Creality Ender-3 V3 Review | PCMag

Few companies do entry-level 3D printers as well as Creality. The Ender-3 S1 Pro is one of our top picks for curious tinkerers looking for an easy-to-use introduction to this vibrant hobby, and the Creality Ender-3 V3 ($389.99) reviewed here builds on much of what makes the S1 Pro so great, with improvements to print speed, auto-calibration, and cooling. It’s a highly capable and affordable printer that earns our Editors' Choice award for budget 3D printers.

The Creality Ender-3 V3 is an open-frame 3D printer, which means it has an exposed printing area that's ideal for basic printing. The alternative—closed-frame printers—offer fully enclosed chambers that provide a controlled environment, which is necessary for mitigating odors, noise, and temperature when handling certain materials that are typically beyond the scope of entry-level 3D printing.

The Ender-3 V3 measures 14 by 14.7 by 19.6 inches, a much smaller footprint than previous Ender printers. And at 17.2 pounds, it’s a bit lighter as well, especially compared with competitors like the AnkerMake M5C and the Anycubic Kobra 2, two other excellent budget open-frame printers.

The Ender-3 V3 uses a polyetherimide (PEI) flexible build plate, like most 3D printers in this price range. Measuring 7.8 by 7.8 by 9.8 inches, the PEI plate magnetically adheres to the base of the printer, which helps heat the print and provides support for adhesion. The plate is mostly maintenance-free, but we did notice some residue left behind from a few printed objects.

The Ender-3 V3 is not unlike other open-frame 3D printers in its shape or design, but it does sport a handsome metallic finish, which gives it an expensive look. Edges are not sharp right angles; instead, they're subtle curves, and the aluminum alloy in the gantry and base does a great job of preventing any unnecessary wobble or structural integrity issues that plague some lesser budget printers.

Setup is simple, as the printer is mostly pre-assembled. The major parts you must put together are the base, the touch screen, the gantry, and the filament spool holder. Creality promises a 10-minute assembly time, and it’ll be even shorter if you have experience with open-frame printers. The front of the printer’s base is where you’ll install the 4.3-inch touch screen. There's no SD card slot, but the printer does have a USB-A port, where you can plug in the included USB thumb drive that contains a few sample print files. The Ender-3 V3 lacks a built-in tool drawer, a noticeable omission that's included on the Ender-3 S1 Pro.

The Ender-3 V3's extruder has two fans inside, which help cool the freshly printed section rapidly and evenly, and help avoid any potential drooping or warping that might occur. The printer supports speeds of up to 600 millimeters per second (23.6 inches per second), the same maximum as its closed-frame cousin, the Creality K1. The Ender-3 V3's unique tri-metal nozzle also makes maintenance and repair pretty easy (and as you'll see below, you might encounter the need for repairs).

One of the best things about the Ender-3 V3 is that it's mostly a plug-and-play affair. That’s true of other Creality printers, too, but the dreaded leveling of the print bed—which is required before you can start printing—can be a challenge. Proper bed leveling is essential to ensure your print adheres to the print bed.

It's less of a problem now than in the early days of consumer 3D printing thanks to the advent of auto-leveling technology, and Creality has improved its auto-leveling operation greatly. With one press of a button, the auto-calibration handles everything from leveling to input shaping and fan speeds. If leveling the print bed has stressed you out before, the process is a lot easier here, though it is still lengthy and loud.

The Ender-3 V3 uses the open-source Creality OS for the touch-screen control panel, which allows you to customize functions for DIY modification. The upgrade over previous Creality touch screens is noticeable, from just navigating the menus to how simple it is to adjust settings.

In addition to the files on the USB drive that's included with the printer, we also test printed various items from the Thingiverse—including two vases, a geometry test—and a tolerance test using a roll of PLA filament. Across all of these prints, we found the Ender-3 V3 to be fast and accurate.

No matter the print, the results were impressive. Creality Print, Creality’s free slicing software, is easy to use and even flags issues with a print file before printing.

We measure the quality of the output from 3D printers in two ways. The first is examining a printed piece for any obvious anomaly or fault, while the second method uses a benchmark model where the object's parameters are known. We did all of our printing with Creality Hyper Series white PLA filament and the 0.4-inch nozzle that the printer ships with.

We were really impressed by some of the results. The geometry test was almost perfect, without any visible distortion or warping. The same is true of the Benchy test, which stresses the printer to its limits, thanks to its unique shape and details. The 3D Benchy rubric consists of a wide range of measurements of the bridge roof length, chimney roundness, horizontal overall length, horizontal overall width, vertical overall height, cargo box size, and hawsepipe diameter (the small hole near the front of the boat shown in the photo above). The print results were very similar to those of the more expensive K1. For example, our test model measured 22.86mm across the bridge roof length, while the rubric calls for 23mm.

The spiral vase shown above is particularly impressive, as the printer managed to capture the shape of the vase perfectly, including the thin design spiraling around it. And while the print was thin, it was strong, without any noticeable damage across the base or edges. The same can be said for the vase shown below, which, as you can see, is of a different design. The vase maintains a perfect spiral design around the entirety of the body. It has a wider base and a narrow top, with an opening that's much more flared than the other vase.

But that’s not to say all was smooth sailing. At certain times during printing, especially while shaping the inputs, the printer bucked and shook loudly, which had us diving for cover. Also during our testing, the print head overflowed with filament because it had a problem adhering to the print bed, which we fixed by using the included glue stick between prints. (We also needed to use glue when testing the K1.) Creality sent a replacement print head, and swapping it was a cinch, thanks to the easy-to-remove nozzle. Despite these hiccups in the print process, the results were always impressive.

Creality's excellence continues here. The Ender-3 V3 builds on what makes some of the company's other printers so great: speedy, high-quality prints from an easy-to-use printer that appeals to beginners and veterans alike. Yes, you'll likely encounter occasional hiccups in the print process if your experience is anything like ours, including noise, vibration, and a print bed that needs to be treated with glue. But the trouble is well worth the results.

More expensive printers like the Original Prusa MK4 eclipse the Ender-3 V3 in quality. Still, for the price, the Ender-3 V3 is an excellent choice earning our Editors’ Choice award, and rivaling some of our favorite budget 3D printers.

The Creality Ender-3 V3 is a highly capable open-frame 3D printer that's easy to love if you're just starting out in the hobby, thanks to simple assembly and speedy, high-quality prints.

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I’m an Analyst and ISF-certified TV calibrator focused on reviewing computer accessories, laptops, gaming monitors, and video games. I’ve been writing, playing, and complaining about games for as long as I remember, but it wasn’t until recently that I’ve been able to shout my opinions directly at a larger audience. My work has appeared on iMore, Windows Central, Android Central, and TWICE, and I have a diverse portfolio of editing work under my belt from my time spent at Scholastic and Oxford University Press. I also have a few book-author credits under my belt—I’ve contributed to the sci-fi anthology Under New Suns, and I’ve even written a Peppa Pig book.

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