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Supports probably aren't needed in the hole for such a small bridge. Try printing a bridge test model and you'll see your printer is much more capable of printing straight lines in midair than you think.

Love seeing the progress! The transition in the beginning was super cool!

Hi

I too have a stack of those little sticks beside each printer. So useful! Now I have a neat holder for my favorite stick. Great video, thanks!

Your storytelling about making stuff is great, and makes me want to make more.

nice

dont use a shutter speed slower than 2x your fps for filming your videos if you dont want the footage to be blurry

this is pretty solid production quality for a beginner, pretty impressive, keep it up

do you really want your bltouch to work ? are you prepared to sacrafice a few things ? easy way , install klipper and start from scratch hard way, custom marlin yourself so the pin layouts are correct ?

Another great video! Loved how you highlighted each upgrade between shots. I also love my Bambu A1 even more now haha.

Hi I wrote you on printables but you didn't answer so I am not sure if you are still active on the platform but I wanted to ask you how are you and congratulate you to 1k sub's and 100 download s on printables.

Haha dude I feel this I picked up a used ender 3 pro and it worked as is. Then. I decided to mod it and hasn’t worked right since

I've spend hours on my ender 3. From small thing like a new board to a massive overhaul, i spend at least 2 or 3 times the cost of the printed in upgrade. Is that worth it ? Hell no. The machine worked fine before, but it's amazing to thinker with it, if you omit the hours of rage and frustration. But i love my Klipper Ender 3, with direct drive and double Z, the machine give me the passion for making machine by myself, i can't imagine buying something else than a kit now, love building my cnc and laser, that was the best machine for me.

Uh, hey, dry your filament. Like really. Then you won't get all that stringing and those branches. And your dual-z/anti-backlash nuts probably improved the accuracy of your first few layer heights. If you're going to bother with firmware, and you have a pi already hooked up, just skip to Klipper, it's just better. Makes doing further upgrades a lot easier.

I got the sprite extruder pro for my V2 Neo, installed it and only then realized the geniuses at Creality had moved the X axis endstop from where it was on the V2. Ended up having to ziptie it onto the extrusion and angle it with a bit of plastic underneath it so the plate on the new extruder could actually hit it. Then I had to print a new mounting solution for it, which turned out not to work, because Creality also decided that the clicker PCB would no longer need screw holes that all these designs relied on, finally ended up finding one where you can slide it into place and got everything working again. On the bright side, now I'll be able to print with PETG

Two years ago? Maybe worth it to compete against a Prusa Mk3. Then Bambu dropped a bomb on the industry and everyone is in a mad scramble to keep up and throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks. Upgrading a 10yo design printer makes zero sense these days when current models already have the low hanging fruit done for pennies.

just buy a good printer off the go, i have had 2 ender 3's and they only cause headaches in the end,. i will NEVER buy another creality product.

Dual-Z isn't for z-wobble(if anything it could make it worse by adding more over-constraints). It's to get rid of inconsistent layer-heights across the distance of the x-gantry. The gantry itself is a giant springy cantilever held up by V-rollers that deform under pressure. The way the rollers are tweaked, can help address this, but the heavier you make the extruder(direct drive) the worse the problem gets, then you have to make the rollers tighter.. things bind more.. they would wear out prematurely, skipped z-steps from excessive friction..

upgrading and learning is the muhfuggin fun part. duh

The only mod i did on my ender 3 v2 neo is a filament guide to make feeding the filament from the top more consistent as it makes a 75° bend otherwise. I've replaced snapped belts as well and changed nozzles but that has been powering my 3d printer to make some cool knick knacks and special storage cases for my junk

Who said you could be in my brain?

Awesome video! I'm fed up with ender 3 v2 and S1 Pro. Total time wasters, I'm getting an X1C or P1S soon.

For the bed leveling, it might be your slicer The auto-home instruction disables it - so you need to re-enable it. I use the following bit in my start G-Code: G28 ; auto-home G29 ; build auto-level mesh M420 S1 ; auto-bed leveling

For Ender 3 v2 the only must-have mod is upgrading extruder (this cheap, Chinese, red aluminium dual-gear works great), as stock are faulty and crack over the time. Also it's worth getting better springs for the bed to care less about bed-leveling, they are very cheap and save you a lot of time. Well, for me also dual Z-axis was mandatory as my printer out of stock came with a bit wonky / not square frame and only dual Z-axis helped a bit, well actually a lot (yeah googled for this issue and followed many tutorials, it was frame's not assembly's fault) Overall: just print and enjoy and take care about the planet by not printing too much unnecessary garbage 😁

Can I recommend the Raspberry Pi zero? You can get several (I have) for the price of a proper Pi and use them to not get around to doing several cool things.

Hey men, what a great video, if you have edited the video by yourself, you have my very deep respect, your video have one of the smoothest transitions of all 3d printing related videos. Go on, you are doing fantastically, you're going to go very far.

IMHO this isn't all bad. As a software engineer, I get a fair number of questions from interested young people about "What should I write, though?" That's the problem, isn't it? Low-end 3d printers provide a TON of built-in problem-solving, plus a community to provide frustratingly-close-but-not-quite suggestions. It's like real work, except you know the problem is solvable.

i prefer klipper over octo

I got an ender 3 v2 and I got some thoughts: -a bi-metal heatbreak has been working fine, it was the cheapest I found on aliexpress -I never understood the benefits of octoprint so never tried -v-slot covers are such a stupid mod, I also printed them and they didn't fit and I hammered them in and broke some -dual-z axis motors was a good investment, because I also printed a direct drive mod (printhead is heavy) -I got a thick thermal insulation on the bed and it hit the stepper motor too :DDD I just trimmed it -there was some reason I got the silicone spacers, maybe it was related to the BLtouch I installed? -custom firmware was necessary for the BLtouch Overall I think this video is great, very relatable :D

Tip for the firmware/bed levelling issues you are experiencing: Use klipper! I know it seems daunting at first, but its SO worth it! I myself have upgraded to klipper from my marlin machine, and it had a pretty steep learning curve, but I can honestly say it has been the best upgrade I have done to my printer (which is more than I want to admit) - both print quality and speed wise, but also for the quality of life improvements the firmware offers. If you decide to give the firmware a try, one of the first plugins I would recommend is the KAMP plugin. Kamp is a mesh levelling program which is far superior to anything I have tried in the past. And I wont doubt in a second it would help you with you´re bed levelling issues! Hope it helps!

man after two years or so the only upgrades that I installed on my ender3 v2 is a side spool mount and the vslot covers. niw though im probably gonna be upgrading to a full metal hotend as i needed it to print using PET filament.

I did just one upgrade for my Ender-3 - and id DOUBLED my print speed! What was it? Oh - another Ender-3...

This is a great video as it perfectly captures how my printing experience has been with my Ender 3 V2. I calibrated it when it was stock and had amazing first prints. Then i decided to "upgrade" and it got worse and then better again. Repeat that cycle a few times, especially with installing klipper. Now I have all the parts for the belted dual z mod and I'm thinking i should print some stuff while the printer is working before I mess it up again.

These are some generalized opinions, not just for an ender 3: Light bar: can be extremely useful, good mod for any printer, i used to have a desktop led lamp just over my printer for a long time before attaching some led strips permanently Alternate spool mounts: sometimes unnecessary, but in the case of an ender 3 type machine, this is superior for the bowden setup assuming you have the space, it is still better to have it on top if you go for direct drive though Better bowden tubes: makes sense for a bowden setup, otherwise not worth Bi-metal heat breaks: they serve their purpose, you can get away with just a single material full metal one with no issues though Octoprint: IMO, if you're connecting a computer (like a pi) to your printer anyways, i'd highly recommend going the extra step and just switching to klipper firmware, you can gain so much more compared to just uploading gcode over the network, and having a video feed pi case: i wouldn't consider this a separate mod, but a part of the previous one where you add the computer, however it's an important part of doing it Vslot covers: not really my thing, but useful if you don't like cleaning your printer since they sometimes help blocking debris getting into the slots multi z axis: if you have a bed leveling sensor, this is amazing, if not, really depends if your prints are turning up fine or not (dimensionally) anti-backlash nuts: yes, use them, always Buildplates: they are a wear and tear item to begin with, even when they seem fine, they lose their stick over time, so a new print surface is a must eventually Tactile bed leveling: really only makes sense if you have large bed leveling knobs, if your printer doesn't fit large wheels, you don't get enough precision when leveling Silicone bed springs: haven't tried them myself, my springs have been great so far (4 years of printing) Direct drive: yes, it's amazing, i'm never going back to bowden Cable guides: always a good idea if your printer doesn't have a decent solution for them Overall, not a bad choice of mods, i would've done it a bit differently, but that's the beauty of 3d printers, you can do whatever you want hah

okay the edition in this video is soo cool, I'm looking at 3d printing stuff as a hobby to distract from my video editing job and now I watch this and go "whooo I wanna do that cool effect"

To run autobedleveling on ender 3s you usually have to put m420 s1 in the gcode start up in the printer settings of the slicer

Klipper’ize it.

Have you added the GCODE to your start code to actually use the bed levelling info? I was using CURA on my Ender 3 and didn't have that code on so, for almost a year, I was not actually using the levelling info, despite doing a level in Professional Firmware with the CR Touch before every print.

Very funny. You had me at Ender 3

I did some mild uprades to my ender 3.. none of them made any actual difference.. What would have made a difference is investing the upgrade money in a faster printer in the first place.. because the print time and the noise level are the things that are actually not making me use the printer..

So about the auto bed leveling.. I leveled the bed once when I got the printer and that was it. I never had to redo it, so why is it so important for people?

I wasted so much time and filament with the bed leveling that I'm sure that I made back the time I lost installing my CR-Touch. I also love my PEI bed and dual gear extruder. Those are the upgrades that made a difference, not in print quality but in reliability.

I’ve spent double on upgrades than I paid for the stupid thing at the start. Sonic Pad, Orbiter V2, CR touch, PEI sheet, the LED light bar and dual z-axis kit. Don’t care, still love the machine as I modify everything I buy anyways . But, my Kingroon KP3S Pro ($125) and a Quadra for Klipper is just better all around. Now I crave the Infimech TX.

And this is why if I ever bought a new printer to replace my 5 year old Ender 3 it will be a Bambulabs one. 😂

Great Video! It's refreshing to see someone who doesn't try to accomplish a project using only the printer and ignoring all the other tools/techniques we have. Multi colour prints are neat and all, but a little paint can do so much more... If you want to go down another hobby rabbit hole. Investing in an airbrush can really up your painting game ;)

With ender 3 v2 with bl touch , i am using the UBL mesh gcode examples that are with marlin's firmware. I will try and link them in a bit. It works for me though and i also bought the printer second hand , with bl touch and with no previous knowledge of anything "3d printers" i figured everything out the same day . Because i had in my mind to upgrade it before i even got it. Thank God for that because i installed dual z screw because the gantry was hitting the print before it every time it moved because it travelled through the print and was crooked without the second z axis. The previous owner had installed some things wrong, some wires had been melted etc and it helped that i remade the whole thing. So anyway i at least learned how to disassemble and maintain it from the start. I would post my start gcode if it helps.

Nice Video, i have two i3 Clones build as Kit, two Ender 3 v1, a Tronxy and a Bambu Lab X1C. The Ender 3 pro with the damaged Motherboard is now rebuilded as a Voron Switchblade Clone. The other Ender 3 got all the Electronics upgrades etc. Just did a 20 hours rebuild on it. For the Springs: The most common use for the Springs the Bed and reduce the need for Manuell Bed leveling. So either Clicky Wheels or Springs, both is overupgrading. The Side Spool is for reducing friction on the Bowden Drive, the first series of Ender 3 even had problems with PLA eating into the Plastik of the Feeder. So Guide Arm and Wheels are not uncommon for this Reason. Syncronised Dual Z-Axis: It prevents the loosing of the rollers on the non Axis side. Together with a BL-Touch Ender 3 results in awefull results. So either tensioning the Rollers regularly or Dual Z-Axis. For the Firmware Problem: Which Motherboard do you have ? What do i mean by which Motherboard? When this is a Ender 3 V2 Neo then you have mose likely a 4.2.7 Motherboard or the older 4.2.2. But which Stepper Driver is on it? There is most likely a Letter Marking on the Card Reader Slot. H is the lucky Letter as it has the TMC 2225 Steppers. Search for: "Klipper Discourse Group Creality Board 4.2.2 Schematics " There you find a full guide which Stepperdrivers you have, which Board you have. It is a can of worms and there are about 6 different or more Varients of this Boards around. Searched 4 hours till i got the BL-Touch on my Working Ender 3 Board running. One Upgrade is missing: New rollers. The Bearings of the standard Rollers are open, there are heavy duty rollers out there, which costs not much more but have a cover over the bearings which prevents dusts and microplastik destroying the Bearings. I said that i rebuilded one Ender 3 v1. It is now on the Specs of a Ender 3 V2, as it had the 4.2.2 board with TMC 2225 Drivers and now Bl-Touch, but still has the old stile Display. It got a lot of Upgrades now and it can print as well as my Bambu Lab X1C. For about 4 hours, then it needs to be recalibrated. For a Beginner i would recommend something like the Bambu Lab A1 or A1 mini. For the Cheap Ender 3v3 no 3v2. The 3v3 Lineage has linear Rails for the Bed, which are much much much better and more durable. The Bed-Rollers are the most common failure Point for Cheap Bedslingers. The Ender 3v3 SE is costs less then 5% more then a 3v2 Neo, but will last longer and print better. But watch for the differences in Hotend etc.

I've done all this on the several printers I've owned (all Creality ones) since I first got into 3D printing in June 2020. My most recent being the Ender 2 Pro which was performing nicely, until about a week ago when the motherboard decided to die. Not wishing to go through the hassle of trying to source what is a non standard part, or bodging another board into the case, I decided to splash out on a Bambu Lab A1 Mini. I received it yesterday, and all I can say is WOW! What a difference between the A1 Mini and everything I've used in the past, it's like night and day. The printer just works, perfectly, right out of the box, and boy is it fast! I'm printing something right now that will take the A1 Mini just over 3 hours, whereas it took my Ender 2 Pro just over 7 hours! And the quality is there too, top notch. I'm never going back to anything else after this - my tinkering, modding, and upgrading days are over 🙂.

Beautiful work man. I can speak as a CZcams producer from a previous career, and currently a maker, all that shit aint easy and it does take foooreeever. You're putting in some amazing work right of the jump dude. Would love to connect and chat. Subscribed.

FINALLY a video that truly shows the "dark" side of 3d printer tweaking. Sure, it's satisfying to successfully implement upgrades to your printer, and see tangible results from your tinkering, but holy HELL is the journey there not always sunshine & rainbows.