SainSmart x Creality Ender-3 PRO 3D Printer


SainSmart x Creality Ender-3 PRO 3D Printer

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Not really a deal. The Ender-3 pro is never more than $210 and was just on sale for $190 on Amazon last week. Not a deal just because SainSmart sells their version for more than the official one.

Not true, I ordered the Ender-3 pro from Sainsmart about 2+ months ago it was 270. I regret not waiting a month. It works like a beast. Just finished printing and assembling this:

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ya, what version of Amazon have you been watching? I just bought this to make prints for our DND group so I’ve been hyper aware of its price. While the price has steadily dropped, this is the lowest I’ve seen it in a couple months.

Otherwise, this is a great intro printer and definitely recommend.

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Ha! I’ve been fartn around making terrain for 28mm too!

Definitely a great printer, I have upgraded it quite a bit though. I swapped out the mainboard for a big tree tech SKR mini, I swapped out the extruder to a much nicer one for printing flexibles and I installed a BLTouch sensor for auto bed leveling, and took off the springs for the bed and installed solid rubber mounts. I dont have to level the bed or touch it whatsoever. Just prepare the surface, load filament and hit print. The stock board is way too loud for my taste. The only sound my printer makes now when printing is the fans. Stepper motors are dead silent. .

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I’ve been thinking about doing that as well, but so far the swapped out yellow springs have done me well.

Sure, but any quick search would have shown you that the printer normally retails for around $190-209 pre-tax. We are here for deals, making a mistake and overpaying for it previously doesn’t make this a good deal when it’s still more than retail.

Sainsmart is the distributor of Creality printers in the US, but you could buy it directly from Creality or from the numerous stores on Amazon that sell the original version. Last week the official one was on sale on Amazon and Aliexpress for $190, and I imagine that is why Sainsmart lowered their price in response.

Sainsmart just slaps their logo on it. It’s silly to not buy the original one when it goes on sale on Amazon.

I bought this. Much to my surprise it showed up today despite woot saying it was still preparing for shipment. It took an hour to put it together and level the bed. Now it is printing the test dog. I’m about 45 minutes in and it appears to be working flawlessly. So, that begs the question. It has firmware 1.1.6. Anyone know what the latest is and is it worthwhile to upgrade it? I usually always do that as a matter of course but now I’m thinking if it’s not broke, why fix it?

I would suggest keeping the firmware it is, get through all the other tweaks and fiddles, and after some time look at upgrading firmware.

Firmware flashing is a PITA.

Granted you already put yours together others may need some direction, plus this guy has some good information on tweaks, tightening, etc to do.

If you want some recommendations on upgrades I would suggest getting an upgrade kit from amazon.

Example (and there are usually a handful of parts bags for various pricing)
https://www.amazon.com/Creality-Capricorn-Upgraded-Pneumatic-Bed-level/dp/B081DN6RM2

The why:

  • aluminum extruder feeder frame prevents the filament, and it will, cut a grove in the plastic part already there.
  • yellow strings are stiffer and require less bed leveling over time
  • capricorn tubing stop heat creep (where the temperature of the heating element travels up the original tubing and messes with the filament, and it has a more narrow fit so retraction doesn’t bunch up filament and break (it’s happened to me before the upgrade)
  • couplers - so the tube doesn’t pop out (OG bits tend to do that), and cause problems with blobs of filament drying out.

and upgraded motherboard
https://www.amazon.com/BIGTREETECH-Control-Integrated-TMC2209-TMC2208/dp/B081DP1T95

I upgraded to this to allow for silent running (all I hear is the fan now), and a bit more precision without so much jerking around. It will allow also for expansion with a BLTTouch, other fans, and other firmware options.

I would recommend calibrating esteps as well.

Calibration prints:

Calibration cube:

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Yeah, I got my shipment notice today. It had been saying preparing for shipment.
Imagine my surprise when I click the tracking link, and it says it was delivered Friday…
Except it wasn’t. Tracking says “delivered in mailbox” which is impossible since the mailbox can’t fit the shipping box. And according to me sitting next to the door and my video cameras no one ever came to the door… Oh boy. I hope USPS or Woot can help with this. (I’ve contact both customer support, waiting to hear back)

Hi there. We had some issues with our tracking system over the weekend. We’re sorting it out. Woot CS should be able to help you locate it.

Marlin 2.0.x is the latest, however to upgrade the firmware on these printers, depends on the board. Typically ender 3 pro’s comes with an 8 bit mainboard and does not have a booloader installed making it quite difficult to upgrade. You need a USBISP programmer and adapter to plug into the board and use some software tools to flash it. If you dont do it right you could hose your board. There are a lot of good features that can make it worthwhile to upgrade. I skipped this step and replaced my main board with a Big Tree Tech SKR mini. Its a direct replacement for this printer and is a dream. Makes the printer nearly silent when printing. The motors dont make a sound. Only hear the fans and comes loaded with Marlin 2.0.x Easy to flash with SD card too.