Creality Ender 3 Max 3D Printer

3D Printing Requires Work – This review is coming from the angle of someone very new to it. The very first thing to have in mind before getting into 3D printing is that there is absolutely none of it that fits the set-and-forget mindset. If you want to configure things once and never have to do it again - or don't want to do minor changes or repairs: This is not the field… Read more

of interest you should look to get into.

--------

This printer, while being a little older than the most-recent offerings still does the job of printing 3D objects quite well. It has some manual aspects to it that can be annoying but the entire 3D printing process is a lot more stressful and troublesome in many ways - so prepare yourself for it if you go down this route (and be prepared to rely on forums and blogs for much of the information that you're going to need).

There are things to look for when starting out: - Is the printer going to be a toy for printing random things because you can? - Is the printer going to be used for printing useful things that you may be able to buy but, in time, will pay for itself in that what you're making will eventually overtake the outlay?

For me, I bought this printer based on the relatively low cost and that it was to make some things that I wanted to buy that were ready made but could not justify the cost of spending the money on solitary items. In purchasing this, I justified it to myself that there are many things that I want to buy (usually made in China) and are often rubbish quality. I can now print and build my own and ensure that, if the quality is bad, I only have one person to blame.

About this printer: - Manual bed levelling (can become annoying). - Heated bed with glass plate (very good to have!). - standard tubing and nozzles (they work for the most part). - larger-than-average print area (excellent thing to consider). - single extruder (can print just one colour at a time). - Has rated highly on many reviews as a good machine for beginners (that's me) but can also stay in your toolkit for harder stuff. The way to move on from here is to dual/multiple extruders so that you can do more than one colour at a time.

About the process: - If you think you can open the box and sit down and connect to a computer and print all sorts of wonderful things straight up. Think again. It just doesn't work like that. No 3D printer does from what I understand. - You will need to consider purchasing consumables like nozzles and, in particular, the reels of material that you will use to print. Most start with what is known as PLA (the forums will explain what the letters mean - basically biodegradable plastic). There are others that are heavy duty plastic and it is advisable to learn how to use the machine first before going for the hard projects. - Buying consumables will add a sting to your wallet, so be prepared for that. Some brands are dodgy and some are great and the well-known, good quality elements can be very expensive in Australia while being relatively cheap in the USA with postage cost being the killer. - There are chain stores around that sell 3D print stuff and there are small grey-importers who run stores on eBay and Marketplace. Do homework and don't rely on a singular person to tell you all you need to know. By the same token, believing that it's on the internet and therefore must be true is also not a great way to go. Be objective.

Using this printer: - Having a manually levelled bed means that you need to know and understand the options in menu of the machine and to be able to adjust the wheels under the bed such that they are the correct and equal distance to the plate. Some printers have auto bed-levelling - this isn't one of them. - You can buy a kit for this printer that does auto bed-levelling and you will find that there is a huge aftermarket offering of parts for these printers that can make life easier and printing more consistent. The expensive prices of some printers may have you wondering why people pay it but they do come with features that you may well install on this printer at a later stage (as I am in the process of doing). - Many say that an auto bed-leveller will be one of the best add-ons you can do for this printer. From my perspective, ensuring that the bed is the correct height (needs to be adjusted every couple of prints or after every print if doing big stuff) is super important. I have one on order and it will be fitted probably before this gets published. - There are replacement glass bed tops that potentially do away with the need for the glues (ie: hairspray) but not a critical addition. - If you've never performed a firmware upgrade on a piece of computer hardware, you will need to learn how to do it on this. There are YouTube videos that assist immensely and the benefit of the upgrades really are valuable. Firmware upgrades really do make this printer work that much better and I understand that all 3D printers need this at some stage, so don't consider it a deal breaker. - There are still some things that you aren't told about and you need to work it out. If you're hopeless at problem solving, give the printer to the neighbour's kid and ask them to print everything for you (you may need to buy them a laptop to go with it).

What you're not told about 3D printing: - You'll need for a form of glue on the glass to keep the first layer working as it should. The first layer is the most critical and, if you get that foundation correct, the rest can usually work OK (but not always). - Temperature settings for the material you're printing, the bed, and the extruder change for EVERYTHING. Even using the same brand material albeit in a different colour will require tests to see what works as results can differ. - Be prepared to research and read heaps of forums.

As a first printer, I am extremely happy with this machine as it's done exactly what has been asked of it. It's just all the extra stuff going on around it with material choice and spare parts and firmware that take the shine off it.