First of all, you're going to want to update the firmware in the controller board. Creality has a history of shipping printers with older versions of Marlin that lack thermal runaway protection, which is kind of important if you value your home being not on fire. They may have already fixed this, but it's certainly something you'll want to check.

Here's a tutorial:

• Part 1 https://www.google.com/amp/s/m.all3dp.com/2/ender-3-with-marlin-how-to-install-marlin-firmware-on-your-ender-3/
  
• Part 2 https://toms3d.org/2018/09/17/update-your-3d-printer-firmware-without-a-bootloader/
  
  And here's the cheap programming adapter I used to complete the update:
  https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01IBFMJEA?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title
  
  Beyond that, I printed a few upgrades for the printer itself.
  
  A fan guard to keep scrap filament from the bed from falling into the controller fan. https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2935204
  
  A surprisingly useful tool tray to keep the various tools neat and contained https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2883898
  
  Some cable chains mostly for cable management aesthetics but also to prevent damage to cabling during use https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2920060
  
  A filament guide https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2917932
  
  Some retaining clips to keep the Teflon tube from moving around during retractions: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2845931
  
  There are also tons of part cooling fan ducts to play with in order to get cleaner overhangs at various angles.
  
  It's also commonly advised to upgrade to stiffer bed springs to avoid having to relevel the bed as often, but I haven't had an issue on this front yet.
  
  Another common idea is to print on glass. But my bed came flat from the factory and I've been enjoying printing on the flexible removable build surface. And a pane of glass is more mass to sling around which may potentially cause ghosting. But if your bed does come warped, you'll want to run to the hardware store and get a few cut.
  
  I upgraded the Teflon tube to one made by Capricorn. I haven't noticed any difference in print quality, but they advertise that their special Teflon blend has better temperature Resistance which, in the absence of the all metal hotend, adds a wider safety margin for higher printing temperatures.
  
  But by far, the best upgrade was to put some cardboard shims underneath the feet of the printer. This dramatically reduced the amount of noise made by the printer.
  
  Also, if you want to upgrade to printing Zytel, you'll need an all metal hotend like this one: https://www.amazon.com/Micro-Hotend-Creality-Printers-TronXY/dp/B0789V2D7C/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_sspa?crid=D0IRZSZQ80PZ&keywords=ender+3+micro+swiss+hotend&qid=1556175003&s=gateway&sprefix=Ender+3+micr&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1
  
  Hope this helps!

I've owned the Ender 3 for a few months now and have made a number of upgrades, both purchased and printed. Here's a list of what I have purchased and printed, sorted by importance/usefulness.

 

Purchased Parts:

1. EZABL - An automatic bed leveling solution that has worked really well for me. TH3D's firmware and documentation are top notch. Once I dialed it in I've had no issues with bed leveling or adhesion. Also note, TH3D is an American company and Tim, the owner, is even a mod of this sub!
   
   
2. Stepper Motor Dampers - A great way to quiet down the printer. My bedroom and office are connected without an intervening door and the dampers allow me to print overnight and still get get to sleep. Some users have had issues with stepper motors running hot with the dampers installed, but I've had no trouble at all, even after 16+ hr prints.
   
   
3. 5015 Blower Fan - For use with the Petsfang Duct, see below.
   
   
   
4. Assorted M3 Screws - If you're going to be making mods to your printer, you're eventually going to need different sized screws. Having various lengths on hand is super helpful when trying to mount a new part.
   
    
   
   Printed Parts:
   
   
5. Filament Guide Arm - This has helped a lot with keeping the filament feeding smooth and preventing under-extrusion issues. There is a more popular model on thingiverse, but I found this version to be stronger and more stable.
   
   
6. Petsfang Cooling Fan Duct - An extremely popular replacement for the part cooling duct and fan. This creates much more even cooling around the filament as its extruded, providing better bridging and better overall print quality. There is a version using a replacement 5015 blower fan, as I have used, and there's a version called the "Bullseye" that uses the stock fan. I chose to replace the stock fan because mine was starting to rattle.
   
   
7. Tool Holder - It sounds frivolous, but having the tools you need right at hand can be a big help in saving a print or performing trouble shooting. Definitely a must have.
   
   
8. LCD Rear Cover - Protects the circuit board behind the LCD, which is exposed from the factory. If you have children like I do, this is a must.
   
   
9. Cable Chain - Routs the various cables to their destinations in a clean way. Looks super cool. Not necessary, but definitely fun. Note, there is an X-axis cable chain setup available, but I found it made excessive noise and wasn't worth the trouble.
   
   
10. Fan Shroud - Protects the main board fan from bits of filament falling down into the casing.
    
    
11. Storage Drawer - A handy little drawer that slides in next to the LCD. I store things like alcohol swabs, razor blades, and other random tools in it.
    
     
    
    Future Upgrades:
    
    Spool Roller - One issue I've found is that the stock spool holder requires excessive force from the extruder to unwind filament. A replacement spool roller with bearings should reduce the friction significantly and produce more even extrusion.
    
    Metal Extruder - A common problem with the Ender 3 is that it fails to maintain proper tension on the extruder gear, which leads to failure to feed and poor extrusion. An all-metal extruder has been known to fix the issue.
    
    
    
    
    
    

Here's the link for the complete E3D upgrade. I have no idea where to get a stock replacement.

https://www.amazon.com/Genuine-E3D-All-Metal-Universal-V6-175-B/dp/B00NAK9L6Q/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1526851047&sr=8-3&keywords=e3d+hotend

Now may be a good time to upgrade to a metal lever.


Anycubic All Metal Right Hand MK8 Extruder Aluminum Frame Block DIY Kit for Reprap i3 3D Printer https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0196B285I/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_CQGhybY4DRJY8

I'm at 2,000 meters of filament printed with my Maker Select, very happy with it, some tips:

-The Maker Select V2.1 is simply a re-brand and upgrade of the Wanhao Duplicator i3. You'll see that name "i3" thrown around more than Maker select, so just be aware they are nearly synonymous


-First, definitely get the blower fan upgrade: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MJU6JR2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Buy two of them to have an extra in case of death


-Print out a blower fan housing for that fan: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1025471


The fan upgrade provides a huge improvement in print quality


-Get the all metal hot end from micro swiss: https://www.amazon.com/Hotend-Nozzle-WANHAO-FlashForge-Builder/dp/B01C3HEQZC


-THe "Z-Brace" mod reduces vibrations from the machines movements: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:921948


Some people swear by it, but the print time for those parts is roughly 20-24 hours total. In my 2,000+ meters of print, I haven't bothered because of the print time, but still bought the extra pieces in case I decide to do it.


-I've been mass printing tiles for d&d too, I looked at openforge and decided against that line, but went with TrueTiles instead. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUecWG1W-ss


Highly recommend truetiles over the other tile lines out there - the creator is a crafting genius (look him up on youtube - "wyloch"). They take less plastic, are more versatile, faster print time.


I found that Cura 15.04.x was much better than the recommended Cura 2.5.x. My setting for churning out tiles is something like 210C nozzle, 70 mm/s, 55C bed, 0.25 resolution, 0.8 shell, 10% fill, 2mm retraction, 20mm/s retract speed, 60mm/s travel speed, no brim/raft, no supports. You should print at resolution multiples of 0.04 (because of the way the filament feed gear works), ie. 0.08, 0.12, 0.16, 0.2, etc. I'm going to switch to 0.24 resolution for tiles. I do 0.12 for small figures. The printer can reliably print resolution 0.08 right out of the box (lower the speed to ~35 mm/s) but takes a long time to print.

-The black material on the heated bed is call Buildtak - be careful not to puncture it with the supplied putty knife. Get some blunt tools such as https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01A81FXMK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

-you don't need any tape, glue stick, hair spray, for buildtak

-Be sure not to use any acetone or alcohol on Buildtak - both will ruin it.

-Apparently you don't really even need to heat the bed with buildtak, the stuff is super effect with first layer adhesion running at room temp. I ruined my original buildtak by using the supplied putty knife to remove a print that was so super stuck to the bed because I kept it heated. Doesn't hurt to keep it heated though, but be aware heat + buildtak = much adhesion

-That slight lip on the butterfly's bottom layer is due to the settings of first layers being laid down slightly thicker than the others. Sometimes called "elephant's foot" it can also be caused by the nozzle being too close to the bed, which will smush those initial layers more than needed. Closer nozzle = more smushed first layer = better adhesion, but with buildtak you can get away with keeping the nozzle further away, and adjusting your cura settings for a first layer thickness equal to the rest of the print

I grabbed a Micro Swiss All Emtal Hot End (plug and play basically) and upgraded the extruder to an Aluminum one 'https://www.amazon.co.uk/Redrex-Upgraded-Aluminum-Extruder-Creality/dp/B07DDGGN92/'

Stopped all my jamming issues anyway but not sure if thats what your after exactly.

I have the Micro Swiss on my Maker Select and I love it.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01E1HANLS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Don't buy knockoff, buy genuine. I got a knockoff for my Wanhao i3, terrible milling, fake metal. Bough a genuine and had no issue.

Genuine one on Amazon
Micro Swiss All Metal Hotend Kit for Creality CR-10 / CR10 / CR10S / Ender 2 / Ender 3 Printers .4mm https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0789V2D7C/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_XJ9xCbBDQJ77A

I purchased one of the craptastic nozzle sets off Amazon. They work and are fine for basic testing. I've read reports of them shearing off, particularly with higher-temp materials. The wrench and socket are worth the price in any case.

As you start to do more serious and expensive prints, consider some better quality nozzles. On AliExpress, Triangle Labs has a nicer clone set that's a bit more expensive but looks to be of far higher quality. I've ordered a set, but they've not arrived yet.

I've worked with a variety, and tend to buy an E3D version of whatever sizes I'm going to work extensively with for consistency. My notes on nozzle sizes are here.

Replace the part. Then print a filament guide off thingiverse for your model printer.
Official Creality 3D All Metal... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07J44QW8B
I've seen some people that have printed a replacement, but the metal one will last longer.

Weird post to make an image, but go ahead and grab the first one.

While the nozzle will wear, it's not significantly more than normal use. Hardened nozzles can help, but transmit heat less effectively. Replacement tips are literally about $1.50 each (BIQU 3D-M6 0.4mm Brass Extruder Nozzle Print Head for 1.75mm Filament 3D Printer (Pack of 5pcs) ) super easy to replace, and frequently cheaper/easier than cleaning.

That one: https://www.amazon.com/Redrex-Upgraded-Aluminum-Extruder-Creality/dp/B07DDGGN92

There are similar clones on Aliexpress as well.

"MK8 right handed extruder" is what you're looking/searching for. I bought this one https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DDGGN92/ and it worked fine (there will be leftover parts since youre not using the bracket). I think they ranged in price from $11-$20.

/edit one more thing, you'll need a lighter to get the toothed pulley off of the stepper motor axle.

Hot end

extruder

controll board

stepper drivers

stepper motors

I used the repetier firmware configuration tool to get my firmware image.

Get one of these

E3D All-metal v6 HotEnd Full Kit 1.75mm Universal - Bowden Add-on Included - 800mm of PTFE https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NAK9L6Q/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_56M2AbS802RYM

I used this one when I upgraded mine. Works very well, been using it for the last 12 months or so with no issues.

ya so experience has now taught me that:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00THZK97I/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
is crap.

and https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ZZRI0DC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

work really well.

Here's an aluminum version of the part that will work I took this info from the Wiki. You'll need to either take the bearing from your old extruder, or buy a 4x10x4mm bearing to use the original gear and not have to re-calibrate your extruder settings.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MUAMRN7/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

upgraded carriage plate, should be one of the first things you do, the stock one is flimsy and prone to warping, making the print bed extremely hard to level reliably.

https://www.amazon.com/Micro-Hotend-SLOTTED-Cooling-Wanhao/dp/B01E1HANLS/ref=sr_1_fkmr3_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1497736485&sr=8-1-fkmr3&keywords=i3+plus+all+metal+hotend

all metal hotend will enable you to print at much higher temp, and increase reliability of the print head. not strictly needed, but a great upgrade if you want to print abs, petg, or other higher temp filaments.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HCVJ3K2/ref=sxr_rr_xsim_1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=3008523062&pd_rd_wg=sUxZ5&pf_rd_r=W5Q7RV181EJYGTBW4YDJ&pf_rd_s=desktop-rhs-carousels&pf_rd_t=301&pd_rd_i=B01HCVJ3K2&pd_rd_w=ZPXZq&pf_rd_i=tri+gorilla&pd_rd_r=F2X8G4XDPCVTNXX6J560&ie=UTF8&qid=1497736655&sr=1

heater bed mosfet upgrade. again, not strictly needed, but also useful for high temp filaments like abs, as you can run the heated bed at higher temps. also solves (small possibility, i3 plus supposedly fixed issue) of stock mosfet burning out and catching fire.

https://www.thingiverse.com/search?q=i3+plus+cooler&sa=&dwh=295945a7ab3d0cd

print a cooling fan shroud, i use the ciiicooler, the diiicooler is great as well. preferably in abs. BIG quality improvement, the stock fan is useless.

these are some of the ones i use, and there's a lot of other things you can do, extruder gear, improved bearings, too many to count really, just a matter of how far you want to go for incremental gains. the carriage plate and the cooling fan shroud are the only strictly necessary ones though.

oh and i made my own version of this z-brace, don't have the files anymore unfortunately, but this one is fine:

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1653631

that's also something you should do asap.

I would second the Microswiss. It will be my next nozzle after seeing all the recommendations both here on reddit and on the various other Wanhao/Maker boards. Find it here

I totally recommend the All-Metal extruder Hotend for the i3 as well, once I threw that on, my prints were beautiful.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01E1HANLS/

All right yall back at it again with a little lesson in 3d printing. An all metal hotend is made with much higher quality and there is no ptfe lining on the inside of the cooling block. The MPSM comes with an E3D v6 hot end (not all metal) however the nozzle does not matter if it is all metal or not.

Nozzles I bought:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01E90JU84/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_Rvo6BbHV9F9KV

Edit: I recommend buying the parts from the link you posted due to the tools you get and the nozzles for all the same price

As I mentioned elsewhere, I'm very happy with this printer.

Building it was an adventure for a first-timer, but you learn SO much in the process. It's also very easy to modify, and I like having the 2020 frame, as it makes it easy to mount things all over the place.

Oh, one note -- the directions that I received with mine were from before the ball screw was part of the kit, so they show you removing the ball screw from its mount to screw it onto the platform -- DO NOT DO THIS. All the bearings will fall out, and your life will suck. Just mount the ball screw as a single unit, never, ever take it apart.

There is nothing in the kit for clamping your belts. I picked up some small binder clips, and they've worked very well for me.

For anyone else stumbling onto this thread (the OP already has been to these), my original thread on this printer is here, an album full of pics is here, and I've since upgraded the extruder and the hotend, although it turns out that the hotend that comes with this kit is already a pretty decent V6 clone.

This stuff? Pretty sure it will mess with your temperatures without, not sure how much, and you may be able to tune your PID to compensate.

You can try insulating your heater block. There's cotton insulation that you then wrap with kapton tape. Which is how my maker select came. Or you can get silicone socks, which will depend on your hotend. These come with new e3dv6s and work well too

Monoprice uses really cheap non-standard parts, sorry yours broke. Mine did the same thing a couple weeks ago.

What you really should do is buy this metal extruder assembly for $7, as the 3D printed ones I tried just didn't work well, and I tried several.

You'll also need these new connectors, they're cheap and you can also replace the crappy one on the other end of the Bowden tube while you're at it.

After removing the grub screw on the old extruder gear, use some heat, like a heat gun or a hair dryer, to help you pull off the old extruder feeding gear. Trust me, it's worth it. This new one is million times better. No skipping, no jams, no underextrusion. I suffered with that problem for ever! It all came down to cheap parts.

You should re-callibrate your e-steps, as it's honestly super easy. I think 100 was the number I used. The default is 92, so if you don't want to it won't be that far off.

Edit: /u/Karzdan, this will 100% fix your issue. My print quality really improved, this small upgrade made a huge, huge difference for me. This new spring is much stronger, and the new teeth really grip the filament.

Extruder: get a microswiss hotend for it will be able to print flexible and other materials.
Parts cooling: Upgrade to the petsfang 5015 mod for better print cooling.
Auto bed leveling: Get the TH3D ezabl sensor for great bed leveling.
Other mods: motor dampers to reduce noise and vibration
To smoothers to smooth prints
Raspberry pi for octoprint
All metal extruder
Capricorn tubing
Hope I could help 😀
Links:
micro swiss hotend
petsfang part
ezabl sensor
motor dampers
tl smoothers
octoprint link
all metal extuder
capricorn tubing



Also this is what my petsfang with sensor looks like. https://i.imgur.com/sQahB69.jpg

I have this Micro Swiss hotend on my Ender 3 and it prints like a champ, even with nylon. I reused the nozzle from my stock hot end though as I wasn't a fan of the one that came with the Micro Swiss one. Voltage doesn't matter as you will be reusing the heater from the stock hot end.

You have some underextrusion. The lines you're seeing are caused by too much tension on the extruder gear. It cannot get enough material to the hotend.

Mine was the idler arm breaking under the pressure. Buy the metal one from Amazon or wherever. Then print the filament roller guide. And lastly, print a better holder/roller for your spool.

Did you just order the E3D HotEnd Full Kit as seen here on amazon or did you order other stuff too?

https://www.amazon.com/E3D-All-metal-HotEnd-Full-Kit/dp/B00NAK9JFO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1487899807&sr=8-1&keywords=e3d+v6

I'm sure that others will jump in here too, but my research has shown the MicroSwiss ALL METAL hotend tends to have many more problems than the E3D all metal hotend.


The MicroSwiss has the advantage of being a plug & play direct drop in, while the E3D you have to print a mounting plate.


That said, the E3D is a superior design (IMHO) with tens of thousands in use on many different 3D printer brands.


The MicroSwiss all metal seems to have problems with clogging, and some users have actually gone back to the stock hotend.


The E3D also allows upgrading to the Volcano version which many think is the cat's meow for the CR-10 machines because of their big build area.


The Volcano uses a 40 watt heater and a long nozzle to give a longer heat up time for hotter filaments being extruded at high speed (the plastic is in the melt zone longer, gets more time to melt).


The Volcano also opens the door to much bigger nozzles like .8; 1.0; and even a 1.2 which allows extruding much more plastic cutting big print times dramatically and also gives much greater parts strength.


I plan on getting an E3D GENUINE hotend. I have an E3D clone on my Monoprice Select v2.1 and it was a LOT of trouble to get it running right, sometimes it pays to not cheap out! LOL!


Here's the E3D page, as well as two sources:


E3D Home: https://e3d-online.com/v6


Amazon: https://smile.amazon.com/E3D-All-metal-HotEnd-Full-Approximately/dp/B00NAK9JFO


Filastruder: https://www.filastruder.com/products/all-metal-e3d-v6-hotend

One nice thing on Filastruder is that you can customize the kit you buy .

Now I prepare myself for the slings and arrows from happy MicroSwiss people. :-)

PuterPro

Did you know Amazon will donate a portion of every purchase if you shop by going to smile.amazon.com instead? Over $50,000,000 has been raised for charity - all you need to do is change the URL!

Here are your smile-ified links:

hot end v6

---

^^i'm ^^a ^^friendly bot

E3D All-metal v6 HotEnd Full Kit 1.75mm Universal - Bowden Add-on Included - 800mm of PTFE https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NAK9L6Q/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_7lJDAbQQY5JZ9

Heres the link to amazon. I was under the impression it wasnt a clone.

Link

They work great, MUCH more reliable than the stock one. I replaced the extruder gear and got a new nozzle at the same time so I don't know which one helped, but it ended ALL clogs.

You might want to switch out the extruder gear as well. Switching the stock one out and calibrating my e-steps helped a lot. This is the one I got.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ZZRI0DC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I have the same machine/hot end it was working great for around a year then I started having intermittent under extrusion issues and they it kept getting worse.

I finally fixed the problem by changing out the extruder gear for one of these https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ZZRI0DC/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and replacing the extruder motor as well.

I don't think the extruder gear was the root cause, but all other things being equal the finer tooth gear definitely performs better for me.

I suspect the root cause was either the extruder motor wearing out, or maybe some material building up inside the hot end, creating more friction and making things harder for the extruder.

The anycubic one looks like the way to go since this is only temporary. The pressure is still on the plastic so it'll eventually break. Can you point me to the instructions you used to replace it? Thanks

Anycubic All Metal Right Hand MK8 Extruder Aluminum Frame Block DIY Kit for Reprap i3 3D Printer https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0196B285I/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_yI-vyb8AGEEGK

You should also get these: uxcell® 5 Pcs Silver Tone 10mm x 4mm x 4mm Sealed Premium Flanged Ball Bearing https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G9W20VU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_lJ-vybPV8A1NM

You need the bearings instead of the one in the above kit if you keep the original drive gear on the machine. The new kit has a new feed gear, but it will change how much is fed, requiring you to recalibrate your printer.

I have several upgrades in the queue for this weekend once my M3 hardware kit comes in:

• The 40mm fan for the controller board: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1867169
  
• The Z-Axis rod stabilizers: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1775502
  
• The zero-offset mount: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1848402
  
  (Note the above designs are all three by USWaterRockets, who seems to have exceptional engineering skills, but I haven't installed them yet. Hopefully, this weekend and I'll post results)
  
  Another one I'm considering next:
  
  
• Belt tensioners: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1697171
  
  Here is the E3D-v6 adapter I currently have on the printer:
  
• https://hackaday.io/project/12184-monoprice-mp-select-mini-e3d-hotend-adapter
  
  Note the above design is just a quick-and-dirty solution; the author even states this. It works and will get you what you need to get things going with the new head.
  
  Other upgrades I've done:
  
  
• Upgrade the firmware and set the PID values correctly to control temperature better: https://hackaday.io/project/12696/instructions
  
• Replacement filament feeder: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0196B285I/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
  
• PEI print surface (two parts):
  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007Y7D5NQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0013HKZTA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
  
• Cork insulation under print bed (I attached it using the adhesive from the above order): http://www.michaels.com/artminds-cork-roll/M10171279.html?dwvar_M10171279_color=Natural#q=cork&start=6
  
  Here's the E3D-v6 printhead I bought and it's worked well: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01H4V2QEK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
  
  Disclaimer: I'm new to 3D printing. This is my first printer and the learning curve is steep. I may look back on this posting in a year and think "what an idiot I was doing <this>". Take my advice with a grain of salt, as I'm muddling through this whole thing. YMMV

1. borosilicate glass plate + silicone thermal pads to evenly distribute the heat. (cut pads in 2inch squares and place them in a grid. The glass plate will sit on top of the pads)
   
   
2. D4 extruder gear upgrade
   
   
3. 50mm radial blower fan for DIIICooler upgrade
   
   
4. 8mm or 5/16" threaded rods for Z-brace upgrade
   
   
5. Micro Swiss All-metal hotend
   

Micro Swiss MK10 All Metal Hotend Kit .4mm Nozzle WANHAO, FlashForge, Dremel Idea Builder https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01C3HEQZC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_Xj7Dzb5FTEP7R this is the one I bought from amazon

Nozzles are all generally brass. Those should be expected to be replaced from time to time. They are relatively cheap. The Microswiss upgrade is more than just a nozzle. It replaces the stock hotend with all metal. In your stock hotend is a PTFE tube that can cause jams, will deform if heated too high, and prevents you from using certain materials. The microswiss is a relatively inexpensive and easy way to fix this.

I recommend the block too: https://www.amazon.com/Micro-Hotend-SLOTTED-Cooling-Wanhao/dp/B01E1HANLS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1503589251&sr=8-1&keywords=microswiss

However you can save a little money:
https://www.amazon.com/Hotend-Nozzle-WANHAO-FlashForge-Builder/dp/B01C3HEQZC/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1503589251&sr=8-3&keywords=microswiss

This will work for your printer

Micro Swiss MK10 All Metal Hotend Kit .4mm Nozzle WANHAO, FlashForge, Dremel Idea Builder https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01C3HEQZC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_88i.AbP0QGBHZ

If you can't get the piece of metal out all you really need is a new hotend, possibly just the nozzle but might as well upgrade. A common all metal hotend upgrade is the microswiss > https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01C3HEQZC/

How quickly were you printing your pieces? Some of the parts I saw in your album looked a bit on the rough side (overhangs, perhaps?). Meaning no disrespect of course, I think your projects are awesome! I have a Maker Select and I can get some really nice quality prints without going excruciatingly slow, so I was just curious.

Can I ask what mods you have on your printers? I saw one of them has the support braces, but have you experimented at all with other things? If so, how did they effect your prints?

The only mods I have done are installing an all metal hotend and printing off a new vent for the front fan. I used this one in particular (with a 40mm fan). The hotend mod on it's own significantly improved my print quality, and the vent made printing more intense overhangs a lot less messy.

Either way, those are some great builds! I love the look of the laser rifle. :)

Flash Forge Creator Pro. I had a lot of problems with it out of the box with clogging in the nozzles and things sticking to the build plate. After adding a metal hotend and magnetic build plate it has worked amazingly with no issues. I see the magnetic build plate is out of stock, so not sure where you can get those now, but being able to just flex the plate and have pieces pop right off is great.

I have the same printer. While everyone is correct in saying you can handle the higher temps, you need to be careful because of the PTFE hotend it comes with stock. The PTFE tubing in the hotend starts to get mushy around 245 and printing too long at this temperature will eventually result in a clog. I upgraded mine to the Micro Swiss All Metal Hotend and never looked back. Higher, more consistent print temps as well as better looking prints overall!

Alternate Amazon Link

I went with the MicroSwiss upgrade. Was quite painless to do. Just be sure to start your base retraction to .5 and tweak from there. The Cura given with the MP Select has its retraction set to 7mm from the start so you may want to look into adjusting it now before you clog again.

Amazon has the same one if you don't want to mess with the 'bay.

My MS is out of commission right now due to a motherboard issue - but that's not something that's common occurence with these machines. That aside - I love my MS, it's a damn good printer for the price and works really well. Plus it's on the cheaper side of things and can be upgraded pretty easily. I would suggest getting this printer, and a glass sheet for a bed upgrade. The buildtak stuff they put on it is fine for a little bit, but the glass just produces better results in my experience. And if you want to at a later point in time, a MK10 all metal hotend nozzle upgrade (with cooling block) is also a fairly cheap and easy buy/install. Just the core machine though, no mods - is really good and easy to install and calibrate. Totally would buy another one if I could right now.

Glass bed

Nozzle upgrade

That link looks like a Bowden extruder setup where the stepper motor is further upstream from where the plastic is melted/extruded.

I have a MS+ also, the recommended replacement for that part is the MicroSwiss all metal hotend.

Here is the block:
Micro Swiss All Metal Hotend with SLOTTED Cooling Block for Wanhao i3 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01E1HANLS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_EPg0BbVAAANA1

Extruder plate:
Micro Swiss CNC Machined Aluminum Extruder Plate for Wanhao i3 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XMRFKRZ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_uQg0Bb6WV1GXG

Lever:
CNC Machined Lever for Wanhao i3 extruder https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FWHH4DQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_WQg0Bb10AFP5T

Important thing to remember: Nothing is -ever- mandatory unless it's a major safety issue. The closest thing to that on that printer is the mosfet. I believe your original message implies you replaced the buildtak, so the Mosfet upgrade would be a very good idea unless you plan to change out the control board entirely.

Everything else is Optional and Quality of Life/Print stuff. ^.^

The following are examples on Amazon. Other folks and posts may have better advice on where/what to get.

Y Carriage plate
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MUAMRN7/ (This is the part under the heated bed)

MicroSwiss all metal hotend (From other person's post):
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01E1HANLS/

Linear bearings would be LM8LUU for the Y rods. If you have the plastic bearing holders, it's easy. If you have the aluminum block bearing holders, you'll have to find somebody else to source info on the circlips and how to not become sad with them.

You can print things just fine without any of these upgrades, so don't worry about the long print (unless you run out of filament).

A new controller board can do extra stuff and is required (Highly recommended, since you "can" make the probe work on the Melzi board, but poorly and at the cost of other things) for Z-Probe use, dual extruder, and with the heated bed on that printer, can remove the need for a separate MOSFET. It opens the path for other upgrades, can improve print quality to a degree in some cases, and can drive you absolutely nuts trying to set it up.

The inexpensive Quality of Life I'd recommend are thumbwheels with nylock nuts (hard to turn, but keep your level for a long time); corner-bracket spring cups (printed); and glass print bed. Two sets of printed things and about $12 at worst for the glass.

The bearing upgrade (If you can do it without fighting circlips) helps reduce Y-axis stutter and vibration. That upgrade brought my print quality up hugely. $25 or so if you get a lot of spares or higher quality ones.

The Y platform helps you with leveling and staying level.

The lack enclosure has some printed parts, $20-40 worth of Ikea furniture, and up to $50 worth of siding depending on your ability to cut glass and plexiglass.

So many things you CAN do. None that you MUST do. Some that you SHOULD do. And everything else is Just For Fun.

FYI, The Monoprice Maker select V2 is a rebranded Wanhao Duplicator i3 V2.1, and its also known as the Coccoon Create in other countries. If you see any of those names, thats your printer.

Your printer doesnt use an E3D V6 hotend, it uses a MK10 hotend.
You can use a V6, but you'll have to print a bracket for it, will probably require some firmware changes with requires flashing a bootloader with an arduino, and may require some additional hardware.

Normally its recommended to just heat up your hotend and carefully pull that plastic off with tweezers, but as your heating cartridge is damaged, that leaves you with two options-

• You can heat it up (oven, lighter, etc) and pull the crap off it. Depending on the formulation of the filament, acetone may help soften it. PLA isn't soluble in acetone but depending on the brand they may use other plasticizers, and those can be, so try soaking it in acetone for a few minutes.
  
  
• Replace the whole hotend. The store I link below has one, but it doesnt look quite right to me and the label isnt right... You can find replacement MK10 hotends on amazon/ebay from china, but if quality is more important than price to you I'd check out Microswiss. Theyre an American company, they make good stuff. You'll still need a heater block though... this one looks like its well made.
  
  I never used it, but this one from Gulfcoast Robotics looks well made as well. this is your whole setup minus a heating cartridge. A whole all metal hotend with nozzle and thermistor for $45 is a deal. They've even got installation instructions linked in the description. Side note- i assume it takes a 1/4in 6.35mm cartridge like the original but you might want to double check with them. You can never go wrong with well-manufactured American components.
  
  Either way you'll need a new heater cartridge (and probably thermistor). Heres a link to a replacement cartridge. Heres a link to a store full of wanhao parts.
  
  This printer uses an unusual sized heater cartridge- 1/4in, AKA 6.35mm.
  Most (E3D) cartridges are 6mm.
  
  Dont get a 6mm cartridge, get a 6.3-6.35mm cartridge. (A 6mm will be too loose and thats one of the reasons that the Anet A8 is such a fire hazard, the heater cartridge can fall out)
  
  Good luck!

Yes, it's that z brace mod. Make sure you use the version with the adjustment nuts at the top AND bottom.

Here's the hot end.

I also recommend the 120mm fan mod to shut those noisy fans up, a glass bed because the leveling of the bed it comes with is horrible, an upgraded spool holder, and some lock nuts for the bed. (At a minimum.)

I bought this and it's helped with cloggs I used to get a lot.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01E1HANLS/ref=mp_s_a_1_fkmr1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1493012482&sr=8-1-fkmr1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=Wanhao+duplicator+i3+cooling+block

https://www.amazon.com/Mercurry-3D-Printer-Extruder-Makerbot/dp/B01E90JU84

Exact fit, i bought these and long nozzles. Both work fine, longer nozzles require the z stop mod.

I've had great luck with AIO Robotics PLA sold on Amazon for around $13 per 0.5 kg. The other PLA brands I've purchased work, but the prints aren't as smooth. I believe it's because the tolerance is better on the AIO Robotics PLA (+/- 0.02 mm). The 3D MARS PLA I bought that doesn't print as smoothly has a wider tolerance of +/- 0.05 mm.

Also, I bought a E3D Full clone hotend on Amazon that is way better than the stock hotend (that often clogged on me).

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GD8LCFO

And here's the mount you'll need to print for it (there are others that are probably better, but this works for me):

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1728736

BIQU 3D-M6 0.4mm Brass Extruder Nozzle Print Head for 1.75mm Filament 3D Printer (Pack of 5pcs) https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B01J3BB000/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_HpYVCbAT77F1A

I bought these ones. They are probably the same as what /u/jdgmntday listed but they ship to the US. They are a little bit longer than stock, so you have to re-level your bed; but they work great.

I just replaced the brass extruder gear with a stainless steel one. It definitely helped my layer skipping issue. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01J5ON2Y2

This is a must upgrade for the CR-10. I also bought some steel drive gears as I was tired of the soft brass ones wearing out so fast and losing grip: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01J5ON2Y2?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

My brand new CR-10s was doing that for a the first few weeks. Here's what I did to fix it:

Calibrated my extruder, it was under extruding almost 10%. You have to change the firmware from stock to save the settings.

Replaced the extruder gear, the stock one even though new didn't feel like it was grabbing the filament well enough. Like it wasn't keeping up sometimes. I bought these: Stainless gears on Amazon. They are 36t while the stock was 40t, doesn't matter because the outside diameter was exactly the same 11.0 mm. I did recheck the calibration to be sure.

And print just a touch slower, not sure that's necessary after the first two tweaks but the prints look great now so I'm not messing with it for now.

You can print without it. It's not too expensive to replace and it helps keep the temperature stable and use less power(leaving more for the bed heater). You'll probably want some polyimide/kapton tape too.

Right now I'm just using some Kapton tape:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009KB6AAY?psc=1

Later I'll add a silicone sock if I can find one, or maybe just some ceramic cotton:
https://www.amazon.com/WAHHING-heating-cotton-printer-insulation/dp/B01LAYCRAA

10 Pack for $7.00

You took apart the hot end. I am assuming to remove to the nozzle for cleaning? There are two threaded holes in that picture. The larger one for the nozzle, and the smaller one has an L shaped bracket used to hold the thermistor in place. The thermistor goes into the unthreaded hole NEXT to the threaded hole. The thermistor wires look bent in that photo because the L shaped bracket squashes them.

Here's two links you will need to replace the insulation material.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DVBLOQ4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LAYCRAA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

reinstall the nozzle, tightly but not too tight. re-install the thermistor and L bracket. Then wrap everything with the insulation and use the 1/4" kapton tape to hold in insulation in place.

I bought this one when mine broke awhile back.

For the money I think I'd rather have the metal one.

Honestly this is the route I'd go.

I printed my own extruder, and it worked great for a while, but I think I set the infill too low. Next thing I know, I was having underextrusion again due to low spring tension. I haven't found an arm/extruder on Thingiverse yet that has adjustable extrusion, so I picked up one that did.

This is the one I used. I'm pretty happy with it, because it was really easy to adjust. Almost too easy.

I've modified the hell out of my ender 3, but the only mods critical to running that cf nylon were to install an all-metal hotend (e3D V6) with a titanium heat break and hardened steel nozzle, then put the whole thing in an enclosure. If you've got an ender 3, this Micro-swiss hotend is the cheapest and easiest way to get the same capability. Just bear in mind that PLA can be problematic in all-metal hot ends. You can either switch back to the OEM hotend when you want to run it, or use an oiler to get PLA working again. And I made an enclosure out of a couple IKEA LACK tables, but a garbage bag works too. If running the stock hot-end fan, be sure to cover the opening on the bottom with foil tape when running nylon or ABS to prevent a draft from blowing on the part.

I LOVE MY ENDER 3'S. I have one running stock everything (except the bed) and the other is well, an ender 3 in name only now. (I know you mentioned you are in the EU, but I have provided links to my sources for US based distributors)

Printer setup:

Ender 3

MKS (MKS GEN L V1.0)

TMC (2208's)

Micro Swiss All Metal Hotend ( MS all metal )

Custom Modified heater block (installed 300°c heater cartridge and 450°c capable thermistor from slice engineering) (heater) & (thermistor)

Bantamfeeder Extruder ( bantam design ) ... will be changing this out soon when I decide what next. Works well just not my cup of tea for convenience purposes.

Bullseye Duct ( https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2759439)

3-point bed conversion for leveling made easy (Leveling guide and 3 point leveling adapter). HERE IS A COMPLETED DESIGN OF THESE CHANGES( My bed setup ... < < < this is my stock ender 3)

Borosilicate glass bed w/ PEI (Glass bed & PEI Sheet)

PSU (Mean Well NES-350-24 24V 350 Watt UL Switching Power Supply 120 Volt)

​

OCTOPRINT SERVER

RPI 3b+ (raspberry pi w/ octoprint)

Pi Cam (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07L2SY756/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1)

​

So now you see why I say not really an ender 3 anymore, only in name

I actually replaced my whole extrusion path.

First, I found that the spring in the stock extruder assembly would fatigue resulting in under extrusion and jams. The BMG is a little pricey but worth it IMO. Comes with pretty good instructions.

Second, I switched to a Micro-swiss all metal hot-end. I probably didn't need to do this - given I almost never print high-temp materials but did it anyway.

Last, cheapest, and not least, Capricorn Tubing. Do not underestimate the difference this can make.

If you're up to the challenge, I highly recommend a BLTouch. It completely solved my first layer woes (warped bed on my CR-10s).

I ordered all of it on amazon. I got the dotbit bmg clone, although the triangle labs was recommended more, and the pancake stepper from stepper online via amazon. The direct drive kit I got was the basaraba dd upgrade kit. To attach a bmg style extruder to this kit, you’ll need a printed or machined adapter. I managed to have a connection and got someone to machine a mount for mine specifically

Stepper: STEPPERONLINE Nema 17 Bipolar Stepper Motor 0.7A 13Ncm (18.4oz.in) 17HS10-0704S https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LESPDCQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_aeAWDbHDJ8A49

Bmg clone:

3D Printer Bowden Extruder,... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07P6X7DKL?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share


Ender 3 Direct Drive Upgrade Kit, Compatible with Creality Ender 3 & Ender 3 Pro, no firmware Modification Needed https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07P9S9KNC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_rfAWDbZQWTYK1

It’s important to put the spacer in this dd kit in between the motor and bmg clone as the motor shaft will push against the outer shell of the extruder, and cause a lot of issues.

I also am using a microswiss hotend

Micro Swiss All Metal Hotend Kit... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0789V2D7C?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Just get one of these tools:

https://www.amazon.com/Printer-Nozzles-Replacement-Spanner-Installation/dp/B0796C4S5P/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=nozzle+tool&qid=1573594600&sr=8-1

The red handled one is the most important piece. If you just hold the heat block stable with a pair of pliers (like the ones that ship with the printer), and use the red tool, it will be super easy. Without it, it can be mildly tricky and/or frustrating. Highly recommend the tool as I change nozzles often and it has been really helpful for me.

Oh, and make sure to do all of this at 285C, careful not to touch anywhere near it so you don't burn yourself.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0796C4S5P/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I've bought about $100 of parts for my printer. I'd consider everything up to the the glass bed from here essential. Also printed many of the parts like frame braces and belt tensioners. The powers supply switch was also nice, but hard to find the right cover because the power supplies changed over the years. If you get a glass bed get some clips made for glass beds off amazon, the nozzle will hit binder clips.

Upgrade the firmware to Marlin and you can enable bed leveling in the printer menu. This firmware is 110% required, the stock firmware has safeties disabled, and Marlin has tons of improvements.

Use a ruler or caliper to make sure each side of the z-axis is the same distance above the acrylic frame over the motors when it is on the stop switch, then level the bed the easy way from the upgraded menu.

Also if you've ever had filament leak around the threads and coat your heater block, get some teflon tape, cut a strip in half, and put 2 or 3 wraps around the threads on the nozzle and the threads from the extruder. Tighten everything back in and keep on printing. The first time it heats up it will smell for 15 minutes, but goes away.

If you want better nozzles that won't wear out like the cheap brass ones, get Micro Swiss nozzles. I've been using the same nozzle for months with no wear, even after having to torch it after a wood filament jam.

If you want to go the extra mile get a Gulfcoast Robotics E3D V6 bowden hotend off amazon and print the hotend and motor mounts. There are Micro Swiss heatbreaks for it, I replaced mine after breaking it tightening the block on.

And of course, settings. It took months after upgrading to a bowden hotend to get my settings fine tuned, and now I'm printing with a 0.2mm nozzle regularly. Check out this video and read the comment by the Cura dev.

One more question if that's alright? When you say aluminum head is this a good example?

https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B07DDGGN92/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=AEVHDVSO3QYHB&psc=1

Is this too cheap?

​

https://www.amazon.com/SIQUK-Printer-Extruder-Makerbot-Creality/dp/B07DL24HDY/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1541868348&sr=8-3&keywords=mk8+nozzle&dpID=51Zc6O7UBIL&preST=_SX342_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

I bought this exact set. Compatible nozzles are MK8s if you go with a different product.

I bought a dual drive bmg clone extruder. And it's amazing. All my underextrusion problems are gone.

https://www.amazon.com/Printer-Accessories-BCZAMD-Extruder-Creality/dp/B07RBL4CJC

I should really start posting my cube results but eh.

I can't really make a great recommendation as I picked up the cheapest clone they had on Amazon for about $20 and the bowden coupler it comes with is trash at best, but other than that I've had no issues with it. The bowden adapter is easily fixable though with a proper PC4_M6 coupler and a printed adapter. This is the one I bought.

If you're willing to wait a while you can pick up a clone from Trianglelabs on Ali Express for a little more that's supposedly the best clone out there for about $30. This one or an eBay link.

This Winsinn one on Amazon. You might not be able to get their supplied spring in there because it is normally a bed spring and it is really long and strong. I worried that it would wind up gripping too tight and not let you use the lever to loosen up the tension to get filament in.

The official Creality one is on their Alixpress shop - but I can't find that thing right now.

Anyway, looks like this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/WINSINN-Extruder-Upgraded-Aluminum-Extrusion/dp/B07SY745CF

You are correct. The stock Ender 3 does not. But the stock Ender 3 also doesn't come with an all metal hotend or any of the other mods that I've installed.

For example:

E3D All-metal v6 HotEnd Full Kit - 1.75mm Universal - Direct, 12v - Approximately 120mm PTFE (ASSEMBLY REQUIRED) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NAK9JFO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_KiiqDb0BZFYEK

Or:

https://e3d-online.com/thermal-compound-paste

My all metal hotend kit came with something identical in the package. If it's not supposed to be used for the hotend, why would they include it? /Whereabouts were they thinking I was going to apply it?

Try this ones

​

https://www.amazon.com/E3D-All-metal-HotEnd-Full-Approximately/dp/B00NAK9JFO/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2RY68WD3KQDGT&keywords=e3d+v6+hotend&qid=1562208147&s=gateway&sprefix=E3D+%2Caps%2C275&sr=8-3 *original*

​

Cheap version

​

https://www.amazon.com/Gulfcoast-Robotics-Extruder-Printer-Filament/dp/B07B4FHN72/ref=sr_1_7?crid=2RY68WD3KQDGT&keywords=e3d+v6+hotend&qid=1562208147&s=gateway&sprefix=E3D+%2Caps%2C275&sr=8-7

> E3d
you mean something like this right????

https://www.amazon.com/E3D-All-metal-HotEnd-Full-Approximately/dp/B00NAK9JFO

Wow.. this is easily the longest reply I have ever gotten. I have replied much longer before but yeah.. Not complaining at all thanks for taking the time to write it. I will reply as I read through.

Wiring for me I have never been all that hesitant to. I have been hit with 120 a few times and it's mainly a burn for me. The one that really surprised me though was taking apart a blender and well I had shorts on and you can touch one wire and be fine just not both unless you and the wiring are grounded of course. Anyway I was on my bed and one wire was touching my leg and the other I grabbed with my hand... So that was an interesting experience.

I am the type that will take one of those cigarette lighters that electric spark? take off the guard, put your thumb over it and go... clicky clicky...

As for the JST bit I appreciate the links. I am familiar with them and how to do that I just never have. I would need a reason to get them, maybe this is it? But the wago or other lever type connectors seem to be easier and or cheaper. I will figure it out when it gets here.

> personally I mangled the connector housings and pins on my stepper cables trying to swap pins over.

Yeah I think you need the pin remover. I was watching a few youtube videos about it, and well here I believe is the one I watched. Relevant portion is at the 7:05 mark https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhU0D7fDR98 It's called an extraction tool, or extractor. There are quite a few different ones for different applications. If I got into solderless pin connections that's one of the things I would buy.

So for me going that kind of connector route would be about 10 or so for the extractor, 20 for the crimper, maybe 10 or so for the connectors. But let's say it was just 30 or so total. Ok... or I could go with the wago lever connectors for 15 and could splice 50 sets of wires that could be undone with a flick of a lever. It's not as nice looking as a connector but it's still doable. Also knowing me, I'd still throw some heat shrink tubing onto the crimped pins. But I already have that and a heat gun.

>Building a cat proof mdf enclosure for the printer so I can take it home within the next month or so is on the cards.

I plan on copying the corner bracing and modifying those. Well I want to replace all the melamine parts eventually but yeah. The idea would be to modify those in a way I could easily attach side and top panels. Likely something like 1/4" plexi glass. I don't like how the socket caps stick out, so I would use countersunk screws to make the screw head flush with the printed brace. Then either on the back side hollow out a section for a neodymium magnet for each corner and do the same for the plexiglass, or maybe thumbscrews? Or possibly just make it so it's like the side of a PC case where it slides in and out The top would likely be semi permanent and attached with screws but the sides would be like just slide the panel up and take it off that way. The front maybe the same way or use hinges or whatever. I don't think I will print any ABS I hear enclosures could help with that. My main reason for doing it is dust. Dust I hear can mess up prints so keeping it enclosed may help with the quality.

For me an MDF enclosure would be really easy to do, I may do that as a frame then attach plexi to the outside and just have a box that goes over it? but that to me seems like cheating and or wasted space... also no challenge. I like challenging myself so unless I absolutely need it and I can't figure out the other bit then maybe? But what I have in mind should be relatively easy to do.

About the router stand... Looks good, but I must admit when I read "router", I thought of like an actual router well the woodworking kind.

The CTC-3D clone? or? I haven't looked into those so I am not very familiar. I am mainly interested in kits not fully working right out of the box... and you answered that later in the post... nice.

The fan bit. I plan on tinkering around a lot with that well the shroud bit. I have thought of an experiment to try to test out which ones are better, and I will throw in different speeds, different nozzles as well and document the process. I will take a few that others have designed, and design some of my own to see how they differ in performance. The test will be of multiple prints of a similar object, essentially 2 poles at varying distances, like half an inch up to say 3 to 5 inches or however long to see how far each can bridge the gap with little to no sagging. Then maybe ledges at varying lengths.

As for the V6 clone bit. I already bought one of these J-Head V6 Bowden and an MK8 Bowden feeder. I primarily got those to see if I like the bowden setup over the direct. If I find out I like the direct I will probably get this. If I like the bowden bit I think I could still get that one and just change out the heat sink and use the other bits. Either or fun times ahead.

>Or even the new e3d aero if you don't want v6 style eating into your build height.

If I need more build height, I can just get some longer rods, and some longer 2020's and extend it out. My main thing is I wanted 12"^2, since this is like 15.75" unless it takes 3.75" more of build height away I don't think I will fret too much.

>Definitely use the stock for a few months

A few months is an eternity for me. Maybe it will take that long to get built and dialed in? Who knows... Either or... the plan is to get the printer from kit form built and working and at least functional with prints. The only "change" will likely be with a 12x12 glass or mirror bed. Once it's up and running and I have a base to work from that I know works. Then I will change it over to bowden with the ones I linked and try that out for a while. Then decide whether I want to get the e3d one or not. The only reason I'd get the e3d one is the socks which I could buy seperate and the hotend tube. If I could find that bit seperate I probably wouldn't buy the complete kit. I know I can buy the "clone" version but the teflon tube is used as a liner and I'd like it to potentially be able to get up to around 300c without worrying about that liner melting. I also plan on getting some stainless nozzles and maybe... just maybe one of the tungsten ones. Not necessarily to use with this printer but likely the one that I design and build after this one. Think multiple independent extruders(not sharing the same block), and large... er build volume. I won't get too much into that idea right now though.

>I'd say the z axis rods are the one part of this built machine that is a little more difficult to access/disassemble easily

Yeah I'd say that looks fair. But that's also one of the selling points for me. That design looks rock solid. Even with the shitty melamine. I think once you get the binding figured out on the Z and have an idea how to do it regularly it will become less and less of a pain. As for the threaded and smooth rods, and only the threaded need to be somewhat loose? I heard it was pretty much all of them until it was aligned properly. Try loosening all of them up a little bit. Running it to the top and bottom then go to the top, tighten things down then down to the bottom then tighten. That should resolve any binding. From my understanding at least. It doesn't seem like you have tried that approach yet.

>TBH the melamine parts aren't that terrible.

Well for me I am not hugely against it but yeah. They work just not for my liking. I was initially hoping they would be actual solid melamine. But it looks like it is actually a melamine coating on top of low quality mdf. If it was actual melamine it would be a lot harder and wouldn't crush that easily. Actual melamine is a lot closer to a plastic than what that appears to be. Here in the states at least melamine is commonly put over particle board for counter tops. It's good so long as you don't get water on the edges as it will eventually swell.

As for the bracing... I assume you have home improvement stores there? If so try to find some of these if you don't want to print out new ones. Just figure out the dimensions you want with those flat corner braces and use those. You may need slightly smaller M5's but those are pretty cheap as well. Or if you have a grinder... you could knock a few MM off the ones you have.

>standard board will do the job just fine. The lure of touch/colour screens for 32 bit SBase boards isn't really for me.

I don't think I will go the touch screen route designed for these, If I go that route I will likely add wifi capability, and add a small tablet with browser functionality ;)... The reason for me, for 32 bit is 1/128 stepping, as well as quieter motors, and can be more complex without the program stuttering due to not being able to keep up with the needed calculations. With that I plan on trying to see the maximum print speed I can get and still get decent quality. Just to give you an idea. I plan on bolting it down to a heavy surface due to the inertia of the motors going side to side to keep it rock solid, that may give you an idea on how fast I am planning on cranking this or the next one up to, and yes I know I will likely need better motors and or stronger drivers and crank up the current. Maybe even a stouter belt system? Enclosed chain perhaps? Or longitudinal setup like this? http://www.technicopedia.com/8094/8094-2longitudinal.jpg, well without the extra bits.

As for the USB bit I am going to tinker around with that and SD card, I have a spare laptop I don't really use I can use for that purpose.

This all I need?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NAK9JFO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_63fyybPVBF44H

Like this? It is $60+ on Amazon. E3D All-metal v6 HotEnd Full Kit - 1.75mm Universal - Direct, 12v - Approximately 120mm PTFE (ASSEMBLY REQUIRED) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NAK9JFO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_SpqQCbDZASXYV

I don't think the temperature is off.
I followed the instructions for selecting the correct thermistor.
My hot-end is https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NAK9JFO/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1#feature-bullets-btf

I have #5 selected in the Marlin firmware for the thermocouple

define TEMP_SENSOR_0 5 / 100K thermistor - ATC Semitec 104GT-2 (Used in ParCan & J-Head) (4.7k pullup) /

I did this guy:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NAK9JFO/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

which is sold by E3d on Amazon.

Works FANTASTIC. Fit snuggly right into the same carriage. Had to learn some soldering with the wires so I could connect it to my motherboard using the old wires connectors, but now it works great. Also, had to raise the bed with spacers and longer bed screws. It took some work, but it was fun, and rewarding once it got working.

Would this one be goodhot end v6

I think other people have used the clones, but I have no experience with them myself. I'm not sure what makes the V6 so much better than the stock hot end; whether it's the internal nozzle geometry, or the heater cartridge, or the effectiveness of the heat brake or what. My only concern with the second one is that you'd have to reuse your stock heater, which may turn out to be fine, who knows. I can tell you 100% though that the stock thermistor will not fit in the hole for the original V6 design (which the clones all copied). The current V6 design uses a different screw-in thermistor fitting, that is much more robust. I had some issues with my thermistor leads shorting out through the fiberglass sleeves when I was running the original design. Getting a cheap clone is probably fine, just keep that in mind if you run into issues later on with the printer going into heater decouple mode and shutting the hot end off.

Yes, you need to retain the PCB that's mounted on the stock carriage. You can see how it's intended to the mounted in some of the photos on the thingiverse page. The V6 thermistor needs to be soldered to the leads for the little JST plug for the thermistor and plugged into that board. The stock fan is unused in the current design, so you leave that plug empty. I'm planning to eventually design a layer cooling duct that will use the stock fan in some fashion, but I haven't messed with printing PLA so I have not designed one yet.

I did just notice that the bare hot-end you linked is missing the tiny V6 style fan and duct, than fan is used in the bowden conversion to cool the heat sink above the heat brake, so I would advise against the bare hot end kit.

You're basically looking for something like this at the very least:

https://www.amazon.com/E3D-All-metal-HotEnd-1-75mm-Universal/dp/B00NAK9L6Q

There are probably clone versions that have similar hardware included

Do make sure that it is meant to be used with a bowden tube, and that it comes with the bowden tube and some fittings for each end, the non-bowden version of the V6 will not work with this mod

Genuine E3D V6 All-Metal HotEnd 1.75mm Universal w/ Bowden Full Kit 12V (V6-175-B) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NAK9L6Q/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_kbxLBbNSHWPWZ

Sold by e3d, their amazon has alot of e3d stuff too

Yeah I figured that. I realized that the thermistor is going to be almost impossible to remove because I can't raise the temperature of the heater block now, also means the nozzle is just entirely stuck now.

Ordered the E3D V6 Hotend on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/Genuine-E3D-All-Metal-Universal-V6-175-B/dp/B00NAK9L6Q/ref=sr_1_8?crid=QOEQI276XQCA&keywords=e3d+v6&qid=1570912678&sprefix=e3d%2Caps%2C147&sr=8-8)

Buy

($6)Wires:For the MOFSET mod

($1o)MOFSET

($6)Wire spades:For the MOFSET mod

($8)Assorted M3 Bolts:You need some for a few mods and for the bolts you will inevitably strip on this cheap wonderful machine

($13)Longer assorted M3 Bolts:For a few mods

($9)M4 Bolts:For one of the mods

($9)Metric allen wrench set:Had to order one of these since metric tools aren’t common round these parts

(~$20) PLA of preferred choice- You’ll run out of the sample bit quick so go ahead and order a roll or two to be prepared. You will note some upgrades require ABS so a small spool of that to your order will also help.

($6)M3 Lock nuts:Critically needed for a simple mod

($10)Threaded rod and nuts:Please note that this item seemed difficult to find online. I recommend going to your local hardware store and getting two 5/16” rods of at least 16” in length. They should have an assortment of threaded rod in various lengths available. Also note that the pitch of the threading matches the nuts you buy. Further instructions regarding this can be seen in Azza’s Z-Axis braces below.)

($6)9mm Wrench for the nozzle: Don’t wait for your first clog, go ahead and have this on hand to remove/change the nozzle. Note to only tighten/loosen the nozzle when heated.



Below is the order of printable upgrades I recommend but I suggest you mix in a few other prints along the way because this is a hobby after all and you should be having fun. It helps to have your quality as tuned in as much as possible for some of these so be patient and keep trying if you need to.

Print

Spool holder- temporary : Until you can mount your spool on top of the enclosure or any other personal preference.

Belt tensioner- print x2

Z-brace

Shielded stop button

Cable relocator : It’s a pain, but if you spend the time to do this and turn your extruder motor 90 degrees then you can get the full Z height without ruining your cables. It does involve opening all the cables to the PSU and feeding a few extra inches back through the cable chains.

Cable shroud : Looks nice if you do the cable relocator.


The following need to be printed in ABS:

M3 Bed Nut retainer: 10/10 upgrade. I know they look worse than the nice metal stock ones, but these help keep your bed level longer.

CiiCooler

Glass bed Holder


Now that the first major round of printed upgrades is done it’s time to shift to a few more supplies to pick up to really fine tune the machine.


Buy

($5)Radial fan: For CiiCooler

($5)Glue sticksThis and a glass bed is magic

($25)Borosilicate glass 8” x 8”

($26)Y-Carriage plate upgrade: This has been a nice upgrade as I now only need to relevel the bed every couple weeks instead of every print. Check out this guide for a ‘how to’ as well as a free upgrade by shifting your Y pulley over.

($15)rechargeable dehumidifier: For keeping in the bin with your opened filaments

($9)Extruder gears: Might be able to hold off on these, but will need eventually. If for some reason you have a Maker Select with metal X-axis blocks (V1 and V2, but not V2.1) then this is a must. You can follow this guide for a how to.

($28)Metal extruder plate and lever: Not needed, but nice.

($14)Noctua 40mm fan: Not needed, but makes the printer a lot quitter. A LOT quieter.

($50)MicroSwiss All Metal Hot End: The destruction of my PTFE tube by this point pushed me to doing this upgrade. If needed you can follow this guide for replacement. Remember to tighten/loosen when the nozzle its hot.

($6)Ceramic cotton: Tore off the stock one when replacing for the all metal hot end by accident. At least its thicker than stock

Now that the printer is in its final form, its time for the enclosure which is a stacked Ikea Lack hack.

Print

Spool holder

Pi Case

120mm fan cover

Fan grill

120mm fan PSU modification: I edited this to fit upside down since my PSU is mounted on the underside. This was nice since I blew the 40mm fan anyways so it made everything a lot quieter than before.

IKEA Lack filament guide

Webcam holder: This is one I designed specifically for the webcam I happen to have lying around. The camera mount piece can be changed out no problem though for what ever webcam you have or buy. The SketchUp file is included on Thingiverse for such purpose.

Buy

($20)2x Ikea Lack: Luckily there is one right down the street from me. I am located in North America though, so we do not have the STUVA, if you live literally anywhere else you may check in to this as an alternative.

($80)Plexi glass for enclosure: Could be cheaper alternatives, but it looks cool

($9)Foam pads for feet

($42)Raspberry Pi3: For OctoPrint. I also suggest using a different USB cable than the stock one provided by Monoprice or you will have issues.

($9)2x 120mm fans: Used for the power supply cooling and enclosure

($6)Rocker Switches so that the enclosure fan can be on for PLA, but off for ABS

($15)Dimmable LED lights

($10)8mm LED light connectors


Total:
$250 printer + $452 upgrades/parts + ~$80 PLA/ABS to date

The first one is fine. Not sure if the last one is any different. That being said, I was able to print PETG pretty well with the stock heating block, though the MS is definitely better. While you're at it, pick up a new extruder gear. Definitely helps, but don't forget to re-calibrate your e-steps.

https://www.amazon.com/Signswise-Extruder-Driver-Makerbot-Printer/dp/B00ZZRI0DC/ref=sr_1_fkmr2_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1495639138&sr=8-1-fkmr2&keywords=duplicator+extruder+gear

i buy all my printer parts off of amazon. [gears.] (https://www.amazon.com/Signswise-Extruder-Driver-Makerbot-Printer/dp/B00ZZRI0DC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1497980826&sr=8-2&keywords=extruder+gear)

It kinda looks like the set screw on your extruder gear might be loose, but the backlash of the extruder gear slipping can make it skip a step. I replaced mine with a hardened steel extruder gear when it was doing the same thing, and now it works fine. Specifically one of these.

​

The other option is that your temperature is too low and your hot end can't extrude as much as it needs to, or the path your PLA follows is causing too much friction.

No I don't think so, but poor extrusion consistency could be why my print quality goes down when I go under 0.60 layer height or slow speeds down below 20mm/s. Both of these changes would theorectically decrease extrusion pressure and cause problems with poor extrusion.

Here is the PLA I use: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00J0ECR5I/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

One possible solution to poor extrusion is an upgrade to the extrusion gear. This is one of the upgrades I'm hoping to try in the future: https://www.amazon.com/Signswise-Extruder-Driver-Makerbot-Printer/dp/B00ZZRI0DC/ref=as_at?imprToken=aQzkLClLVwaOhO32jAnr3g&slotNum=0&SubscriptionId=AKIAJSOXNA2EGTA44JQA&tag=letsprint3d-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B00ZZRI0DC

Another option for making extrusion more consistent and smooth is to increase temperature.

I have the same printer. Same problem. This solved it:

https://www.amazon.com/Signswise-Extruder-Driver-Makerbot-Printer/dp/B00ZZRI0DC/

This site also helped: https://www.printer3d.one/en/wanhao-duplicator-6-monoprice-maker-ultimate-tips-improvements/

Print settings:

Printer: Wanhao Duplicator i3 Plus - Powerspec rebrand

Filament: Hatchbox PLA

Printing Temperature: 205 C

Layer Height: .2 mm

Nozzle Diameter: .4 mm

Other Modifications: Microswiss All Metal Hot End w/Hardened Steel Nozzle, Microswiss CNC extruder lever.

Trying to fix these little blobs that show up regularly in my prints. If I'm printing something with a little more curvature, they not as visible, but they show up regularly (i.e. with the same frequency related to the extrusion) along straight lines.

They're not due to retraction (like simplify3d is trying to tell me ) as that was disabled, there's no retraction in the object anyway, and these blobs occur during constant extrusion.

My initial thought was overextrusion, but I can bump my esteps from 94 steps/mm down to 60 steps/mm and still get them; anything lower than that and the (rather massive) underextrusion makes it hard to tell if the bumps are still there or not.

Next idea was a problem with my extruder gear. I checked it for any visible blemishes, and didn't notice any, and I swapped the gear (to this just to be on the safe side); no dice.

They seem to be less noticeable/disappear at a smaller layer height.

Any ideas?

Gears
Thats not the problem for me. It seems like there is something wrong with my printer retracting so much that it gets past the point of the inlet piece headed into the heating element.

This one should work fine, or any made for the MK10. Bought some from China to try, waiting for them to arrive. Don't forget to calibre the e-step.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00ZZRI0DC/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1487643503&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=mk10+extruder+gear&dpPl=1&dpID=31pamITDHBL&ref=plSrch

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ZZRI0DC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I bought these.
You will have to re-calibrate your extrude steps. but it made a world of difference with my prints.

Actually I think I did. A new extruder stepper coupled with a new extruder gear (/u/speeddemon974 recommended) seems to have fixed the problems. I used these gears: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ZZRI0DC/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

As an examples: https://www.amazon.com/Anycubic-Extruder-Aluminum-Reprap-Printer/dp/B0196B285I/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1472749839&sr=8-5&keywords=mk8+extruder

There are plenty of printable designs out there too, but the metal ones are so cheap I don't see much of a reason to go with a printed one unless you want to modify the design.

Anycubic All Metal Right Hand MK8 Extruder Aluminum Frame Block DIY Kit for Reprap i3 3D Printer https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0196B285I/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_r7TmzbEZ1YCZ1

Be careful doing this.

I think i ruined my feeder bearing doing this and had to replace it with this

Was not a simple procedure... but worth it in the end

210-215 so far. The printer auto heated to 215, then I tried at 210 since that's what the Hatchbox directions said. Is this the hotend? I actually already purchased this but didn't install it yet. So I should purchase this as well? Thanks so much for the help!

I used the replacement PTFE as well and it didn't work. I then tried cutting my own and still couldn't get it quite right. here's everything you need for the all metal replacement. It's incredibly painless to switch over and my prints are extremely consistent. I will say though that I know people have had troubles with the microswiss occasionally, so it's not a miracle worker.

I am using the Micro Swiss mk10... https://www.amazon.com/Hotend-Nozzle-WANHAO-FlashForge-Builder/dp/B01C3HEQZC

Looks like you have a clog in your nozzle. Happened to me recently and i had to end up swapping the whole thing out.

Do your self a favor and grab one of these: http://www.amazon.com/Hotend-Nozzle-WANHAO-FlashForge-Builder/dp/B01C3HEQZC/

Its an all-metal hot end upgrade that is all sorts of better than what came stock on your printer and really easy to install. It will also fix the issue you're having right now.

Otherwise you need to figure out a way to get what ever is clogging your print head and causing you to under extrude out.

https://www.amazon.com/Hotend-Nozzle-WANHAO-FlashForge-Builder/dp/B01C3HEQZC
Edit: AS much of a clone the QIDI is, I personally can't guarantee it'll be compatible.

Got two of them.

The $50 version includes a replacement for the cooling block. I got the $38 version and reused the original cooling block, and it works fine. Here's a link to the cheaper one: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01C3HEQZC

The OEM in mine was a shroud of metal with a plastic feed tube. The material of that tube melts slightly below ABS temps (230C).

Original
New

I did this one

I am already running this but have not yet recieved this
EDIT: I just saw the Microswiss extruder plate. I have not purchased that. If you have it, do you recommend it?

I bought the Maker Select V2 a few weeks ago, so I'll give you a dump of what I've bought so far:

MOSFET - You'll also need some 14 gauge wire, spade connectors, and something (like velcro) to mount it inside the case.

PEI Sheet - After going through tape/hairspray/glue this is what you'll end up wishing you started with. I bought some standard window glass from a big box store and had them cut it to size. I used the thermal pads at first, but I prefer just clipping it on. This way I can have 4 different glass beds to swap among.

Raspberry Pi 3 - OctoPrint is so much nicer than transferring the sd card back and forth.

Fan - DiiCooler or CiiCooler or a few others you can print out that are compatible with this fan (I think, I haven't finished printing them yet).

Y carriage plate - Not sure what the difference between this and yours is - I haven't installed mine yet).

MicroSwiss

Also ordered a couple rolls of Inand PLA from MicroCenter online.

Did you print using the generic filament they give you? I also just purchased this printer and printed the same thing but I used Hatchbox filament and it printed perfect. I wish I had a better answer but I'm also new to printing. If you haven't ordered one of these yet https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01C3HEQZC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 order it right meow well worth the $$ and a glass bed will make your print bottoms butter smooth https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00QQ5Q3BI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Had to get spare aluminum strip, and aluminum blocks from FFCP directly.
my glass bed from amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NY8F172/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
thermocouples from amazon as well https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00QKQ8G0E/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 note they are 4mm and 24volt, thats unique to flashforge, my model at least.
and heating elements from amazon as well https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00SUYVLYC/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 again note the 24v specialty, apparently flashforge is one of the few that uses that, everyone else is on 12v or something?
and lastly but most importantly, the all metal hot end. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01C3HEQZC/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 dual printing sucks, i just run 1 nozzle.

Which one did you buy this one?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01C3HEQZC/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1526789946&sr=8-4&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=micro+swiss+mk10+all+metal+hotend+kit&dpPl=1&dpID=31PL9jMit-L&ref=plSrch

its abrasive so you will need a hardened nozzle. I just did the entire microswiss upgrade

I got this full setup from Amazon and I have been very happy with it. When I performed the swap I noticed that the heatsink facing side of my cooling block had a REALLY shitty surface on it. I think I was getting poor conduction to the heatsink and experiencing heat creep after a couple hours. The face on the slotted block is beautiful. No more heat creep.

OK good info! I can get loads of 3mm hardware easily so no worries there.

I found this hot end and cooling block in the related items: Micro Swiss All Metal Hotend with SLOTTED Cooling Block for Wanhao i3 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01E1HANLS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_d.w0xb2R481VR is this good for the price? I'll look online but are there specific enclosure designs that work best?

Also found a laptop cooling fan that is supposed to fit, and borosilicate glass for the bed.

I'm going to start slow with PLA and see where my adventures take me but I might get a reel of ABS too, hopefully I can make RC car parts and stuff like that the some point.

Go ahead and grab the Micro Swiss All Metal Hotend with Slotted Cooling block. Like $50 on Amazon with Prime. An all-metal is necessary for printing PETG/ABS/anything above 230 really.

Also, the 3DPrinting nerd fairly recently uploaded a full tutorial on installing this thing if you're uncomfortable with the (well) written instruction.

Another user mentioned that they swapped in an E3D, but that is a) probably a bit overkill, and b) a huge hassle.

The nozzle on that printer is a MK10 nozzle. There's a bunch on Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=mk10+nozzle&sprefix=mk10&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_4.

Unless you've been really abusive, it could just use a nice clean. I use a brass brush on mine. Just pre heat the hot end and scrub away. It'll be fairly clean when you're done.

But if you want to change the nozzle, you may want to go ahead and upgrade to an all metal setup with the Micro Swiss hot end. This comes with a new nozzle and some other stuff.

https://www.amazon.com/Micro-Hotend-SLOTTED-Cooling-Wanhao/dp/B01E1HANLS/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=micro+swiss+maker+select&qid=1562131663&s=gateway&sprefix=microswiss+maker+&sr=8-1

I personally have the Micro Swiss kit with their plated nozzle. After scrubbing it, it always looks good as new.

Im thinking of getting these, will they be compatible?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07KB1QJGJ/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?smid=A39S0U3UP1U7UG&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01E1HANLS/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?smid=A36KNDPALTN82Y&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/6-35mm-Ceramic-Cartridge-Printer-Extruder/dp/B071K8Z9KF/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1549548097&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=wanhao+i3+heater+cartridge&psc=1

​

Would this be better for number 3?
https://www.amazon.com/Micro-Hotend-SLOTTED-Cooling-Wanhao/dp/B01E1HANLS


Edit: also which hairspray do you use?

Set it up and use the existing hotend to print out a z-brace kit, I printed for days without it but it really helps. This will also help you understand and appreciate the difference when you upgrade the hotend :) People run into the connector problem when heating the bed up for ABS and other higher-temp filaments, I have had no issue running PLA. I also never leave the house when it's running, but that's a general distrust of robots thing. Now, with z-braces, allmetal hotend, and a pei sheet, I have had awesome prints every time.

Wanhao i3 Duplicator v2.1 by way of Amazon.

I have two of them, easy to use and improve machine.

Here's a Facebook group dedicated to them.

If you get this printer, this is a highly recommended upgrade. It's a hardened steel nozzle and slotted cooling block kit. Very easy to install, improves holding a given temp in the hot end.

And here is a good deal on filament that's made in America, a grab bag of four rolls for $60, your choice on type.

/u/hupo224 I second this. I have the monoprice maker select v2, and the microswiss hotend is a great part for it. It's a little more expensive at $50 on amazon, but 100% worth it. If not just for the fact that you can print higher temp materials without worrying about the PFTE tube.

Micro Swiss All Metal Hotend with SLOTTED Cooling Block for Wanhao i3 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01E1HANLS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_LlgdBbFBW6CVE. This should solve your issue.

I recently went through exactly this same situation. I was ready to upgrade to a microswiss all-metal hotend and the catastrophic failure of the print leaving gunk all over my heater block forced the issue. In my case, I opted to replace everything I could including the thermistor and heating element. They are both very inexpensive and you should have a spare laying around anyway in case you need one in a hurry. So...how to clean your heating block...

Fire. Seriously. I used a combination of blowtorch and solvent to remove all the gunk (and mine was a LOT worse than yours...it basically encapsulated one entire end of my heater block, entombing the thermistor, heater and associated wiring).

I used your typical propane torch, holding my heater block in a vise or vise grips. I'd heat it up then quickly wipe away the melted PLA with a clean cloth. Heat, repeat. Then I'd soak the whole thing in some solvent (acetone, MEK, etc). Repeat until clean. Pay careful attention to the tiny setscrew that holds the heater in place...work it free with a hex wrench while it is hot...chances are you got some PLA stuck on there, too. Obviously be super careful when you do this. Ventilation, fire-extinguisher handy, your mom on speed-dial.

When you replace the thermistor and heating element you'll need to do some soldering. This is pretty unavoidable. Those elements come with very long wires attached to them and the Wanhao/MP print heat doesn't need that length. Clip it short, make good solders and use heatshrink over your joints. For the thermistor I simply cut out the center section of the wire and spliced the connector back to the component at the length i needed.

Now, when you put it all back together you will have the option of re-wrapping the heater block with cotton and Kapton tape. People seem split on if this is necessary, but since I'd battled heat creep before I didn't want to introduce any more heat up the block...so I opted to do it. It's a bit tricky if you get the non-punched cotton strips like I did. Luckily I had hole punches handy to make the provision for the hotend and nozzle to get thru the insulation. If you don't have these tools (or don't quite know how to do it), i'd shop around for pre-punched sets.

good luck. Let me know if you need any more help.

here are the parts i used:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071K8Z9KF/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N4KY6TR/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076NW3GNH/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01E1HANLS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01E1HANLS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Had almost the same problem on my Monoprice clone - would stop feeding, changed brands, etc. until finally the filament had fused to the PTFE tube in the hot end. Required a complete tear down to find it. I figured as long as I'm in there, upgrade the extruder plate

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06WVB6CYD/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

and the thermistor

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07B3ZYBTM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Follow the instructions - do not skip the "tight, then back off 1/4 turn. Heat up to 250 and then tighten the nozzle" steps.

Strip off the Kapton tape (if it hasn't already torn off) and use these instead

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07B9KW1L1/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Hotend replacement:
I replaced the stock hotend/PTFE tube setup with an all-metal Micro Swiss hotend ($50):Amazon link to the Micro Swiss all-metal hotend kit: https://amazon.com/gp/product/B01E1HANLS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Bed leveling:

1. Most importantly, I purchased a glass bed to eliminate the never-really-level printbed.Amazon link to the borosilicate glass bed ($25): https://amazon.com/gp/product/B07BHG5HCV/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
   
   
2. Since that didn't I completely fix the warped bed issue, I also replaced the aluminum Y-carriage underneath with a thicker, stronger carriage and my bed leveling is now perfect. I still re-level before every print just in case, and now never have leveling-related problems.Amazon link to the aluminum Y-carriage ($28): https://amazon.com/gp/product/B07B251KBS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
   
   Frame Stabilization:
   I printed the parts, and purchased the hardware at Home Depot for the Z-brace mod, which stabilized the printer frame:Thingiverse link for Z-brace mod for I3 Plus: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1653631(note the original Thingiverse link in comments, which is required for the other Z-brace parts: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:921948)
   
   Cooling:
   I printed a Dii Cooler in PETG and replaced the stock cooler with one of those 24V "squirrel cage" fans, which provided much better cooling for all sides of my prints. Before that it really only cooled the front of prints, leaving the sides and especially the rear of prints looking pretty bad.Thingiverse link for Dii Cooler for i3 Plus: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1025471

https://www.amazon.com/Mercurry-3D-Printer-Extruder-Makerbot/dp/B01E90JU84/ref=sr_1_2?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1500669351&sr=1-2&keywords=3D-M6+0.2mm would this one work?

Here is the link.

And this was printed at .30625 layer height

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01E90JU84 I bought this set, and I think it's actually finer prints than the stock nozzle.

RepRap Champion Metal J-Head V6 Hot End for RepRap 3D Printer 1.75mm Filament Bowden Extruder 0.4mm Nozzle Kossel Mini Prusa i3 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GD8LCFO?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

I’ve only had my printer a short time too (I think it is is 8 or 9 days old).

Lots of really good info thanks, it's taken a couple days to digest.

If I was to upgrade my nozzle heatbreak, for around 22$ is this what I would get?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GD8LCFO/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A2YI8XQU239Q2W&psc=1

I have read that an upgraded all steel won't print PLA well anymore as it is stickier. What did you get? How does it perform?

Monoprice Select Mini V1

​

Hotend: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GD8LCFO/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

​

Cura settings are default selection of "Monoprice Select Mini V1", with some small tweaks

​

Bed: Stock down to the metal, with masking tape. Models from Fusion to Cura and Via SD Card

I bought these about a month ago and they're working out well. The only issue is they're slightly longer than the original one so you'll have to get a spacer or lower the bed a bit

Info | Details
----|-------
Amazon Product | BIQU 3D-M6 0.4mm Brass Extruder Nozzle Print Head for 1.75mm Filament 3D Printer (Pack of 5pcs)
>Amazon donates 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to the charitable organization of your choice. By using the link above you get to support a chairty and help keep this bot running through affiliate programs all at zero cost to you.

FYI: I ended up ordering theses:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01J3BB000/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

They're slightly longer than the original, but work great. No changes are needed to use them, though the extra length will take a few mm off the max Z height.

If you plan on maxing out the Z height, change setting in your slicer from 120mm to 117.

https://smile.amazon.com/BIQU-Extruder-36Teeth-Stainless-Filament/dp/B01J5ON2Y2?sa-no-redirect=1

I bought these but they never showed up and got my money back. ended up the problem stopped for me. YMMV

I fixed mine, it's printing like a dream now, but I did A LOT at once so I'm not sure exactly what fixed it.

I'm going to list the things in order that I believe most likely fixed it.


>Extruder gear replacement and re-calibrated E-steps/flow, I honestly believe this most likely fixed it. I've calibrated e-steps and flow a ton already with no improvements, but this extruder nut is way higher quality than the stock one.

>this is one I bought

> https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01J5ON2Y2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

> the stock brass ones are super cheap, and bend easily when you tighten them down, this one fits really snug and feels extremely solid.


I replaced my hotend for new one. I mainly did this because I broke my stock one taking it apart.


This is the one I bought.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FTMSCSN/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

What's interesting about this, is that the hotend looks very different than the one that came with my Ender. This part is straight from creality, so I really think they actually re-designed the hotend when so many people complained about it.

Some differences I noticed...


it comes with a silicon creality sock



it comes with a coupler that is MUCH stronger than the original one


the heater block is brass or something now, it doesn't look like it's steel


The heat sink is different on the inside, hard to explain, but the mouth of the heat sink look Shallower at the top and has less gap space where the bowden tube slides in.


The screws from the heater block now only barely go into the heatsink instead of halfway up.


>I PID tuned my new hotend, the values were shockingly different from stock settings once it was finished running the auto tune. You'll need to flash the new marlin in order to do this.


Replaced all my wheels and bearings for these:

https://3dvice.co/collections/frontpage/products/hd-v-wheel-completes

I immediatly could tell the printer is rolling so much more smoother after installing these. the wheel material is a lot more stiffer, I don't have any wobbling at all with these wheels. The bearings make the biggest difference I think, when spinning the original wheels in my hand I could feel little bumps and grinding, the new ones spin like skateboard bearings, smooth as butter.


hope this helps.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LAYCRAA/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

works great but I frankly only replaced it once, after I needed to replace it a second time I left it off and have not noticed a difference. Without the insulation it is easier to keep clean and to get the nozzle to seat nicely when switching nozzles.

Wiki is: http://mpselectmini.com/

Some items I bought from Amazon (don't buy the hot end pieces if you have a V2. They changed the hot end to an all metal one):

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00WE1A3D2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00T2DNKJY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LAYCRAA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00L4UXQ42/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
V
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MQKW230/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01A81FXMK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01ACIFPYA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Thank you. I didn't know this was a thing. 2mm thick heating block cotton

I found these https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LAYCRAA/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A256LC8UNAA9S0&psc=1

Did you have to change anything with the print head so it won't break the glass?

I’ve been considering the z-axis stabilizer upgrade. But I’m not really having the issues that warrant it. Maybe I’m not pushing it speed wise enough.

Is the mk8 upgrade you are doing like this one here?

https://www.amazon.com/Iverntech-Printer-Extruder-Aluminum-RepRap/dp/B0774JZ9N5

I kinda like the idea of printing parts for it on itself. Or maybe for a second bigger printer at some point.

I went all metal...
https://smile.amazon.com/Iverntech-Printer-Extruder-Aluminum-RepRap/dp/B0774JZ9N5/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1537575637&sr=8-13&keywords=3d+printer+extruder

Make sure you get the correct handed version for your setup, right or left.

Would this work? https://smile.amazon.com/Micro-Hotend-Creality-Printers-TronXY/dp/B0789V2D7C

First off, there is no perfect printer. There are only tradeoffs and choices. But between the gMax and the S5, we would choose the CR-10 S5. Why? Here are some of my thoughts about each...


gMax 1.5 XT+

• The gMax came first. (Sure, we looked at the Raise3D N2 around the same time. And it has some nice features. But there were also quite a few complaints at the time being given voice about the extruder and other aspects of their ecosystem, including their CAM software not working properly.) I used to refer to the large objects we could produce on the gMax as printing at "gMax scale". And we still believe that the gMax design is very good, except...
  
  
• Though the gMax is said to be an open source design, it's not really.
  
  
• The small Brooklyn-based company that designs the gMax parts, gCreate, has very poor quality assembly standards and dismal tech support.
  
  
• The "ready-to-print" unit that I bought from gCreate arrived with a bunch of nuts, screws and other parts bouncing around the bottom of the shipping crate because they hadn't even been tightened properly during assembly. It took us about a month to reassemble and certify our unit as ready for production. I tried to suggest ways that they could fix these production problems, but it seemed that they were insulted that I would even suggest.
  
  
• I ordered the dual extruder gMax, though the dual head vibrates around. So keeping the 2 nozzles level is a continual challenge.
  
  
• The gMax print volume is 400X400X500. gMax Scale
  
  
• The gMax's bed leveling and bed heating functions work very well.
  
  
• The default print speed is 3600mm/minute, which is slow by some standards.
  
  
• The surface quality it produces is good when using the stock 0.5mm nozzle, with some studdering in areas of momentum changes.
  
  
• The base model is priced around $3,000, plus another $200 added on for the dual-headed option. This is less than you'd pay for a Makerbot or Ulimaker, but more than twice what a CR-10 S5 costs on Amazon.
  
  
  Creatily CR-10 S5
  
  
• First there was the CR-10. We brought one of the original CR-10 units into the shop, but the wire to the heated bed failed within 10 print jobs. We returned that unit with our comments, but a few weeks later we designed and printed a simple solution that took the stresses off the wire's connection to the bed. (Let me know if you want the STL for this part.) Our replacement CR-10 has been in full production rotation for over a year. Once we fixed the wiring problem, we also brought in our first CR-10 S5.
  
  
• The CR-10 S5 has a build volume of 500X500X500, which is HUGE for our purposes.
  
  
• We can have a newly delivered CR-10 S5 assembled and running production jobs within 90 minutes.
  
  
• Bed leveling is not great, because the two Z-axis lead screws result in a lopsided bed that you have to check at the start of every job. But with that caveat, this massive bed is pretty flat. All we've done to flatten it further is add a few PostIt notes underneath the surface.
  
  
• The stock heater for the build platform is only 300X300. So it can take as long as 15 minutes to bring the bed to temperature. So we upgraded our heaters to the 500X500 1300W unit, which works well for us.
  
  
• The extruders on both CR-10 models are a Bowden design, which on a practical level doesn't allow printing with flexible filaments.
  
  
• The default print speed is 4800mm/minute, which is much faster than the gMax.
  
  
• We've upgraded all of our CR-10 units to Micro Swiss all-metal extruders. This has enabled us to print with a few "exotic" materials such as polycarbonates. The process of swapping extruders takes us about 15 minutes with no surprises.
  
  
  The Bottom Line
  
  
• Even with the upgrades that we've added, the cost of our CR-10 S5's is less than half what we paid for the gMax.
  
  
• The print failure rate is much lower on CR-10 S5's.
  
  
• We don't run flexible filaments through our CR-10 S5's, nor can the CR-10 S5's support dual extrusion. But we have a number of Flashforge Creator Pro's in heavy rotation for those jobs.
  
  That's our experience in a nutshell.
  
  

• Bob

Micro Swiss All Metal Hotend Kit for Creality CR-10 / CR10 / CR10S / Ender 2 / Ender 3 Ender 5 Printers .4mm https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0789V2D7C/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_i_J-AFDb6CRKAMW

Is this hot end considered a good upgrade. Right now I'm having clogging, a lot of stringing. And I'm levelled well and all my settings are pre-loaded with this auto-leveling print. I'm lost, i feel like things aren't flowing well.

Micro Swiss All Metal Hotend Kit for Creality CR-10 / CR10 / CR10S / Ender 2 / Ender 3 Printers .4mm https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0789V2D7C/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_7HwYCbCPSMV5Z

This fits ender 3 for all metal hotend, exact fit no need to modify anything except for some retraction settings.

A genuine microswiss, sure https://www.amazon.com/Micro-Hotend-Creality-Printers-TronXY/dp/B0789V2D7C/ref=pd_cp_328_1/135-5486205-8497053?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B0789V2D7C&pd_rd_r=e8b874f2-aefe-4408-a022-6a0c0272998d&pd_rd_w=RcLct&pd_rd_wg=Ravoy&pf_rd_p=0e5324e1-c848-4872-bbd5-5be6baedf80e&pf_rd_r=A9ZWV06R064NQD1A9VDT&psc=1&refRID=A9ZWV06R064NQD1A9VDT

But when it comes to clones, trianglelab is the only company that makes them as good or very close to the real thing.

I"m going to say no. That is a stock Ender 3 hotend. The PTFE bowden tube will break down at or before 240C and release potentially toxic fumes. You want a hot end that does not allow the bowden tube to get too close to the melt zone & heating element. You can replace the standard heatbreak with something that keeps the PTFE away from the heat zone like this one (not saying it works with the Ender 3, I haven't tried it but look at the drawing and you see the bowden tube is kept a fair distance from the nozzle end of the heatbreak) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077GRX256/?coliid=IOHVUCVLQ020R&colid=130JFFKF5YAUO&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

​

Microswiss hot end ( https://www.amazon.com/Micro-Hotend-Creality-Printers-TronXY/dp/B0789V2D7C/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=microswiss+ender+3&qid=1555949725&s=industrial&sr=1-1-spons&psc=1 ) seems to be the gold standard for all metal hot ends.

I never had this happen, but I had a lot of clogging etc, until I switched to a Micro Swiss all metal hotend. It, plus printing out a fang cooling duct made things so much better. Search Thingiverse for "fang" and you will see a bazillion different flavors.

Thanks - I'll check that one out. Here's the hot end I got:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0789V2D7C/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I usually buy my nozzles on Amazon. I would look for a variety pack so you can try different nozzle sizes.

Here's a link for one I found on Amazon. I don't know how good it is, it's just the first one that popped up.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0796C4S5P/

This might be wider knowledge than I think but I frequent this sub a lot and after owning my MK3 for about 6 months and going through about 4 spools of material (1 of which was wood filament), I began having issues with stringing and a drop in quality, under extrusion, etc..

I saw the post last week about Woodfill being abrasive so I decided to order some nozzles. Sure enough! My nozzle had worn down!

I even went to the discord two weeks ago asking why I'm having to drop my live-z by 0.0## every week. It was because I was grinding the tip of the nozzle or something. That was the reason!

I'm still not totally sure how this happened but it was likely the woodfill. I suspect 3 rolls of PLA didn't do it. I'm betting it was the 1 roll of Wood.

Check your nozzles people! They're super cheap. This is what I got. -- I want to fiddle with a 0.2 for some high detail prints. :)

It is new, and I did tighten it down again after bringing it up to temp.

I'm using the GulfCoast Robotics V6 clone (linked below), with the all metal hot-end to make sure I don't run into any issues burning the PFTE tube.

The clog was in the nozzle heat break. I don't recommend getting a clog in there, as it was extremely frustrating to unclog and clean.

I was printing ABS with the stock air flow bracket, so I had turned the fan down to 20% to not cause excessive shrinkage, and Cura saves this setting between prints. I had completely forgotten about it, so the heat break wasn't getting nearly enough cooling, melting the PETG inside, and making a nasty clog.

Thank you for your advice, though!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B4FHN72/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_1QaSBb99CXK5K

Edit: Clog was in the heat break, not the nozzle.

https://www.amazon.com/Gulfcoast-Robotics-Extruder-Printer-Filament/dp/B07B4FHN72/

If you pull the filament away from the threaded lead screw for the z-axis, does the sound get quieter? If so, it may be grinding on the z-axis lead screw.

This can be remedied with one of these additional filament guides- https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3129612
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3085765
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2897367

In my experience the guides modeled to include a ball bearing are better at dampening the sound.

The sound was greatly amplified when I printed and installed this particular one-
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2920344

This is because the filament grinds and catches against the printed part, and the sound echoes through the tight filament like a guitar string.

The parts utilizing bearings allow the filament to smoothly slide into the extruder assembly, and at a more direct angle.

Beyond that, you may consider upgrading to this extruder assembly, as it is metal and won't make the echoey ringing the plastic OEM assembly can make-
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DDGGN92/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_TjG2DbHWMG3WQ

Careful not to overtighten the screws into this assembly, that aluminum is soft and you can easily strip the threads, and then you'll be unhappily purchasing another!

If you want to go down the route of replacing the extruder, I recommend the right-hand MK8 aluminium extruders you can find on Amazon. Don't use the bearing in the kit, pick up a MR104ZZ bearing on eBay instead and then you won't need to take the metal extruder gear off of the stepper motor on the printer. I followed this guide on Hackaday to install and get back to printing.

Also, I've had varying results with the PC4-M6 included with the MK8 extruder to attach the bowden tube.

Redrex Upgraded Aluminum Bowden Extruder with 40 Teeth MK8 Drive Gear for Creality CR-10 Series and other Reprap Prusa 3D Printers https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07DDGGN92/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_xlb4DbE0PW70W

I've been printing glow in the dark pla all week using a cheap 0.8mm nozzle. First 500g through went just fine, although I ran it at 230 to help it flow better. After 500g I began bumping up my flow rate slightly to 105 to compensate for the nozzle diameter being worn bigger and bigger over time. I've gone through 750g now and I still dont need to change that nozzle. I bought this nozzle in a cheap multipack, it was roughly $10 for 22 nozzles of varying sizes SIQUK 22 Pieces 3D Printer... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DL24HDY?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

I'm pretty sure I just got an official creality one, but here is an Amazon link. I'm glad you got it figured out!

It's going to happen to you. Possibly even with a filament guide eventually. The plastic extruder is just terrible. Picking up the all metal extruder is one of the best buys you'll make.

Tomb of 3d printed horrors has a great assembly video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=me8Qrwh907Q&t=766s

Useful tips also consider getting the aluminum extruder before set-up (its easier to do during the assembly process). https://www.amazon.com/Official-Creality-3D-Extruder-Aluminum/dp/B07J44QW8B

Level your bed! Most of my failed prints have been when my bed becomes unleveled.

I included some helpful youtube channels that helped me problem solve.

Chep - https://www.youtube.com/user/beginnerelectronics

Teaching Tech - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbgBDBrwsikmtoLqtpc59Bw

The genuine one is $14.99 on Amazon. Look for seller Creality3d Online.

Official Creality 3D All Metal MK-8 Extruder Feeder Drive Aluminum 1.75mm for CR-10 Ender 3 CR-10S https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07J44QW8B/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_ViaSCbP7EG11R

Thanks for the detailed reply.

​

I need to read more to understand the z switch and z screws you are referring to. I have no idea what those are. I assembled by watching some channel on youtube do it. It was like a tales from the crypt vibe channel.

​

As much as it sucks, I probably need to completely disassemble it and start over. There has to be something done incorrectly for it to be this difficult. I am definitely going to get one of those gauges before I get back into. I returned the springs today and ordered different springs on amazon. When they get here, I might sit down one night and try again.

​

As for the bed, the glass one I got was scratched to hell from those stupid springs. I didn't know I had to raise or lower whatever switch you were talking about. Like I said earlier, I already ordered a SD card reader so that will be a definite mod. As for the octopi, is there a list somewhere on this subreddit of everything you need to purchase before starting? I have a raspberry pi at the house. I originally bought it to build a retropie but I haven't gotten around to it yet. I could use it for the printer if needed. I really like the idea of remote printing, having a webcam to see the print live, and putting a part on there that stops the print if there is a filament issue.

​

I have to go into the city tomorrow so I was thinking of stopping by ikea and getting some Lack Tables for the eventual enclosure but now I don't know if I am even going to keep the Ender 3. I am debating on returning it and moving up a tier. I really want to get started on this but it seems like I am never going to be able to print any of this awesome stuff. So many awesome files on thingiverse and I can't use any of them.....

​

Here are the parts I have purchased so far....

​

SD Card Extension

​

Glass Bed

​

Springs that I bought that would not lower bed enough

​

Most Recent Springs I am going to try

​

Metal Extruder Upgrade

​

Filament Black and Red

I bought this extruder feed from Amazon to replace my plastic one.

I checked a YouTube video real quick and then went for it. It seemed like a pretty straightforward install.

That said, now I look at it, the arm seems canted a bit, almost as if the screw with the bearing on it isn't in all the way? It's in as far as it will go.

I had one short countersunk screw (M2 I think) and a lock washer leftover. Couldn't think of where a lock washer would be useful for this assembly, and the stock one didn't have a lock washer anywhere, but if someone knows where it goes, or anything else to ensure this is on correctly, please let me know.

That said, it seems to be extruding just fine, I've done a couple of test prints and nothing seems amiss.

Hey I also new on this, got my printer a month ago, I was super exited as everyone here when receive their printer, I read a LOT while waiting for the printer, so I heard that the stock bed springs are crappy, so I ordered this ones FYSETC Bed springs, also ordered the Aluminium Extruder feeder, and read about the leveling, the paper sheath method, which I think you should already heard about, I did it at the first time the printer gave me a nearly perfect first print (demo dog) , after a few prints and on my third print I came home just to find a mess on my printer, so I did my research again, find out it was bed adhesion, and find out that the best way was glass bed + PEI sheet was the best option, while waiting to arrive I tried to clean the stock bed sheet with mineral spirits (did have rubbing alcohol) but it worsened the adhesion, so I used one adhesion sticker that comes with the overture filament, and again flawless adhesion, at least for the first 4 prints, then again the frustration, I tried some glue stick and worked but it leaves a mess on your print so I decided to try painters tape directly onto the aluminum bed (which lucky for me it is perfectly flat) this is the best adhesion I have tried, problem is also makes a mess with the down face of the print, Finally mi Gass-PEI arrived, (3 days ago), it has a great adhesion but is not perfect, also you have to raise the Z limit switch to compensate the 5~ mm of Glass-PEI, find out that it isn't perfectly flat it has a good adhesion and leaves a very smooth down face, but at some section it does't sticks well and leaves artifacts on the down face, I'm currently working to fix this.

Sorry for the long post, need to talk about my frustration and let you know you are not alone on this, once you manage to make a good print is very satisfying, I have a PETG filament waiting to be used but I don't think is a great idea to try it until a learn more about 3D printing and the Ender.

Hey! Welcome. I also just bought my ender 3 pro as my first printer.

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Here's a great place to start https://all3dp.com/1/20-must-creality-ender-3-upgrades-mods/

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So far I've done the following upgrades:

1: Metal Extruder. 100% necessary and MUCH easier to do during initial assembly rather than an upgrade. I got mine form Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07J44QW8B/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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2. 2020 Filament Guide:

You can find this on Thingiverse and is about a hour long print. It actually made a noticeable different in some salmon skin issues I had in my first couple of prints.

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3. Springs:

These just arrived today so I'm not sure how much they will help but one of the main causes of my failed prints so far as been issues with leveling and some of the stock springs I can see are just no good.

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4. TL Smoother:

Another upgrade I havent had a chance to set up yet. That said, my research has come across mixed results. Some people love them and some people Hate them.

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I'm not sure about glass beds and all, the stock plate has been working pretty well for me. I think I'm going to try it alittle more before moving to a glass bed simply cause its a bit easier to maintain but it could be the next thing on my list. I've also been considering an auto-leveler (and ardunio) since it doesn't have that function and having to relevel, watch, pray, reset has already cost me a couple hours of print time.

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I'm not familiar with ESUN PLA+, I've been using https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00J0GMMP6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

and am very happy with it so far.

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Best of luck with your printing!!

So you would recommend something like this?

https://www.amazon.com/Printer-Accessories-BCZAMD-Extruder-Creality/dp/B07RBL4CJC/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=BMG+extruder&qid=1571592485&sr=8-1

>Unless you've upgraded a lot on this machine you aren't going to get amazing speeds out of it with anything nearing realiable and fast (perhaps one, but not both). If you've got the belts tensionioned tight with a tensioner after having reinforced the frame, if you've upgraded the controller board and drivers, etc, then you start to worry about X-axis weight messing with your print speeds. You should be fine running with a direct drive unit.
>
>Having said that I cannot praise the BMG extruder enough, I recently bought this clone and I can tell you it's exactly like the original. This extruder will end problems with underextrusion, it's that strong.

Here is the one I bought. Just swap the ender 3 extruder tension spring for the yellow one to reduce the force and increase your extruder steps because of the smaller diameter drive gear. I went with 143 but it is easy to measure yourself.

dual drive extruder

Try calibrating it, also check the bearing.

More importantly you're much better off with a dual gear extruder like the one on the CR10s pro

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07SY745CF/

If you can wait for China, this is absolutely perfect - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/283585198053


Re: calibrating, I had to increase my steps/mm from 95 to 141. Smaller teeth = more steps

Springs: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07J66DVL1/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Nozzles: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07DL24HDY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Your nozzle size depends on what hot end you have installed, i have factory hot end and this is the kit.

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Honestly, it's not difficult, there are A LOT of kits out there, a lot of lists, a lot of guides.

Some other things I'd recommend


TL-Smoothers https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B071WG3SZQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I know you already upgraded the extruder assembly but this duel geared version is nice: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07SY745CF/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
PEI Bed surface (has to date been the best upgrade): https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GSJSDWR/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
and if you don't have a glass: https://smile.amazon.com/Creality-Ender-Glass-Upgraded-235x235x4mm/dp/B07RD6D2ZQ/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=creality+glass&qid=1571456745&sr=8-5


I'd recommend applying the pei in the smooth side of the glass that way you can flip it over to have the textured side if you want.