Ender 3 Pro Review

[dv]

So, I made a booboo hooking up my Printrbot Simple Metal 1403 yesterday, and smelled smoke. Fried the printer's motherboard as well as some of the USB devices I had plugged into the same hub (but my KVM sacrificed itself to save the computer, which was a relief.)

So that sucks.

Anyway, you can't get parts for the old Printrbot I have anymore, and the company went bankrupt in '18 (but reorganized and is in startup mode again). I have a generic RAMPS kit coming from China so in February I should be able to "re-brain" the printer. But that will take some fiddling, and in the meantime, I have stuff to do.

MicroCenter has a bunch of these kits for $200 (marked down from $300; the replacement "V2" version is pretty much the same thing but $260.)

https://www.microcenter.com/product/608 ... 3d-printer

So I got one. Some assembly required, took me about an hour and a half (probably would have been under an hour, but I couldn't figure out how get the bed adjusted to the right height & leveled without watching another youtube video.)

Long story short, it's a little noisier than the Printrbot, but meets or exceeds it in any other way I can think of. (Technology marches on, I suppose. It was a third the price of the Printrbot too.) Similar print speed/quality, wider footprint and better stability, better filament roll holder design, significantly larger build area, the magnetic mat on the bed is coated with something that binds to PLA almost too well, the screen is cute but useless, and the weird QR code sticker on the front of it will definitely be removed before I post pictures of it.

[DukeofNuke]

3D printers are down to $200 now!