Is Ender 3 Dead or Still Evolving as a Beginner 3D Printer?

With all the new Core XY printers is Ender 3 Dead or is it still evolving as a great beginner 3D Printer?

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[rpiazza]

The Ender 3 has been a great learning platform, I learned to trouble shoot problems, printed out upgrades, added features. Its provided a great tinkering experience. Yes I could have bought a printer with the upgrades incorporated, but what I wanted was the experience of doing it myself. This is basically the entry level erector set (old reference) of 3D printing.

[poodlescone]

The Ender 3 and its clones have reached economies of scale. The design is refined to the point almost every problem has a solution.

[cheeto]

THe great thing about the Ender 3's popularity, is its popularity. Tons of info out there on profiles, repairs, mods, etc. Compare it to a good basic car like a Ford Explorer, tons made and sold. Lots of info and parts are abundant. Compared to having a higher end Jaguar or or similar that is going to cost more to fix if you can even find a mechanic. It might be the better vehicle for some but not for the masses.

[Francois_L_]

I always called the Ender 3 the "Honda Civic of 3D printers". They're both affordable, reliable, they have a ton of aftermarket parts available, are infinitely customizable, can be surprisingly fast and are easy to repair.

[Christopher_Gibbons]

The machine itself is great. The problem is Creality. They are just phoning it in and doing as little as possible. Zero QA testing. They just dump hardware onto these printers and hope they figure out software that can make it work later. They made a version of the sprite extruder, with the cr touch, specifically for upgrading the ender 3v2. If you install it and the firmware they provide, the very first thing it will do is ram the tool head into the side gantry. The solution is to manually edit the firmware yourself, as Creality still haven't fixed this after six months. They never fix anything, they just release new hardware instead.

[reasonablebeing]

I've bought, used, and sold Ender 3 pros. They are simple, a workhorse, and require minimal maintenance. I bought and had three of them running 24-7 to build face shield headbands during the early days of the pandemic with virtually zero downtime. I have started several people with 3D printing with this model and minimal assistance needed after they start printing with it. Chuck's vid's made my job easy for the newbies. I hope there will always be a base model like this available. The KISS principal is certainly in play here. Best way to dip your toes in the 3D printing world with a printer that will actually work and is not a toy.

[larrydom]

Chuck, it was your channel and the excellent information that started me 3d printing. I bought and still use my Ender 2 pro, since all i print is smaller items. Couldn't have been easier, and I love it.

Going to the Midwest Reprap Festival, hoping to meet you and say thanks in person!

[echobeefpv]

Had my ender 3 for 4 years now. went into it knowing it was a budget, starter printer, and with that in mind, I have been very pleased. I didn't buy it to be perfect, I bought it to learn from. Upgraded the hell out of it, no longer resembles the original at all, and I still love it.

[RegularOldDan]

We have had 2 Ender 3s in our house (still do) along with our 2 Prusas. The Ender 3s are reliable, solid printers and I still recommend them to people who are curious about 3D printing but aren't sure if they want to stick with it. At their price point, it's an easy way to test out one's interest while still getting a pretty reliable product.

[radboogie]

Still using my modded Ender 3 V1 from 5 years ago. Does everything I need, only reason I'd upgrade would be for a bigger build area. Awesome printers.

[five-toedslothbear]

I think the Ender 3 is still a great starting printer. I have an Ender 3 Pro that I bought in February 2020 on the recommendation of a friend, just before the pandemic hit. Sure, I could replace it with an upgrade, but I've invested a lot of upgrades in it: BigTreeTech board, BLTouch, Swiss Micro hot end, better extruder gearing, a filament drier on the top rail, filament guides I modded myself, a belt-driven dual Z axis, and I have new bed plates to try out. Part of the fun has been modifying and adjusting the printer myself, learning how to build firmware, how to get better prints. In some ways, I like my setup better than how some of the upgraded models have been done. Your channel has also been a great source of advice.

[hjanfield]

"Ender 3 searches and 3D printing searches are equal" - that's not because the Ender 3 is ultra-incredibly-popular, it's because everybody that owns one has to keep searching for help to fix their problems! (Source: am an Ender 3 owner)

[Shmozone]

I recently got into 3d printing. Imo, what I like about the ender 3 is that it forced me to learn as much as I could about the machine itself. Putting it together and troubleshooting to get perfect prints requires you to know the machine in and out. I know people who just jump to an expensive printer and don't really know or care how it works, it's nice to have that knowledge.

[Brootal]

I have been using my original Ender 3 for years, Early on I upgraded to a metal Extruder and glass bed as I had issues with extrusion and bed level and extrusion, but has been running just like that for years. Just last weekend I was debating getting an upgraded machine after I damaged the boden tube, but decided to repair and upgrade my Ender three. Improved Boden Tube, Upgraded motherboard from 1.1.3 to 2.2.7, CR Touch...It is now so much better than I ever imagined. Now I want to keep upgrading it, and perhaps pick up a couple more.

[VAHDL]

I have an Ender 3 Neo and I'm extremely happy with it. I followed all Chuck's recommendations on this channel. I upgraded the heat break with the bi-metal suggested and followed the instructions for the bed leveling, which is now adjusted to perfection. I've added Octoprint server on an old netbook and I can print from anywhere. No complaints.

[davisrob]

Between the great entry level price, the DIY (forcing you to learn about the insides of the printing - bed leveling, etc..), and with the extensive help from the CHEP channel, the Ender 3 has been awesome for me.

[smithleon]

i'm still using an Ender 3 Pro plus a few upgrades, both bought and printed and it continues to be a great printer for a bunch of stuff I print, both downloaded and designed. Great printer.

[fernandezvonschwephausen]

My Ender 3 Pro is my workhorse. Sure, I have upgraded most of it, 3D printed a bunch of upgrades, tweaked and tweaked and tweaked, but it is always my go-to printer for just about anything I do. It taught me so much about how everything works and how to make things better. I have printers that are bigger, smaller, and/or faster, but I know if I send it to the E3P it will be dimensionally correct and will, more likely than not, finish and look good, if not great. It is simply what it is, a good and inexpensive place to start, and a good overall printer, especially if you are willing to put a little time and effort into setting it up.

[michaelm]

The Ender 3 v2 was my foot into the world of 3D printing just like this Channel. Almost a year later my skill set has increased as my love of this hobby so I bought a Ender 5 plus, and a Sonic Pad. I have countless add ons and mods to fix just about anything that will break. But now I am rocking the XC1 combo and just received my 2nd XC1 combo. The Ender 3 will always be a good machine for the beginner due to cheap parts and a huge community for support and definitely a good place to start.

[graphguy]

being the best at the bottom is admirable.
There is definitely a place for quality and cheap.
Can it compete with the latest and greatest? Not even close.