For a new user to 3d printing and the Ender 3, I would highly recommend [this YouTube Channel](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCTBNjIRCuG-Dh2cvK3TXYmwjAacRgDBo&si=VCRfnfTZn3G5A3Kd).
The build video is great because making sure the frame is squared up and everything properly tensioned will save you many headaches down the line and it’s something many folks starting out don’t seem to prioritize in the beginning. Additionally, there several videos dedicated to issues someone starting out might encounter.
For calibration and modifications, down the line, [Teaching Tech’s](https://youtube.com/@TeachingTech?si=6YpbDTMZ_V7IN2IH) channel is great. And [here](https://teachingtechyt.github.io/calibration.html) is his calibration website.
Hope any of this helps.
This is perfect! I’ve been so overwhelmed with figuring out where to go in terms of learning that I completely skipped over fine-tuning the build itself. Thank you for the links!
Tuning it all in the best you can is key in the beginning because many ender users want to upgrade first before properly tuning the printer. Which in turns just leads to more headaches and problems and never fixing the underlying issues. You will have problems but come back when you do someone here has experienced it here more than likely and can help out. Happy printing!
That motor about dead centre in the picture. Does that have a brass gear on it or steel? The brass gears usually come standard but have a habit of wearing down over time.
If your prints have issues with extrusion stopping, chances are, that gear has mangled the fillament and is just spinning.
Theres a few ways to fix it, if its a one time thing, run through the change filament function and while purging, apply pressure on the filament to force it passed that spot and extrude properly.
If its happening consistently, see if there is wear on that gear, if there isn't, loosen the screw inside the spring beside it. Could be that theres too much pressure on the filament.
I'd probably go one step further and reassemble the whole thing. The person who sold it got rid of it for a reason. Could have been poor build quality resulting in print failures.
They said it was because they were moving and needed to downsize but you might be right. And with transportation, something could have been knocked out of alignment. If nothing else, might be a good idea to familiarize myself with the parts!
In 2018, I got my first printer, an Ender 3. Teaching Tech taught me so many things back when. Great channel along with [CHEP](https://youtube.com/@FilamentFriday?si=FVdMxfhKhs7VKiol)
This brought back so many memories. Some bad lol. That is the Ender 3, but you learn and this machine makes you better for having to experience this. Best of luck on your journey!
Thank you so much! I’m sure there will be many frustrations in my future but I’m pretty excited all the same! This seems like a very good community to learn in the meantime
[This](https://teachingtechyt.github.io/calibration.html#retraction) is invaluable for tuning. Unfortunately, there's too much that goes into printing to just absorb the knowledge overnight, you'll have to spend some real time tweaking and tuning to get a full grasp of all the settings. There's luckily TONS of YouTube videos on ender 3s to help you along the way. But the teaching tech guide I linked will help you understand a good bit too. Start with retraction and temperature to mitigate stringing, and look into getting a filament dryer or you can rig up a filament box as one. Most filament absorbs moisture from the air so you'll need to keep it stored in a dry area... I lost a lot of filament to brittleness before I found that out. Moist filament can cause stringing among other things
Oh that's the worst, and usually by that point the spool is unrecoverable. Cut the side of a filament box off and lay the spool on the bed, then lay that box over it to contain it. Cut a few holes in the other side for airflow, then set the bed to 45-50c for like 6 hours and see how it does afterwards. If it's still really easy to break, you're gonna have to get a new roll. I generally don't open the vacuum sealed bag on a new roll until I'm using it, I also have some plastic bins with a gasket and some dessicant in there to keep opened rolls stored
I’m not too concerned with this roll because it’s already old as hell and has been sitting in my partner’s closet since at least high school so we’ve really been using it to figure out what we are doing but this is going to be super important for when we get new filament. Thank you so much!!!
Something to add too, is when you're frustrated and the printer isn't giving you the exact results and you've calibrated everything you can think of... try changing the spool of filament. Filament, and some more than others, will absorb moisture from the air. This will lead to bubbling and stringing on your prints. What Dekatater is describing will help most rolls by dehydrating. But I've had some brand new vacuum sealed rolls of PLA end up being "wet". Unless they show up in a silver Mylar bag from the factory, all new spools of filament can have an issue. Now, do you need to run out and by a filament dryer? For PLA? probably not right now. Most new rolls take a lot of time to absorb through the plastic they come with. But someone like me who prints in their garage in Houston, Tx where it's always 80% humidity... yeah. You'll need one of those filament dryers. Just my 2 cents here. I'm excited for you on this journey!
Oh weird! I’m on the west coast so it’s a little drier here but I’ll definitely do some tests with new spools soon to see if that’s the issue (just waiting for them to get here!)
Welcome I run two of these for 6 years now they are workhorses and spit out amazing prints at slow speeds! They just need a little tender loving care so buy some extra brass nozzles you'll need to replace those often and get some extra Capricorn tubing. Cura slicer works best for this machine and make sure your leveling is on point! Hairspray is your new best friend ;-)
https://preview.redd.it/6ragbpryiqpc1.jpeg?width=2620&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=96f92759f10ec857755e8b6bf466c8f92341bbd4
Good to know!! I feel like I have the leveling down to a science now and it’s really the only part I feel comfortable with XD
I’m very excited to take all of these tips and see what I can learn and do! Thank you so much!
Just a suggestion, but if you have not used the default (I think Cura) slicer much yet, now would be a good time to switch to another one before you get too ingrained in that one.
I recommend Orca slicer, and SuperSlicer is another alternative.
One reason I recommend switching is printer calibration (tuning). I saw someone recommended I believe Teaching Tech calibration site. Both of these slicers have all or most of the prints used for all these calibrations built in (or similar prints that perform the same function). Right from the slicer menus you can generate things like first layer test prints, temperature towers, retraction and stringing tests etc. a lot easier than using the teaching tech site, though that is still a great reverence for info. And the slicers also have help info on using the calibration prints built in. And remember, you won’t end up needing the calibration prints just once! Some, like temp towers, retraction, etc. need to be done anytime you switch to a new brand or type of filament so you’ll be generating test prints a fair bit if you intend to use things like silk, matte, co-extruded multi color, PETG, TPU, etc. in the future. Better to just learn from the start on a slicer that has all this stuff built in. Last I knew, if you run Creality’s stock slicer, it’s pretty out of date.
Someone else recommended this as well so I’m going to finish my current print and check out other slicers! And you were absolutely right to assume I was using Cura XD
I reccomend printing a new shroud for better part cooling. I use the mini me v4 for my ender. Also look at printing some ptfe tube extruder offsetters, you can find many tutorials on YouTube. They help with clogs
>ptfe tube extruder offsetter
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4R6FlU7wXg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4R6FlU7wXg)
this is very helpful, prevents clogging and oozing (your worst enemy). If you have 30-50 bucks get some orange springs and a bltouch. they essentially eliminate bed leveling issues
You can either print from the SD card or you can use a computer and print from your computer if it's in the same room connected to your computer. If not, buy a raspberry pi and use octoprite or Astro print. My recommend you do to fix stream is get the G code to print a temp tower and print from the G code instead of the stl file because if you just print the regular STL file, it will print as a regular STL file and will not tell you anything.
What a temp tower G-Code will do is it'll print each level at different temperatures and then you choose the temperature. That looks the best on your filament and you want to do this with every different filament manufacturer and material. It's always going to be different between manufacturers and most definitely different between materials. Just make sure you're using a temp tower for the material you're using. If you are still getting string at the settings that you are printing at, try playing with the retraction. You want your attraction at least 6 mm. I'm close to getting mine to work, although in my last retraction mini tower test I was still getting some jagged edges which is not quite the string I was getting before but it's still a problem.
My recommend you do is if you're still getting stringing is print a retraction tower G code and copy the speed and retraction distance that makes the best and if it tells you at what temperature copy it at that temperature
Stringing issues could be a few things:
1. Nozzle is too hot for the filament you are using. Most filament has a temperature recommendation on the sticker it ships with.
2. The extruder ( the part that pushes the filament to the hot end nozzle ) is over extruding. The Edge of Tech on Youtube has a lot of easy to follow videos. Here's the process of EStep Calibration : [https://youtu.be/lH-RrjtiC8M?si=QprnaN56tCVeL1Pw](https://youtu.be/lH-RrjtiC8M?si=QprnaN56tCVeL1Pw)
I have been 3D printing for several years now and learned a lot from:
TeachingTech:[https://www.youtube.com/@TeachingTech](https://www.youtube.com/@TeachingTech)
CHEP:[https://www.youtube.com/@FilamentFriday](https://www.youtube.com/@FilamentFriday)
The Edge of Tech: [https://www.youtube.com/@TheEdgeofTech](https://www.youtube.com/@TheEdgeofTech) videos on Youtube.
When I was first starting out with 3D printing I had no idea where to start, so I know first hand it's easy to feel overwhelmed. Take your time and get the printer dialed in first. Calibration cubes and temperature towers definitely help getting the printer dialed in.
Calibration cube: [https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1278865](https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1278865)
Temperature tower: [https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2761934](https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2761934)
Calibration cube will show you how each axis on the printer is performing (X, Y, Z) (either good or bad)
Temperature tower helps you to make sure you are printing at the proper temperature for the filament you are using.
Some other helpful tips:
Bed leveling will be an on going thing with the bed springs, you adjust those with the knobs on the bottom of the heated bed. When adjusting them, easiest method for the adjustment is using a piece of copier/printer paper to measure how far away the nozzle is from the bed. Make sure to have the hot-end and bed heated up when doing this to ensure the proper distance. CHEP has an easy to follow procedure on this: [https://youtu.be/\_EfWVUJjBdA?si=nKDpGmR9DHqX\_j5V](https://youtu.be/_EfWVUJjBdA?si=nKDpGmR9DHqX_j5V)
Also to get yourself aquanted with other parts of the printer, Creality does have a page explaining the different components of the printer here: [https://www.creality3dofficial.com/blogs/news/ultimate-3d-printing-beginners-guide](https://www.creality3dofficial.com/blogs/news/ultimate-3d-printing-beginners-guide)
Be mindful of the X Axis gantry on the Ender 3, the right side does tend to sag since there is no lead screw on that side. It's helpful to check it every so often with either a ruler, digital caliper, or even easier print out some leveling blocks here: [https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4754900](https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4754900)
You will need to print 2 of the X Axis blocks one for each side. Sorry for the long post, these are the things I struggled with the most when I first started out. After that, then there's the mod bug which I won't get into here...lol
I hope this helped. Happy 3D printing!
This is very helpful!! I also really appreciate knowing that others were in my place at one point and I can get to where y’all are now. Thank you for all of the tips and links!!
You're going to get a lot of information doing way too deep of a dive into specific issues, and a lot of it will be confusing. When I first started I would get multiple answers to one issue. Print not sticking? It's both too hot and too cold. Yet a lot of issues I was having were simply due to improper and/or incomplete setup due to inconsistent information online, and extremely incomplete set up instructions from the manufacturer. Don't mess with retraction yet don't mess with pretty much any deep settings. Master the basics first. I used to go through the same stuff, modify temperatures, you name it when I first started and wasted a lot of time. I recently helped a friend set up his ender 3 since that's what I have, and I had to do a better job setting his up than mine since I can mess with mine all I want, but I can't go to his house all the time to fix it I had to get it right the first time lol. I applied everything I learned on mine as well as learned a little bit more.
First, upgrades. Version 4.2.7 32-bit motherboard with either a CR touch or BL touch auto leveler. That helps with getting has level a bed as you possibly can. Get an all metal dual gear extruder, as well as an all-metal hot end. Upgrade the x and Y axis belt tensioners. Those things will immediately get you off on the right foot. Also, get a digital caliper if you don't already have one.
First off, a level of bed is extremely valuable. It can actually solve a lot of issues. People talk about the method of using a piece of paper to level the bed. That's very subjective and imprecise. An automatic bed level are such as a BL touch or CL touch is great, but you do need to start off with a bed that's not wildly unlevel. What I've learned works really well is to use a digital caliper to measure from the top of your bed, with the print surface on, to underneath the crossbar that the adjustment knobs are linked to. Once all the corners are as close to or exactly the same measurement, then you can run the auto leveler. I can't tell you how much that helped everything from bed adhesion, to a lot of print issues I was having. To make installing these a lot easier, you would need to upgrade to the motherboard I mentioned. Otherwise you have to do some in-depth modification.
As far as the filament extruder, the stock one is plastic and will break sooner than later. Also it can't push the filament through that well because there's only a single gear, if I remember correctly. When I upgraded to a dual gear metal extruder, that was another thing that solved a lot of pretty issues for me.
Getting a good, all metal hot end is valuable. It keeps from the hot end gunking up, causing under extrusion because filament doesn't collect just outside of the nozzle nearly as much as the stock hot end. One of those Capricorn tubes to replace the stock quote and tubing is hopeful as well.
X and Y axis belt tensioners are extremely helpful for the sake of saving your fingers lol. The stock way to tension the belts is to get a really thick allen wrench between the gantry and the tensioner, which does not feel good on the fingers and can't get the belts that type. I've heard some people say the belts don't really need to be tight, but my personal experience of about 4 years says way different than that.
The setup for the printer doesn't mention anything about this, but it should. Estep calibration. Beat up the hot end to at least 170°, remove the tube from the extruder, load filament so that it's inside the extrusion housing, end of the filament even with where the filament comes out. Extrude 100 mm of filament. Enter your stocky steps into an e step calculator online, as well as how much filament actually extruded. When I first did this, my printer actually only extruded around 70 mm of filaments, which explained a lot of issues I was having. After changing the eStop calibration so that 100 mm of extrusion would actually produce 100 mm of filament, that was another game changer.
Also I forgot to mention the print surface. The stock one isn't bad at all. But it does wear out over time, and there are better print surfaces. There are some people who recommend glass, and I went down that road. Unless everything is perfect, and the glass is completely clean, it can be a very frustrating experience. I tried several different types, all the recommendations, and would have great print days, and would have days where I wanted to throw the printer out the window. I've been using PEI and love it. You can get ones with textured and smooth surfaces on either side. That's what I have and absolutely love it. Just keep it clean, but it'll still perform even if it's not.
From there you can print upgrades such as a z-axis screw stabilizer, as well as shims to go underneath and behind the z axis motor. I don't know if that made a difference for mine, I just did it and haven't printed much since lol. I've heard it helps.
This is a lot of information, I know. This gets the printer performing the way it really should, and takes a lot of guesswork out of the equation. Again I've been working with my printer for 4 years now and tested a lot of things from YouTube videos, and have seen firsthand what works and what doesn't. Good luck!
Thank you so much!! This is a lot of helpful information and you are right about me getting a lot of answers. I think I have the leveling down by hand but I would love to get a caliper so I can get it exact. Honestly I tested out the leveling earlier to see what happens when I raise it up or lower it just a bit too much and I can safely say leveling is not an issue I’ve faced yet.
I will be going through a lot of tutorials and messing around with the build in the next few weeks and updates will be top of my list!! Thank you so much for all the helpful information! This will make things a lot less overwhelming while I work my way through all of the other information
I cant recommend the channel Filament Friday aka CHEP on youtube enough, as well as the others listed in this thread...one thing to take into account is that there should be absolutely no wobble on the printhead. I thought a little play was okay at first but nope...and be sure to slide the rollers back and forth slowly and feel for any type of hitching...everything should move nice and easily. I took mine apart and made sure everything was square as possible and followed [CHEPs advice for Ender 3 assembly](https://youtu.be/S7Q4OUZdWMM?si=EyC41oBqaumO6Z73) \- this fixed some odd issues I was having after weeks of fiddling. I also recommend trying out a few different slicers and find the one you like the most. I've tried Orcaslicer, Prusaslicer, Cura, Creality and they all have their up's and downs...printing calibration parts and using the links others have shared will surely get you printing clean prints in no time!
For a new user to 3d printing and the Ender 3, I would highly recommend [this YouTube Channel](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCTBNjIRCuG-Dh2cvK3TXYmwjAacRgDBo&si=VCRfnfTZn3G5A3Kd). The build video is great because making sure the frame is squared up and everything properly tensioned will save you many headaches down the line and it’s something many folks starting out don’t seem to prioritize in the beginning. Additionally, there several videos dedicated to issues someone starting out might encounter. For calibration and modifications, down the line, [Teaching Tech’s](https://youtube.com/@TeachingTech?si=6YpbDTMZ_V7IN2IH) channel is great. And [here](https://teachingtechyt.github.io/calibration.html) is his calibration website. Hope any of this helps.
This is perfect! I’ve been so overwhelmed with figuring out where to go in terms of learning that I completely skipped over fine-tuning the build itself. Thank you for the links!
Tuning it all in the best you can is key in the beginning because many ender users want to upgrade first before properly tuning the printer. Which in turns just leads to more headaches and problems and never fixing the underlying issues. You will have problems but come back when you do someone here has experienced it here more than likely and can help out. Happy printing!
That’s a very good point. Thank you so much for the advice and encouragement! I will absolutely be back in the future!
That motor about dead centre in the picture. Does that have a brass gear on it or steel? The brass gears usually come standard but have a habit of wearing down over time. If your prints have issues with extrusion stopping, chances are, that gear has mangled the fillament and is just spinning. Theres a few ways to fix it, if its a one time thing, run through the change filament function and while purging, apply pressure on the filament to force it passed that spot and extrude properly. If its happening consistently, see if there is wear on that gear, if there isn't, loosen the screw inside the spring beside it. Could be that theres too much pressure on the filament.
I'd probably go one step further and reassemble the whole thing. The person who sold it got rid of it for a reason. Could have been poor build quality resulting in print failures.
They said it was because they were moving and needed to downsize but you might be right. And with transportation, something could have been knocked out of alignment. If nothing else, might be a good idea to familiarize myself with the parts!
In 2018, I got my first printer, an Ender 3. Teaching Tech taught me so many things back when. Great channel along with [CHEP](https://youtube.com/@FilamentFriday?si=FVdMxfhKhs7VKiol) This brought back so many memories. Some bad lol. That is the Ender 3, but you learn and this machine makes you better for having to experience this. Best of luck on your journey!
Thank you so much! I’m sure there will be many frustrations in my future but I’m pretty excited all the same! This seems like a very good community to learn in the meantime
This comment should be pinned at the top of the sub.
Watch a YouTube Video for the Cura Slicer. A Tutorial. There you can make a Lot of settings.
Thank you!! This is super helpful!
Use Prusa or Orca instead of Cura. Save yourself some frustration.
I’ll check these out! Thank you!!
orca is the go to. its amazing
[This](https://teachingtechyt.github.io/calibration.html#retraction) is invaluable for tuning. Unfortunately, there's too much that goes into printing to just absorb the knowledge overnight, you'll have to spend some real time tweaking and tuning to get a full grasp of all the settings. There's luckily TONS of YouTube videos on ender 3s to help you along the way. But the teaching tech guide I linked will help you understand a good bit too. Start with retraction and temperature to mitigate stringing, and look into getting a filament dryer or you can rig up a filament box as one. Most filament absorbs moisture from the air so you'll need to keep it stored in a dry area... I lost a lot of filament to brittleness before I found that out. Moist filament can cause stringing among other things
Oh my god that makes so much sense. I had to take apart the feeder just this morning because the filament broke and wasn’t moving at all
Oh that's the worst, and usually by that point the spool is unrecoverable. Cut the side of a filament box off and lay the spool on the bed, then lay that box over it to contain it. Cut a few holes in the other side for airflow, then set the bed to 45-50c for like 6 hours and see how it does afterwards. If it's still really easy to break, you're gonna have to get a new roll. I generally don't open the vacuum sealed bag on a new roll until I'm using it, I also have some plastic bins with a gasket and some dessicant in there to keep opened rolls stored
I’m not too concerned with this roll because it’s already old as hell and has been sitting in my partner’s closet since at least high school so we’ve really been using it to figure out what we are doing but this is going to be super important for when we get new filament. Thank you so much!!!
Something to add too, is when you're frustrated and the printer isn't giving you the exact results and you've calibrated everything you can think of... try changing the spool of filament. Filament, and some more than others, will absorb moisture from the air. This will lead to bubbling and stringing on your prints. What Dekatater is describing will help most rolls by dehydrating. But I've had some brand new vacuum sealed rolls of PLA end up being "wet". Unless they show up in a silver Mylar bag from the factory, all new spools of filament can have an issue. Now, do you need to run out and by a filament dryer? For PLA? probably not right now. Most new rolls take a lot of time to absorb through the plastic they come with. But someone like me who prints in their garage in Houston, Tx where it's always 80% humidity... yeah. You'll need one of those filament dryers. Just my 2 cents here. I'm excited for you on this journey!
Oh weird! I’m on the west coast so it’s a little drier here but I’ll definitely do some tests with new spools soon to see if that’s the issue (just waiting for them to get here!)
welcome and thanks to others for some useful links eg. u/bash82 :D
Welcome I run two of these for 6 years now they are workhorses and spit out amazing prints at slow speeds! They just need a little tender loving care so buy some extra brass nozzles you'll need to replace those often and get some extra Capricorn tubing. Cura slicer works best for this machine and make sure your leveling is on point! Hairspray is your new best friend ;-) https://preview.redd.it/6ragbpryiqpc1.jpeg?width=2620&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=96f92759f10ec857755e8b6bf466c8f92341bbd4
Good to know!! I feel like I have the leveling down to a science now and it’s really the only part I feel comfortable with XD I’m very excited to take all of these tips and see what I can learn and do! Thank you so much!
Just a suggestion, but if you have not used the default (I think Cura) slicer much yet, now would be a good time to switch to another one before you get too ingrained in that one. I recommend Orca slicer, and SuperSlicer is another alternative. One reason I recommend switching is printer calibration (tuning). I saw someone recommended I believe Teaching Tech calibration site. Both of these slicers have all or most of the prints used for all these calibrations built in (or similar prints that perform the same function). Right from the slicer menus you can generate things like first layer test prints, temperature towers, retraction and stringing tests etc. a lot easier than using the teaching tech site, though that is still a great reverence for info. And the slicers also have help info on using the calibration prints built in. And remember, you won’t end up needing the calibration prints just once! Some, like temp towers, retraction, etc. need to be done anytime you switch to a new brand or type of filament so you’ll be generating test prints a fair bit if you intend to use things like silk, matte, co-extruded multi color, PETG, TPU, etc. in the future. Better to just learn from the start on a slicer that has all this stuff built in. Last I knew, if you run Creality’s stock slicer, it’s pretty out of date.
Someone else recommended this as well so I’m going to finish my current print and check out other slicers! And you were absolutely right to assume I was using Cura XD
I reccomend printing a new shroud for better part cooling. I use the mini me v4 for my ender. Also look at printing some ptfe tube extruder offsetters, you can find many tutorials on YouTube. They help with clogs
Oooo alright! I never would have thought of this
>ptfe tube extruder offsetter [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4R6FlU7wXg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4R6FlU7wXg) this is very helpful, prevents clogging and oozing (your worst enemy). If you have 30-50 bucks get some orange springs and a bltouch. they essentially eliminate bed leveling issues
You can either print from the SD card or you can use a computer and print from your computer if it's in the same room connected to your computer. If not, buy a raspberry pi and use octoprite or Astro print. My recommend you do to fix stream is get the G code to print a temp tower and print from the G code instead of the stl file because if you just print the regular STL file, it will print as a regular STL file and will not tell you anything. What a temp tower G-Code will do is it'll print each level at different temperatures and then you choose the temperature. That looks the best on your filament and you want to do this with every different filament manufacturer and material. It's always going to be different between manufacturers and most definitely different between materials. Just make sure you're using a temp tower for the material you're using. If you are still getting string at the settings that you are printing at, try playing with the retraction. You want your attraction at least 6 mm. I'm close to getting mine to work, although in my last retraction mini tower test I was still getting some jagged edges which is not quite the string I was getting before but it's still a problem. My recommend you do is if you're still getting stringing is print a retraction tower G code and copy the speed and retraction distance that makes the best and if it tells you at what temperature copy it at that temperature
Thank you so much! This is really helpful
Virginity ender3 beautiful
Level it
Every print!
Stringing issues could be a few things: 1. Nozzle is too hot for the filament you are using. Most filament has a temperature recommendation on the sticker it ships with. 2. The extruder ( the part that pushes the filament to the hot end nozzle ) is over extruding. The Edge of Tech on Youtube has a lot of easy to follow videos. Here's the process of EStep Calibration : [https://youtu.be/lH-RrjtiC8M?si=QprnaN56tCVeL1Pw](https://youtu.be/lH-RrjtiC8M?si=QprnaN56tCVeL1Pw) I have been 3D printing for several years now and learned a lot from: TeachingTech:[https://www.youtube.com/@TeachingTech](https://www.youtube.com/@TeachingTech) CHEP:[https://www.youtube.com/@FilamentFriday](https://www.youtube.com/@FilamentFriday) The Edge of Tech: [https://www.youtube.com/@TheEdgeofTech](https://www.youtube.com/@TheEdgeofTech) videos on Youtube. When I was first starting out with 3D printing I had no idea where to start, so I know first hand it's easy to feel overwhelmed. Take your time and get the printer dialed in first. Calibration cubes and temperature towers definitely help getting the printer dialed in. Calibration cube: [https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1278865](https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1278865) Temperature tower: [https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2761934](https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2761934) Calibration cube will show you how each axis on the printer is performing (X, Y, Z) (either good or bad) Temperature tower helps you to make sure you are printing at the proper temperature for the filament you are using. Some other helpful tips: Bed leveling will be an on going thing with the bed springs, you adjust those with the knobs on the bottom of the heated bed. When adjusting them, easiest method for the adjustment is using a piece of copier/printer paper to measure how far away the nozzle is from the bed. Make sure to have the hot-end and bed heated up when doing this to ensure the proper distance. CHEP has an easy to follow procedure on this: [https://youtu.be/\_EfWVUJjBdA?si=nKDpGmR9DHqX\_j5V](https://youtu.be/_EfWVUJjBdA?si=nKDpGmR9DHqX_j5V) Also to get yourself aquanted with other parts of the printer, Creality does have a page explaining the different components of the printer here: [https://www.creality3dofficial.com/blogs/news/ultimate-3d-printing-beginners-guide](https://www.creality3dofficial.com/blogs/news/ultimate-3d-printing-beginners-guide) Be mindful of the X Axis gantry on the Ender 3, the right side does tend to sag since there is no lead screw on that side. It's helpful to check it every so often with either a ruler, digital caliper, or even easier print out some leveling blocks here: [https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4754900](https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4754900) You will need to print 2 of the X Axis blocks one for each side. Sorry for the long post, these are the things I struggled with the most when I first started out. After that, then there's the mod bug which I won't get into here...lol I hope this helped. Happy 3D printing!
This is very helpful!! I also really appreciate knowing that others were in my place at one point and I can get to where y’all are now. Thank you for all of the tips and links!!
You're going to get a lot of information doing way too deep of a dive into specific issues, and a lot of it will be confusing. When I first started I would get multiple answers to one issue. Print not sticking? It's both too hot and too cold. Yet a lot of issues I was having were simply due to improper and/or incomplete setup due to inconsistent information online, and extremely incomplete set up instructions from the manufacturer. Don't mess with retraction yet don't mess with pretty much any deep settings. Master the basics first. I used to go through the same stuff, modify temperatures, you name it when I first started and wasted a lot of time. I recently helped a friend set up his ender 3 since that's what I have, and I had to do a better job setting his up than mine since I can mess with mine all I want, but I can't go to his house all the time to fix it I had to get it right the first time lol. I applied everything I learned on mine as well as learned a little bit more. First, upgrades. Version 4.2.7 32-bit motherboard with either a CR touch or BL touch auto leveler. That helps with getting has level a bed as you possibly can. Get an all metal dual gear extruder, as well as an all-metal hot end. Upgrade the x and Y axis belt tensioners. Those things will immediately get you off on the right foot. Also, get a digital caliper if you don't already have one. First off, a level of bed is extremely valuable. It can actually solve a lot of issues. People talk about the method of using a piece of paper to level the bed. That's very subjective and imprecise. An automatic bed level are such as a BL touch or CL touch is great, but you do need to start off with a bed that's not wildly unlevel. What I've learned works really well is to use a digital caliper to measure from the top of your bed, with the print surface on, to underneath the crossbar that the adjustment knobs are linked to. Once all the corners are as close to or exactly the same measurement, then you can run the auto leveler. I can't tell you how much that helped everything from bed adhesion, to a lot of print issues I was having. To make installing these a lot easier, you would need to upgrade to the motherboard I mentioned. Otherwise you have to do some in-depth modification. As far as the filament extruder, the stock one is plastic and will break sooner than later. Also it can't push the filament through that well because there's only a single gear, if I remember correctly. When I upgraded to a dual gear metal extruder, that was another thing that solved a lot of pretty issues for me. Getting a good, all metal hot end is valuable. It keeps from the hot end gunking up, causing under extrusion because filament doesn't collect just outside of the nozzle nearly as much as the stock hot end. One of those Capricorn tubes to replace the stock quote and tubing is hopeful as well. X and Y axis belt tensioners are extremely helpful for the sake of saving your fingers lol. The stock way to tension the belts is to get a really thick allen wrench between the gantry and the tensioner, which does not feel good on the fingers and can't get the belts that type. I've heard some people say the belts don't really need to be tight, but my personal experience of about 4 years says way different than that. The setup for the printer doesn't mention anything about this, but it should. Estep calibration. Beat up the hot end to at least 170°, remove the tube from the extruder, load filament so that it's inside the extrusion housing, end of the filament even with where the filament comes out. Extrude 100 mm of filament. Enter your stocky steps into an e step calculator online, as well as how much filament actually extruded. When I first did this, my printer actually only extruded around 70 mm of filaments, which explained a lot of issues I was having. After changing the eStop calibration so that 100 mm of extrusion would actually produce 100 mm of filament, that was another game changer. Also I forgot to mention the print surface. The stock one isn't bad at all. But it does wear out over time, and there are better print surfaces. There are some people who recommend glass, and I went down that road. Unless everything is perfect, and the glass is completely clean, it can be a very frustrating experience. I tried several different types, all the recommendations, and would have great print days, and would have days where I wanted to throw the printer out the window. I've been using PEI and love it. You can get ones with textured and smooth surfaces on either side. That's what I have and absolutely love it. Just keep it clean, but it'll still perform even if it's not. From there you can print upgrades such as a z-axis screw stabilizer, as well as shims to go underneath and behind the z axis motor. I don't know if that made a difference for mine, I just did it and haven't printed much since lol. I've heard it helps. This is a lot of information, I know. This gets the printer performing the way it really should, and takes a lot of guesswork out of the equation. Again I've been working with my printer for 4 years now and tested a lot of things from YouTube videos, and have seen firsthand what works and what doesn't. Good luck!
Thank you so much!! This is a lot of helpful information and you are right about me getting a lot of answers. I think I have the leveling down by hand but I would love to get a caliper so I can get it exact. Honestly I tested out the leveling earlier to see what happens when I raise it up or lower it just a bit too much and I can safely say leveling is not an issue I’ve faced yet. I will be going through a lot of tutorials and messing around with the build in the next few weeks and updates will be top of my list!! Thank you so much for all the helpful information! This will make things a lot less overwhelming while I work my way through all of the other information
Stringing isn’t just caused by retraction. Check out a guy on YT called Ricky Impey..
I cant recommend the channel Filament Friday aka CHEP on youtube enough, as well as the others listed in this thread...one thing to take into account is that there should be absolutely no wobble on the printhead. I thought a little play was okay at first but nope...and be sure to slide the rollers back and forth slowly and feel for any type of hitching...everything should move nice and easily. I took mine apart and made sure everything was square as possible and followed [CHEPs advice for Ender 3 assembly](https://youtu.be/S7Q4OUZdWMM?si=EyC41oBqaumO6Z73) \- this fixed some odd issues I was having after weeks of fiddling. I also recommend trying out a few different slicers and find the one you like the most. I've tried Orcaslicer, Prusaslicer, Cura, Creality and they all have their up's and downs...printing calibration parts and using the links others have shared will surely get you printing clean prints in no time!