Ender 3
The cheap printer that keeps getting the expensive treatment
The cheapest popular 3D printer there is. I have been slowly rebuilding it with better rails, a toolhead of my own design and new software, and it is where ideas get tried before they go near the good printers.
| Started as | Creality Ender 3, stock |
|---|---|
| Firmware | Klipper on a Raspberry Pi 4 |
| Toolhead | My own design: converts the printer to direct drive |
| X axis | MGN12 linear rail in place of the V-wheels |
| Z axis | One side on a linear rail, the other still on V-wheels |
| Next | Second Z rail and a second Z motor |
Why bother with an Ender 3
The Ender 3 is the printer everyone starts with: a bed that slides back and forth, a hot end that moves left, right and up, and a frame of aluminium extrusion held together with hope. It prints surprisingly well for the money and badly in ways that teach you how printers work. Mine is the machine I try ideas on before they go anywhere near MrMakeIt or the Micron+.
What has been done
Klipper. The printer’s own controller board now runs Klipper, with the planning done on a Raspberry Pi 4 beside it, the same firmware family as my other two printers. That brings input shaping, pressure advance, a web interface and the ability to tune the machine without reflashing anything.
A direct-drive toolhead I designed myself. A stock Ender 3 pushes filament through a long tube from a motor on the frame, which makes retractions sloppy. I drew a new toolhead in SolidWorks that puts the extruder motor on the carriage, right above the hot end, and printed it. Designing it rather than downloading one was most of the point.
Linear rails. The X carriage rode on plastic V-wheels, which wear, loosen and leave lines in prints. It now rides on an MGN12 linear rail. One side of the Z axis has had the same treatment.
What is next
The other side of the Z axis still runs on wheels. When it gets its rail, it will also get its own motor, so the two sides can be levelled against each other by the firmware instead of by hand. After that, it is a question of what the next experiment is.
Photos
A proper photo set is coming. The printer lives powered off between experiments.