I went with the Ender 3 V2, bought open box off ebay for $189.00. Perfect machine IMO for a new user. I learned a ton from doing all the upgrades which really just made the printer more like the S1 for around $300.00. But I learned about bed mesh leveling and updating firmware when I install the CR touch. I learned about the Z axis binding when I installed the dual Z motors and shaft. I learned about setting E Steps when I replaced the extruder with a dual gear. I learned how to set retraction when I installed a direct drive with a Slice enginnering all metal hot end. I'm still learning about all the extra settings in Cura but out of the box this is a great printer. In other words you learn by doing when you upgrade your printer. Plus this thing is the Jeep of printers with all the accessories that you can get for it. Theres a reason that there are so many clones of the Ender 3 out there, it just works.
That sounds nice! I guess it's what you're looking to get out of it .. I mean it's a hobby.. for me personally printers are a tool like an other .. I want to learn designing and coming up with creations in my daily life so I'm in the market for something I can plug and play .. currently thinking of bambu p1s without the multi spool upgrade .. what do you think?
The best printer is the one I do not have yet. When I had Anet it was Prusa, now I have Prusa, there is voron. Probably after building voron there will be SLS printer and so on
I'd absolutely love an updated CR10S Pro V2 video! In terms of creality printers, it really does seem like the definitive stepping stone into some of the advanced features like automated bed levelling that people might not quite be comfortable implementing on their own (that is, putting a BL touch on an Ender 3, changing firmware etc.). Love your work, keep it up!
This is going to help out so many new people (and some veterans) that are looking at buying a new printer! Can’t think of anyone better to do this either. Great content man, keep up the great work!
I finally purchased an Ender 3 for black Friday as my first venture into 3d printing. Yesterday I finally had the opportunity to assemble it and print the lucky cat file they provided on the SD card. After my first failed attempt from not leveling the bed properly, I completed my first print and was pleasantly surprised at the quality, and am looking forward to many more prints in the future!
Just had to say, really really impressed by your content. This is the first video of yours I've ever seen, as I only recently began looking into getting a 3D printer. The way you not only shared your experience and credentials, but clarified that this video is entirely based on personal preference was incredibly refreshing. I love the way you film, cut, and edit these videos. Keep up the excellent work, and thanks for the help!
I bought a two year old pre-owned Ultimaker S3 dual nozzle 3D printer with quick swappable extrusion heads and don't regret my decision. It's extremely accurate and fast, with it's wi-fi connected, dual simultaneous colour/filament printing, that's more versatile than most of the current trending single filament 3D printers I've looked into. The Ultimaker's glass auto-levelling hotbed also eliminates first layer adhesion problems. Proving (in my opinion) the latest is not always the greatest. 😉👍
I've had my anet a8 since 2016 and plan to keep it and mod for a long time. Just did an 2040 frame conversion this week because the acrylic was warped and prints were not square anymore because of it. I have a bunch of mods done to it but the biqu h2 extruder was probably the biggest game changer beside the 2040 frame conversion. It's got mosfets, tl smoothers, beefier psu, delrin bearings, 1 piece bed carriage, magnetic pei plate, and some other stuff. The anet a8 for me is the rc car you just keep running, modifying, and fixing because its part of the fun.
Love your videos. I have a friend who's 13 year old son wants to get into 3D printing. I am recommending this video for him to watch. By the way, I have built, and modified, three Anet A8's and love them. I still use my first one five years later.Their quality and dependability after the modifications is great. Building them has greatly improved my understanding of 3D printing. They are not for those who are not mechanically oriented or who want a plug and play machine. Keep the vids coming.
Can vouch for the Ender 3 v2, love this printer and have only done a few small mods (metal extruder & better springs). Works great and have managed to 3D print all kinds of high detail things, most impressively I have made tons of custom Lego lightsaber hilts which are pretty tiny and super detailed
I got mine and loved it but 4 days after I got it the bed warped to the top left corner so that corner on its loosest setting is positioned higher then all of the other corners at their highest settings
After getting my first airbrush and getting stuck in with that, now looking at getting my first 3d printer so the things I paint will complete by me from start to finish... honestly thank you for this video straight to point and gave me a lot to think about, btw the things you've printed like the suit and that star Lord mask is killer but everything looks incredible.
plz can you print me something when you get your 3d printer ?I'd really love it and pay for it and would totally mean a lot to me since i've never owned anything before that was printed by a 3d printer
i just started into 3d printing and my ender 3 pro just sucked. It was out of commission for 3 weeks. I saw some of your videos and they really helped. that is why i subbed to your channel
I've got an FLSUN QQs pro for like 50% off 2 years ago, and apart from me accidentally burning the stepper drivers I have had zero problems with it. I even transported it by car to another city where it just continued printing perfectly without even autoleveling again. Amazing printer 10/10 would buy another.
Love the reviews, thanks for helping me find a new hobby on my way to retiring from the military. Been having a blast with my Ender 3 V2, and have been looking to upgrade/add to my collection. Thanks for all the tips and reviews, keep doing what you're doing!
For Ender 3 clones, the best one I've come across so far is the BIQU B1, it's cheaper, has a touch screen, and is BL Touch ready out of the box with no firmware updates required. I picked one up open box from Microcenter for $101, a dual z-axis kit open box for $18, a 3D Touch for $12 , and a pair of top z-axis mounts for $6. In all this thing is going to be a great first printer for my 12 year old nephew for under $150. It prints beautifully and needs nothing. BIQU even upgraded these somewhere along the line, it comes standard now with a 32-bit SKR2 board with quiet drivers. I enjoyed tinkering with it so much that I bought one for myself, another open-box bargain. Does the base Ender 3 still come with a noisy 8 bit board? I'm new to 3D printing, I went from zero to five 3D printers in the span of a month and a half, three of them great open box deals from Microcenter. My favorite so far is the Creality CR-6 SE, another open box at $134 that needed nothing to make beautiful prints out of the box. It has strain gauge bed leveling out of the box. I've added nothing to that printer. Following that is the BIQU B1 SE Plus, a larger build version of the regular B1 with strain gauge leveling as well. The only thing I added to that one is the dual z-axis drive and some top z-axis mounts. My worst 3D printer experience so far was my first 3D printer, a Creality CR-200B, a fully enclosed printer. It was too tempting to pass up as a $99 open box buy at Microcenter but it is pure garbage. From what I can gather it is one of those short lived mistakes that Creality is just hoping goes away quietly. I haven't gotten a single good print out of it yet. I added a CR Touch and it still can't get consistent bed leveling numbers two times in a row, without a print run in between. I see as high as 1.5mm deviation on the same points between successive bed levelings. I've gone as far as added an anti-backlash nut and removed the z-axis stepper motor rubber bushing adapter and replaced it with a solid 3D printed block to see if that was giving me problems. It had all 4 of the bearing retainers for X/Y broken and it is a common problem as there are replacement prints out there on the web to download and make new and better retainers. The only things left I can think of to replace are the z-axis motor itself and the control board to see if I'm losing steps somewhere. Any ideas on that one? If I don't get that one up and running soon I may just part it out on that "e place". Finally, I rounded out the collection with two resin printers, a Creality Halot One, and a ZWHT EPAX E10 clone that was under $190 on Amazon. Those I don't use much anymore as the resin prints don't seem durable enough. Everything I've printed that sees sunlight in the morning in my home office has crumbled after only a few months.
I recently came back from Star Wars Celebrations 2022 and this video could not have come at a better time. I'm itching to make a commander Cody helmet soon 🔥🔥
Great video :) Personally I have used the Ender 3 Pro, CR10S pro V2 and the CR10 Max a lot and I just love these machines, especially the reliabillity and the build volume I get from the larger machines. You content are really impressive and professional :)
You should do a tutorial on how to cover up parts on your 3D prints while using tape in different scenarios like if the print is highly detailed or maybe simple steps. Like how to cut it out, which tape to use (even though it has been mentioned in another video), etc.
I often print at 180mm/s on my Ender 3, but that's with Klipper and input shaping. Now I'm thinking about getting a bigger printer that can handle helmets without having to cut things.
Still using my cr-10 s4, and it hasn’t done me wrong in 3 years. And yeah, learning the ins and outs of how a printer works and “getting your hands dirty” is the best way to understand your machine. “Calm seas make poor sailors” -African Proverb
Love all your content frank especially the informative printer content and settings to help beginners, my first ever printer purchase was after watching your review of the fokoos Odin and to this day have never had a problem with it 😆, and with it being my birthday come this Saturday my next purchase will be the cr10s pro, so looking forward to full size helmet prints 🤩 many thanks and keep up the awesome content 😁
The "Creality CR-6 SE" is better than all of those, is the ONLY ONE that has LITERALLY automatic bed leveling, all those bed leveling you still have to level them with the screws at the bottom, not with CR-6 SE since it doesn't even have screws at the bottom to level it, the only upgrade you have to do is the extruder from a different printer because the CR-6 SE is awful and the plastic extruder get loose over time, so I change it to aluminium.
I’ve tried Crealities “auto-level” system on a few printers now and they were all awful. Price vs features and size I just don’t agree. The pro v2 beats it out in my opinion and the FLSUN smokes any creality printer I’ve ever used.
Dude! I really enjoyed this! I was grinning the whole time you talked about the Ender 3. My first printer and still my old mule. That thing just works! It was a fantastic teacher. I've upgraded the motherboard, the build plate, the leveling springs and wheels, the extruder, added a BL Touch, etc... I think the hot-end might be the last original piece. But man how much I've learned along the way!! Now I have 2 more CR6-SEs and the LD-002R LCD Resin printer. I'm super intrigued with the FLSun Super Racer and will be watching your other videos! Again, thank you!
Hmmmm … while it doesn’t have the super large 400mm print bed, I’m not sure any of these stack up to Prusa mark 3 i3s. I’ve had that printer for over 2 years and I’ve never had a print fail. Sure I have slice some models but purse’s own slicer has some pretty amazing features which make it a no brainer to use. I’ve printed my entire Mandalorian armor, Al an rifle and blaster with it. I’m also building a full size Dalek and have printed over 70 individual pieces with that printer. Sure it’s more expensive but for someone who just wants something that works without having to become a 3D printer mechanical expert Prusa is hard to beat …
@@Aagggyy cost is relative … compared to many it is but that cost buys you all the features the cheap ones don’t come with and the thing just flat out works. I have no interest learning all the mechanics of printers. I just need one that is basically ‘set it and forget it’. The problem with a lot of these YT reviewers are that they are far off the scale from the average user. For the average person who just wants to stick in some PLKA filament & print out almost anything without issue at a high quality a Prusa is the answer. I always laugh at all the videos about how to make your prints ready for painting, sanding, primer, Bo do, resin , etc, etc, bah, bah. Usually all I do is hit my print with some quick 220 & I’m ready to paint. People dont believe me when I show them a print straight off the printer that is basically flawless … try that with a $400 printer …
Never know who to believe and who’s getting their shit for free… IVe read that Prusas are Excellent… for me a ender 3 v2 for $240 Canadian fit the bill for a first timer… next will probably be a Prusa or a voron
i have a v1 tevo black widow and it has been printing reliably since 2016 and every filament i throw at it. did take a long time and a lot of patience to put together. and adding a bl touch was a must. it had its first break down a few weeks ago and was a worn out wire in the cable chain but replaced it and good to go.
Got my Ender 5 Plus Thanks to you Frank. I love it. 👏 DON'T BE SCARE. Follow your dreams. I love props!! I make a Longinus Spear from Evangelion. Gwen Stacy figures, So many cool things I like and Love and you can too. Get the Ender 3, get the idea, don't be scare to fail, it will get better, you will get better!!
Hey man. Just subscribe. Currently starting school for additive manufacturing! I walked into the room of Atleast 15 different kinds of 3d printers and fell in love. Excited to watch more of ur videos and learn
Ender 3… I do wish that the RU-vidrs would point out must haves when purchasing an Ender 3. 1st bed adhesive. For most less expensive PLA ABS I have always had to use adhesive to keep from filament prints from warping. Equal to 1st, having a bed leveling sensor. These two I would recommend for any Ender 3 purchase.
Never had an Ender and after my Artillery Sidewinder, I never want to start tinkering with printers again. I'll take my stock Prusa and Flashforge printers, thanks. I will end up trying the new Bambulabs printer as well.
I would like to put a hominid evolution display, which would be best to download those very specific print info and size is important as these are from scans
I've had 2 Ender 3 Pro's for a couple years, very reliable, good quality. I also picked up a CR10S Pro, the original one, also in 2020. Terrible QC, took me months to fix all the problems. Broken parts, missing/incorrect parts. It was as if the production crew was tossing the parts into the box without checking. Also replaced the bed with a spring steel one. Now it is decent and in daily use but took a lot of work getting there.
I love my a8 printer. I got it for free from my friend who could not get a successful print off it and now it prints better than his anycubic. I have been printing on it for 3 years with no upgrades
I have the ender 3 v2, haven't had any issues with it besides user error like leveling, and settings but other than that a very good beginner budget printer.
Out of all the printers I have used, the Prusa mk3s is by far the best. If you have not used it, then you simply don't understand. You pay extra for the built in raspberry pi along with klipper, not because of the size. Every one of the prints you showed off the printer are substantially worse than a Prusa and I guarantee it will print better at double the speed. I personally use a Ender 3 S1, which is a really good and reliable printer. But the Prusa I get to use at work is leaps and bounds better. The Prusa mini isn't remotely the same because it doesn't have klipper capabilities. The fact the MK3s can print threads at 180mm/s with no defects is what made my mind on it. I am talking to a tolerance that plastic nuts it printed would fall to the bottom of the plastic screw by gravity alone.
I have the Neptune 3 max and bro it’s like impossible to get and I almost got it broken but it’s fixed now but I would only recommend it if you only need it for bigger projects.
My first printer has been an Anycubic Predator delta printer and once I figured out all of the basic stuff that you would have to learn for any printer I was happy to find that it prints really well. As long as I don't move the printer itself the auto bed leveling seems to work wonders and hasn't needed to be leveled in quite a while now. I am really excited to look into the CR-10s Pro V2, it sounds like the next printer I need to get. Thanks for the video!
Just got a Ender 3 neo max a couple weeks ago. I don't think I'll ever buy another Creality product. I just want a tool that works not something I have to tinker with daily. It seems that the QC on these things is horrible.
While I also think the Creality CR10S Pro V2 is a good printer, about the same time as this vid came out, the CR-10 Smart Pro came out, and it fixes all of the problems and pieces lacking on the Pro V2. So while I was getting ready to purchase this Pro V2, I happen to see a review of the Smart Pro by Aurora Tech, and that sealed the deal. Both great printers, but I'll take the upgrades all in one package. Cheers!
Was thinking of the creality ender 3 s1 pro and considering you mentioned it twice and considering my country doesn't have a lot of the printers here and the budget being so perfect, this maybe the right one to start my business without breaking the bank and spending $1000
I own a Prusa, but would like an additional, bigger printer. Thanks for pointing at the Max! I'll have to take a thorough look at it… and the FLSun that you don't have yet.
the Ender 3 Pro has been the best investment I've made in a while. I'm up to three Ender 3 Pros and they are an absolute workhorse and the quality ive output has been on par, if not slightly better than my friend's who has a Prusa (nothing against that at all, its just a Prusa is 10x more expensive). Once you figure out how the Ender 3 Pros work, you can really dial in perfect prints. Also wanted to note I've only upgraded the complete hot end and the stock bowden tube which was about $20 USD.
I know this is intended to show and give your opinion on what you have. Maybe even guide beginners but for what Creality is asking for a CR-10 Max. I think if you really want to be thrifty and get the same thing. Purchase and Ender 3, get some parts like a CR Touch, an upgraded board, and then put an Ender Extender kit on it. You’ll lose about 50 on X and Y and maybe the Z but this really lets you make it your own. Perhaps that would be something you can demonstrate. I know Teaching Tech has shown this very thing.
So I’m not opposed to that but it’s not something I can guide and recommend to beginners. Usually those who pull the trigger on extender kits fight them for weeks to calibrate them properly. People more comfortable doing that already know what printers they want ya know? If I had a choice between an e3 and tons of work/upgrades vs a MAX? max all day. It works out of box ya know? Also teaching tech is awesome
@@FranklyBuilt That’s very true and like I said it’s what I see and for nearly half the price I thought it be an idea worth mentioning. I had no idea what your take on Ender Extenders are and thought it was worth bringing up. I myself am new to 3D printing but after seeing the similarities between that and industrial injection molding. It’s very much the same process. With how long I’ve spent in the industry I’ve got a great handle on 3D printing and am actually thinking of trying to take an E3 and modify it into my own style of a large printer. I’m also looking into how to recycle failed prints because for the department I worked in at my plastic jobs. All of them had a way to recycle runners, purge blocks, and failed prints. Don’t think I’ll have a way to convert it into filament again so I’m going to try plastic sheets just because it’s easier. Anyway very informative video this has given me ideas what to add to my ensemble of printers.
Thanks for the video! I started a home crafting business with 3D printing, woodworking, etc. a few months ago. I've currently got the Ender 3 Pro and I've got it tuned pretty well, but I'm getting a lot more traction on 3D printed products than expected so I'm looking at a second printer. Your review of the FLSUN SR had me pretty much sold on it, but I'm in Canada and they have been out of stock for months. My other contender is the CR10S Pro V2 which is in-stock... so you've covered all my options, but now I'm more torn than ever. I'm mostly printing TTRPG accessories, like Dice Towers... the detail is important but I'm really stuck on whether I should hold out for the speed of the SR or the bigger build plate that would allow me to print a lot of things as one piece. If you don't mind me asking, if you had to choose between the SR and the CR 10S Pro V2, where do you think you'd land?
Excellent video, and great information! Except your "Microstore" shows "in store only", for most of their products. So, since their closest walk in store is over 150 miles away from where I live, that is pretty much useless information for me.
I got the anycubic mega x. Its definitely a good newbie printer because the set up takes literally 15 mins and it comes mostly assemble, you only need to screw the base to the extruder stand and attach the material holder. Its never let me down other than general bed adhesion but that's mostly my fault. 2 years running and I've printed half an iron man suit and a whole bunch of props. For me the biggest appeal was the lack of experience needed to handle this printer when I was first getting started. Didn't have to spend ages assembling it. Its also really easy to transport for that very reason, which I've done many times due to moving.
Would the Mega X be ideal for printing full size helmets? I've been looking for a printer that is capable of doing that, but not also breaking the bank. From the reviews I've read, it seems like a great machine.
@@LottaLeo I've managed to print a full scale iron man helmet with no issues. I separated the faceplate during print, but the rest was entirely intact.
@@aj_art8058 That’s very reassuring! I was looking into a Mandalorian helmet print when I got my machine. It’d be my first one, and I’d like to avoid having to do a ton of extra steps (cutting, combining pieces, etc.) Maybe even some small action figures at some point lol.
I've had an original CR-10 for almost 5 years and it's been a real work horse but my favorite printer and my first is the Monoprice select mini (Version 1) although I did have to rewire the heated bed that was only a minor issue for me and there is plenty of advice on line for making this upgrade.
I have a prusa. Looking at potentially getting a second, less expensive option. Don't really have the time to troubleshoot so I've stayed away from the Creality options -- not because they can't be made solid but because my understanding is they generally aren't reliable out of the box. Curious what you'd consider "must have" upgrades for the CR-10S Pro V2 if someone was trying to get a solid printer with decent print bed size that shouldn't require a lot of downtime due to troubleshooting. Would love a video showing what upgrades you recommend along those lines. My prusa isn't without maintenance, downtime, and replaced parts but I'd like to keep it to a minimum while not spending prusa money on a second printer.
Have you tried out Klipper at all? I got my first 3D printer just recently, the Ender 3s1, and it was pretty good out of the box. I like really smooth prints, however, and if you send really dense data and try and print at 50mm/s you get blobs unless you turn off the print resume after power outage feature which Isn't available unless you upgrade the firmware. I did that, successfully, but was still messing around. After installing Klipper on a raspberry pi3 that I wasn't really using (that wasn't Super easy, but hey I didn't break anything), but I'm now printing good draft quality at 150mm/s and printing full quality at 100. Of course, that depends on model. If it has a ton of small details the average speed comes down Quite a bit because it obviously has to slow down at corners. Still, if you haven't messed with Klipper at all, you Definitely should. And if you want to make it easier, you Can just buy the reality addon for around $150, which is supposed to make it easy.
Love how honest you were with these videos, but do you have a new favorite, or ones that you have since used? I'm sure the newer models have updated features? Love to buy one, that is as much turn key ass possible that won't break the bank. Maybe $500 flexibility is minimal 😅
