Ender 3 Upgrades - Printable Essential Upgrades 

July Giveaway is over! Congratulations Ossi Andreasen for winning an Ender 3! Everybody, who did not win: Don't be sad, there is going to come more giveaways this year! Stay tuned!

After doing research on each of these pieces individually I can report back on whats good and bad (in my opinion). The cable clip can be handy but does require 2 M3 screws of at least 7 mm in size. The extruder pieces including the fan duct and the inner piece require ABS or else they will both melt. The PTFE cable clip is not necessary on printers with included blue spacers. The Extruder filament guide is also unnecessary on printers with a brass insert where the filament go in. The top mounted guide can be useful however many have complained that it can damage filament and that the base is weak and has broken. Both fan guards/silencers are great and don't really have any cons, they both attach with the existing screws and can be helpful in the long run. So all in all the choice is really up to you but this is what I have found with my research. Hope this helps!

I'm happy to see that several of my designs have been chosen as essential upgrades for the Ender-3 in this video. Keep up the good work.

Adding extra holder before the hot end seems really good idea. Thanks for sharing

Hello Daniel. I have an 8 years old son, very enthusiastic about creating new tools and gadgets for himself. He is making guns from lego to go outside to hunt "zombies" :) Lately, I had a 3D pen for him. He loved it and worked for hours to "print" his favorite Minecraft sword and pickaxe. Unfortunately, I don't have any budget yet for him to print his own designs. I will give this printer to my future "engineer" to print his favorite "tools". Thank you

Creality now includes a spare bowden fitting and little plastic clips that go between the gap like seen in the video. Be wary though, sometimes one or both bowden fittings are faulty and don't grip the tube rigidly causing retraction problems. Even the spare fitting can be bad (yes, all 3 can be bad if you got bad luck) causing even more problems. You might want to get a metal extruder upgrade kit.

Hi, New to 3D printing world and going to become Dad. So thought of having this Ender 3 printer to make awesome toys for would be born baby to see her/his smile and get myself relax after seeing my baby's lovely smile. But it is too expensive to buy and her in India very less people are using this 3D printer. So afraid of support like you people are not available in India to support new people. If I get this 3D printer as a winning award it would be good me and for my family. Thanks for this video.

thank you so much. Just got a Ender 3 and was really concerned about the plastic falling into the fan. Defiantly going to print these parts

Another must have for any printer is filament filters. Like a tube with some sponge or wadding inside it to pull off dust. Was surprised how much it helped.

Hello Daniel, for this contest. I've been working in 3d printing industry for two years. I got a lot of experience using 3d printers like Cr -10, Anet A8, flash forge, ender 3 & monoprice voxel. The reason i had to print using these printers is to show the product to the company and my clients. Even then, i had to explain the product that i modeled and printed to attract the client's feelings (including company). It is bad for me to feel that i dont have a 3d printer at home. I gave some of the printed 3d animals & skulls to the young children and old people that i know for years. They always come after me. So to give some smile on them, i gave printed models to them. I like to give printed models to the needy people who needs help and not greedy. I already planned to 3d scan people in the coming years.

Only found this channel the other day, and I have to say the level of professionalism is great! I've just finished my gcse's and have spent a lot of time learning how to code and make games, I think owning a 3d printer can open loads of doors to programming, like with the use of an Arduino, and I definitely think an Ender 3 is a great beginners printer.

thank you so much. I will work through this list. We just got our Ender 3 set up (it was in a box for a while, oh well) and now I am hooked.

Wow!!! Of all of the 3d printing videos that I have watched, this one was a joy. I am a disabled veteran and retired firefighter. I should say first that I know I am to late for the free printer. But I'll write my comment anyway. I don't currently have a 3D printer, but if things work out maybe I can get one within the next year, or so. I have so many projects in my mind to print. My youngest son is now a Staff Sergeant in the US Air Force, as a firefighter. Their are so many pieces of equipment in the job of firefighter and paramedic that could be upgraded for safety as well as usefulness. Everything that I can do to make my son's job as a firefighter and medic more safe and the equipment that they use more useful that is my goal. Remember, I was a firefighter and medic as well. So these are all my brothers and sisters in service. Also, my military time I was in law enforcement, Air traffic control, combat photographer, and drug surveillance and enforcement. So just imagine all of the ideas that have run around my head for the past, nearly 40 years. I am hoping to soon have printer so that I may contribute some of the ideas that I have that will make the men and women in these jobs and services more safe and productive. Thank you for this video. I have subscribed and will look for all of your videos that I have missed. I also "hit" the bell. Don't be surprised if I ask for your guidance as I learn. Thanks again and stay healthy, stay safe, and God bless. Wherever you all may be. #WeWillBeatCOVID19

I am new to 3d printing. I have ordered this very same printer. Can't wait to get started, I have seen many Ender 3 upgrade videos and this one in my opinion is the best. Clear reasoning for each upgrade and a quick show of where they are fitted and how. Thank you very much for sharing your experience, these upgrades will be some of the very first items that I print.

I have 2 maybe 3 upgrades I recommend. The first is the motherboard fan guard that you had. The second is an extruder guid wheel for right before the extruder. I printed the extruder filament guide that you have on this video, but I don't recommend it due to it adding drag to the filament. Instead I'd recommend a wheeled filament guide that uses actual bearings.

"I am a fan of your channel. One of the most helpful covering topics no other channel talks about. Thank you Daniel. I am a fan!" - Andrew Boey, Beyond Photography

This was a great and very helpful video. It was straight and to the points, with no annoying background music. Very simple, clear and concise explanations that are easy to understand and follow. If chosen, I would like to have the Ender 3 to add to my Etsy shop collection of equipment, which currently consists of a small CNC (used for wood) and a small Electronic Die Cutter (used for paper, felt, & foam). I would like to expand my capabilities into plastics, and, this would be ideal. My Etsy shop income helps us (my wife & I) to meet our expenses, as I lost my job almost 5 years ago, and, in America, when you are 50 and above - finding a job is not easy.

I am new to 3d printing and just got the Ender3. They look like practical upgrades and will definitely give them a go.

Great job explaining not only the upgrade but why it is important. I am disabled and am always looking for ways to exercise my mind and keep it active. This looks like something someone with physical limitations could enjoy. Looking forward to more videos.

Hello Daniel, although my son has a hearing problem he has a lot of potential like he is good drawing arts, creative thinking, making cartoons & building objects from scraps. He even created toy photographies by creating dioramas. He knows about 3d printer but we are unable to buy one for him. Because we cant afford to buy one ( i dont believe online ). He started to dreamt about creating animals using 3D pen but how do i get it....its hard to get here in nearby stores. I am really suprised that he got good skills in modeling and film editing. I just want to say that....even a disabled or autistic person can do such amazing things. Thank you for this competition Daniel.

I've made some of the clips, the part cooling duct, and power supply fan shroud. They've served me well so far so thanks for the recommendations. The mistral duct should be printed from PETG or ABS for heat resistance.

Spend just a few Euros on upgrading the extruder from the crap plastic one to the machined aluminium one, makes life and prints so much better.

Just bought a used 3 months old Ender 3 just to print 0.2mm noozle. The Ender 3 Max i bought last year needed 200% of upgrade, it is crazy, to make it work half as good as my Prusa i3 MK3S+. The smaller Ender 3 seems easier to manage, but noisy as hell and your upgrade prints here helps a lot.... the filament management of this machine is a big joke, sigh, creality hahahaha - Andrew

Your new intro is much much better! Straight and to the point!

Favorite part so far: LCD Screen cover. Boy is that blue bright at night!!!

Hey Daniel. For a short while I've been doing some 3d printing, mostly just upgrading my own Ender 3. But Dad's been watching me like a hawk. I haven't really seen him this into something in the longest time. For the last couple of years he's been walking past the only 3d printer that's available in stores here in Norway, and it's really expensive and not so much of a good 3d printer. So he's decided not to invest in one, and rather spend his money on his kids, wife, and grandkids. But I'm certain I've relit his spark for 3d printing by bringing the Ender into our house. It's only now I've realized just how much he actually wanted to get into it. But sadly, I'll be moving soon and have to take the Ender with me. And as a student I don't really have the funds to just buy a new Ender for him, heck I was lucky to find one used for a good price. So I'd love to get one that I can gift to him, he really deserves it. My instagram is finnstad.gram: instagram.com/finnstad.gram/

awesome information, I'm very new to 3d printing and recently purchased my ender 3 which now comes with the spacer clips for the ptfe tube to the top of hot end, this is great to hear that creality actually listen to customer feedback to make some improvements

Very helpful, please advise if you already made a video on protecting rest roll of filament.

Why do i need a 3d printer? Because it can help me build mini parts. When i combined them, it could be a huge homemade machine and futuristic inventions ( which i am currently doing ). I have been doing codings in Visual Basic C++ and Python softwares. Buying a 3d printer is not easy for me, i got no income for that. But, i knew there are more people who needed 3d printers than me. Thank you for this contest Daniel, i got fb only.

Valuable Information before considering an Ender 3 printer. The price point is cheap because it is not fully equipped from the box. Really Good Information to know. Very Helpful

These upgrades seem to turn the ender 3 into a real workhorse. Thanks for he video!

I already have a bunch of these parts installed on my Ender 3 but I like the cable management and the filament guide. I'll have to give those a try. Thanks Daniel!

Super meta to be printing upgrades for the printer itself! 3D printing is dope 🙏🏽

Hello Daniel and thank you very much for the job you are doing with your chanel ,much appreciated ,I am constantly thinkering with my a2 and your chanell helped me a lot , did not had the chance to play with the ender yet but it seems much robust,keep up the good work!!!!!!!

My fan for the motherboard/electronics case is actually facing down on Ender 3 Pro purchased in 2022 as reference.

I wanted to start a 3d-printing business once. I want to print spear-parts for cars, especially young-timers, older than 20 years, with the many plastic parts in the cockpit. As so many cars leave the market as a metalic cube, or going to africa, you are better off to let it be printed out by somebody then trying to order from the brands company, if possible at all. Also was thinking about having a gigantic database of spearparts for anything. And I wanted to write a configurator for the internet, where you can pick parts of cockpits and reorder them quickly on my online shop. I guess there are allready people doing things like that, don't have much money right now. Was watching you the first time today, love that biziness. I am from germany.

You are awesome man!! This saved me a lot of time . I always had those scrapes on my extruder before this video.

Danke für den Tipp mit dem Extruder Insert. Die Erklärung ist super und die Lösung ist einfach :)

You need a video about essential upgrades to make this router a king it is. Like glass bed, silent bearing, 32bit motherboard, titan extruder for metal filament and all that would be nice

I'm thinking about getting a ender 3, these videos help immensely.

Teaching students as a product designer lecturer, we have been creating and modelling 3d objects using Blender, Autodesk & 3D Max. We had to print them in 3d store for the final assignments. But yes, we had to save them in Meshlab & fusion 360 before we print. It would be more easy & fast if we have a printer. Unfortunetly, we got no 3d printer of our own and i cant expect/force my students to buy it. Our students are taking this courses through loan. We got to do what we have. I know it is not easy to ask for a 3d printer, but just to let you know only. I got no instagram but i have facebook. Btway Daniel, thank you.

this is the best ender3 upgrade video. thank you!

Dumb question but are all these upgrades suitable for the Pro version as well?

Another great video, I will be printing these this week. Do you have any other upgrades that you would recommend?

You're the man bro! Thank you so much! This is going to be very helpful when our printer arrives. This puts us way ahead of the curve from day one! -Subscribed

No mention to never remove both of the power supply screws at the same time or you're taking it apart to get the fan back up into position? I skipped all the Bowden upgrades and went to a Direct Drive and love it, simpler and I can print flex easily! But I really like the PTFE clip, never seen that before and it makes a ton of sense but I'd be concerned about it deforming due to heat creep. Either way, not necessary with the direct drive set up!

"And we are subscribed to you too

Does the Ender 5 have any of these sorts of upgrades as standard? Or would upgrading an Ender 3 make for a more solid printer.

I'd strongly recommend dampers for the stepper motors. It'll save your ears and some print noise.

what should i buy , the ender 3 or the ender 3 pro

Great video thanks for sharing. I saw a video where the filament spool gets a bracket to hold it closer and closer to the extruder. This is done if you have a bit of room because the spool is mounted on the side instead of the top. Your upgrade will work for me because I don't have the real estate on my bench for the other sd spool mount.

I'm brand new to this. Just got my Ender 3 yesterday. Thanks for the great tips! So the PTFE tube I want is 4mm OD?

i printed out the PSU shroud and tried that out, but after paying closer attention to the sound and frequency of the fan, i felt it was putting more stress on the fan. i didnt want to risk it failing and the PSU overheating, so i took it off and just live with the fan noise. most of the noise comes from the motors anyway.

that bowden connector clip is like the locking clip for the pressure line a first gen ford focus fuel pump. mine was missing and it was a mess lol

Sorry I didn't catch your name! I would like to thank you though, for the MK8 Extruder Insert though the last one I did form another source did not work so I am very happy to give this a try. (printing right now)

Great information as always Daniel. If/ when I get an Ender 3 I'll be sure to make these upgrades from the start. Thanks!

Hello Daniel, i hope you read my comments. I started creating/making & modeling 3D models using scrap objects/parts since 2015. I always wanted to help the poor and disabled people by giving them some cool homade toys and souvenirs. Yes, it took me a week to finished each homemade things. Well...even i knew about 3D pens and printers, i just couldnt afford to buy one. They are all sold online (expensive) and i dont believe the things that are sold online. Sometimes, online sales might cheat the customers. Anet a8 is the cheapest to buy anyway. I got no insta or twitter......only fb . Good day.

Good stuff. Just plugged mine in for the first time. Your pro tips are very helpful. Keep it up.

Hi bro, just saw your video, great stuff. I am looking into starting my 3D printing adventure and like to know more. Please advise on which printer should I get now that it is April 2020? Thanks

I re mounted my Filement holder on the side so it’s less filmennt waisted and a better angle

Where do you get the extra screws for securing the various items? Also, what are the screw dimensions for each part?

Is there a link for the various parts you mention in the video in order to get the files to download? Or can the parts be purchased and shipped? I have the video downloaded. How about a video that talks about upgrading the os of the Ender 3, right now I am using 1.1.6.2. Then what the difference is between PLA, ABS, PETG and any other available types of filament and the appropriate glues needed if someone does a print that needs to be assembled afterwards.

Awesome video. I own an Anet A8 and thinking of buying an Ender 3. Winning one would be awesome. I would print camere accesoires, litothanes, tabletop minis, ... with it. Keep those great and informative videos coming.

hi, I fairly recently just got my first 3d printer and it has been a blast but my only problem is how long it takes to finish my prints and i would love to have a second to speed things up. I don't use twitter or instgram so just email me if i manage to win. thanks, keep up the good content.

Wow, thanks! A lot of new upgrades that I haven't seen before! Very good ones, now I know what i'm printing during the weekend

Very nice video, one of the best ones I watched regarding upgrades. Keep up the good work!

great video, getting the pro on Friday, so going to add all of the above. a very big THANKS

Very nice explaining of the typical problems. I'm in 3D Printing since more that 2 years, but still interesting for me :-)

Can I assume based off of your link to the PTFE tube on Amazon that 2mm ID and 4mm OD is the correct dimension for this print? I am still waiting for my E3 to come in so I can't measure it myself.

Thanks, subscribed to your channel. Question at 03:15 you show the small piece of tube being inserted into the extruder. How long is that piece to carry out the mod ?

I don't buy that the fan can get clogged by small, thin plastic strips. They have to be at least 0.3 mm thick to even have a chance at that and most of the thin pieces that can fly down there, are thinner than that. With the speed that the fans spin and the fan blades thickness, it is far more likely that the fan simply cuts them over and continues uninterrupted. That doesn't mean it won't be a problem though, as half of the plastic pieces will fall onto the PCB, which can cause overheating problems. So the fan duct is still a good idea, but the reasoning here is flawed. Both on that point and a couple others.

I have the geeetech a10 ender clone. The cooling shroud for the hot end came warped. Do you think i could use the parts you linked for it as well

What size screws and nuts are used to attach these pieces? I printed the cord management clip on the z axis thinking there were screws I could remove and reinsert, but there are just hole there? I want to print and install the rest but I need the right screws for this.

I don't get the first upgrade with cutting the tube. I assume it doesn't matter that the filament has to travel past an air gap where there's no ptfe tube to guide it?

Hi, I planned to get new couplers (with metal teeth) and a Capricorn PTFE tube but leave that tube in one piece. Do the metal teeth couplers and new Capricorn tube + such fitting clip fix the tube moving issue or do I still need to place the small tube piece and the insert piece in the hotend? I feel like one continuous tube with good fix would be better.

What kind of screws did you use for the fan upgrades? I don't want to screw in too big of a screw into the power unit.

Hi, the link to the Cable Holder is missing, please complete it in the discription. Thanx

How do you get the supports out of the fan cover? I have printed it 5 times, and every time the print looks perfect, but when you pry out the supports it just snaps in half.

what about modifying the extruder motor to sit on top of the extruder itself? no more Boden tube. but will have to add another stepper motor with the drive to accommodate the added weight. just an idea. I have had my new ender for 5 days now. many problems i am having. ugh

Do the fan covers allow for sufficient air intake?

can you just cut that bit of ptfe tube from the printer inself or do you have to buy a whole new tube?

Great vid as always, and always give a informative explanation on upgrades

Why do you dont print the side filament holder, I printed one and put atached to the printer and it works really good

Im going to get my ENDER-3 soon. I dont have 3D printer yet but im still watching this video :D so i know what and how i can improve my printer when i get it XD

Love my Anet A8 but would really like a bigger print bed. Plus who’s doesn’t need multiple printers!!

Love your channel very heplfull. Keep up the great job . i just got in to printing. With a qudi 0ne x. The bed is 5.5 " x 5.5 " x 6 i think lol. Love it but its so small . cant aford a bigger one to print out a life size r2d2 lol allways wanted one lol. Keep up the great videos. Cant wait till the next videos

I've tried printing the extruder insert about five times now and every time it comes out as a rectangle, what am I doing wrong?

The fan cover was knocking the wheel under my bed and thus making it not level it was actually turning it as the machine was going back and forth printing. 😅

Confusing. You are calling the hot end the extruder, at least according to the common nomenclature. Likewise, the extruder is the machine element that drives the filament.

Excellent video!

Very nice work Daniel as usual

Hi What length of PTFE tube is used to go under the hot end fix washer for the ender3 Thank you

Great vid... are these upgrades the same for the pro version? Thx

Hallo, wie sind deine Erfahrungen mit dem Amazon basic filament?

How do u assure the tube is in contact with the back of the nozzle.

Nice video clip, keep it up , thank you for sharing :)

3:10 but wouldn't the nozzle get hot enough to melt that part

I use a lot of the upgrades right now!

Hi, Thanks for the video. I can not print that small filament guide properly. The tube looks like a net it is not solid. I was trying to tune my slicer but it is still not good enough. Can you help?

Hello there, I am currently waiting on an Ender 3 Pro to come in a few weeks. Are all of these mods applicable to the Pro model as well (except for the fan guard since the pro places the hole on the underside) and are you only using PLA for all of these upgrades including the extruder insert? I've watched some other videos on the power supply fan and was told it's much quieter than the original model as well so maybe no need for the silencer either?