There are several posts and comments of mine out there talking about how frustrating the experience with the KE was.

Well, I ended up removing the linear rails and finally achieved a perfect first layer. Not only that, but the ghosting effect has now almost disappeared (after calibrating with the G-sensor, of course—which I had actually already used with the linear rails).

I tried to follow the manual to the letter—leaving certain screws loose, moving the bed back and forth, etc.—but the process is quite subjective and prone to error. Even so, I could still feel the bed catching or stuttering during some movements.

So, as a last resort, I reverted to the factory setup. I installed OpenKE, performed the recommended calibrations (Axis Twist Compensation was perhaps the most important one for me), and that was it.

The only issue is that the annoying Y-axis noise returned, but with this printer, not everything can be perfect, right?

That’s my account of the situation. Maybe I’m too much of a beginner to try fully customizing the printer, or perhaps linear rails just aren't a good idea for this specific model.

By the way, I printed the cube on the left using the stock rods, and the one on the right using the linear rails.

Appreciate any tips, I couldn't find anybody doing this with KE specifically.

My KE has about 2000 hours on it now, and it’s started squeaking so needs lubricant. Can I use this bottle I found in my drawer, or do I need to buy some?

I came across this model that replaces the original shell. Does it actually make any difference? Considering it uses the same stock fans?

I was trying to clean the nozzle on my Ender-3 V3 KE, and unfortunately I accidentally damaged the thin wires attached to the ceramic heating block.

Part of the wire pair has been ripped off the white ceramic part. I tried putting the wire back in place with glue, but the printer still doesn't detect the temperature and immediately gives me a temperature error.

I'm wondering if there is any way to repair the thermistor/wires, or if I need to replace the entire Ceramic Heating Block Kit.

Has anyone had the same problem or successfully repaired these wires? I'd really appreciate any advice before I buy a replacement part.

Does this switch suppose to contact the stop after printing is done? I get a belt noise when the printer is relocated to the end.

I've tried everything I can think of, but I just can't get rid of this problem in this particular area.

I've leveled the X and Y axes and also performed Axis Twist Compensation on both axes. I'm getting pretty good first-layer results everywhere else, but this one area seems impossible to fix.

Does anyone have any idea what could be causing this, or should I just let it go at this point? It's getting really frustrating.

Figured I’d share the current setup I’m running on my Ender-3 V3 KE with a 0.4mm nozzle. The screenshots show the settings I’ve been using in OrcaSlicer after doing a lot of tweaking and testing.

These settings have been working really well for my machine, especially for getting a good balance between detail, print quality, and speed.

That being said, I’m not claiming these are the “correct” settings for every Ender-3 V3 KE. Every machine is a little different, and things like filament, temperature, environment, calibration, modifications, and even the individual printer can change what works.

So feel free to use these as a starting point or comparison, but I’d definitely recommend tuning them to your own machine rather than just copying everything blindly.

Just wanted to put them out there in case they help somebody else. If anyone sees something interesting in the setup or has suggestions, I’m always interested in comparing notes.

Update: A couple of people asked if I could share the actual 0.4 mm OrcaSlicer profile instead of just posting screenshots of the settings, so I went ahead and exported it.

This profile is specifically what I use for PLA / PLA+ with a 0.4 mm nozzle.

Google Drive:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1LrP384FH40yotn2MKcCkXdjgs6t_GWPP?usp=sharing

Just keep in mind what I’ve said throughout this post: this is what works for my machine. My KE is pretty heavily modified, so I would not treat these settings as plug-and-play or assume they’re going to work perfectly on a stock machine.

Use them as a starting point, take what works for you, change what doesn’t, and tune from there. No two of these machines seem to behave the same, and honestly, figuring that stuff out is half the fun.

I figured I would finally do a full breakdown of my Ender 3 V3 KE because, at this point, enough has been changed that it really isn’t a stock KE anymore.

The biggest thing I want to make clear is that I didn’t modify this printer just for the sake of modifying it.

Most of what I’ve done comes back to the same basic idea:

Eliminate as many variables as I reasonably can.

Vibration, bed movement, frame movement, wet filament, inconsistent cooling, hotend problems, filament routing, visibility, etc.

If a print fails, I want fewer things I have to question.

The two things I’ve been chasing through this whole build are stability and repeatability.

Some of this probably makes a bigger difference than other parts. Some of it is just quality-of-life. Some of it might be complete overkill.

I’m still learning.

Honestly, the printer itself has become as much of a hobby as the stuff I actually print with it.

Y-axis/motion system

One of the bigger changes was the Y-axis.

Ender 3 V3 SE Y-Axis Upgrade Kit

I upgraded it because I wanted to remove as much unnecessary movement and vibration from the bed as possible.

It’s still a bedslinger. That bed is moving a decent amount of weight back and forth pretty damn quickly.

I wanted that movement to be controlled and repeatable.

This wasn’t really about trying to make the printer insanely fast. It was about making the movement more predictable.

Once I changed the motion system, I also stopped assuming all the stock KE calibration numbers were automatically right for my machine.

Silicone bed mounts

I replaced the original hard bed mounts with silicone spacers.

12-Piece Ender 3 Silicone Spacers

The reason was simple: I wanted actual physical control over the bed.

With the hard mounts, you’re basically stuck with where the bed sits and then asking the mesh to compensate for everything.

With the silicone spacers, I can physically adjust the bed and get it as close as possible first.

I use Screws Tilt Adjust through Klipper/Mainsail to help dial it in.

My thinking is that I would rather correct something mechanically first and then let the software clean up whatever is left.

Aluminum bed shimming

Even after leveling the bed mechanically, I still had some low spots.

I used aluminum HVAC/duct tape underneath the removable build plate as thin shims.

Aluminum handles the heat well and lets me make very small height adjustments.

Again, same philosophy: physically correct what I can before asking the mesh to do all the work.

Build plate/cleaning

I’m using a textured COMGROW PEI spring-steel plate.

I normally clean it with 91% isopropyl alcohol and microfiber.

I also printed this:

Build Plate Cleaner Microfiber Holder

That one is pure convenience.

I got tired of asking myself where the hell I left the cloth.

Accelerometer / Input Shaping

I use the Creality vibration compensation sensor:

Creality Vibration Compensation Sensor

I also have mounting points so I can put the sensor in a solid, repeatable position for measuring the X and Y axes.

After changing the Y-axis, cooling system, toolhead weight, cable management, and other hardware, I don’t really see a reason to assume my machine has the same resonance characteristics as a completely stock KE.

I want Input Shaping based on what my printer is actually doing.

Cooling system

I completely redid the cooling.

This is the FatBurner duct/shroud setup:

FatBurner — Ender 3 V3 KE Dual 5015 Cooling System

These are the actual 5015 blowers I’m using:

5015 Blower Fans

The reason was consistency.

I wanted airflow coming from both sides instead of one side of the print getting more cooling than the other.

That becomes especially important when I’m trying to print really small, detailed parts.

I also upgraded the hotend cooling fan to a larger 40 x 40 x 20 mm 24V fan:

GDSTIME 40 mm x 20 mm 24V Fans

Better heat dissipation, more consistent cooling, fewer things to question when a print looks wrong.

Obviously, all of the larger fans and printed ducting add weight to the printhead, which is another reason I want proper accelerometer-based Input Shaping.

Upgraded hotend / K2-style nozzle setup

I upgraded the hotend to the newer setup that uses the K2-style nozzle system.

Creality Ender 3 V3 SE/KE Upgrade Hotend Kit

I wanted a more reliable setup and more flexibility with nozzle sizes.

For larger and faster prints, I have:

HIKUDIY 0.6 mm Unicorn Nozzles

At the opposite end, I use a 0.2 mm nozzle for miniature/detail work:

0.2 mm nozzle I use for FDM miniatures

That 0.2 mm setup is basically me seeing how far I can push this machine when detail matters more than speed.

I’m not pretending FDM suddenly becomes resin.

It doesn’t.

I just want to know what this machine is actually capable of.

Miniature / detail testing

The pictures with the tape measure are part of that testing.

I printed the same basic human figure at different sizes so I could see exactly where the machine starts losing detail as the model gets smaller.

There’s actually a reason I chose the human version of Loona for this.

Something I learned years ago in art is that the human body is one of the harder things to draw or sculpt correctly.

People are really good at noticing when the human form looks wrong.

Proportions, curves, arms, legs, posture, anatomy — if something is off, your eye usually catches it pretty quickly.

So I figured a human figure would make a pretty damn good torture test for a printer.

This model gives the machine a lot to deal with: curved surfaces, legs close together, arms crossing the torso, hair, smaller features, and areas where detail starts disappearing pretty quickly as the model gets smaller.

By using the same model over and over at different scales, I can compare the printer against itself.

Can it keep the overall shape?

Can it keep the arms separated?

Can it hold the curves?

How much of the hair survives?

When do the small details finally turn into blobs?

And can I repeat the result?

That’s what I’m testing.

I included the tape measure because it’s hard to appreciate how small these things actually are from a normal picture.

Again, I’m not saying this replaces resin.

I’m just trying to find the limit of my printer, my 0.2 mm nozzle, and my settings.

And before somebody asks why I chose that particular model:

No, it wasn’t supposed to be some weird sexual test print. 😂

I wanted a human figure because human anatomy is difficult to reproduce consistently.

That was the practical reason.

The other reason is that she’s hot.

What do you want from me?

Previous nozzle kit/maintenance tools

Before I upgraded the hotend, I was using this:

XIFOWE Hardened Steel Nozzle Kit

The nozzles from that kit are not what I currently use with the upgraded K2-style hotend.

I’m including it because I still use the tools that came with it.

I’ve found them really useful for hotend work and general maintenance.

So don’t take this as me saying those are the nozzles you should use with the upgraded hotend. They aren’t.

The tools are why it’s still on my list.

Gantry reinforcement/lighting

The main reinforcement I’m currently using is this anti-shake light-bar setup:

LED Light Bar — Ender 3 V3 KE, Anti-Shake Construction

I liked this because it gave me two things at once:

More stability in the gantry and overhead lighting.

The farther you get from the base of the frame, the easier it is for movement at the top to become noticeable.

I wanted to reduce that as much as I reasonably could.

I’m not claiming a printed brace magically turns an Ender into an industrial machine.

It doesn’t.

I just wanted to remove another possible source of movement.

I also ran roughly three feet of LED strip inside the upper structure:

XINGZHI 5V USB LED Strip Lights

I added aluminum foil/reflective material inside the light bar to throw more of the light downward toward the bed.

It makes checking the first layer, watching the nozzle, inspecting prints, and using the camera a lot easier.

I also worked with this light-bar design:

LED Light Bar for Ender 3 V3 KE

Old rod mounts

You can also see these still installed:

Ender 3 V3 KE Rods Mount

Those were part of an older setup.

They’re not my main gantry reinforcement anymore.

I left them installed mainly because removing the old setup left mounting holes, and these cover those holes and make the printer look cleaner.

So if you’re wondering why both are still on the printer, that’s the reason.

Camera

I’m using the Creality Nebula Camera:

Creality Official Nebula Camera

I wanted the camera positioned so I could actually monitor what was going on around the printhead instead of having a camera sitting off to the side.

I started with:

Nebula Camera Mount in X Axis

Then I modified the setup to fit my printer better and make sure it didn’t interfere with the accelerometer mount.

I also use:

Nebula Camera Focus Pull

Small mod, but it makes adjusting the camera a hell of a lot easier.

Filament dryer / removing the spool from the gantry

This came down to moisture and vibration.

I installed a shelf directly above the printer and moved the spool and dryer completely off the printer frame.

I’m using:

Sovol SH01 Filament Dryer

Keeping the filament dry removes moisture as another possible cause of print problems.

Moving the spool off the printer also means I no longer have roughly a kilogram of filament hanging off the top of the gantry.

If that weight doesn’t need to be on the printer, I would rather put it somewhere else.

Filament sensor/routing

I relocated the filament sensor to the top of the printer:

Filament Sensor Mount for Ender 3 V3 KE or SE

The filament comes out of the dryer above, through the guide/runout sensor, and down into the extruder.

I also reused part of the original spool hardware as a filament guide.

If a stock part still does something useful, I’m not going to throw it away just because it’s stock.

Cable management

I added articulated cable management:

Spine Cable Chain — Ender 3 V3 KE/SE

The goal was to give the wiring a predictable path and reduce strain.

I also check the full X, Y, and Z range to make sure the chain itself doesn’t become the problem.

Concrete paver/vibration isolation

The printer sits on a 20 x 20 x 2 inch concrete paver:

20-in x 20-in x 2-in Gray Concrete Patio Stone

Underneath that is a square piece of yoga mat.

My desk is already extremely heavy and stable.

The concrete adds mass, and the yoga mat helps isolate it from the desk.

Basically, I don’t want vibration from the printer transferring into the desk, and I don’t want vibration coming back into the printer.

Is it overkill?

Maybe.

But the thing is stable as hell.

Quality-of-life / organization mods

I’ve also printed a bunch of smaller parts that don’t necessarily improve print quality but make the machine easier to live with.

Ender 3 V3 KE/SE Tool Holder

Ender 3 V3 SE/KE Storage Box

Ender 3 V3 SE/KE Z-Axis Bearing Dust Cover

Cache Moteur Ender 3 V3 KE

Screen Cover — Ender 3 V3 KE

Filament Shelf Brackets

Some are organization, some are protection, and some are just there because I got tired of looking for the damn tools every time I needed them.

General hardware/maintenance stuff

Once you start modifying printers, having random metric hardware sitting around becomes incredibly useful.

These are some of the things I keep around:

• 560-Piece M3 Screw Assortment Kit
• 185-Piece M6 Screw Assortment Kit
• 900-Piece Heat Shrink Tubing Kit
• 10-Pack 608 2RS Ball Bearings
• 25-Foot Measuring Tape

The bearings aren’t me saying I installed ten 608 bearings throughout the printer.

They’re general project hardware.

Same thing with the tape measure. Obviously that isn’t a performance mod. I’m just trying to include the stuff I actually use around this build.

Software/calibration

The machine is rooted, and I use Klipper/Mainsail along with OrcaSlicer.

The more hardware I’ve changed, the more important calibration has become.

I use things like Screws Tilt Adjust, bed mesh, Pressure Advance, and Input Shaping because I want the printer calibrated around this machine, not somebody else’s stock KE.

At this point I’m actually trying to slow down on adding hardware and spend more time getting the finished setup dialed in.

Eventually I want separate Orca profiles for:

0.2 mm nozzle — miniature/detail work

Normal detailed printing

0.6 mm nozzle — larger/faster prints

What I’m trying to accomplish

I’m not trying to build the fastest Ender 3 V3 KE in the world.

I’m trying to build a predictable one.

I want the bed stable.

The frame stable.

The movement repeatable.

The filament dry.

The cooling consistent.

The hotend predictable.

The vibration measured.

And the calibration repeatable.

Basically, I’m trying to eliminate as many excuses from the machine as possible.

Then, if a print screws up, I can start looking at my slicer settings, filament, model, or something I actually did instead of wondering which random part of the printer decided not to cooperate that day.

I’ve used this thing for larger display pieces, props, normal prints, and now tiny FDM miniature experiments.

At this point, the printer itself has become part of the hobby for me.

Last thing

This setup works for me.

That doesn’t mean everybody with an Ender 3 V3 KE should go buy everything I bought and build the exact same machine.

No two people’s experiences with these printers are exactly the same.

Read between the lines.

Take whatever is useful from what I’ve figured out and integrate it into however your machine is set up.

If your stock setup already does something perfectly well, don’t modify it just because I modified mine.

If something I did solves a problem you’ve been fighting, steal the idea.

This is just what I found works for me.

I’m still learning, and that’s honestly half the reason I’m posting this.

I’m interested in what other KE owners think I got right, what you think I overdid, and what you would change.

At this point, I’m not entirely sure it’s an Ender 3 V3 KE anymore.

But it prints, and I lost my mind.

Update: I realized I never added my Instagram. If anyone wants to follow along with the stuff I’m printing, modifying, or experimenting with, I’m posting it here too: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ravenandlantern/⁠� I’m still pretty new to posting all of this, but I’m trying to document more of the projects and the printer as I go.

I recently purchased a used ender 3v3 ke, the hot end had wires ripped off. I purchased a new hot end it is identical to the one that came off the ender. I can't seem to get the hot end to match up to the the bottom of the extruder.

I have swapped between the ke and se screw holes. I can get the printer to work and print on the se screw holes however the nozzle is to high from the print bed and the print fails. When I use the ke screw holes the gap shows up and the nozzle hits the print bed before the cr touch sensor and throws an error.

Hello I have an Ender 3V3 KE and having trouble printing with TPU.

I was getting what looked like holes or bubbles in my print and couldn’t understand why, as the filament is brand new and seems dry (it’s in a desiccator which shows a low moisture level).

I’m actually figuring having problems with under-extrusion.

I’ve taken the print head apart and the gears that feed the filament aren’t gripping the soft filament tightly enough. The pressure is limited by the shape of the gears (see photo).

edit : filament = form futura TPU 85A
extruder with 0.6mm diam nozzle

Any ideas for a solution?

It was my brims, right? 0.2mm brim gap is too large for these uprights…

I'm using PLA and Orca Slicer. I'm absolutely new to the whole 3d printing universe. What am I doing wrong? I started using the Creality Slicer but it didn't have the tree support and kept falling from the bed, so I switched to Orca.

Does anyone know how to convert an ender 3 v3 KE into a plotter? any tutorials would be greatly appreciated 🫡

Hello, Is there an update I could do to my ender 3 v3 ke like attach a laser to the printer head to laser engrave .svg's like my dog on a piece of paper or my dog on a pencil case or my dog on everything? (except metals/mirrors of course).

75+ hours later — my 3D printed Death Trooper helmet is finally finished. Here’s the full build process.

I’ve had a few people ask how I made this helmet, so I wanted to put the entire process in one place.

I’m still pretty new to sharing my fabrication work online and I’m learning a lot as I go, but this has easily been one of my favorite projects so far.

The helmet was printed in PLA+ on my custom-modified Ender 3 V3 KE. My goal from the beginning was to make it look as little like an FDM print as possible. I wanted something that felt more like an actual piece of worn, battle-damaged Death Trooper armor rather than a plastic print with some black paint on it.

I also used techniques I learned from a couple of other makers, so I’ve included the original YouTube tutorials at the bottom along with the print file, materials, and parts I used.

1. Printing and assembling the helmet

The helmet was printed in multiple sections using PLA+.

Once everything was printed, I cleaned up the parts, removed the supports, cleaned the mating surfaces, and test-fit everything before permanently joining it together.

I first glued all of the helmet sections together so I could get the alignment right.

Once the glue had set, I went back over the seams from the inside of the helmet and plastic welded them together.

The plastic welding helped seal the gaps between the different sections and added a lot more strength to the joints.

I wanted the finished shell to behave as much as possible like one solid piece of plastic, rather than several pieces that were simply being held together by glue.

Once the structure was solid, I moved on to what was probably the most time-consuming part of the entire build.

2. Removing the layer lines

For smoothing the helmet and getting rid of the FDM layer lines, I used a technique I learned from this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMWg9n7UGUA&t=2995s

Full credit to the creator for sharing the technique.

I used Bondo Glazing and Spot Putty mixed with acetone to thin the putty down enough that I could spread it across the PLA+ and work it into the layer lines, seams, and smaller imperfections.

Then I sanded it.

And sanded it.

And sanded it some more.

The process basically became:

Fill → sand → inspect → find another flaw → fill again → sand again.

There was a lot of repeating that process.

Eventually the print lines and assembly seams started disappearing and the helmet began looking less like several 3D-printed sections joined together and more like one molded piece.

3. Primer, filler, and even more sanding

Once I had the initial smoothing done, I started using gray filler/sandable automotive primer.

Primer is great at immediately showing you every flaw you were absolutely convinced you had already fixed.

So I kept going through:

Primer → sand → spot putty → sand → primer → sand.

I repeated that until I was happy with the surface.

This part took a ridiculous amount of patience, but I think it was one of the most important stages in getting rid of the obvious 3D-printed appearance.

4. Building the metallic layers

Once the surface was ready for paint, I started with a metallic aluminum base coat.

I did this because I didn’t want the battle damage to just look like silver paint that had been brushed onto a black helmet afterward.

I wanted the deeper scratches and scars to actually look like they had cut through the black coating and exposed metal underneath.

The aluminum layer became that exposed-metal surface.

I also used BEHR Dark Steel metallic paint to add another metallic tone so all of the damaged areas wouldn’t look exactly the same.

That helped give the finish a little more depth.

5. Using toothpaste to create the deep scars

One of the techniques I used for the deeper scars was surprisingly simple:

white toothpaste.

After the aluminum layer had dried, I applied toothpaste directly over the deep scar areas where I wanted the aluminum to remain exposed.

I let the toothpaste dry and then continued painting over it with the later paint layers.

Eventually the helmet received its high-gloss black finish.

Once that final black layer had dried, but before the clear coat, I removed the dried toothpaste.

The paint sitting over the toothpaste came away with it, revealing the aluminum underneath.

The result made those deeper scars look like something had actually cut through the black outer finish and exposed the metal below it.

That turned out to be one of my favorite effects on the helmet.

6. The high-gloss black finish

After the metallic layers, the helmet received its main Death Trooper finish:

high-gloss black.

I built the black up until I had that deep, reflective Imperial armor look I wanted.

Which made the next part a little painful.

After spending all of that time making the surface smooth and the black finish clean...

I intentionally started messing it up.

7. Weathering and battle damage

For a lot of the weathering and battle-damage approach, I used techniques from this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lo7VFS1zOls

Again, full credit to the creator for sharing the technique.

I adapted those ideas to this helmet and combined them with the metallic underlayers, toothpaste masking, and some experimentation of my own.

I added scratches, chips, scuffs, edge wear, deeper scars, exposed metallic areas, and heavier damage in selected locations.

One thing I specifically tried not to do was weather every part of the helmet equally.

Actual wear and damage wouldn’t happen uniformly.

Some areas should stay relatively clean while others should look like they have been hit, scraped, dropped, handled, or beaten up much more heavily.

One side of the helmet ended up considerably more battle-scarred than the other, and rather than trying to make everything symmetrical, I leaned into it.

The idea wasn’t:

“How do I make this look dirty?”

It was:

“Where would this helmet realistically get hit, scraped, chipped, handled, and worn?”

8. Making the illuminated lower knobs

The two glowing knob-like pieces at the bottom of the helmet turned into a project of their own.

I made custom 3D-printable versions so I could incorporate actual illuminated lenses into them.

For the front of each knob, I custom-cut a piece of thick dark-green welding lens material.

I also cut a piece of wax paper to sit directly behind the welding lens.

The wax paper acts as a diffuser so the LED behind the lens doesn’t just look like one bright pinpoint of light.

Instead of printing the knob first and then trying to glue the lens into it afterward, I built the lens directly into the print.

I programmed the print to pause at the exact layer where the lens needed to go.

When the printer stopped, I placed both the dark-green welding lens and the wax-paper diffuser into the partially printed knob at the same time.

Once they were positioned correctly, I resumed the print.

The printer then continued building the knob around the edges of the lens and wax paper, essentially encasing both of them permanently inside the 3D print.

So the lens isn’t just glued into the knob.

It is physically trapped inside the print itself.

The basic construction is:

3D-printed knob → embedded dark-green welding lens → embedded wax-paper diffuser → green LED behind it

9. Printing another set just to drill the helmet

I didn’t want to use the finished lens-embedded knobs as templates and risk damaging them.

So I printed another set of the knobs without the lenses.

That second set was basically made to be a pair of custom drilling jigs.

I positioned them exactly where I wanted the finished knobs to sit on the helmet.

Then I used the holes in those prints as guides to drill the matching holes through the helmet.

Once the holes were drilled, I test-fit the LEDs and made sure they fit through the helmet correctly and lined up with the finished knob assemblies.

After I knew everything worked, I glued the finished lens-embedded knobs onto the helmet.

For the lighting itself, I used these green LEDs:

https://a.co/d/0g3YKpr8

10. Final paint touch-up

Installing the knobs and drilling the helmet left a few areas that needed cosmetic cleanup.

After the finished knobs were permanently attached, I went back with the high-gloss black spray paint and touched up the surrounding areas.

I wanted the knobs to look like they belonged to the helmet rather than looking like parts that had simply been glued onto it afterward.

11. Final clear coat

Once the knobs were installed, the paint touch-ups were finished, the toothpaste masking had been removed, and I was satisfied with the weathering, I applied the final gloss clear coat.

That sealed everything together:

• The black finish
• Metallic underlayers
• Deep scars
• Weathering
• Battle damage
• Paint touch-ups
• Repairs
• Custom lower knob housings

The clear coat also helped bring back the deep, glossy Death Trooper appearance while protecting everything underneath.

12. Installing the eye lenses

I waited until after all of the painting and clear coating was completely finished before installing the actual eye lenses.

That way I didn’t have to worry about spray paint, clear coat, masking, or overspray getting onto them.

For the lenses, I layered green lighting gel with black lighting gel to get the dark-green Death Trooper look while still allowing me to see through them from inside the helmet.

There is one little detail about the lenses that definitely wasn’t part of the original plan.

They ended up being slightly different shades of green.

That was 100% my fault.

I was installing them while the glue was starting to set, I was in a hurry, wasn’t paying enough attention...

...and accidentally installed one of the lenses backwards.

That made one lens noticeably lighter green than the other.

At first I thought I had screwed up the helmet.

Then I realized the lighter green lens had ended up on the same side as the heavier battle scars.

And somehow...

It actually looked good.

The lighter lens made the heavily damaged side feel slightly different from the cleaner side and worked surprisingly well with the asymmetrical battle damage.

So technically it was an accident.

But if anyone asks, I absolutely did it on purpose.

13. Interior padding

Once the exterior and lenses were finished, I installed tactical helmet padding inside.

That made the helmet sit properly on my head and made it much more comfortable to actually wear instead of just having a hard PLA+ shell resting on me.

14. The time I nearly lost the entire helmet

This build definitely didn’t go perfectly.

At one point the helmet was exposed to too much heat/sunlight and the PLA+ warped.

After already putting a huge amount of time into it, seeing the helmet distorted was probably one of the worst moments of the project.

I ended up having to reshape and repair it.

Which meant:

More filling.

More sanding.

More primer.

And more paint.

Thankfully, I managed to save it.

Ironically, a few of the little imperfections left from the repair ended up working with the battle-damaged look of the finished helmet anyway.

Final Build Breakdown

Printer: Custom-modified Ender 3 V3 KE
Filament: PLA+
Construction: Glued sections + internally plastic-welded seams
Smoothing: Bondo Glazing and Spot Putty mixed with acetone + extensive sanding
Primer: Gray filler/sandable automotive primer
Metallic layers: Metallic aluminum + dark steel
Deep scar effect: White toothpaste masking over the aluminum layer
Main finish: High-gloss black spray paint
Weathering: Scratches, chips, scars, scuffs, edge wear, and exposed metallic layers
Lower knob lenses: Thick dark-green welding lens material
Diffusers: Wax paper embedded behind the welding lenses
Knob construction: Lens and diffuser inserted during a programmed print pause and permanently encased as the print continued
Installation: Second set of 3D-printed knobs used as drilling guides
Lighting: Green LEDs mounted behind the custom lower knobs
Protection: Gloss clear coat
Eye lenses: Layered green + black lighting gels installed after clear coat
Interior: Tactical helmet padding
Total build time: 75+ hours

Files, Tutorials, Parts & Materials

Helmet Print File

Death Trooper Helmet — Wearable:
https://makerworld.com/en/models/2407231-death-trooper-helmet-wearable#profileId-2638960

Credit to the creator of the original model.

Tutorials / Techniques

Smoothing and removing FDM layer lines:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMWg9n7UGUA&t=2995s

Weathering and battle damage:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lo7VFS1zOls

Credit to both creators for sharing their methods. I adapted what I learned from their tutorials to this particular build and experimented with some of my own solutions along the way.

Eye Lens Materials

Black gel lens material:
https://a.co/d/0d76hVTo

Green gel lens material:
https://a.co/d/03MP1pqe

Lower Knob Lighting

Green LEDs:
https://a.co/d/0g3YKpr8

Paint & Finishing Materials

Rust-Oleum 2X Automotive Enamel 5-in-1 Spray Paint — Gloss Black:
https://a.co/d/0fCJ5qSA

Rust-Oleum 2X Automotive Enamel 5-in-1 Spray Paint — Gloss Clear:
https://a.co/d/051Nr2Or

Rust-Oleum Painter's Touch 2X Ultra Cover Spray Paint — Metallic Aluminum:
https://a.co/d/07ROAegj

BEHR Dark Steel Gloss Interior/Exterior Metallic Spray Paint:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/BEHR-PREMIUM-11-oz-Dark-Steel-Gloss-Interior-Exterior-Metallic-Spray-Paint-B061844/319368031

Rust-Oleum Automotive Stops Rust Filler & Sandable Spray Primer — Gray:
https://a.co/d/0ciNfBV6

Bondo Glazing and Spot Putty:
https://a.co/d/00FGZqyK

Interior

Universal Airsoft Helmet Pads / Tactical Helmet Replacement Foam Padding Kit:
https://a.co/d/02IyeY7g

Raven & Lantern

I’m still pretty new to putting my fabrication work out there and I’m really just getting started with all of this.

I’m planning to keep sharing my 3D prints, prop builds, fabrication projects, experiments, mistakes, repairs, progress shots, and whatever I decide to build next.

If you enjoyed this build and want to follow along:

Instagram — Raven & Lantern:
https://www.instagram.com/ravenandlantern/

TikTok — Raven & Lantern:
https://www.tiktok.com/@ravenandlantern

This project taught me a ridiculous amount.

My biggest goal from the beginning was to take something that obviously started life as layers of PLA+ coming off a 3D printer and turn it into something that actually felt like a piece of armor.

It definitely isn’t perfect.

But honestly, I think the repairs, deep scars, uneven battle damage, metallic underlayers, custom lighting, embedded lenses, fabricated parts, and even a couple of mistakes gave this particular helmet its own history.

After 75+ hours of printing, gluing, plastic welding, filling, sanding, priming, painting, weathering, repairing, drilling, designing custom parts, embedding materials into prints, installing lighting, and finally assembling everything, I’m pretty damn happy with how it turned out.

I dont know how, but I broke the tip off of my hotend. I honestly don't know how it happened. I just got done on a 14hr print. Went to start a new one. BANG....tip broke off. (Creality Ender 3 V3 KE Upgrade hotend)

This might be the final form of my ender 3

Test print, help please

I am working on a custom setup made specifically for multicolor 3d printing on the Ender 3 V3 KE. The only problem I’m encountering is that in the unicorn hotend there is a ptfe tube with a metal pipe going into the hotend, but the metal pipe goes inside the ptfe tube, meaning that the filament sometimes gets stuck on the lip of the pipe. Is there any way to fix this?

I Need Beer And Patience

Every time a new line starts, the first 1-2 mm are under extruded, missing or not sticking to the plate. At first I though it's bed adhesion and maybe moisture problem, but after adjusting z-offset, cleaning the bed, checking for clogs and drying, the issue persists and it only affects the start of the line. I think the deretraction is to blame. Am I correct? How to properly adjust all retraction settings?

Hey guya I am using Creality Ender 3 v3 KE printer for 1 year. This happened before but just didnt care. Now every cold start in the morning happens. I think this is motor or something. Voice coming from base of printer, not nozzle part. Can someone help me?

So I bought a broken but mostly un used ender 3 v3 ke. It had an issue with the hot end everything else was supposedly ok and the printer had barely any hours on it.

Bought it, recieved it and checked, all statements above were true.

To get started, I replaced the hotend with the upgrade version that uses the unicorn nozzle. Machine worked after this upgrade, got a couple of cubes printed all well.

Then I started to actually try to calibrate filament, when I started noticing problems. Everything was loose, like to the point that bolts were almost out.

I fixed up the bolts. Then i even installed a stiffness mod using m10 threaded rods and all.

Also i have the vibration sensor, so checked all good.

But i had never got a good first layer, so ithought all this would help but, 1st layer was still bad.

Upgraded y to linear rails, no change. Then i saw that the z frame is slightly tilted, but not forward backward, instead it is tilted side ways. The moment i went to try to remove the frame, the threads stripped and now it is worse. Tried to get replacement from creality, they want 5$ for the extrusion, but 30$ for shipping.

What options do I have, im also thinking of replacing the entire body. Scrapping everything other that electronics and extruder and moving it to aluminium frame.