Deep Dive Into My Experience With The Creality Ender 3 Pro 3D Printer
Whether you are starting your venture into 3D Printing, starting up a print farm, or adding to your existing print farm this information will provide you a deep dive into the Creality Ender 3 Pro
Uptime and reliability are of the highest importance when it comes to starting up a print farm so here is some information based on my personal experience. Planning for the future is of high importance along with budget and filament requirements. This will help you make a solid decision if the Ender 3 Pro is for you.
Low Budget – Great Quality = Ender 3 Pro
My most utilized 3D printer is the Ender 3 Pro from Creality which is a great low budget and high quality printer. MicroCenter will have frequent 1-time only sales at 50% off ($99.99!) but this is only redeemable in store. The nearest Microcenter to Arizona is 6+ hours away from Phoenix Arizona so do some calculations to justify the free shipping cost on Amazon vs. traveling to Tustin, California. Amazon runs them for usually $235 free shipping.
The Ender 3 Pro is consumed with a good amount of pros that surely outweigh the cons. I would highly recommend the Ender 3 Pro from Creality. I currently have 6 of these included on my print farm which is 50% of my configuration. 4 of the 6 are modded with silent boards as this printer contains the standard board which reads upwards of 65 dB when printing! This can be heard from 60 feet away which is the distance from my office to my living room. This is a great sound test on various similar 3D printers. Sound Noise Test On Ender 3 8 bit vs 32 bit vs v2 Silent Board on YouTube for example.
Consider both budget and bed size desired which will be of high importance.
When considering what printer suites you best, there are a few necessary checklist items such as Bed Frame Size (XYZ Dimensions) and Hot End (standard aluminum & all metal hot ends, direct drive) and Auto Bed Level. There are also optional checklist such as Silent Board, Touch Screen, Firmware Upgrades, and more. The most important question I ask is what are you wanting to print? If you are trying to start up a bath bomb/soap making business then a short and large frame would be ideal as you do not need much height. If you want to be creative and do everything (literally me) then stick with a standard sized 3D printer such as my recommended Creality Ender 3 printer with a printer size of 220 x 220 x 250mm (8.6″ x 8.6″ x 9.8″) Most standard 3D printers (such as my Aquila and Ender 3V 2 and Ender 3) are all this size bed size.
Review which type of filament is desired for your application!
The type of filament you will be using will determine what type of filament you can print. Some particular filament will require an enclosure while a majority do not require an enclosure for printing. The Creality Ender 3 Pro specs show that the aluminum stock hot end can reach max 280*C but I would never personally recommend running the stock hot end that high. I exclusively print PLA (Polylactic Acid) and my temps range from 205 to 220*C at max. Bed Level is really only a factor if you will use exotic filaments.
I would say that if you are looking to start off with your first 3D printer you will very much likely utilize PLA unless you are wanting to print drone parts, RC parts, or other strength or heat required items then that is where the all metal hot end comes in play. If you know that you will be using PETG, Nylon, ABS, and ASA filament then an Ender 3 Pro would not be my recommendation as you will want to invest in your budget to get a out-of-box unit that will print that filament.
Jakub Kočí is an author for Prusa Research and written many contributing articles to the 3D printing community. I have his Material Temperature Guide laminated in my 3D print area. Give his Advanced Filament Guide a quick read and can narrow down your options if exotic filament is desired.
If you want to learn more about various types of filament and there use I would recommend this article by All3DP who truly was a large part in my success with 3D printing. If you have a question or need info, add that info to google and “All3DP” after, search, and I guarantee you there is the info you need by All3DP
Final Conclusion: Recommended!
Overall, I have been extremely pleased with uptime of my Ender 3 Pro printers. This printer is 50% of my print farm (6 out of 12) though 4 of the 6 are modified with an all metal hot end and silent board which adds another $85 (more info below!) If you want to dive into the 3D printing world and/or start up your print farm you can surely count on the Creality Ender 3 Pro.
PHX Hobbies Opinion PROS:
- East and Quick Assembly – The 1st one will take up to 1 hour before you start your test print. After you complete basic training of 3D printing such as Bed Leveling, Cura Profiles, and Common Issues you will be set and stone to run your printer(s).
- Meanwell Quality Power Supply – Meanwell is the high end power supplies in the 3D printing industry. You really cant go wrong with the quality presented by Meanwell who has been a reputable transformer and power supply company.
- Resume Printing Function – This has been a reliable fail-safe proof to power outages or kids turning off the switch in your office (this has happened too many times!) This feature will allow your print to resume if the power to the printer shuts off.
- High Precision – These Enders will provide high precision with proper configuration. The most important thing is to properly level your 3D printer when first assembly occurs. Next, you should be utilizing CHEP’s Ender profiles for CURA which is my go-to 3D printing slicing program.
- Easily Upgradable! – BIGTREETECH SKR Silent Board, Gulfcoast Robotics All Metal Hot End, and Hardened Steel Nozzles! These are found on 4 of 6 Ender 3 Printers at this time. The silent board is a great upgrade for noise cancellation and firmware upgrades.
- Supportive Community – The Ender is a widely known and beloved 3D printer which has a very helpful community and tons of free upgrades from hot end and cooling fan upgrades to extruder guides and more! This is why the Ender 3 and Ender 3 Pro are my go to printers.
PHX Hobbies Opinion CONS:
- Loud XYZ Movement – The stock Ender 3 does not include the silent board so if you like the noise of a 3D printer from 60+ feet away, be my guest! If you are able to secure these new from Microcenter (1 phone number = 1 code!) then you can save 50% to invest in the BIGTREETECH SKR Silent Board, Gulfcoast Robotics All Metal Hot End, and Hardened Steel Nozzles!
- No Touch Screen – This is quite common with low budget 3D printers that utilize a control knob for settings and tuning. A touch screen is a huge upgrade vs/ the stock control knob found on most $350 and under 3D printers.
- No Auto Bed Level – This is not a feature for an Ender printer and requires hardware and software upgrades. While I personally do not mind using a sticky note as my 3D printing leveling guide having the ABL (Auto Bed Leveling) probe has really increased my productivity since I can perform a bed level check prior to prints which I tend to run many days and weeks without touching them.
My Printers are finely-tuned and modified Creality, Voxelab, and BIQU Printers which produce ultra high quality. Some are stock and some are modded with upgraded hardware such as BIGTREETECH SKR Silent Board, Gulfcoast Robotics All Metal Hot End, and Hardened Steel Nozzles. I currently have 12 printers in production and I trust these 3 name brand printers to perform the day-to-day manufacturing for me. I am extremely pleased with my Ender 3, Ender 5s, Aquilas, and BX Printers. I do wish to venture into Prusa Research and Bambu Lab which are next on my list. Just like everything in life, you get what you pay for and that is a true saying in the 3D printing community. Prusa Research and Bambu Lab are truly the leaders in 3D printing innovation at this time.
If you have any questions or need more info feel free to reach out and I can help you decide on the best printer for your needs and budget. Curious to what my print farm consist of? Here’s my affiliate links to my current print farm which is a mix of Ender 3s to Ender 5 Plus. I would highly recommend any of these printers to anyone wanting to get into the 3D printing world. PHX Hobbies 3D Printers Affiliate Links
Not sure what filament to use? Let me know! Here is a list of my current in stock and most utilized filaments available. I have purchased many different brands and colors and personally use these as my go-to filaments for that shade of color. PHX Hobbies 3D Printer Filament Affiliate Links
*Disclosure: This is an item I personally use and value highly. As an Affiliate, I endorse the products and services with genuine honesty. If you see the value in these products and choose to purchase via my referral links, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support!