Are modified 3D printers better? Stock vs upgraded Ender 3 comparison 

Hopefully my answer to this question can pour water on some of the flame wars I've seen about this question. Another criticism I see is that a person might start with a cheap printer and then spend much more than its purchase price upgrading it. People ask: Why not just buy the more expensive printer in the first place? 1. Maybe the person can only afford small amounts at all. 2. Maybe the person is aiming to learn about their printer and get their hands dirty rather than buy an off the shelf solution. 3. Maybe the person just really enjoys tinkering and tuning 3D printers. In my opinion each scenario is fine, as is the one when someone buys an expensive printer because that's what meets their needs.

I probably spend more time upgrading my 3D printers than I spend printing useful thing with them... it's part of the fun

You should absolutely not modify because once you start it's over, you'll never stop tweaking the printer or buying that next part for a mod. It's heroin printing nerds.

My E3 has always printed well so I tend to add upgrades when I wear something out. The stock extruder worked fine but when it eventually wore out, I replaced it with an all metal dual gear model. When my build surface got worn and damaged, I replaced it with a spring steel PEI model. With a nice new build surface to work with, I decided a BLTouch would be a good way to keep it in good shape. The nice thing is, upgrades to an Ender are generally inexpensive and easy to add over time. Many thanks to all the great YTubers like Michael that make it easy to choose and install all the various Ender upgrades.

I always tell people when they purchase a new 3D printer is to leave the machine stock, and get it printing good quality before upgrades, throwing upgrades at problems almost always never solves the problem.

The best answer to "What mods should I do?" I've seen. Every newbie is bombarded with answers to this question that list every must-have mod. Many of them will only complicate the problems they are having. My answer has always been, don't do anything yet. When you are producing the great prints the Ender 3 is capable of, then and only then will you know what mods YOU need and have the experience to evaluate them. My answer on the forums from now on is going to be a link to this video.

This video brings up some great points. 3D printing isn't always about print quality, sometimes it's about ease of use and quality of life. Having a magnetic bed changed my printing experience and made it so much more pleasing

Nice summary Michael. You explained everything very clearly. I suspect though that you are close to doubling the cost of the original stock Ender 3 with all those upgrades. That also has to be added to the decision to upgrade.

I enjoy modifying my print and with Michaels help, it has been easy to do. I’m not doing this to make better prints, I do this because it is fun. Tinkering with mechanical and electrical gadgets is something I have always enjoyed. Thanks for all of the time you put into making these videos. Now I have a laser cutter\engraver and would like to see more video about that. Thanks again!

I would like to have my ender 3 just like yours the one modified but my lack of knowledge and how expensive is to import the parts to my country make it impossible it is always great to watch all your videos you are such a smart person

Now that i have owned and modded my Ender 3 Pro for a year i can probably draw some conclusions: 1. Don't buy the basic Ender 3 (Pro). Get something like the Neo or S1 if you can afford it in any way. 2. If it prints fine (enough), don't touch it. 3. You will buy the features of the Neo/S1 at some point anyway. 4. The best upgrades (in that order) are automatic bed leveling, a silent board and the dual z drive. 5. Some cheap but useful upgrades are harder bed springs, a filament holder with bearings and a better fan duct.

It's a tool and a hobby and there is a lot of fun had adding the mods for me. Your guides have helped me add a better build plate, BL-Touch, E3D direct drive and Octoprint. Is it the end, I doubt it as you inspire me with a new controller as next probable mod :) the only disappointing mod for me was Octoscreen as was a lot of effort and I'm almost never using it, already back to the much better Octoprint interface. Many thanks for the guides and support.

I have found Michael's Ender 3 tutorials invaluable and perfect for my needs. The Ender 3 is a fantastic starting point, especially for the price. I love the option for incremental upgrades as I get the funds to do so. Not only that, I thoroughly enjoy the experience of doing these upgrades myself, even if following guides, it grows my knowledge and I become more attached to my printer. I would love to commit more time to learning the hard way, Michael saves me that time with his fantastic and informative videos and I have zero regrets getting an Ender 3. Creality really should give him a sponsorship for the service he provides us end users. In my short time with 3D printing and owning an Ender 3, I felt I knew the answer to the question posed, and Michael delivered the answers methodically and as expected. Standalone the Ender 3 is awesome, but the upgrades here and there really make you feel much more in tune with 3D printing as a concept and proud of what you learn along the way and knowing the subtle benefits. I think it must be very comparable to a petrol-head gloating about their car specs to a person who is happy to just let the garage sort out the maintenance. I didn't buy into this just to 3D print, I wanted a hobby and I cannot recommend the Ender 3 enough, as well as Michael's videos to re-assure along the journey. I have a Raspberry Pi with Klipper fw and I have yet to isolate why, after an amount of time, usually over 10 hours, the printer will just die and only a reboot of the printer and the Pi will bring it back to life, but any print on the go will have failed. I think this is down to OctoPi but so far it has only ruined a few prints. In my brief experience I feel you want to print direct from an SD card as much as possible. In time I will upgrade the Melzi board but I feel the Pi upgrade was worth the risk even though it's only a relatively slight improvement in terms of print head motion. I removed a lot of plugins but the issue has remained, the longer the printer has been active the more likely a fail could happen. I bought heatsinks for the Pi but this did not resolve it. Any advice on this is welcome. My one criticism is there could/should be more dog cameos.

Great video as always 👍 A cost comparison between the stock and modified printers would be a great addition to the video.

Make it so I don't gouge prints or the bed with a scraper: Yes Make it so leveling is repeatable/reliable: Yes Make it quieter: Yes Make print quality better: Doesn't seem like any of these mods are significantly effective Make it more reliable over time: Probably depends on how many hours per week/month you are printing. Make it more maintainable: Probably only do these mods as needed. e.g. burn up a driver then replace board with one that has replaceable drivers. (If that wasn't already done as a part of making it quieter). Make the UI better: Meh. I'm pretty adaptable. Keep up the great videos. Thanks.

An excellent review of Ender 3 upgrades. My Ender is very mildly upgraded. However, I often see comments regarding bed leveling. My machine had a seriously bent bed from the start so I went to the glass master and got a glass plate cut to size. Since then, bed leveling is very rarely needed, and when needed it takes a minute or two. But to reduce the noise level, I look forward to doing that! Thanks for all the great print videos 👍🇸🇪

I have a Sovol SV02 that I bought mid-February, and it was my first 3D printer. Since then I upgraded to a flexible sheet metal bed and added a BL Touch. I do consider both of these additions essential. The SV02 is generally a very solid printer and I really like it, but the bed upgrade and BL touch are really what makes it stand out for me. I've also added a few 3D printed parts like filament guides to prevent too tight a corner in the feed, which also helped quite a bit. Overall, I think upgrading your printer is a good idea, especially as a "reaction" to something that you feel could be improved, like the automatic levelling

I always wanted to get into 3D printing and the fact that you can mod your printer got me more into the hobby

Michael ... thank you very much for still helping us all with our Ender 3s. I intend getting a second printer, and I will just get another standard Ender 3, and upgrade it a bit. The printer is unbelievable for the money (I've spent many times the printer cost on filament). Thanks again for your brilliant presentations. FYI ... I'm 66 years old.

Another great video! For me, I paid a bit less than $180 for my Ender 3 with shipping and taxes, so even a $18 part is 10% of the purchase price. Thats not to say I wont ever put money in my Ender 3, but so far it has worked flawlessly. The only adjustments I have had to make is to occasionally re level the bed. I have no doubt that people have some of the problems you speak about, as I have seen many people talk about them on reddit, but as for myself I havnt had any problems at all. I dont even like to waste plastic on printed parts, most of the parts I have printed have not had any impact on print quality or quality of life for my Ender 3. The best printed part I have done is some spring washers/stiffeners and the bed cable chain. PS your removing those parts wrong on your stock Ender 3, the bed build plate is removable for a reason and is simi flexible. Im sure you know this, but in the video you tried to take the parts off with the build plate attached to the bed. Removing the build plate not only helps keep the bed level, but makes removing parts 100x easier, thats not to say that sometimes parts dont stick too well, but in the video you are doing it the hard way. Something I have been curious of for a while is, when you do all the upgrades you recommend, is it cheaper to just buy some aluminum extrusion and build a frame than to upgrade a printer? I know eventually I will want at least a few upgrades.

Took the leap following inspiration from this video and modified my cr10 max with y-axis linear rails. What a difference!!!

The noise reduction point is huge. I can't believe how much better it is now on my AI3Mega with 2209s and TH3D fans

My ender 3 pro is in a constant modification process since I purchased it one year ago. The print quality is still the same I think, but it is absolutely quiet. I build an enclosure for my raspi, mks and 2208 setup, including the psu with big noiseless noctua fans for cooling that parts. I then build an enclosure, designed my own fan duct for three noctua fans and the printer is now humming silently in my bedroom. Oh, and a new direct drive extruder with an E3D V6 Clone is underway. AND there is a skr 1.3 with 2209s already on my desk.... I love modding.

I got started on 3D printing by building a DIY Mendel. I'm very comfortable making mods, but having a reliable printer that doesn't take constant tweaking is nice. (Love my Ender) I've only made mods to address problems, or add capabilities. (Direct drive, all-metal, for flexibles) In my opinion, modding is a personal decision. If you don't need to mod, good on you. If you want/need to mod, kudos for taking the dive. In the end, it's all about getting good prints.

Great video! You are absolutely right I have made very modest "upgrades" to my Ender 3. I don't use my printer like many of the users on RU-vid, I guess you can call me a hobbyist. I print things for fun and enjoyment, nothing more. I only recently started a project for my wife in making a practical PAPR for her work. She has health issues and wearing a face mask is a challenge, buying a PAPR is very expensive and hard to obtain, so I am making one. I have learned a lot from you and your fellow RU-vid video makers. It has made 3D printing so much easier.

I'm very new to 3D printing (2 days) and I really appreciate the time and effort you have put in to helping new 3d printerists like me have a very successful start in the world of 3D printing. Thank you :)

i think that there is a point missing : the price of the mods. With all of those mods the price is way more than doubled. I know that you can put the ones for what you want to upgrade but i think that mentioning the price of those mods would have been good. the linear kit for the X axis is around 90$ the SKR mini E3 (the mainboard) is around 30$ and that is without the drivers the 2209 are just over 30$ for 4pcs The BLtouch is just under 40$ (without the mount but you could print one yourself) the modular extruder kit is around 35$ ezr struder is around 35$ the micro swiss all metal hotend is just under 65$ and that is not all of the mods and we allready have way more than the original price of the ender 3 just in mods.

Thank you for another excellent video Michael. I feel that the Ender 3 is aimed toward the casual/hobby user and I think Creality hit the mark with it. Industrial/production users wouldn't/shouldn't be looking at anything in this price point anyway. My 3 year old Ender 3 is only lightly modified but the only noticeable improvements for me were the all metal filament feeder, glass bed, and all metal hot end. I've only had to adjust the rollers twice since I bought the printer. Once for the initial assembly and another a year later just for a touch up. The only time I level the bed is when I change the print nozzle and clean the glass bed. I have a BL Touch kit sitting on the shelf, just in case. My Ender is what I would consider heavily used since I'm constantly printing something. Rarely is it ever sitting still. I bought an Anycubic Predator but it's still sitting in it's box awaiting attention. I may buy another Ender 3 for printing small stuff. I don't mind the stepper motor "singing" since I've worked on industrial manufacturing equipment for years, but I installed an SKR Mini E3 board just because I could. Not sure if it was a placebo effect or not, but I think I noticed a slight improvement in print quality with the new control board. I suppose the board being able to make modifying the firmware easier could be considered a plus. No difference in print quality was seen after I installed a linear rail for the Y axis. The stock Acetal(Delrin) rollers work fine for me and have lasted 3 years so far. There are various other minor changes I've done but I did them only because I like to fiddle around with things, not because the Ender needed them. The materials I've printed so far are PLA, PETG, ABS, and TPU. Want to try Nylon, CF/glass impregnated whatever, and PolyMide CoPA. My next changes are going to be separating all of the electronics from the main frame so that I can enclose said frame for printing ABS, ASA, Nylon, etc. Installing a TFT3.5 touch screen too, because I like the idea of using a USB dongle instead of a SIM card. I may install a higher wattage power supply along with larger gauge wire for the bed heater to hopefully enable faster bed heating when printing ABS and such. Also considering a direct feed Bondtech BMG extruder or one of it's clones. And as always, YMMV.

The only thing that I hate about my Ender 3 is, the slowness of the 8-bit controller. Very often, when I am choosing a file to print, the slowness caused the screen to not refresh the selected file on time, and not knowing where the dial landed on the selection, it's quite common that I'd only know that I've chosen and printed the next file which is not what I want, until it's too late and wasted my filament, time and efforts (I'll have to stop the print, clean up the wrong print from the bed, re-calibrate, and re start the print, this time with lots longer wait for the selection, and wait for the heat-up again). The 32-bit controller and touchscreen is definitely my next upgrade to save up for.

woah that noise comparison was crazy. i didnt realize how load the stock motors were until you showed that

Thank you. That was very helpful. It confirms for me That i can't justify upgrades for my simple use. But I will know when they are useful for someone else.

You channel helped me learned a lot about this hobby. I just placed an order for an Ender 3 V2 with the optional CR Touch and I'm looking forward to modding it. Keep up the good work!

Thanks for a clear, precise, and fair comparison. It truly highlighted the different areas of improvement so that we can make educated decisions.

I like how you answered the question by not answering the question making a more informed decision is a lot better like you said some people modify because that's the way they want to some were just happy the way it runs I went the same way you did with a friend and we modified ours for the purpose of not having to constantly clean and adjust parts it also made it more reliable in the long run Good job Michael

I agree to modify but taking it slowly. I have modified my printer one purchased part and one printed part a week. Printing with it for a few days and then offering the next part. Usually order on Sunday, install Wednesday, see what I want to do next. Then starting the cycle over again. I have made on purchase I regret and three prints I gave away because I did not like the mod. I have been very happy with my Ender 3 Pro.

I have one mostly stock Ender 3 (Upgraded z-leadscrew coupler, vent cover on mainboard, side mounted spool holder, filament guide). I have one slightly modified Ender 3 (Same as all above plus EZABL, Bullseye Duct, SKR v1.3 with tmc2209 drivers, latest version of Marlin.). I have one heavily modified Ender 3 (SKR v1.4 Turbo with tmc5160s, z-leadscrew coupler, hemera hotend, bltouch v3.1, 3dfused x/y/z rails, 3 point bed leveling, EzFlex2 PEI system, LED lighting, upgraded fans, and many more mods, modified Marlin firmware) The modified one is only better than the other two when it comes to printing other material types, and speed. The stock ender and the modified can print the same model, with the same material, with the same quality. Except, the stock I run at 50mm/s and the modded I run at 175mm/s. (When doing PLA. Have to raise the heat on the hotend to hit those speeds.)

I have a printrbot from years ago, just started getting back into it. I haven't modded it much I did plan a few upgrades but it'll be difficult since they went under. While I think the quality of the stock Ender looks marginally better because of my Printrbot simple there's some things I can't live without. I love autoleveling and direct drive, I use a laptop instead of a built in screen but I'd definitely the touch screen too best of both worlds. Linear rails though they didn't seem to make much difference but then coming from a printrbot simple which has practically zero maintenance maybe that's the reason for them.

Modified benchy looks a bit funky at the bottom. Apart from that I think you've hit the nail on the head. Good mods you have, I recommend doing a mod then test, then do a mod and test. Like anything, it's easier to find the bad mod that way.

I love the modifications you have done. I just orddered my first 3D printer and will definitely come back to this video to guide me through the mods.

That T-shirt tho...

Excellent video as always! I've been on the fence on wether to buy the Ender 3 or Ender 5. But this has convinced me to just buy the Ender 3 and upgrade it w/ the 32-bit board and bl-touch. I've had the Anet A8 and it's pretty much beyond repair (after many years of service) and i'm ready for a new start.

First of all, LOVE THAT SHIRT!!!! Second, I'd like to have seen a printing test that actually showed the upgrade's superiority, i.e. a larger print or a failed one on the stock printer vs the upgraded one. Other than that, nice video!

ender 3 pro here. $20 all metal hot end swiss knockoff. took some adjusting but wow its better. $10 all metal extruder and capricorn tubing. upgraded springs for bed level glass top Ender 3 prints great now. was losing my mind with lost prints and terrible quality and or extrusion issues. also found a kick ass start/end cura profile online that saved my life. very happy with my printer now and now im making tons of fun stuff for the kids and myself

the best thing about modifying a cheap printer is learning how everything works including firmware. it preps you for when you're ready to build a high end printer like the Ratrig.

Excellent video Michael and can I say a very long overdue one-it must be an absolute nightmare if you are just getting into the hobby going into the Facebook groups and asking people If there’s anything they need to know about the ender 3 or CR10 or any of the Creality machines before they start, only to get bombarded with people who are “modders” by choice telling them that they need to do all these things that in reality they might not actually need at all. Very pleased you did this video I think you nailed the question that every Newbie asks on day one. My own machine is one of the very first batch I’ve owned it since before a lot of people have even been making videos about the printer-People continually harp on about the bedsprings being no good But I would like to add that two years later I’m still using the original bedsprings and I seldom (if ever) level my bed-all I did was add a glass print surface, and here is the magic tip to prevent bedsprings from getting destroyed and the need to relevel the bed-don’t hack your prints off, if you let the glass cool they self release🤷‍♂️ Would be interesting to see a video where you put your highly modified printer up against your genuine prusa Mk3. Thanks again for a very informative video👍

On the Ender 3 if you do want to print ABS you do need to upgrade your printer, use a glass bed, more heat on the bed, different nozzle, better drive rollers, rewire your motherboard fan so it always runs because on the fan control you shut off your fan to cool your nozzle which kills your capability to print ABS. 2 more things we should cover is the BLTouch is a big thing which without the new motherboard can become a hassle to get done. So if you do your BL Touch do your motherboard as well. And put an adapter on for your micro SD to SD in a position you can access easier will make your job easier if you don't go the octoprint route.

Very nice. I've got a Nimble V2 on my shortlist for direct drive. I also really like the TouchScreen. And the 32-bit mainboard is on there also. SO MUCH TINKERING.

Your videos and reviews aee always Excellent viewing and packed with really helpful advice for newbies, oldies and just normal people who might want to watch one. Thank you for all the valuable input that you put in.

Wish you would've mentioned the price for all the upgrades.

I got a CR20, upgraded to BMG, Glass Plate, Custom Heating solution for Extruder, Noctua Fan 40MM and 5015. At the end, I threw the whole printer in ANGER and reminiscing how Awesome the Prints was out of the box.. Gonna get the Ender 3 V2 and I'm not even gonna change the ptfe tube..

Upgraded with a metal extruder when the stock gear and roller bearing wore out onr my Ender 3, changed to Capricorn tubing when the stock Bowden tube wore out. Added TL smoothers to all 4 axis when they were on sale to improve surface quality. Maybe add an all metal hot end when the stock one needs replacing. I do enjoy tinkering with and repairing my own equipment for me it's fun.

Some mods are better than others. I own 2 Ender 3 V2 3D printers and have only been printing with PLA. I'm servicing one of my printers now. It's been out of service for a while now. On my working printer, I added a second lead screw to the right side of the printer and permanently got rid of the sagging X gantry problem. I replaced the springs with silicone mounts, and have not had to relevel my bed since I levelled it a week ago. I replaced the Bowden extruder system with a direct drive extruder and my extruder is no longer fighting to push filament through to the hot end. I will be duplicating these mods on my older printer, and hopefully get it working again. I've tried Jyers firmware, and went back to Creality's firmware. Jyers may have added more features, but I think there are 3 different areas, maybe more, that allow you to modify the Z axis and offsets. I found it more confusing to use. I tried the BLTouch, but it doesn't level the bed, and the ads are misleading. I had more difficulties levelling my bed with the auto bed-levelling device than without it. So, I removed it, and bed-levelling has been easier to do since.

This video and the 400mm upgrade video make me question if I should cancel my Prusa i3 mk3s. Could we see a comparison of a highly regarded highend, like the Prusa vs. the entry, yet heavily level modded printer, like your Ender 3?

Another excellent video Michael. My E3 is definitely not stock but most of the mods are for ease of use. I print on 2mm glass and I printed a handle for the bed so I never actually touch the bed itself. This means that the level seems to stay put and I rarely manually level the bed. I used dampers on the X and Y drives and that quietens the steppers down considerably. I haven't changed the driver because I use Octoprint to drive both my printers from the one Raspberry Pi. I control both printers remotely from my PC. I'm going to get Noctua fans for the entire printer because the PSU fan is now the loudest noise source. Thanks again for your insights.

Thanks to Your help I am now printing masks for the doctors. Whole country is printing (We are just trying to help ) :) Thanks to the modifications described by you: My Ender3 is: - quiet (mainboard swapped), - easier to operate (automatic bed leveling) - and the prints are repeatable (new firmware etc). I am just taking out finished part and printing the next one. Marvelous. And it still wasn't expensive. I am the one who did not want to spend a lot of money on a potentially "dust gathering hobby toy". But I couldn't stop myself from updating it (with low amounts of money). Now I can say that it is not a "totally black box" for me -> washing machine is, I don't know what is inside (... can guess). I still face problems - with (some) stringing, extruder hopping ... it feels like a complicated machine that needs much more attention than I'd want to give it. For example a new filament can be a struggle (temperatures , print speed etc) I still feel like I need to learn more. And I can not afford to pay for some "self handling" hardware (if such a thing exists). Congratulations, and keep up the great work. Maybe you've already saved some lives. A

I have a ender 3 pro with a few upgrades (motherboard, extruder, Bowden tube, and bed springs). My flexible stock bed has started to lose its adhesion and there are a few scuffs on the bed (including 1 hole... Oops!). Which magnetic spring steel bed is reliable, but also cheap. The everflex pei seems to always be out of stock.

In my opinion, adding a BLTouch and Octoprint to an Ender3 makes it good enough for a beginner to use it without too much of a learning curve

I have a stock Ender 3 Pro. I printed off usual part upgrades for it but aside for the bed springs and glass build surface it's stock. I love it, I did some mini figure prints at 0.05mm layer height and the result looked like it was made on a resin printer. Super high detail, no print lines and the finish right off the printer is almost glossy smooth. That being said I do plan on doing the noise mods down the road, it's not horribly loud, it's quieter than the Standard Ender 3, but if I can make it quieter why not. I liked how you approached this video and your conclusions. My mostly stock Ender 3 Pro works wonders for me so I probbaly won't modify it too much, but I will probbaly as time goes on swap out parts here and there just for continence sake. noise reduction for sure, the bowden tube and hot end are also on my list of future upgrades.

I think I've definitely improved my printer and printing experience overall by modifying it, of course with a big thanks to you Michael! In the beginning with my stock Ender 3, I would have to level the bed every month or so, which doesn't sound bad until all those bed leveling issues lead to many failed prints. It also became a little annoying always having to load the print files on the SD card and walk to the printer to load and print it, as well as checking up on if the print is going well (i put the printer in the garage due to noise and print gasses from the occasional ABS). So with my set up now it truly is effortless to print what i want. I have a Raspberry Pi with Octoprint loaded to control my printer, as well as the Telegram app running within Octoprint and on my phone. So I can choose a print from all my previously sent files, load and print them, check up on them by requesting pictures or gifs, as well as being able to tune, pause and abort prints all from my phone (using the Telegram app linked to Octoprint) or my PC. And with a BL touch ABL system, i haven't actually leveled my bed in months with no issues :) Also just a side note, I've found a flat piece of glass with some glue stick (that tube of glue you use for normal paper in school?) lightly applied to the surface makes a rough, sticky when hot surface that lasts for many, many prints, and i haven't washed/changed the glue on the bed in months. Nice part is whether printing PLA, ABS, PETG, it all sticks well when printing, and as soon as the bed reaches ambient (20-30 degrees), the prints come off on their own.

Thanks for your agreement Michael!

My opinion is that you either buy a printer for a project or as the project. Bed levelling is the single most useful upgrade I done and improved the usability loads

My ender 3 V2 came with a warped glass bed. I considered getting the BL-touch and use mesh-bed leveling. After reading all the bugs and errors people struggled with, I'm glad I just ordered a new glass-bed instead lol. I also tried octoprint for a weekend and had some weird bugs, prints just stopped half way through. Got a cheap android security camera and wifi power switch instead. I can monitor it from both PC and mobile and cut the power when it's done or if it fails. Considered a dual gear metal extruder upgrade too, but saw chep and the others had a grinding issue. So glad I just stuck with the vanilla. The ender 3 V2 prints beautifully out of the box for a low price. Spend time maintaining lose screws, change worn out parts instead, and you'll have great time 3D-printing!

Hey Michael, I just noticed (second time through this video) that there's an error in the chart - presumably supplied by Capricorn so I'll probably let them know too. All birds (although pets are the ones we're worrying about here) are affected by toxins released into the air, but it's not because of their hearts, it's their lungs that are the problem. Birds have a very complex respiratory system (not cardiovascular system which isn't that different to ours) which appears in three major versions but in each, it's "designed" to extract as much O2 from the air as possible with the minimum of effort. A bird "breathes" through its entire body (including some of its bones) and air passes right through them rather like food passes through us. We have a tidal system so we inhale and then exhale as separate parts of the cycle, birds inhale and exhale simultaneously which means they can get far more oxygen in and CO2/H20 out for any given amount of air than we can. Birds are amazing.

Thanks Michael. Another good vid. I've modded my Ender 3 and as you say the Printer out of the box is pretty good. I would also say that not all mods go to plan and can require a heap of troubleshooting to dial in. I have had trouble with a number of mods not going to plan. My top 3 mods are the SKR Mini E3 board with the TMC drivers on board, the Wham Bam surface and the upgraded bed springs. Still don't have ABL so far I the bed has stayed rock solid and, as you say, the magnetic bad stops having to muck around removing a print with the bed still on the printer.

The only must-have mod is a little fan cover for the electronics box, and a few clips to prevent the cables from snagging. Aside from that, the stock Ender 3 is pretty decent.

Very nice breakdown and good mods, but you have forgotten (for me) the most important aspect: materials! On my modified CR-10 (that goes up to 450C/200C), I can (and did) print EVERY available material, including PEEK and ULTEM. Out of box printer that can print such materials usually cost 10s of thousands..

Silentboard is a must. couldn't believe the difference, i was going nuts from the sound before the upgrade.

when i was choosing my first printer, i decided for an Ender 3. now, after i started printing (literaly now, it runs for 4 hours after assembly) i know i did the right decision. i bought it for 4k CZK and if i spend another 4K on it, it will have the same or better print quality as prusa MK3 for 20K CZK, even modified ender 3 has far better price/performance aspect. no wonder E3 is considered one of the best (if not the best) entry level 3D printer with good print quality out of the box. i am glad i bouht it and when the need comes, upgrades will come with it.

I started modifying my printer mainly because I couldn't think of anything else to print. I think I've had more fun modifying the printer than anything else.

I upgraded to an NG hotend, night and day difference. It’s actually unbelievable how much better it prints. That being said, I wish I’d be just gotten a prusa or x1c instead, as they get the same quality or better prints out of the box with better speeds for the same price as all my upgrades and printer combined.

a dual gear extruder or at least an all metal one is a must. and getting rid of the floppy bed for the creality glass upgrade is all you really need.

Great video Michael - clear easy to follow information which for someone just starting out is brilliant

Honestly I find the blue LCDs quite attractive as a status screen. After replacing the clunky tactile switches (not even a knob) with more responsive, less fatiguing microswitches I find it a pleasure to use the interface on the rare occasion I need to. But I'm not a person who is a fan of the SD card sneaker net. Pronterface or OctoPrint all the way.

I would like to know how much did all these improvements cost. Approximately anyway. Plus I would be very interested to see a video that compares a printer which is the same price as your Ender 3 with extras. The idea being that an owner putting time, effort and money into modding is certainly worth it.

I've added a bl touch, with custom fan shroud (because I needed to start somewhere), filament guide, and an octopi to my Ender3. These mods are all quality of life rather than direct print quality improvements and work for me. Pretty much all I have left on the list is direct drive for more reliable TPU prints.

I have started with a stock Ender 3 Pro changed everything now all metal hot end, liner rails x,y & z 32 bit board and TFT35 E3 v3 ..overall works great ..prints are outstanding now...

I believe there’s something else that comes from upgrading our 3-D printers it’s also a teaching tool you learn more about your printer as you look to solve problems or improve quality that’s the one thing I love about my ender 3 it was inexpensive enough to justify getting it just for experimenting, it prepared me for much more expensive 3D printers

I modded my Monoprice i3 with a Bear frame and Keenovo heater. The stability has made a huge difference. I level the bed less often, can use the entire 220x220 print bed and the bed temp is far more consistent.

great video, but I really wish you tried out higher speeds

Excellent video. My 3D experience began with the Plastic M3D printer and I was making new design model train parts that functioned, like a Smoke Housing. But the little plastic unit was wearing out. I had upgraded the board but really needed a larger printer. I wanted to get the largest I could afford. To build Train Bodies, and Chassis. I was very lucky to find a Creality 10S Pro V1 that was a buyer return, on sale as an open box unit. I got the machine but had troubles right away. Even thought the Dog printed beautifully, nothing else came out as good. Over time i learned from you and others the areas i needed to upgrade. My 10S Pro has been busy printing train Parts for over a year and has had issues and upgrades. Now I want to consider additional upgrades or may a smaller {Mini} printer for more detailed small parts. I don't want to add Resin Printing because of the chemical processes. Yet I see such good parts on less modified machines. Which way to go? Should I focus on the larger 10S Pro or add a Specially modified Smaller machine like your Ender 3 Example. I need to print much hotter parts that can withstand the heat of the Smoke Generator. That will require Direct Drive. Extruder. DDX for 10S Pro is hard to find and not cheap. 10S Mini or Ender 3 seems to be much cheaper to modify for these needs. I love the color motor touch panel you have, and the 32 bit board. Just what is available for the 10S Pro? Always watch and use you educational videos. All the best, Dennis in Virginia

Waiting for my printer to arrive this Friday, fantastic video, can't wait to get started. I've had an Anet A8 for two years and got tired of constantly tweaking and fixing. Hopefully this one will be a bit more robust.

Good summary, probably a good idea for new people to resist doing anything for at least a month and learn things like bed leveling manually, dialing in profiles, playing with speed settings and retraction until they really understand how it all works and have the best stock setup possible. I only make toys and prototypes with my E3, out of the box the quality was good enough for that. I did spend some time after I first got it making sure everything was as parallel and the bed surface was level (lathe / grinding wheel / dial indicator gauges etc), the only other thing I have done is replace all the fans with larger / quieter versions, tpu dampening feet and 32 bit board with 2208 drivers so the printer can sit next to you and be virtually silent :) 92mm fan for the drivers, 120mm for the psu and noctua 40mm for the hotend.

For me, any upgrade regarding noise or removing parts from the build plate is totally worth it. I had some very frustrating experiences damaging parts when prying them off of Creality's Faketak. Since I mostly do large, flat-ish parts without much detail and only in PLA, I would have left the hot end stock.

Hey guys, I have a mostly stock ender 3 with a glass bed. I use the glue stick method. To releasing parts easier, I’ve found if you lay the glass bed on a flat table, place your scraper where you normally would to pry a part, and tap the back with a wrench it pops off clean every time. This quick tap overcomes the adhesive friction with ease and you’ll avoid smashing any more knuckles. Don’t get to rowdy with it! Cheers guys!

A decent bed(your choice) all metal hotend or heatbreak, upgrade springs,metal extruder and you will have a good printer without heavy mods. Imo those are the minimum upgrades if you don't want to spend a lot of money on mods but want a reliable printer. I find that the pom wheels don't need adjusted often on my printers but are worth keeping an eye on. If you are just starting out, you can get away with not upgrading anything for a while but upgrading to at least a metal extruder is highly recommended. It's cheap and easy, avoids the broken plastic arm as well.

well this just sold me on getting a ender 3. ive been using a heavily modified mp select mini v2 but i could never get the build size anywhere near this one with good reliability.

My Ender 5 Pro came set up so well I hardly had to level the bed, had perfect prints right when I set it up. Maybe I'll go up to a really large printer, or maybe a resin printer next, rather than going all in to make my ender 5 better, since I feel there is little to gain on the quality side. Maybe over time will need some fixes and I'll upgrade those parts then. Got a bl-touch though, need that.

I started "upgrading" my Ender 3 Pro and now after 1,5 years, I can definitely say, after putting in probably twice the money the printer costs itself, it is 100% not worth it. The only upgrade I would do again is the SKR Mini E3 V2 board replacement, that's it. All of the other stuff like replacing the hotend, replacing the fan duct, going with linear rails, and whatsoever finally didn't improve the print quality significantly at all. Especially not if you consider the amount of money these upgrades cost.

i got my ender 3 a week or so ago, my first (working) printer, i would like this as a hobby and i think this is a good video for some one like me who wants to use it for the hobby, i definitely need to get the quite bits for mine.

I'd second the BLTouch (or level sensor of taste) as a really worthwhile upgrade. Same for silent steppers. Both good value mods I think. I recently fitted a cheap clone all-metal hot end and that's working well too. I did try a touch screen a while back, but for me, didn't feel it really added anything, but that reflects my workflow more than anything else - Octoprint rules!! Cable chains and a custom enclosure along with quiet fans well worth the effort and minimal cost too. Direct drive extruder...maybe one day. As always, most of these mods are thanks in large part to your inspiration Michael

Personally I'd say if you want the flexibility/usability upgrades but are too afraid of damaging the printer, get a friend who is more confident to make the alterations. I have yet to see a non-professional 3d printer that I didn't immediately think of an upgrade for. My CR10 S5 has a few mods, all to make things easier like added bed leveling (A must in my personal opinion, and should be standard on all printers really.) and a cooling duct mod. But if you aren't confident, then leave the printer as is and try to find others locally who you can get together and chat about 3D printing. Maybe you'll find someone who can mod it or is even willing to tech you how. :) Either way, it's fun to meet more people also interested in 3D printing, whether as a "modder" or "end-user".

I loved my CR-10 when it was stock and the best print ever was the test print Cat (once i got the bed up to temp). Since then i've modified it (because i must with everything) and have to ask myself: why? If it ain't broke... Mods: Capricorn tube and BL Touch. But i planned on using it for high temp prints (ABS) and hate manually re-leveling every print after cleaning/ removal. So... win? I have to admit i do actually love the noise of the servo motors (i was born in the 80's and a printer was very entertaining), but it is a bit of a deal breaker for long over night prints now. If i can't isolate the sound in the garage in a box, i will have to address that next.

to avoid such stupid injury at 11:24 I add a slight bevel at the bottom of the object if possible, and, put the scraper next to the object and hammer it slightly with your dominant hand, using a small to medium hammer. I learned it the hard way, I once ended up with a chisel contacting my left thumb, and another time with an Opinel slicing through my index finger. It may be obvious, but you never want to have your hand in the possible trajectory of a tool. I know someone how ended up with a full PZ2 bit plus a part a the bit holder through his left hand, an actual through and through hole. You wouldn't think a PZ2 but would break the skin and whatnot...

I'm new to 3D but, would do a few of the upgrades like the touch screen and the extruder. Plus all of the printed parts to keep filament away from things and keeping the wires from getting caught up on the extruded frame. BTW love the videos.

Great video! Printing is just a portion of the hobby. I think some of the upgrades will make you more knowledgeable about how the printer works, and improve the quality of the models.

I just bought an ender3 pro, and I feel like I haven't even started yet. With all the mods I want to do it'll be virtually unrecognizable. I'm hoping it'll allow me to make a CNC machine out of 3d printer and 3d printed parts. If I can do that I'll have 3 machines all working as one for a functional start to finish robot lab. The only thing I won't be able to do myself is make circuit boards. All for under $1000. Welcome to the future.

I have used Teaching Techs videos for everything Ive done on my E3 Pro. They have helped me in so many ways. I myself love the modifications as much as printing in itself, the accomplishments of getting it done a tuning it to print just a step further in the right direction ( In my case.... Not everyone has these itches)

My personal opinion, supported by years of observing industrial apprenticeships, is that a person should spend the time to learn both the machine and the process. Bottom line is that these are a smaller home version of a multi thousand dollar machine tool. They will *NOT* automatically produce the quality and perfection of those machines and will require more tweaking and adjustments. The next point is the entry level... yes, one can spend up to a couple thousand dollars to get a very high quality machine, somewhat like a lathe or a mill, but that puts many of these machine tools out of the range of those who would like to use them. As the price comes down, the user involvement and even experience levels are going to have to come up to match. One will need to understand the limitations and compromises made to achieve that lower price point and learn the skills and do the work necessary to get consistently good parts. Even there, NO single, unadjusted machine is ever going to be able to handle all situations. Each machine is going to require slight to moderate changes to the "part recipe" to get what you want. Overall, you are eventually going to pay the price for a higher quality machine through your time and efforts at some later point if you did not do it up front. There is also the awesome opportunity of exploring other peoples solutions for how well they work rather than depending on the manufacturer to get the "perfect solution" to your needs in the machine from the start. Your efforts and time are usually quite a bit cheaper than what the manufacturer would have to charge to incorporate or customize the same things. The major point is to learn your machine, no matter the price entry point, so you can get the best parts, but realize that the less you pay, the more you will have to learn/ know, and the more "upgrades that may be necessary to get exactly what you want or need. However, those wants or needs should only be determined after learning the machine and determining how or what a modification is actually going to do for you and what additional things might be necessary rather than just randomly doing things because some person on the internet said to do so... research and get a consensus from several sources before you "just do it". You will save yourself a lot of time and headaches if you do it that way and take your time... you can always return to the base product and start over. Overall, your printing experience will thank you for it!

Great video and advice Michael. My Prusa MK2 is stock (well mostly stock) But the CR10s4 aka Borg, was brought purely to be hacked to within an inch of it's life. Yep, I love to tinker.

A very good video again. See the next not as criticism but as a well ment advice. Although I miss some test objects that will be printed often in real life. That are enclosures which can be hard to print. Hollow, non vase objects can be daunting to print. Not with PLA but as soon as you start printing with ABS you can get problems with bed adhesion. With PETG other problems can play depending on your printer part cooling quality among other things. I think a lot of viewers are waiting to master these sort of real life objects in stead of the usual dogs and boats. You are an excellent teacher and technician. I am sure you can make something interesting out of this.