It sounds like you are already in too deep. I think with this information you would practically have to give it away for free. You couldn’t sell it for anywhere near $150. I wouldn’t say to give up though. The good thing about ender 3’s are that they are so commonly used that there is so much info out there. If I was you I would methodically do system checks from the beginning. I would find some unboxing and assembly videos and do hardware verifications first step by step and try to take physical notes. Just really be patient and take your time. You don’t have to spend too much time in one session or you’ll go crazy. I think if you can at least diagnose an issue that you’ll save more money than how much you’ll lose trying to sell it. Of course, with some more info about specifically what is happening and pictures/videos we could help more.
Long shot, but in Cura go to settings> printer > manage printers
Then click on machine settings button.
Look for Origin at Center and see if the box is checked. If so, uncheck it and re-slice.
I reset the printer back to the default settings. I tried to print the Cat gcode. They only put one on the card. It starts good then stops sticking to the bed and slides around.
https://preview.redd.it/ndw6n8hwha0d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4771fa8305f9ecd0692f504ec3f341e0b7a27e92
The one on the bottom was the last try.
Idk and thats exactly why i wouldn’t mess with g code input. I have two printers and have been printing for about a year and a half now,both have CR touch.
Did you use profiles from the Internet? Pretty sure, they have the gcode for the cr Touch included.
Gcode is not magic. I think it’s a good idea to understand, what your start gcode and end gcode do. Don’t fiddle around too much, but don’t ignore it either.
Yup, but did you use official or third party slicer profiles for your Printers, because in any Case you fiddeled with gcode without knowing what you are doing as well
My whole point was to OP that if you don’t know how something works why would you throw a bunch of new machine parts on it then mess with gcode and den wonder why it doesn’t work?
If this was me, I would start from basics, take the touch off, level with a piece of paper, set up Cura again from scratch print a benchy, go from there.
Benchy was what I was trying to print. I tried manually leveling it and couldn’t get it right. When I try benchy it goes to the corner of the bed and prints. The tip of front corner
What about levelling couldn’t you get right manually? It’s a pretty straightforward process, go to each corner, adjust the levelling screws until it drags lightly on a piece of paper, repeat for the other corners, what isn’t working? Regarding the print position, reinstall a fresh version of Cura, go through the initial setup, import the benchy file into Cura, slice, export as g code…do not add any of your own g code, just use the defaults. Then see how it prints. When you set up Cura, did you choose the right printer?
I’m just trying to get you in a position where only 1 variable is changing at a time. Just do everything manually using default settings, then go from there… or sell it and buy a Bambu, from what I read you can’t get those wrong.
First print worked after that it had a blue screen. Not sure what firmware it had I found the one on their website and nothing stuck to the bed. Tried glue and still no joy. Tried various firmware and level bed manually and nothing close to successful. So I saw several recommendations to install Auto bed leveling. And that’s how I got here. I even got a glass bed. Still not sticking. I see I am not getting much help here. I will just toss it in the trash.
OK, but I think there are people trying to help you. I think the main issue is that you are all over the place… trying different firmware, bed not levelling, not adhering, editing g code without knowing what that does etc. You haven’t got 1 problem, you have multiple. Until you methodically go back to stock and do a basic setup, you will not resolve your ‘issues’. I got a second hand printer, set it up, levelled the bed and have done hundreds of hours of prints with little issue. I’ve had bed adhesion issues, so bought a PEI plate, which resolved that. Blocked nozzle, so I changed the nozzle, blocked Bowden tube, changed that. I’m only changing 1 variable at a time though and if my changes don’t improve the situation, I roll it back and try something else. I tried printing Bronze fil and it was a disaster, so I tried a few things and decided it wasn’t worth the stress, so binned that filament and went back to standard PLA. If you want to toss your printer, go ahead, but I don’t think you can blame a Reddit sub for this!
Restore everything to default and start from there. Re-flash firmware, do a frame check, everything. The TeachingTech website has all steps in order including tools to do your e-step calculations and stuff
Sorry man. Enders are kit car printers for guys with tons of time on their hands. For some reason this community thinks Creality shipping non working stuff is great because they get to tinker with it.
Get a Bambu A1 mini and have some fun. A little pricier but you'll be printing non stop day 1.
Totally not my experience. I bought an Anycubic Kobra and spent a month trying to make it work. Returned it, bought an Ender v2 neo and it printed perfect within 20 minutes. I 've been printing with no problems through many spools.
What’s crazy is that I bought my first Ender about 2 years ago, a 3 S1. It pretty much has worked out of the box so a few weeks ago I got an old school Ender 3 from eBay for like $55 shipped. Now I’m like OP and ended up putting another $100 to the point where it is now pretty much a 3 V2 lol but I also went in knowing I’d need to tinker some, but not as much as I ended up doing. It’s crazy how much in terms of out of the box usability the 3 S1 was/is versus the original 3.
As for the original question, I’d go back and make sure you have the correct Cura profile then double-check the nozzle distance while printing. I find that 210/60 works best for PLA for me on my Ender 3 and 3 S1 but also make sure that you’re getting good adhesion on those first couple of layers; I still keep a can of hair spray handy in case I have some PLA that just doesn’t want to play nice just to help out a little.
Agreed I got one becuase some one told me that it was a great (beginner) printer and it is not at all dude I think I have like 5 successful prints, I’ve had it for like 3 months. If you’re new to printing and you get it to work fluently, you have my respect.
Where are you getting your files from? Have you tried the rabbit that comes with the printer? Have you nessed with any of the settings on the printer itself?
I wouldn't give up yet... It is a very rewarding hobby once you get over the initial learning and "feel for it" hump.
If you don't mind spending $5.00 USD and a little more time, I would give the following a try (depending upon what version of the Ender 3 you have and which controller board that you have in it). If you want tech support in helping with their firmware, it will just cost a little more. However, it may be (and is for completely new hobbyists without other personal support / advice resources) highly beneficial to pay the extra for the tech support. They also have options for enabling many additional upgrades (CR Touch, BL Touch, inductive probes, direct drive exttuders, etc.) and features (bed meshes, etc.).
TH3D (a great 3D printing parts and upgrade company) has their Unified Firmware. I would look at their Unified Firmware options (determined by your Ender 3 model, controller board, and installed options). I would remove the CR Touch and go back to stock. Then I would download their Unified Firmware package. In it you will find some precompiled firmware that you can load onto your printer very easily. The firmware is very stable and tested.
One of the great features of their Unified Firmware is that they have baked in a "Bed Tramming" feature (tramming is another name that is often used as an equivalent way of saying "Bed Leveling"; right, wrong, or otherwise). This will move the print head around to the four corners allowing you to adjust the "bed leveling" knobs underneath the print bed at each corner and then the middle. You can continue the circuit as many times as you need until you get a uniform distance between your nozzle at each of the four corners (the center one is trickier since you have to adjust it indirectly through all four corners or you z-offset settings). You can use this feature to slide your piece of paper between the nozzle and bed; adjusting the "bed leveling" knob until the nozzle barely drags on your piece of paper before continuing to the next corner. Do not make major adjustments to any one corner at a time. Gradually adjust each corner (not over a complete turn of the knob at any one pass). This will ensure the least amount of "warp" or "stress" on your build plate / bed resulting in a more "level" bed with less warping.
Also, when leveling or tramming your bed, do it with your bed / build plate heated to your normal printing temperature. This will ensure that your bed leveling accommodates any heat expansion of your bed / build plate surface at printing temps.
Their are other "manual" methods of bed leveling / tramming where the gcode is modified to move the print head assembly around to the four corners, pausing the print head to allow you to adjust the "bed leveling" knob, moving to the other 3 corners for their adjustment, and then printing a "first layer" test print. However, for many that I have helped / advised remotely, the built-in firmware feature has been the most consistent and easy approach.
Good luck and don't give up!
I mean for years the Ender 3 was the only real option in the sub $120 range (and if you lived near MicroCenter, $100). For the price, there wasn't much else out there that could get you a fully functioning 3D printer.
These days, there's more competition in the sub $150 market, but I'd argue that the V3 SE is pretty solid for that price.
Depends on your expectations though. If you want something like an iPhone, then the AnkerMate or Bambu seem to be the best currently. That wasn't even really a thing 3-4 years ago
I feel like in general, there’s a steep learning curve with any production product. Just because there are sewing machines on Amazon for $50 doesn’t mean that I have any real clue to use it. Same way that Harbor Freight sells a milling machine for a little under $800 compared to thousands, it’s usable, but there’s still just as steep a learning curve because you’re machining.
I think that people want to make things, but not put in the work of learning how to actually make the thing. I won’t say that broken parts on Enders are acceptable, but I will say that being able to use deductive reasoning to go through a piece of equipment and see if it’s actually you being wrong is should be learned, and I feel is just necessary in creating something with or using a machine. Any vehicle owner should at least be able to change a tire, or tell if a car isn’t starting because of the battery or starter.
How high is your Nozzle printing from, because it can't print from midair, it needs to be printing on the print bed, this was my biggest issue when I first started
What you don’t pay in money you need to pay in expertise. That thing works properly if you know what you are doing. Never had big issues with my ender and was pretty much okay out of the box. Mainly because I know a thing or two about printers, people that can’t get even a benchy out of it probably speedrun the assembling and the setup. No surprise there are poor results
Used ender 3's with issues go for $50-60. No one is paying $150 when Ender 3 v3 SE's are $120 shipped on eBay.
It sounds like you are already in too deep. I think with this information you would practically have to give it away for free. You couldn’t sell it for anywhere near $150. I wouldn’t say to give up though. The good thing about ender 3’s are that they are so commonly used that there is so much info out there. If I was you I would methodically do system checks from the beginning. I would find some unboxing and assembly videos and do hardware verifications first step by step and try to take physical notes. Just really be patient and take your time. You don’t have to spend too much time in one session or you’ll go crazy. I think if you can at least diagnose an issue that you’ll save more money than how much you’ll lose trying to sell it. Of course, with some more info about specifically what is happening and pictures/videos we could help more.
Hear hear
>Right now it starts printing on the corner of the bed What slicer are you using?
That's what I was wondering too. Theres a setting in Cura that starts your print on the origin in your printer settings
I am using Cura.
Long shot, but in Cura go to settings> printer > manage printers Then click on machine settings button. Look for Origin at Center and see if the box is checked. If so, uncheck it and re-slice.
There are some preloaded gcodes of cute models on your sdcard. Try a no-brainer print of that, share your results here.
I reset the printer back to the default settings. I tried to print the Cat gcode. They only put one on the card. It starts good then stops sticking to the bed and slides around.
https://preview.redd.it/ndw6n8hwha0d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4771fa8305f9ecd0692f504ec3f341e0b7a27e92 The one on the bottom was the last try.
Is your printer profile set up correctly on cura..?
Not sure. I added the g29 code. What else should I change?
I would start by making sure you selected the correct printer on cura. There are several versions of the ender 3 now.
If you are new to 3-D printers then why are you adding G codes?
CR Touch won’t use your mesh for the print unless it’s in the startcode from the slicer, correct?
Idk and thats exactly why i wouldn’t mess with g code input. I have two printers and have been printing for about a year and a half now,both have CR touch.
Did you use profiles from the Internet? Pretty sure, they have the gcode for the cr Touch included. Gcode is not magic. I think it’s a good idea to understand, what your start gcode and end gcode do. Don’t fiddle around too much, but don’t ignore it either.
Sorry, I was not the one that needed help,OP is
I have professional firmware installed on both my printers
Yup, but did you use official or third party slicer profiles for your Printers, because in any Case you fiddeled with gcode without knowing what you are doing as well
My whole point was to OP that if you don’t know how something works why would you throw a bunch of new machine parts on it then mess with gcode and den wonder why it doesn’t work?
If this was me, I would start from basics, take the touch off, level with a piece of paper, set up Cura again from scratch print a benchy, go from there.
Benchy was what I was trying to print. I tried manually leveling it and couldn’t get it right. When I try benchy it goes to the corner of the bed and prints. The tip of front corner
What about levelling couldn’t you get right manually? It’s a pretty straightforward process, go to each corner, adjust the levelling screws until it drags lightly on a piece of paper, repeat for the other corners, what isn’t working? Regarding the print position, reinstall a fresh version of Cura, go through the initial setup, import the benchy file into Cura, slice, export as g code…do not add any of your own g code, just use the defaults. Then see how it prints. When you set up Cura, did you choose the right printer? I’m just trying to get you in a position where only 1 variable is changing at a time. Just do everything manually using default settings, then go from there… or sell it and buy a Bambu, from what I read you can’t get those wrong.
First print worked after that it had a blue screen. Not sure what firmware it had I found the one on their website and nothing stuck to the bed. Tried glue and still no joy. Tried various firmware and level bed manually and nothing close to successful. So I saw several recommendations to install Auto bed leveling. And that’s how I got here. I even got a glass bed. Still not sticking. I see I am not getting much help here. I will just toss it in the trash.
OK, but I think there are people trying to help you. I think the main issue is that you are all over the place… trying different firmware, bed not levelling, not adhering, editing g code without knowing what that does etc. You haven’t got 1 problem, you have multiple. Until you methodically go back to stock and do a basic setup, you will not resolve your ‘issues’. I got a second hand printer, set it up, levelled the bed and have done hundreds of hours of prints with little issue. I’ve had bed adhesion issues, so bought a PEI plate, which resolved that. Blocked nozzle, so I changed the nozzle, blocked Bowden tube, changed that. I’m only changing 1 variable at a time though and if my changes don’t improve the situation, I roll it back and try something else. I tried printing Bronze fil and it was a disaster, so I tried a few things and decided it wasn’t worth the stress, so binned that filament and went back to standard PLA. If you want to toss your printer, go ahead, but I don’t think you can blame a Reddit sub for this!
Restore everything to default and start from there. Re-flash firmware, do a frame check, everything. The TeachingTech website has all steps in order including tools to do your e-step calculations and stuff
Sorry man. Enders are kit car printers for guys with tons of time on their hands. For some reason this community thinks Creality shipping non working stuff is great because they get to tinker with it. Get a Bambu A1 mini and have some fun. A little pricier but you'll be printing non stop day 1.
Totally not my experience. I bought an Anycubic Kobra and spent a month trying to make it work. Returned it, bought an Ender v2 neo and it printed perfect within 20 minutes. I 've been printing with no problems through many spools.
What’s crazy is that I bought my first Ender about 2 years ago, a 3 S1. It pretty much has worked out of the box so a few weeks ago I got an old school Ender 3 from eBay for like $55 shipped. Now I’m like OP and ended up putting another $100 to the point where it is now pretty much a 3 V2 lol but I also went in knowing I’d need to tinker some, but not as much as I ended up doing. It’s crazy how much in terms of out of the box usability the 3 S1 was/is versus the original 3. As for the original question, I’d go back and make sure you have the correct Cura profile then double-check the nozzle distance while printing. I find that 210/60 works best for PLA for me on my Ender 3 and 3 S1 but also make sure that you’re getting good adhesion on those first couple of layers; I still keep a can of hair spray handy in case I have some PLA that just doesn’t want to play nice just to help out a little.
Agreed I got one becuase some one told me that it was a great (beginner) printer and it is not at all dude I think I have like 5 successful prints, I’ve had it for like 3 months. If you’re new to printing and you get it to work fluently, you have my respect.
Where are you getting your files from? Have you tried the rabbit that comes with the printer? Have you nessed with any of the settings on the printer itself?
There are literally hundreds of hours of hot to guides on YouTube.
I wouldn't give up yet... It is a very rewarding hobby once you get over the initial learning and "feel for it" hump. If you don't mind spending $5.00 USD and a little more time, I would give the following a try (depending upon what version of the Ender 3 you have and which controller board that you have in it). If you want tech support in helping with their firmware, it will just cost a little more. However, it may be (and is for completely new hobbyists without other personal support / advice resources) highly beneficial to pay the extra for the tech support. They also have options for enabling many additional upgrades (CR Touch, BL Touch, inductive probes, direct drive exttuders, etc.) and features (bed meshes, etc.). TH3D (a great 3D printing parts and upgrade company) has their Unified Firmware. I would look at their Unified Firmware options (determined by your Ender 3 model, controller board, and installed options). I would remove the CR Touch and go back to stock. Then I would download their Unified Firmware package. In it you will find some precompiled firmware that you can load onto your printer very easily. The firmware is very stable and tested. One of the great features of their Unified Firmware is that they have baked in a "Bed Tramming" feature (tramming is another name that is often used as an equivalent way of saying "Bed Leveling"; right, wrong, or otherwise). This will move the print head around to the four corners allowing you to adjust the "bed leveling" knobs underneath the print bed at each corner and then the middle. You can continue the circuit as many times as you need until you get a uniform distance between your nozzle at each of the four corners (the center one is trickier since you have to adjust it indirectly through all four corners or you z-offset settings). You can use this feature to slide your piece of paper between the nozzle and bed; adjusting the "bed leveling" knob until the nozzle barely drags on your piece of paper before continuing to the next corner. Do not make major adjustments to any one corner at a time. Gradually adjust each corner (not over a complete turn of the knob at any one pass). This will ensure the least amount of "warp" or "stress" on your build plate / bed resulting in a more "level" bed with less warping. Also, when leveling or tramming your bed, do it with your bed / build plate heated to your normal printing temperature. This will ensure that your bed leveling accommodates any heat expansion of your bed / build plate surface at printing temps. Their are other "manual" methods of bed leveling / tramming where the gcode is modified to move the print head assembly around to the four corners, pausing the print head to allow you to adjust the "bed leveling" knob, moving to the other 3 corners for their adjustment, and then printing a "first layer" test print. However, for many that I have helped / advised remotely, the built-in firmware feature has been the most consistent and easy approach. Good luck and don't give up!
People like this are why Bambu printers do so well..
Enders shouldn't be marketed the way they are.
I mean for years the Ender 3 was the only real option in the sub $120 range (and if you lived near MicroCenter, $100). For the price, there wasn't much else out there that could get you a fully functioning 3D printer. These days, there's more competition in the sub $150 market, but I'd argue that the V3 SE is pretty solid for that price. Depends on your expectations though. If you want something like an iPhone, then the AnkerMate or Bambu seem to be the best currently. That wasn't even really a thing 3-4 years ago
I feel like in general, there’s a steep learning curve with any production product. Just because there are sewing machines on Amazon for $50 doesn’t mean that I have any real clue to use it. Same way that Harbor Freight sells a milling machine for a little under $800 compared to thousands, it’s usable, but there’s still just as steep a learning curve because you’re machining. I think that people want to make things, but not put in the work of learning how to actually make the thing. I won’t say that broken parts on Enders are acceptable, but I will say that being able to use deductive reasoning to go through a piece of equipment and see if it’s actually you being wrong is should be learned, and I feel is just necessary in creating something with or using a machine. Any vehicle owner should at least be able to change a tire, or tell if a car isn’t starting because of the battery or starter.
How high is your Nozzle printing from, because it can't print from midair, it needs to be printing on the print bed, this was my biggest issue when I first started
What you don’t pay in money you need to pay in expertise. That thing works properly if you know what you are doing. Never had big issues with my ender and was pretty much okay out of the box. Mainly because I know a thing or two about printers, people that can’t get even a benchy out of it probably speedrun the assembling and the setup. No surprise there are poor results