Z axis support

[Rudolph Hucker]

Hi all I am new to 3D printing, in fact so new I haven't even bought a printer yet.
Have virtually decided on an Ender 3 Pro. Certainly filament rather than resin.
Thinking direct from Creality (their UK distribution centre) rather than Amazon.
It's within budget and I cannot justify going for a V2 never mind the S1.

I can invisage the bed being leveled lots (what is the consensus, paper method fine or better off with the auto bed leveling doohickey?) but just how often do the belts need retensioning as the V2 seems to have little wheel tensioners whilst the Pro has bolts that loosen etc etc?
Do not think the noise of the Pro over the V2 will be significant as the printer will be used in a modelling room so the door can be shut. If the noise becomes an issue how difficult is it to fit a 'silent' board?

On some youtube videos the little bracket that holds the Z-axis motor seems to impart a little lean on the lead (?) screw, you can print off a bracket that manages to hold the motor another millimetre or so out straightening out the lead screw how prevalent is this problem or do 90% of people find it doesn't matter.

Cura, 3D builder and Tinkercad all seem to have very steep learning curves, wish me luck (son will also be learning along with me so consider it a joint operation).
Shall be using Thingiverse at first can't see me having to design intricate things, so this should do me (with some light design work) whilst son is champing at the bit to learn how to make all his own designs

 

[BeeP]

Can’t really comment on the ender printers but a couple of weeks ago my workplace bought two sidewinder x1 printers. I was a bit concerned about having to set them up but assembly was a doddle and bed levelling was easy too.

We are using cura for slicing, some thingiverse but mostly of our own designs (Solidworks and pro engineer), cura is pretty easy to get going but you can add a lot more options on to it as you need them. There are a few profiles out there too which will give you a good start. Don’t worry about it too much you will get it in no time.

Learning as we go, really enjoying it though, been using vmc/cnc machines for about 30 years now so it’s a nice little change…..looking at maybe setting up octoprint next….out of my depth lol.

 

[Scougar]

If you like levelling.. get the ender pro. If not, then save more and get something better. (And that doesn't mean the v2, it means something with dual axis support for example).

They do the job, but at minimum I would buy the yellow springs to reduce levelling needed between prints.

Alternatively, look up the flsun q5 as a starter printer. (Note, the belts don't need to be tight on a delta, just enough to stop it slipping).

 

[Scougar]

There are indeed things you can do to make printing better on the pro.

1) ensure the screws on the x axis are tight. They can come loose and cause gantry sag.
2) ensure the eccentric nuts on the wheels on the z axis are "snug" but not tight. Tight means they will wear out faster and cause issues.
3) you can get a ball bearing or flex coupler for the z axis to reduce issues with banding from an inaccurate lead screw.
4) once in a while clean and relube the lead screw
5) ensure your frame is square and then retighten. You can you basic set squares or similar to do this.

 

[Makhaira]

Consider PrusaSlicer and Fusion 360 over Cura and Tinkercad - they are a lot more versatile and will save you having to relearn things further down the line as you get more advanced.