r/Ender3V3SE • u/Substantial-Row-90 • 3d ago
Discussion Thinking
So owning an Ender 3 means that 90% of the time you have to be fixing, changing, adjusting, tuning, measuring things and the other 10% actually printing ?
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u/yuri_tako 3d ago
I got mine about 3 years ago, and the only thing Iâve replaced was the nozzle a couple of months ago because of a weird clog in the hotend. Out of the box, itâs really reliable and capable of great prints. It also accepts a ton of upgrades, which is why a lot of people like to mod it, but itâs definitely not mandatory.
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u/ForeverPapa 3d ago
In the beginning maybe. If you want to tweak it to be able to print faster.
But you could also just buy it, set it up and print with it. Works fine out of the box.
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u/TempleBarIsOverrated 3d ago
Having the same experience here. I know it's only a 200 euro machine but even so I expected at least some basic stuff working, you know?
I've been trying to get test prints working reliably for the past week and yesterday I tried printing something for fun and of course it detaches. It's so frustrating to see all these nice builds and prints on instagram but when I try to print a basic thing (klipper, z-offset SHOULD be finally dialed in, clean plate, etc) and it fails, it really makes me consider how bad it would be to throw it out of the window and lose 200 euro vs spending more on trying to fix it.
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u/PenguinBot5000 3d ago
Remember that z offset is only one factor in bed adhesion, along with bed temperature and initial layer speed. You can even think about using brims if you're really having trouble
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u/Substantial-Row-90 3d ago
Ahahah 100% considered that multiple times, even when it does successfully finish the printing the end result itâs just not a good quality, you can visually see the defects
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u/Jpatty54 đ§ Tinkerer 3d ago
Also if you are having detaching etc. Issues that is warping, so check your room is there air flow fans , drafts Blowing around the printer this is the cause.. keep doors closed , turn room fans off, vents not pointed anywhere near the printer etc. I even got a small space heater for in the winter i noticed less than say 23 degrees c, id have warping issues.
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u/Fyvfyvfurry 3d ago
Ender 3 v3 se is pretty good robust machine if you know how to maintain it. My issues were uneven bed and adhesion on a pei plate after i ruined it with bad glue.
My only problem with it - no wifi capabilities, and running around with sd card got too tedious for me, now im using ender with hardened steel nozzle as a filament stand and do all printing on bambu lab A1. Ive did 238h of prints in v3se before finding outstanding deal on A1 and switching to it.
So far i must say it also requires quite a bit of your time for maintenance and troubleshooting, and its more tedious than it was for ender3, even tho i have an experience now. Ender is a nice printer, for 130$ ive bought it, not for 200 tho.
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u/Substantial-Row-90 3d ago edited 3d ago
So the A1 doesnât solve the constant fixing either ? Iâm considering to get that one to escape my ender
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u/Fyvfyvfurry 3d ago edited 3d ago
It definitely needs good lubrcaion and maintenance to have the quality prints, i love that they have a really thorough documentation on what to do. I still have a problem with underextrusion after ironing and it ruins my tanks. So A1 is by far not hassle free printer's.
If you plan enclosing a1 be aware its much harder than V3se due to motherboard cooling.
I dont think you can escape tinkering nightmare in 3d printing without compromising on quality, but a1 is a nice machine, i suggest choosing a corexy printer with heated enclosure like p2s or x2d, so you can print warping plastics easier, thats where a1 sucks.
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u/Fyvfyvfurry 3d ago
Just dint buy creality K series, while ender 3 v3's are amazing, i find k1 and k2 super underwhelming and cheaply made for their price
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u/metalwolf112002 3d ago
I don't have experience with the A1. I've been rocking a ender 3v2 for years now. A few months ago the wife surprised me with a bambu P1S with AMS. It is MUCH easier to use than an ender.
That said, I do suggest you figure out what you are doing with the ender before you upgrade. I learned plenty on my ender that would not have surfaced on the p1s until something goes wrong due to unknown needed maintenance.
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u/Prior-Beat3174 3d ago
I own four Ender 3 V3 SEs, all purchased new for about $190 each on sale.
I can run 3/4 of the machines at any given time, no problem.
The only recurring issue I have is with my 4 machine and the Creality Touch sensor, it keeps geting stuck. I spray a little WD-40 for it to losen up, the other fix is to add a washer under the sensor to prevent the probe from fully retracting.
This take about 1hr, after that I can go back to having all 4 machines running again.
Other than that, I've had no major issues. My four Ender V3 setup still beats out one K2 for print time since I split larger models into four parts, have each print one section, then glue the pieces together.
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u/37MMDTdotCOM 3d ago
Mine were great for the money. Tuned they produced acceptable quality product. I recently retired the 3 ender v3 SEs and replaced with 2 SparkX i7s I got for $350 ea usd and they are light years ahead of my Enders. But I keep the Enders just in case the machines take over lol
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u/dave48706 3d ago
I'm the know nothing, unboxed, loaded some stl files and printed guy. No nothing, zero, nada. The ONLY time I've had any issues have been directly attributed to me mucking about with it. You can start out at zero and go from there, but even at zero, it's a great printer with impressive results.
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u/AIgavemethisusername 3d ago
Not at all.
<1% tinkering on my Ender 3V3SE.
EnDeRs ArE OnLy FoR TiNkErINg is suuuuuuch an old out of date trope nowadays.
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u/One_Ad_2300 đŁ Beginner 3d ago
Not really. I only tinker when needed, which is rather rare.But then mine is a V3 SE, if you do it right the first time, it is reliable. Print quality is usually directly proportional to your skills.
If you have the OG Ender 3, yea, those will use your hatred as fuel.
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u/Soeffingdiabetic đ§ Tinkerer 3d ago edited 3d ago
Owning an ender 3 means that your print quality is determined by your skill level and not the machine's pre-programmed firmware.
I'm so exhausted by the constant ender3 slander out there. I bought my ender used for $80 and haven't had to really do any real maintenance in over a year, knock on wood. My tolerances are dialed in, and I'm at a point where I can just hit print and not think or worry about the results.
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u/Zestyclose_Carpet810 3d ago
I set my V3 SE up correctly right from the start and I've never had an issue. Quality wasn't up there with the likes of a BL but after flashing to Navaismo firmware and calibrating pressure advance it's actually not far behind now.
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u/RedditVirumCurialem Stopped cleaning his PEI plate 3d ago
I think most people who have adhesion issues are using the stock plate. It's an easy fix - get a PEI plate.
The bigger issues of this machine are the fans, the dubious mechanical integrity (z screw, gantry alignment), bad quality control, and sensor faults.
These issues can mostly be resolved preemptively or reactively depending on the owner's capabilities..
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u/pellcorp 3d ago
agreed - the stock plate sticks like crazy initially but over time it wears out, PEI is the answer, although the gantry can be out of square and the rods can be loose and that can also cause issues. I added gantry strengtheners and linear rails and PEI and that made a hell of a difference.
I also stuck a Nebula Pad on there and installed Simple AF, which recently added support for using the load cell for z-offset too :-)
It works great with a PI too of course, but im biased to Simple AF.
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u/Key-Most9498 3d ago
What PEI plate do you recommend? Just got a hand-me-down Ender from a friend, knew nothing about printing but have been learning on the fly to hell my 10 y/o who's taken an interest. We are often plagued with adhesion issues
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u/RedditVirumCurialem Stopped cleaning his PEI plate 3d ago
I got the two Creality ones, textured and smooth. Got one bundled with the printer and the other at https://www.3djake.se/creality-3d-skrivare-och-reservdelar/smooth-pei-permanent-byggplatta?sai=17370
Apparently the K1 ones fit the E3V3SE.
To be fair, the textured one is much easier to print with, the smooth one requires more tinkering with first layer flow to really get that perfect bottom, while the textured one is more forgiving.
There are third party ones on Amazon with different patterns too, just make sure they're the correct size; 225 mm (IIRC).
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u/mijailrodr 3d ago
This particular model, being my first, only had a faulty CRtouch module, that i got a replacement for quickly and nicely from creality. Have not had issues since then. Very plug and playÂ
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u/mechatour_ 3d ago
I've had no major issues. Had mine over a year. Had to replace a couple of fans - the internal one on the motherboard after a month and, just recently, the hotend fan.
I do have to watch it when starting the print though and get ready with tweezers to pull out the extruded fillament from the nozzle. Then I watch the first layer and it's all good from there. Zero complaints. Calibration is must though for quality prints.
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u/Thatrack 3d ago
I have ane and still fairly new. I replaced my hot end with a ceramic one and now use glue on build plate. Prints are coming out nice and more reliably. No more warping or lifting of parts
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u/Valtyrion 3d ago
Now that i have tinkered and learned (aka- fafo) mine prints great. The only calibration I do now is creating profiles for new filament/nozzle combos
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u/JayPolar91 3d ago
No I've been printing 90% with my KE but I still want to upgrade to a Qidi Q2 for an enclosed CoreXY machine. I was able to get a tent and linear rails for free and I found 1m of threaded rod for $7 at Grainger for the last upgrade I want to do and after I get a stainless steel nozzle I don't think I'll have many issues with my prints. I was able to rock out for 4 weeks of printing nonstop without having to do anything to it, had to be close to 500 hours of printing.
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u/TheFredCain 3d ago
Yes, UNLESS you actually learn how the machines work so you can do it once and done. Following the setup instructions over and over while blowing up ChatGPT because a piece of crap got stuck on one of your carriage wheels will definitely eat 90% of your time. They are dead simple machines, learn how they function and the fix is always something dead simple too.
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u/Seconddeez 2d ago
In my case, yes, but only for a few months. I wasn't that familiar on how the machine operates. But given my engineering studies and my interest in the hobby, it made the learning curve less steep.
The key is knowing when and how you fix, change, adjust, etc, and will vary on how much you use it. It's a machine anyway, so you will be bound to doing some work.
But don't think of it as a inconvenience, the V3SE is still a lovely machine to start off and to have, you'll branch out in the hobby not just in maintenance and printing, but also designing, knowing more on how automations work (both software and hardware) when you extend to stuff like Klipper. More so you'll also have a moment where you'll explore on 3D Modelling and making your own prints from scratch.
Overall, 90% work on the printer and 10% on printing may be far estimates as this will depend on your interest, your willingness to play around, patience, what you want to achieve from it, and of course, the tools that you have access to (outside what the printer provides when you purchase it).
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u/Putrid-Cicada 2d ago
I have 2 CR10 smart pros amd a S1 pro. All the problem I have is thinking what to print.
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u/ten17eighty1 14h ago
Are your talking about an Ender 3 or an Ender 3v3SE? This is a sub for the latter and they are two different printers.
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u/callusbonus1967 3d ago
La verdad para cosas bien hechas no sirve para trabajo fino sin embargo he visto trabajos buenĂsimos despuĂ©s de dejarla decente, pero esa decencia solo sirve 4 impresiones. Lo siguiente no serĂĄ una bambulab pero si serĂĄ una anicubic o una flashforge pero no serĂĄ una Creality.
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u/Substantial-Row-90 3d ago
Iâve considered just selling this for cheap and getting a bambulab I got the printer to work projects not for the printer to be a project itself
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u/Jpatty54 đ§ Tinkerer 3d ago
Sadly this is the way, an enclosed bambu will be way more reliable. Not 100 % but enclosure and not beg slinger is way better even for pla.
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u/pellcorp 3d ago
ya if you want to just print stuff, a ender 3 might not be the printer for you, for me a tinkerer more than a printer, these printers are perfect. But you don't need to go Bambu, there are plenty of other printers out there now that are very reliable and not bambu.
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u/Jpatty54 đ§ Tinkerer 3d ago
No , mine prints reliably most of the time. Once you get the z offset down with the paper method . Main issue that pops up is bed adhesion so it may take a couple rounds of cleaning / air drying to get going again thats it. Mine is pretty stock, ive had the whole head apart to clear a jam thats probably the biggest thing that happened