (after transferring the files from PC/laptop). The PC/Laptop USB cable print works fine, even tried an iMAC, the provided Cura software is for Windows only so you’ll have to download other versions from them directly. Once installed you setup a custom printer and start to define the printer parameters then prints are easy. Shame the SD card printing doesn’t tell you how long to go (yes there is a progress bar) but it does tell you how long you have been printing.
The ability to do a filament change process in the software is a nice touch too.
For the price definitely recommended.
I would note that once a print finishes the bed and the nozzle cool down to ambient.
I checked the power spades on the power supply before connecting mine all up, the switch spades were loose.
It comes with a 0.4mm nozzle, which is pretty standard for a 1.75mm filament printer. I have nozzles from 0.1 up to 1mm as well and they swapped in easily (MK8 head). Makes for an interesting comparison.
Marin software that this is based on has the ability to add an auto-level and thermal protection, but adding that will void the warranty 🙂
Update… months later. Still going strong, I have also added a Glass bed and lately a flexible metal one. (Both Creality versions). I’d still recommend this printer.
I ordered this printer for my father who wanted to be able to do some printing at home (I have had several different brands of budget printer Tevo/CTC/DIY etc but never a Creality so this was a bit of a punt, but wanted something simple to use.)
Amazon shipped using Hermes, which caused a delay of a few days due to mis-routing, but not Amazons fault – and I suspect a one off, but even if you are prime do not expect their own couriers to deliver this.
The printer itself is superb for the price point. Assembly was part done out of the box, so finishing up took us around 2 hours without rushing. Instructions were basic, but with a bit of common sense applied can be interpreted easy enough. Pay particular attention to the holes in the extrusion shown in the diagram for clues as to the alignment of each piece. The instructions omit some basic things like how to adjust the v-slot wheels for smooth operation of the axis but if you have watched any of the assembly videos on YouTube you can figure out how to do this. Same goes for levelling the bed for first print, and loading filament – these instructions are not there and you will need to figure it out for yourself / YouTube it.
The tools provided are adequate for assembly and actually pretty good quality (hex ball end Allen keys, sharp scraper not blunt, included pair of side cutters). Wiring was easy, about a dozen pre-labelled connectors (including XT60 connector for power which I was pleased to see.) The power supply terminals are all properly crimped and not just bare threaded into the terminals – so safety has been considered at least a little with this design.
I used Cura to set up the first print, creating a custom printer with heat-bed and setting the bed size and then imported a model to test print – I left every setting at default fully expecting the print to fail and to start the long process of calibration. It printed perfectly first time. I was genuinely impressed with the quality of the print and how sturdy the printer was.
The printer uses a micro-SD card (included) and there was a free USB micro-SD card reader in the box making life simpler. The only comment here worth noting is that it is easy to post the SD card into the control box through a gap just above the actual slot – so care is needed when inserting the card into the printer.
I will be buying a small army of these for mass printing.
Good Points:
* Simple set up, 2 hours for experienced users, maybe a little longer if its your first printer.
* Sturdy design, frame directly bolts together using tapped threads in frame without the use of silly brackets etc.
* Good initial print quality out of the box.
* Part assembled. Wiring done safely.
* Well packaged and protected.
* Plenty of spares / tools.
* Bowden tube makes the X axis lightweight and works well.
Bad Points:
* Wires are routed through a cut out in the underside of the aluminium bar, this has sharp edges and I was concerned about wires rubbing against them during movement (I chose to wrap the cables in a cable protector to mitigate this risk where they pass the cut aluminium).
* Easy to post the SD card into the machine, which would then require partial disassembly to recover it. Extra caution needed.
* Instructions could be a little more elaborate in certain areas. Use community assembly videos on YouTube to get around this.