The Ender 3 Pro boasts a large build volume and high precision. Given its affordability and many capabilities, it is a popular choice amongst 3d printing enthusiasts. This popularity brings with it many different upgrades available for this machine. It can be time-consuming to find the upgrades that might actually be useful. Here we have all the Ender 3 Pro upgrades that are actually useful.
Many of these upgrades are DIY (i.e. Ender 3 Pro printable upgrades), in other words, you can make these yourself using your printer. We are also sharing some upgrades for purchase, but only if they deem themselves particularly useful. Note that many of these may also work for the Ender 3, and Ender 3 V2.
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Ender 3 Pro Upgrades Actually Worth Buying
When it comes to upgrading our machines, there are so many options to choose from. However, there are a few things you can buy that will really take your Ender 3 Pro to the next level.
Yellow Bed Springs
The stock springs that the Ender comes with can lose their compression and cause the bed to become unstable. Loose springs can cause layer shifts in your 3d prints, ultimately ruining your print. The poor spring quality also causes the frequent need for bed leveling
Switching out the stock springs for these yellow bed springs is an affordable way to prevent these simple 3d printing problems. If there was one upgrade to start with, this would be it.
Filament Dryer
When your filament is left out, it absorbs the moisture from the air over time. Wet filament can cause a host of printing problems like stringing, clogging, poor adhesion, and layer shift.
Having your filament exposed to the elements is literally a waste of money. Getting a quality filament dryer is a good investment for both your wallet and your print quality.
Capricorn Bowden Tube
The Bowden tube that the Ender comes with is a standard common Teflon tube. The high heat can cause the Teflon tube to carbonize and degrade over time. This can cause issues with feeding the filament to your extruder.
A Capricorn Bowden Tube is heat resistant with a high melting point and low friction coefficient. This tube prevents clogs, enables smooth filament flow, is good for varying filament diameters, and lowers overall loss rate.
BL Touch
The BL Touch is an auto-leveling sensor kit. An unlevel bed causes problems with that first print layer and bed adhesion.
Manually leveling your Ender takes time and effort. Some people find themselves leveling their bed every time.
Auto-leveling is a simple push of a button to ensure that your print comes out nicely.
Textured PEI Spring Steel Magnetic Build Plate or Glass Bed
A textured steel plate is a great option to make your life easier and increase your printing success.
The steel plate allows for prints to easily adhere to the bed. At the same time, the flexible and easy-to-remove plate means no more prying and damaging your prints.
Even better, the magnetic plate simply snaps back into place.
Glass beds are also a great and very popular option. When changing the build plate for a new one, you may need to calibrate your z-axis, to easily learn how, check out this article.
Add a Touch Screen
Replacing the traditional turn knob on your printer with a sleek touch screen will make your life much easier and save you time. Turning the knob can lead to hand/wrist problems (carpal tunnel anyone?), and is overall just annoying to use.
The Creality touch screen makes for a nicer, more user-friendly 3d printing experience.
Full Metal Extruder & All Metal Hotend
The Ender 3 Pro comes with an MK10 extruder, made from aluminum. This is likely all you need. If you have a standard Ender 3, then you will need to upgrade, the plastic extruders that come with the Ender 3 will fail. To avoid risking the extruder breaking in the middle of a print, invest in an all-metal extruder. This is a great option to avoid valuable printing downtime.
Upgrading your Ender 3 with an all-metal hotend allows you to deal with hotter temperatures, and won’t degrade over time.
Enclosure
While printing, it is highly desirable to have a consistent, warm temperature. Depending on where you live and the time of the season, it can be nearly impossible to keep a warm, steady temperature.
Having an enclosure will keep your printing temperature stable. This helps with adhesion as well as prevents your prints from warping. This enclosure also prevents dust infiltration and is fireproof.
Ender 3 Pro Printable Upgrades
A quick search on Thingverse comes back with hundreds of ways to upgrade your Ender 3 pro. Here are some of the more useful Ender 3 Pro Upgrades:
X-Gantry Alignment Tool
One problem you will probably run into with your printer is the X-Gantry coming out of alignment.
Many people improvise and use things like CD cases to help hold the x-gantry while adjusting it. But, a lot of people don’t have CD cases, and its possible they aren’t the same width anyway.
This tool is a pair of legs that holds the x-gantry completely level while you adjust it. Great for saving time and frustration when trying to align the X-gantry.
Filament Guide
A filament guide is a simple, easy way to prevent your prints from getting ruined.
Lube from the Z-rod can ruin your prints if the filament touches the rod. Having a filament guide will prevent this by running the filament directly inside the extruder.
MicroSD Card Adapter Housing
The SD card housing on your printer can get worn out over time. This cover prevents that by putting stress on the extension rather than the slot on your 3d printer.
This particular adapter only works for the Ender 3 Pro, but there are other designs that you can find as well.
Ender 3 Pro Cable Chain
Although I haven’t come across this problem, some people have gotten their cables stuck. This cable chain helps with cable control and gives your printer a nice, clean look.
Beeper Silencer
Chances are you have figured out by now that the Ender 3 makes sounds while printing. Depending on space, and where your 3d printer is located, this may or may not be an issue for you.
If it is an issue, you can try printing a beeper silencer. This little thimble-shaped silencer goes over the beeper to make things quieter.
Conclusion
There are many different ways you could upgrade your Ender 3 Pro. Here, we went over all the highly useful Ender 3 Pro Upgrades. Did we forget any? Let us know!