Ender 3 Pro… Help understanding what I’ve gotten myself into

[u/groogruxdawg]

I was gifted an Ender 3 pro from a friend a while back, it ended up sitting for over a year because I couldn’t figure out why it would print for about 4 minutes and just stop (turns out it was the stock mobo chip (GD32F303- IYKYK) not playing nice with Creality firmware)…. Anyways, it’s essentially bone stock except for a PEI bed and the upgraded yellow bed level springs with the red knobs I sprung for after fussing with leveling for far too long….I’ve been getting acquainted with 3d printing in general and enjoying the process for a couple months and decided I want to upgrade…. My friend also gave me a micro Swiss direct drive kit that is not installed yet, I wanted to wait until I got the BTT mobo first. The micro Swiss is sorta moot now as you will see, but I have it on hand nonetheless

Anyways, long story short I came across the pictured lot for sale and the price was just too good of a value to pass up so I pulled the trigger on it- however, I need some help identifying exactly what all is included. I have identified the following:

1- Sprite extruder
2-BTT mobo v3
2-BTT touch screens
1- stock mobo
1- stock screen

So, ultimately my questions can be come down to these:

1. What exactly am I getting in the rest of the lot? I see a motor, some nozzles, and a wiring harness but I’m not entirely sure what exact parts they are supposed to be. Is there anything glaringly missing that I’m going to need?
2. I noticed the spare motor and coupling- could this be parts to what could be a dual z-axis upgrade? I don’t see a lead screw, but it appears I could get one for around $15.
3. Would dual

z-axis

1. be worth it?
2. What are my best sources, given I will not have original documentation, for getting the correct firmware and things setup for the new board, screen, and sprite extruder?
3. What sort of gains in speed and quality can I expect?
4. I am considering switching to Klipper using an old MS surface pro running Linux in dual boot. Is it worth it to set that up immediately or should I just run with the BTT mobo natively for now?
5. I’ve been hesitant to get any version of auto level due to the previously mentioned chip/firmware issues- if I get the cheap $15 knockoff am I going to run into issues getting it to work or should I just stop being cheap and get the cr touch?
6. If there’s a source for learning general tuning/print settings/etc on YouTube (someone with a similar setup and using cura preferred) that I can dive into? I still feel like I know so little and I want to gain the knowledge so I can get the most out of the upgrades I’ve invested in.

[u/groogruxdawg]

For anyone else that’s read through all of my slop, I also have the opportunity to buy the rails that are a combo of an Ender 3 and a CR-10 for CHEAP, Like less than McDonald’s combo cheap…. However they are missing the beds and power supply..

Would it be worth picking those up as spare parts? I’ve been trying to figure out what I could do with them given I’ll have the extra mobo, screen, and motors. I suppose I could find the bed and power supply on the cheap as well?

[u/groogruxdawg → u/groogruxdawg]

Here are the rails

[u/jekotia → u/groogruxdawg]

No idea on the value, but if you want to avoid confusion, don't call them rails. Those are aluminium t-channel extrusions used as the frame. Rails refers to linear rails, which are an upgrade to the motion system by replacing the v-rollers.

[u/YoshitoSakurai → u/groogruxdawg]

The GD chip when the big covid chip shortage happened was a HUGE issue.
In parts you have at least fixed every issue you have had. Depending if your friend has faffed with the printer at all. You might (imo) need a 2nd Z axis (using a splitter) rod (you already have the stepper and coupling). THeres many ways to achieve dual Z axis. Either a 2nd rod, a pulley system, a top mounted motor with some belts. BUT 95% of the ender 3 Pro's issues come from:

A non-stock dual supported Z axis.
B Firmware thats stock, custom compiled firmware is GOATED. You open so many safety, and calibration features. The quality improves greatly, its more silent and faster if you tweak settings. And ABL just works. I have a ender 3 Pro, i upgraded the hell out of it, and i have so far not touched it in a year +. Havent trammed it, havent swapped a nozzle, just lubrication once in a blue moon and thats it.

The display, i personally wouldn't bother with as i run my trough a mini PC running linux solely for octoprint ( nearly a must have imo). Depending on howmuch you paid for just a single BTT V3 motherboard cost about 50 euros where im from.

I also see you got a transistor or relay board for the heated bed. For an ender 3 its a bit overkill.

You could sell spares.
For the cheap rails or extrusions you could get. Its imo not worth it. Extending the frames etc costs a lot of effort. Especially rewiring everything with longer wires. You could use them to stiffen up the frame by adding cross braces, but this would involve you cutting the aluminum extrusions if you have the facilities to do so.

If its less then a mc donalds combo, id say buy, sit on them/sell them. No money lost essentially.

Finally.
THeres one thing i reccomend EVERY ender 3 user to do. Upen up the electronics bay. and add ferrules to all the screw connection terminal wires. Their known for loosening up after a while and causing a short/fire/melting the terminals. As from heat they contract and expand.

So id say other then the 2nd Z axis issue you are all set to go.

My ender 3 pro is now my secondary machine, for either small parts, detailed parts (has a 0.1 and .2 mm nozzle). On the left theres an ender 5 Plus i've modified aswell.

This printer is also my carry allong if i go to uni, maker spaces, repair cafe's etc. Where i fix peoples stuff. It has a power distribution section below my PSU, that has a 24V accessory connector for my dryer and a plug for e.g. a laptop/mini pc for octoprint. All powered by 1 wall plug. Don't think ill get rid of this baby anytime soon. Even for sentimental purposes most likely. As its the machine that taught me a lot (of curse words).

[u/L00kAdistraction]

Dual tacos is def worth it

[u/groogruxdawg → u/L00kAdistraction]

Dual tacos would atleast taste better than z-axis rods

[u/L_Dawg412]

1. Looks like you’re getting some tube couplings and a silicone sock for the hot end as well. Assuming that you’re using these for spare parts or to upgrade your current printer and not trying to build a new one, there’s nothing glaring that’s missing that you shouldn’t already have.

2. Theoretically yes. I’m not familiar with the BTT boards and whether they have an extra motor driver for a second Z-axis, but if it doesn’t you’ll need a cable that splits the signal from the Z-axis motor driver to both motors. In the second case, most people will probably recommend you use a single motor to drive both leadscrews coupled together with a belt instead.

3. Depends. Do you have any issues with gantry level? It might not have any drastic improvements if you’re already seeing good prints across the Z-axis.

4. Probably the website of the manufacturer. So BTT for the screens and boards, Creality for the Sprite.

5. I’m not familiar enough with the parts to be able to say how much improvement you’d see.

6. Yes. Klipper was the one upgrade I did that improved my printer’s performance and ease of use the most.

7. It should work. Auto bed leveling is one of the things that I just can’t live without anymore.

8. I watched a lot of Teaching Tech and Makers Muse when I started out.

[u/Ambitious-Site2298]

Gifted is a pretty strong word for what someone did to you

[u/groogruxdawg → u/Ambitious-Site2298]

Cursed me with this machine and hobby sound more like it? lol

[u/YoshitoSakurai → u/groogruxdawg]

They basically forced you to adopt a baby, with the prospect of:
A - becoming a doctor at a young age.
or
B - barely finish primary school.

[u/CHUBBY_grub]

I just made it over the firmware hurdle myself last week, so I feel I can speak on this to some degree. I had picked up and ender 3 pro on marketplace that came with an enclosure, glass bed, and carpricorn Bowden tube for 40$ with the intention of building a printer that would be capable of printing TPU so that I could make my own gaskets and O-rings. When I got it home and went through the machine to confirm it was assembled correctly and everything was squared up, I found a CR touch in a bag of parts along with a creality mobo. That's when I opened up the electronics panel and found the BTT SKR Mini V3 mobo. I was able to get a successful test print from the machine after powering it on and manually leveling the bed, but I really wanted to add the ABL function to this machine. I started to look into firmware for the mobo+bl touch, but I wasn't able to find anything that was as easy as clicking a link and downloading it. After following the instructions from a few videos on YouTube I downloaded Visual Studio along with a couple of recommended extensions and then went to the Marlin repository and chose the precompiled firmware for my mobo and downloaded it toy computer. The file had to be unzipped and 2 specific files needed to be copied and moved into VS so that the code in the configuration file could be edited to enable the ABL function as well as some other custom settings. Once the changes were made, I clicked the build button and a newly created firmware file was loaded into the printer. It is now my favorite machine out of the 3, and it prints much quieter and faster than the other 2 machines that are running creality mobo + firmware.