HackSpace – September 2019

(Wang) #1

REVIEW


Creality Ender 3


Creality Ender 3


@BatGlenn13

Hot plastic fabrication on a budget


nly a few short years ago, the
thought of getting a consumer-
grade 3D printer, that works out of
the box, for anything under £1000
was a maker pipe dream. Today,
thanks to Creality, we’ve very nearly
got just such a printer for under £200.
The Ender 3, like many printers in this price range,
arrives as a kit. Opening the box, we are greeted with
a printer that’s around 80% assembled and includes a
full-colour manual detailing the twelve-step building
process. There’s a selection of essential tools required
to build the printer, and some additional tools that are
useful for its day-to-day operation (a selection of Allen
keys, a scraper, a microSD card, and USB adapter – to
name but a few). All of the parts are well labelled, with
the screws neatly organised into labelled bags. From
box to first print takes between one and two hours,
and there is plenty of help available online, via the
Ender 3 subreddit and Facebook pages.
Our favourite thing about the Ender 3 is the frame


  • it’s made entirely from aluminium extrusions, rather
    than wood or acrylic found in its contemporaries,
    which gives it an incredibly solid feel. The level
    of stability this provides means that it can
    achieve very good-quality prints, even at
    higher speeds. As if that wasn’t good
    enough, the Ender 3 also boasts a
    Bowden extruder setup. While
    the debate of Bowden vs
    direct-drive extruders is a lively
    topic among the 3D printing
    community, Bowden systems
    do offer a few undeniable
    advantages. A Bowden setup
    has the stepper motor that feeds
    the filament into the hot end mounted
    on to the frame, rather than on the extruder itself. This
    means there’s less weight being swung from side to


By Glenn Horan

O


Right
The minimal
and solid-
looking
Ender 3 printer

CREALITY around £180 creality3d.cn

nly a few short years ago, the
thought of getting a consumer-
grade 3D printer, that works out of
the box, for anything under £1000
was a maker pipe dream.
thanks to Creality, we’ve very nearly
got just such a printer for under £200.
The Ender 3, like many printers in this price range,
arrives as a kit. Opening the box, we are greeted with
a printer that’s around 80% assembled and includes a
full-colour manual detailing the twelve-step building
process. There’s a selection of essential tools required
to build the printer, and some additional tools that are
useful for its day-to-day operation (a selection of Allen
keys, a scraper, a microSD card, and USB adapter – to
name but a few). All of the parts are well labelled, with
the screws neatly organised into labelled bags. From
box to first print takes between one and two hours,
and there is plenty of help available online, via the
Ender 3 subreddit and Facebook pages.
Our favourite thing about the Ender 3 is the frame


  • it’s made entirely from aluminium extrusions, rather
    than wood or acrylic found in its contemporaries,
    which gives it an incredibly solid feel. The level
    of stability this provides means that it can
    achieve very good-quality prints, even at
    higher speeds. As if that wasn’t good


the filament into the hot end mounted
on to the frame, rather than on the extruder itself. This
means there’s less weight being swung from side to

O


Right
The minimal
and solid-
looking
Ender 3 printer
Free download pdf