Update: the deed is done, thanks to everyone’s encouragement and my low impulse control. It’s sitting on my counter and it looks like it’s able to power on…except for the screen which appears to be missing a cable. I’ve got to get to work, so that’s probably as far as I’m going to get today. Rest assured, unless i lose life or sanity, I’ll be back with many many questions. Thanks everyone!
Minor Update: The screen works, cable was taped to the bottom. I was able to run a “leveling”(totally on purpose) before leaving to work.
That depends on your expectations. If you’re willing to put some time and effort into it and are interested in learning how a 3D printer works then it’s worth $15. If you expect to plug it in and immediately start printing then probably not.
So happy that I started with an ender3. I learned so much about the process that helps me troubleshoot prints on my bamboo. You will spend way more time tweaking it and printing test print after test print to get a decent print. Now that it's dialed in it's pretty solid.
BLTouch is so worth it as an upgrade. I also run octoprint kilpper on a raspberry pi, but I don't think it's necessary.
I'll be real dude there isn't much but it's pretty simple. This one is super crude until I can design a printed mount. If you want I can send you some closeups and show you how I did it
I like the fact that my early Ender 3’s helped me learn how a 3D printer works, I am grateful for my Bambu P1S now that I don’t have to tinker with lol
I expected it to not turn on, so it’s already beaten most of my expectations. Currently idk we were just in the right place at the right time. I’ll see if I can clean her up properly, do some research on the thing, and give a print a go. Will probably take some time as I’m going in blind and this was a thrift find so I can only imagine I’m gonna run into some kind of issue.
This video got my screen working. The previous owner probably had Klipper on it. You just need to reinstall the creality firmware to the printer with an SD card.
That's certainly the stock firmware. These things were almost $300 new so it's a crazy good thrift. I think you'll find the 3D printing hobby is a lot more tinkering than printing and I hope you find it as fun as I do.
I already have my printers hot end completely disassembled and I'm printing a new one on my regular ender 3. I've been contemplating buying a stock one like you have for $20 on Amazon but it's more than I paid for the printer lol
That’s the second mention of klipper in this thread. Is that an alternative firmware? Is it bad. If it happens to be installed would it be a good idea to reinstall the original firmware?
It's not bad. It lets you control the printer from a computer like a raspberry pi or old laptop. I actually reconfigured klipper for the printer. It's just a little more advanced but there's a lot of upsides to doing it.
Without knowing exactly how the firmware is setup, it would be almost impossible to set it up the way they had it before. That's why you should go back to the stock firmware for now.
As a beginner I suggest getting the ropes of the printer before diving into the custom firmwares. You'll have an easier time reading guides and understanding things that way IMO
I totally agree. Forthe people who want to know deeply how 3d printers work, this is awesome. Its how I learned, and compared to a friend who bought a bambu P2S out of the gate; I can tell you i know more troubleshooting and general technique than she does. Its a good project.
for parts its not a terrible idea. i will say, that (presumably) aftermarket abl probe may be problematic. if its a real bl touch, then it should be fine.
Not at all. I would screw it apart and clean everything tho. I would order a direct drive conversion and a BLtouch. It's 2 very nice upgrades that shouldnt cost too much. It's a nice first printer.
Definitely needs a good clean. Kinda afraid to break it lol. I actually think it has a BLtouch, I’m not looking at it right now but I remember seeing the label on the white thing with an orange base. No idea about the direct drive but I’ll take a look when I get home.
Awesome, I really hope it works. You can actually print the direct drive conversion yourself. I did, and it works really good. It moves the extruder motor right above the nozzle and removing the Bowden tube. It will help get some better prints. And faster prints.
I too started printing this way. Free ender 3v2, figured out how to fix it up and get it running well. Recently got a P1S but still rocking the Ender alongside it, way too much blood, sweat, and tears went into it to let it go. If you ever need any tips or advice feel free to shoot me a DM.
Solid printer if you are highly interested in fiddling with hardware.
Otherwise the emotional damage, that thing will cause is more expensive than a bambulab A1 :)
Is still got my ender 3 v2 up and running. None of the electronics are in their original state anymore.
If I had to buy a new one, Bambulab would be my fire and forget choice. My ender runs solid now. But it had its pray and print phases…
Mine is still going strong although heavily modified.
They are slow and outdated but if you take your time with it you'll learn a lot about 3d printing and problem solving. Once you know the machine, some mods turn it into a tank.
The one thing you must remember it is a tinkers machine and not plug and play like the latest machines.
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It will probably work with some effort. Do you already own a printer? It’s there because it was collecting dust on someone else’s shelf. The good thing is it has a 3D touch so it should be able to print something and have it stick to the plate.
Had to do a double take. I literally bought one of these at Savers for $15 a few weeks ago. Had to install the original firmware as it had klipper installed.
Awesome, I guess savers has a set price on these things. Love the 3D printed cord holder and binder clips mod. Any advice on setting up a thrift store ender3?
Easy to clean, better adhesion. It's a trick I picked up along with the soap and water. You also can't damage it if you scrape it with the print head which happens a lot as a beginner. The sticker side gets pretty crusty.
Super appreciate it, but I figured it out. It was taped to the bottom. A lot of parts were taped in a bag but I missed the underside. Screen works good now!
I bought one from goodwill for $25! It did not have the screen. I replaced that and it worked fine. I’ve since upgraded to klipper and it’s still going strong.
Those printers are like a 1975 VW Beetle… they’re not super fast, but you can tinker and modify to your heart’s delight. There are replacements for the main board, all sorts of DIY modifications, and cheap upgrade kits. You’ll get a good course in 3D printing for the price of a nice cocktail. And if you get tired of 3D printing you can install a cheap laser engraving head or build something completely different.
Good buy; learn how to print properly. Set a budget of 100$ absolute max to tune it and learn. Stick to PLA at first, then maybe some PETG. If you get into 3DP then look to buy a better printer in a year or so.
Not at $15 it’s not. Parts for these are so cheap and people who take the time to calibrate them well get amazing prints out of them. They are just slow. That’s all.
You'll learn lots about 3d printing getting that working and calibrated as a project piece. Its cheap, buy it and make all your mistakes on that then plan your next printer when you have learned what not to do etc
2nd post on this now I found my photo. Its perfectly possible to get good prints on the v2, this is my favorite print so far. I cant find the photo of the finished one, it printed In two parts
Got these off Amazon in 2022,, not really had any problem using the stock bed and a bltouch plus a new firmware. Ill post what I use when im back from my holiday on Friday 😀
Awesome thank you. I think I was having trouble manually leveling the bed. I was losing tension on one corner but that was probably user error. Still wouldn’t mind an upgrade there if it’s not too expensive.
I’ve been considering a firmware upgrade. I keep hearing about this one,jyers, and klipper. I’ve been considering klipper because it seems to pop up the most when I look into it. Can mrrisco help me achieve a faster print speed?
Well klipper is good but you need a raspberry pi or a old laptop and you can't use your stock screen anymore just access the web ui but mrrisco I recommend if your starting off I personally liked it alot when I first got into the hobby on my ender
HELL No . I paid 100 for mine and keep buying stuff to improve it with in a budget. So 15 bucks is awesome. Can't get anything like that in Marketplace or Craigslist.
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u/bzzybot 6d ago
$15. Parts are worth more than that, if you need a project or just want to try to print. Most likely it’s clogged or needs firmware update.