Look Everyone, if you’re new to 3D printing, I promise you, you will not be printing enclosures, TPU, abs or anything substantial for at least the first month. And that would be fast. Everyone that just bought an Ender 3 should set aside about $60 for your first 3 rolls of filament, $50 for 3D related tools and about $50-$100 for immediate upgrades. (This includes essentials like glass beds and small components- will cover some of more advanced upgrades).
**3D printing has a steep learning curve. These machines can be finicky and frustrating. Success with 3D printing requires patience and attention to detail. **
check out Teaching Tech on YouTube. He does tons of videos for the Ender 3 and you’ll find everything from total beginner to mastery level.
Hatchbox or Overture PLA, 1.75mm. I’ve been using both with great results lately.
On Amazon in a variety of colors.
Recommend picking up one non-black filament as it’s easier to see your first layers.
And level your printer. Do it right. Take your time your first time to understand the process. A well leveled bed means a good first layer, which is foundational to your print quality overall.
You will need to choose a Slicer program that generates gcode from an mesh 3d file (STL). Personally I use Simplify3D but the license is a bit spendy (worth it in the long run hands down imo). Otherwise Cura is free and perfectly serviceable.
Now I’m going to get to say things like “I’ll just 3D print it”, and “Hey dude, do you have a 3D printer? Oh you don’t? I do…”, and “Fuck it. I’ll just 3D print another one…” and…
@skunk well you have to buy filament. If you have a tool collection and digital calibers, the tools are covered. And you don’t have to do any or all of the upgrades to get started.
Lets just say that if I didn’t pick it up that FT5 kit for $100 I would not have purchased it. (Figured at the very least I could pillage the extrusion and linear rails for another project) I built it as designed but will be rebuilding it as a CoreXY machine very soon. The FT6 is a step in the right direction, updated electronics, 110v silicone heating pad, etc, but IMO if you don’t need that 700mm length axis there would be more value in other machines at that price point, or DIYing.
Don’t be concerned about upgrades for now, all you need is PLA/PLA+ filament. And whatever problems you are having, we’ll help you figure it out.
Upgrades are necessary when you move to different material(like ABS, nylon, TPU etc) and higher speeds. Only upgrade when problems are not fixed by what you have.
Actually I also would say that you need a dual gear extruder. Don’t worry, it’s not as expensive as it sounds.
I bought this junk one that a bunch of the ender 3 YouTube guys recommend. Its better than the stock one but still shit. It uses one gear to push the filament from one side. The other side is just an idler. I got a lot of binding/skipping with it.
Eventually I bought this dual one and immediately was able to print with no more binding. I can even print a bit faster with it. It pushes the filament from both sides using the one extuder motor.
Join the 3d printer Straight-Edge Purist Stock Club. We’re basically a gang.
NOT an elaborate scheme to cover up how emotionally over it I am with modding my printers. They’re all red-headed foster kids to me at this point, I’m only keeping them around so long as they’re beneficial.
I started doing the whole upgrade thing and got lazy as well. The only things I’ve done now is replace things that broke. The extruder gear cracked so I put a metal one on it. The Bowden tube melted so I put a Capricorn tube on.
Oh and those springs. But that’s it. I have the skr board but one of my stepper drivers wasn’t working so I put the stock on back in and stopped fucking with it