Creality 3D Ender 3 Printer Economic Ender DIY Kits with Resume Printing Function 220x220x250MM

TLDR: Had issues, not all of them related to the printer, even though they appeared to be. Seller was EXTREMELY helpful in working with me. Resolved issues and I love this thing.I'd been considering a 3D printer for a while and honestly couldn't pass this up for the price. Normally you see something with this capacity costing $500+, so I ordered it.Be aware: This is a kit, you need to assemble this printer (again, knew that going in). This is my first printer and there were issues (see below). I don't consider myself exceptional with tools, I can put things together and I know the basics of soldering. You shouldn't need the secondary skill (I did because I'm impatient), if you (or a friend) are decent with tools you should be able to assemble this without issue.Received the printer in a timely manner (prime delivery), used a couple of youtube videos as reference for assembly as the included instructions are kind of sparse.First issue I ran into: When you look at step 5 of the instructions provided (and most of the assembly videos), you'll see the Bowden tube connector is pointed towards the right side of the frame. Filament hangs from the top, comes down the left side and feeds through the Bowden feed into the tube, which runs out over the bed. Mine came with the feed assembly rotated 90 degrees. The Bowden tube was pointed at the extruder head, which would have caused the Bowden tube to kink/bend and I would have ended up with feed issues. The fix was to remove the clamp with the spring that feeds across the stepper motor and rotate it 90 degrees. No big deal.Second issue: The videos show the z-axis motor didn't come with documented screws. The instructions had a couple of steps where they point at screws you need to use, but didn't label the specific screws from the parts list. Again, the major one is referenced in the youtube videos, but the z-axis motor wasn't. In the videos I saw, the screws were already in the motor and they didn't say their instructions were missing the specific screws. Fortunately they ship a lot of extra of each screw, I ended up using two of the extra M4x20 screws.Third issue I ran into was the y-axis limit switch being broken. After I completed the assembly, when I powered it up the first time and had it home, as it moved along the y-axis, I heard the heat bed slam into something and the stepper motor continued to run. I hit the power switch and started looking. I noticed that the top of the plastic enclosure for the limit switch was broken, which caused the lever that the bed should it to be lower than the rollers. What I should have done was reached out to the seller (because they give excellent support). What I ended up doing was going to a local electronic parts store, buying a new limit switch, de-soldering the existing one from the circuit board and installing the new one.Once it was setup, I attempted to print an xyz calibration cube using the provided filament and it printed beautifully. Was very happy with the way it printed out. I then tried to print a benchy test to see how it came out and ran out of filament part way through. I swapped to a roll of filament I purchased with the printer and had serious layer separation. I used a couple of troubleshooting guides with no luck, so I reached out to the seller.Seller was VERY responsive and worked with me on trying to figure out what the issue was. I had an issue with the hotend at one point and they very quickly sent me another (hot end wasn't the issue).I ended up printing a temperature tower test and found that my issue was a combination of too little infill and not enough temperature. Once I fixed both of those in my slicer software, the prints started coming out beautifully again.

My initial impression of this printer is very high. I've been 3D printing for close to a decade now using a printer that was largely made of it's own 3D printed parts, as many were back then. Heck, it's running a job right now. It's been through many parts and modifications over the years to improve it's performance. Out of the gate though, this Creality Ender bests my old machine in a few areas. I learned to work with the slop in my X and Z carriages the way a hack golfer learns to aim his slice since he can't get rid of it. The groove rollers on this are a thing of beauty. Everything moves so smoothly and there is ZERO play in anything. My delrin LM88U on guide rods setup doesn't even compare. i believe my current heated bed will be the winner in that department though, because the bed IS the heating element and this is a slab of aluminum with a heating element under the middle. I'll be interested to see if I get consistent temps from center to edge. I do a lot of full tray builds so I can't deal with curling. Everything is really well designed and put together. Assembly only took me a few hours on and off, largely because I did it in the middle of the dining room table in the middle of dinner to quite a bit of side eye from the wife. It's really as simple as installing X and Z. The base and Y are already done and it's pre-wired from the controller. Rollers are already installed on the brackets that need them and the X carriage is actually pre-assembled, extruder and all. My current machine came with no two pieces connected and took me three days to assemble using a guide that another customer put together. The instructions are clear, color images showing you what you need and where it goes. Very simple to understand and no horrible broken English to translate. Parts bags were all clearly labeled and it comes with the needed tools for assembly (ball end allen wrenches, really?!). If you can assemble an Ikea coffee table, you can build this.I'm just now getting into the user guide and documentation to see what's what. I've not used one with a built in control center, and it seems to have come with some software I have yet to explore. I've been using Repetier Host and Kisslicer for quite a few years, but I'm excited to see what the included offerings look like.Even if some parts of this turn out to be complete garbage, I think the chassis and drivetrain alone are worth what you pay for this printer. It's a sixth of what I paid for my current setup 9 years ago and way more solid. I can't wait to put some filament through it.

I bought this printer with the expectation that I would have to immediately buy some upgrades and print some accessories. Out of the box assembly is pretty easy if you pay attention to assembly videos on YouTube. I did purchase new bed leveling springs and a BLTouch for my printer and that helps immensely! One issue that I am waiting to be resolved is that my print bed is warped up in the middle vice down like most. Seller has agreed to replace the print bed, but I am guessing shipping takes a while because it is coming from overseas. Overall, you can’t go wrong with this printer if you are just getting into the hobby!

Great first printer! Easy to use too!

Bad:1) The build plate is warped, and not uncommon to this model, creality has had some quality control issues on that front2) Getting a level bed can and possibly will give you a psychological breakdown3) Stock adhesion wasn't at all dependable for me, though this could be going back to those dialing in of settingsFor me, I ended up trying the magnetic bed, which I apparently had bubbles I couldn't completely get out from the adhesion side, I ended up stripping it off and getting a glass bed. This with a glue stick helped me take care of the leveling and adhesion problemsGood:1) Once dialed in, it can actually print beautifully.2) anything, and I mean ANYTHING you break on this printer can either be fixed/replaced or upgraded. Their is nothing proprietary, fully open source. This makes all mistakes very forgiving.3) It really does make a good first 3d printer, and now that I'm getting better at fine tuning the settings, I love it.4) possible upgrades include a 400mm x 400mm x 500mm build area/frame.5) there is a HUGE community, so finding answers becomes incredibly easy.