5 things to know before you fire up your ender 3 - 0.0

Hi guys, welcome to my channel, I'm Technivorous, and this video is a few things that you need to know about the Ender-3 before you start. Now, this video is all about telling you to calm down. You're going to have issues, everyone does, but before we get into specifics, I decided to prepare a list of things that people will tell you to worry about that you don't really need to be concerned with until you're familiar with the machine. Some of them, like the first one on the list, may seem odd not to be concerned with, but just trust me, it'll all make sense. Each of these subjects will have a video somewhere in this section, but it's important that you take in all of this information to avoid panicking later. So the first thing I want to talk about today is the home position. The home position on the Ender-3 gets a lot of questions from Ender-3 rookies. When in the home position, the hot end, or nozzle, should be all the way to the left, and the bed should be all the way back. This is known as the home position, or 00. It's actually 000, meaning all of the axes, X, Y, and Z, are at their minimal position. This is also where your end stops are located. It's important to note, in the home position, the nozzle of the Ender-3 is slightly to the left of the build plate, and not directly above it. If using a magnetic mat, it is slightly wider than the plate, and when placed properly, the nozzle will be right on the lip of the mat, slightly off of the bed. Don't panic, this is normal. The second thing I want to talk about is getting the right slicer. Now a slicer is a thing of preference, and there are many good free slicers, but you should note that the Ender-3 comes with Cura, and it's on the SD card that came with the printer. I recommend installing that version to start, and the reason is simple. The version sent on the card is the version they use to print with at the company, so it stands to reason that they're getting good prints. Once you've set up that version of Cura to the proper profile, you can export the profile and import it into a newer version of Cura. It's also important to note that the latest stable version of Cura, 4.1, does have a few bugs in it. This is because Cura is always updating and experimenting with their options, and if you can get ahold of a version 4.0, that should be your first update after the profile is set. The next thing you need to know about before getting started are your filament options. There are people out there that swear by ABS, and that's good for them. If you want to print ABS on your Ender-3, you certainly can, but first you're going to need to build an enclosure if you plan on printing anything of a decent size. The Ender-3 has a max hotend temperature of 260, allowing the printing of almost every material available for desktop printers, including, but not limited to, nylon, PETG, ABS, TPU, and of course, PLA. If you're new to 3D printing, I definitely recommend PLA, as it's the easiest to work with and usually has a lower melting point. PLA adheres well to most surfaces and can be sanded and painted for a nice finish. It's also relatively cheap, which makes mistakes in the beginning less costly. Next, don't worry about upgrades. I see it all the time, some guy posts on Facebook group that he just got an Ender-3 and doesn't know where to start. Immediately, the pros jump in with stuff like, upgrade your firmware, change the board, and you need a new extruder. Just nope, don't listen to him. The Ender-3 and Ender-3 Pro come ready to print with minimal assembly. Upgrades are nice, but they're just that, upgrades. The machine is fine when you get it. Be sure to set it up properly, then don't worry about changing the hardware or firmware until you are comfortable with the machine. On your journey, you will experience everything from clogs, to filament binds, to under-extruded prints. Each of these is to be handled one at a time. After you go through these issues, you will be much more familiar with the machine and capable of most upgrades with little to no explanation. Getting a good print can be addictive. Once you have your settings dialed in in the slicer, you will inevitably want to upgrade something to see if it improves the print quality. No need to jump to that right away, as changing too much can lead to problems. If you don't upgrade one item at a time, you may not know what's causing your issue, leading to tons of frustration and in all likelihood going back to stock and doing it piece by piece. Yes, there is a new firmware version every couple months, and yes, it's probably better, but it's not needed, and if you don't know your way around, it's possible to accidentally turn your printer into a paperweight. Yes, eventually the extruder on the Ender-3 will break or wear through, but you should get several months of good printing before that time comes. The last thing I want to point out in this little guide here is to start small. I know everyone wants to print a full-scale Iron Man suit or a big beautiful base. Just don't. There are plenty of models of adequate size to get you started, and it is definitely advised that you print some test prints first to make sure that you don't waste 12 hours and half a roll of filament on sloppy prints. Once your settings are dialed in and you're happy with the look of your prints, then move on to the bigger stuff. Now all of that said, I know you want to be up and printing right away, so stay tuned for the next video where I show you how to set up Cura for your printer and we print some calibration prints to get you dialed in. Give me 20 minutes of your time and watch the next two videos, after which we'll have you printing nice models of your own choice with your own custom profile, which you can use continually and successfully on your Ender-3.