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

I’ve made a lot of videos on modifying 3D printers, so the question begs: are modified printers better? Currently I have a standard Ender 3 and a heavily upgraded Ender 3, which makes for a great comparison. In this video I compare the two in terms of print quality, reliability, refinement, versatility and ease of use.

The answer to this question in my opinion is not black or white. Please leave your thoughts in the comments below.

This standard Ender 3 was purchased as the recipient of some very cool conversion kits you'll be seeing in the future.

Models in this video:

Articles and links in this video:

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[TeachingTech]

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.

[rondlh]

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

[soggynode]

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.

[Jcontention]

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.

[ericcsuf]

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.

[FilamentFriday]

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.

[HushangA]

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

[lookitsrain]

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.

[Pfurious]

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!

[Billybobble]

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.

[derekhawley]

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.

[mickplatts]

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

[JoshUC]

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

[coulomjo]

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!

[mathewphillips]

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

[davidcarter]

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 YouTube, 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 YouTube video makers. It has made 3D printing so much easier.

[davidbock]

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.

[leiflindqvist]

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 👍🇸🇪

[AutoBetaT]

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 :)

[venera]

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.