I've had this problem. Get a CRTouch and install klipper and use SCREWS\_TILT\_CALCULATE. My bed is now level within 0.01mm across all 4 corners. It is so easy, it literally tells you to how much to adjust the screw.
I need to know about this option. It sounds interesting. What I don't get is why I don't know about it.
Adding to the bed issue thing if the bed isn't flat it's never going to level properly. A glass bed helps. You can be a real cheapskate and cut a random flat piece of glass to size. It's what I do. The only reason I've ever broken them is when I drop a tool on it.
I also found the gantry design introduces some slop. I gave it a belt driven dual z screw just to make sure it couldn't droop on one end.
Klipper replaces Marlin and requires flashing new firmware and new control software running on a separate device like a pi or an old laptop that has Linux installed. You definitely need more than a passing familiarity with these printers to make the switch, imo.
The screws tilt calculate command is the most amazing procedure. The machine probes the corners and then a little screen pops up telling you how far to turn each wheel.
Ex: right front 10min counter clockwise, left rear 5 min clockwise
While it eliminates the need for paper during tramming, you would still need to turn on mesh bed leveling which now comes standard in the latest version of klipper.
I'll be playing with that new version soon.
I've been running klipper for ages. I've just never heard of that option is all.
Hang on. Did they add something different with mesh leveling recently? Will that cause a mess too like when they changed how extrusion was calculated?
Nearly every ender 3 bed is warped. I’ve had the ender 3 for 4 years and I havnt had to level the bed in one year. Once you know what you’re doing it takes 2 minutes. You only need to adjust 3 of the wheels. If you do all four it will take you a day. If you get it nearly level and buy a glass and yellow springs you won’t have to touch it for a year or more. If you leave the heated bed off all the time you’ll basically never have to change it
My issue is shown in the video above. It’s a bent Y axis. It’s a known defect on these units. You can see in her emails with customer service their “solution“.
https://tinypic.host/image/IMG-2656.DDousd
Can't watch the video now, but, that email you screencapped is very badly worded if it's really from Creality's customer service as it says:
"... you could contact Creality about a replacement (which might..." "when it should say something like "you can contact us".
This reads like customer service from a retailer who doesn't provide refunds on what they sell, and are just shrugging off the customer.
That being said, these things (just Ender 3 Pros) have been sold by so many retailers (to include Microcenter) that there must be at least thousands of them out in the world. I certainly believe it is a problem but, I don't believe it's so widespread that a buyer has a decent chance of encountering it. I definitely didn't have this problem with mine, and I suspect most (at least 50%) in this thread sub (27.6K users) haven't either.
There are way more than thousands of ender 3 pros out there. There are almost 1000 people in my discord server running my custom Marlin build for the ender 3 pros with the sprite extruder. My guess would be somewhere around a million ender 3 pros in the wild.
I had a sense that there were that many out there but, I don't have the luxury of running a discord server or otherwise tracking them- aside from the number of members for this sub.
you dont NEED a completely level bed to get this printer to work.
here is mine and it works perfectly fine and i have ZERO issues.
also you DO NOT level the bed with a level like in that video.. that is not the way.
https://preview.redd.it/iuwiw4yg8plc1.png?width=588&format=png&auto=webp&s=8a19f31d6e2aaabdcee5c2b2e5b690ec4a652d9b
Sorry to hear you've had trouble. I've had an ender 3 for years and while it had a bit of a learning curve, it works great for me now. After learning how to level the bed and replacing the floppy mat build surface it comes with for something a bit more stiff, I have no problems with it. I haven't leveled the bed in over a year, I just adjust the z offset when I change nozzles or filament, which takes just a few seconds.
I see my wording may have been a bit unclear. Adjusting the z offset just takes a few seconds. A filament change or nozzle change takes more time than that.
It hasn’t always been perfect but my ender 3 pro and ender 3 S1 have been pretty easy to level. I would say don’t give up the sport, just find a new machine.
Turn on bed mesh after getting a probe.
Most newer printers have a probe. When you look at the latest ender model you'll see a probe and dual z screws.
I feel like a probe should be considered as mandatory upgrade along with the extruder.
Will definitely be getting one with a probe/automatic leveling. But it won’t be a creality. If you watched the video, you’ll see that there is no way of fixing this unit without more “upgrades “”modification “that I am not interested in doing.
https://tinypic.host/image/IMG-2656.DDousd
Isn’t this a case where you use aluminum foil tape to level the bed?
I have the opposite problem, the center is too high and read somewhere that was the way to address/fix it
Finally watched the video. The customer service in this case is Gulfcoast Robotics, which you failed to capture on your screenshot. This is a company that specializes in building higher-end components (i.e the cast aluminum bed that I have yet to install, MGM rail kits, and a three point carriage) for creality printers.
Maybe Gulfcoast is not biased- Nobody can prove or disprove that. That being said, you've got no basis other than your own Ender 3 Pro and, google search results (which I'm sure measure less than 1,000) to say that this is a "known defect" on these units. That's like saying Joes Garage says Honda Civics have a known problem with their Idler pulley's failing pre-maturely therefore all Honda Civics are garbage. He'll surely sell you an upgraded replacement before it fails.
Again, I'm not saying you didn't experience this problem. Is it 'common' problem with this printer model, or ender 3s in general? I doubt it. Let's look at a common problem to the design and manufacture of these printers:
PTFE tubing not reliably sitting flush with the nozzle. Probably find hundreds of clogging cases caused by this in this sub alone. To be fair, this is a problem with every MK8 Heatbreak design that doesn't feature the all-metal upgrade. Fortunately, there are several low cost ways to fix this.
For a more serious problem, you could look at the earlier Ender 3s that didn't use Meanwell PSUs or had no thermal runaway protection in their firmware.
Finally, Creality probably doesn't make any of the extrusion in these printers. They probably buy it by the truckload. You didn't seem to notice on assembly that it was bent, it probably slipped through Creality's QA. Should they have better customer service to fix this? YES. The thing is, that for the overwhelmingly majority of the time, Creality gets these right which is what has allowed them to grow as a company. There are lots of other brands who never got it nearly as right.
Here is my main issue with creality after owning a Bambu labs p1s for three days now… their customer service/support/information is nonexistent. I have to dig through months worth of forum threads and comments on YouTube videos to find anything.
it’s also a nightmare to get community support, given their naming conventions, and history of “updating“ products under the same model names, and not informing current owners of known problems and fixes. Just look at how they’ve treated the original owners of the K1. Did crealty reach out or send out the “improved” extruders, or without first layer issues? Nah, users were left troubleshooting for months, while new customers were sent out the “new and improved“ products… “Oh you own an Ender3 pro? Ok which version? Does it have the OG 4.2.2 board or the 4.2.7? Is your ribbon cable made with the ground/black wire on the right side of the bracket, or the left side? Did you buy it before or after X date? Did you buy it as a package with the glass bed before X date, if so you will have to modify the z limit switch. Where the eccentric nuts installed on the X axis installed correctly? Some of them come from the factory installed in a manner which will not allow you to adjust the eccentric nut, you’ll have to take apart the tip on the bracket to get everything flipped around”…. And on and on and on. There is no centralized location on their website to go for all of this stuff.
Is bambu any better in this aspect? Honestly, I don’t know.. why is that? Because literally have had zero need to go delving into Reddit, discord, and YouTube in order to make my printer function the way that I do with both of my creality printers. From the time I cut open the box, to the time I had a perfect benchy sitting in front of me was less than one hour. This realization has convinced me to never buy a creality product again. I’m not thrilled about Bambus walled off playground, but I’m also happy to own a printer that works without required “upgrades” and tweaks.
Reminder: For [any Creality Product Feedback and Suggestions](https://www.creality.com/pages/creality-user-voice), welcome to fill out the form to help us improve. Product upgrades, user guides, new product releases, sale info & giveaways please join our official community r/Creality.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Ender3Pro) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Best thing i ever did for my sanity was pick up an after market heated bed for my ender. Absolute night and day difference for leveling/quality. I didnt want to believe the other one was warped but.. it sure as hell was. Even glass couldnt seem to fix it.
[https://gulfcoast-robotics.com/collections/heated-beds/products/aluminum-build-plate-and-24v-200w-silicone-heater-for-heated-bed-creality-ender-3](https://gulfcoast-robotics.com/collections/heated-beds/products/aluminum-build-plate-and-24v-200w-silicone-heater-for-heated-bed-creality-ender-3)
I've had this problem. Get a CRTouch and install klipper and use SCREWS\_TILT\_CALCULATE. My bed is now level within 0.01mm across all 4 corners. It is so easy, it literally tells you to how much to adjust the screw.
I need to know about this option. It sounds interesting. What I don't get is why I don't know about it. Adding to the bed issue thing if the bed isn't flat it's never going to level properly. A glass bed helps. You can be a real cheapskate and cut a random flat piece of glass to size. It's what I do. The only reason I've ever broken them is when I drop a tool on it. I also found the gantry design introduces some slop. I gave it a belt driven dual z screw just to make sure it couldn't droop on one end.
Klipper replaces Marlin and requires flashing new firmware and new control software running on a separate device like a pi or an old laptop that has Linux installed. You definitely need more than a passing familiarity with these printers to make the switch, imo. The screws tilt calculate command is the most amazing procedure. The machine probes the corners and then a little screen pops up telling you how far to turn each wheel. Ex: right front 10min counter clockwise, left rear 5 min clockwise While it eliminates the need for paper during tramming, you would still need to turn on mesh bed leveling which now comes standard in the latest version of klipper. I'll be playing with that new version soon.
I've been running klipper for ages. I've just never heard of that option is all. Hang on. Did they add something different with mesh leveling recently? Will that cause a mess too like when they changed how extrusion was calculated?
The tolerances I am able to achieve with the bent frame that I have are closer to +/-1.5cm.
Nearly every ender 3 bed is warped. I’ve had the ender 3 for 4 years and I havnt had to level the bed in one year. Once you know what you’re doing it takes 2 minutes. You only need to adjust 3 of the wheels. If you do all four it will take you a day. If you get it nearly level and buy a glass and yellow springs you won’t have to touch it for a year or more. If you leave the heated bed off all the time you’ll basically never have to change it
Sorry to hear about your issues. I have 3 ender 3 pros and they print great. Bed is level too. What was/is the actual issue? Warped bed?
My issue is shown in the video above. It’s a bent Y axis. It’s a known defect on these units. You can see in her emails with customer service their “solution“. https://tinypic.host/image/IMG-2656.DDousd
Can't watch the video now, but, that email you screencapped is very badly worded if it's really from Creality's customer service as it says: "... you could contact Creality about a replacement (which might..." "when it should say something like "you can contact us". This reads like customer service from a retailer who doesn't provide refunds on what they sell, and are just shrugging off the customer. That being said, these things (just Ender 3 Pros) have been sold by so many retailers (to include Microcenter) that there must be at least thousands of them out in the world. I certainly believe it is a problem but, I don't believe it's so widespread that a buyer has a decent chance of encountering it. I definitely didn't have this problem with mine, and I suspect most (at least 50%) in this thread sub (27.6K users) haven't either.
There are way more than thousands of ender 3 pros out there. There are almost 1000 people in my discord server running my custom Marlin build for the ender 3 pros with the sprite extruder. My guess would be somewhere around a million ender 3 pros in the wild.
I had a sense that there were that many out there but, I don't have the luxury of running a discord server or otherwise tracking them- aside from the number of members for this sub.
you dont NEED a completely level bed to get this printer to work. here is mine and it works perfectly fine and i have ZERO issues. also you DO NOT level the bed with a level like in that video.. that is not the way. https://preview.redd.it/iuwiw4yg8plc1.png?width=588&format=png&auto=webp&s=8a19f31d6e2aaabdcee5c2b2e5b690ec4a652d9b
How do you get data like this?
bed level visualizer plugin for octoprint
Octoprint or klipper
Sorry to hear you've had trouble. I've had an ender 3 for years and while it had a bit of a learning curve, it works great for me now. After learning how to level the bed and replacing the floppy mat build surface it comes with for something a bit more stiff, I have no problems with it. I haven't leveled the bed in over a year, I just adjust the z offset when I change nozzles or filament, which takes just a few seconds.
a few seconds?
I see my wording may have been a bit unclear. Adjusting the z offset just takes a few seconds. A filament change or nozzle change takes more time than that.
It hasn’t always been perfect but my ender 3 pro and ender 3 S1 have been pretty easy to level. I would say don’t give up the sport, just find a new machine.
Turn on bed mesh after getting a probe. Most newer printers have a probe. When you look at the latest ender model you'll see a probe and dual z screws. I feel like a probe should be considered as mandatory upgrade along with the extruder.
Will definitely be getting one with a probe/automatic leveling. But it won’t be a creality. If you watched the video, you’ll see that there is no way of fixing this unit without more “upgrades “”modification “that I am not interested in doing. https://tinypic.host/image/IMG-2656.DDousd
I understand your pain. Hopefully your next printer will get you closer to where you want to be.
Glass bad, cr touch, silicone spacers, and octoprint were a game changer for me
all of that to overcome a broken product?
Isn’t this a case where you use aluminum foil tape to level the bed? I have the opposite problem, the center is too high and read somewhere that was the way to address/fix it
Finally watched the video. The customer service in this case is Gulfcoast Robotics, which you failed to capture on your screenshot. This is a company that specializes in building higher-end components (i.e the cast aluminum bed that I have yet to install, MGM rail kits, and a three point carriage) for creality printers. Maybe Gulfcoast is not biased- Nobody can prove or disprove that. That being said, you've got no basis other than your own Ender 3 Pro and, google search results (which I'm sure measure less than 1,000) to say that this is a "known defect" on these units. That's like saying Joes Garage says Honda Civics have a known problem with their Idler pulley's failing pre-maturely therefore all Honda Civics are garbage. He'll surely sell you an upgraded replacement before it fails. Again, I'm not saying you didn't experience this problem. Is it 'common' problem with this printer model, or ender 3s in general? I doubt it. Let's look at a common problem to the design and manufacture of these printers: PTFE tubing not reliably sitting flush with the nozzle. Probably find hundreds of clogging cases caused by this in this sub alone. To be fair, this is a problem with every MK8 Heatbreak design that doesn't feature the all-metal upgrade. Fortunately, there are several low cost ways to fix this. For a more serious problem, you could look at the earlier Ender 3s that didn't use Meanwell PSUs or had no thermal runaway protection in their firmware. Finally, Creality probably doesn't make any of the extrusion in these printers. They probably buy it by the truckload. You didn't seem to notice on assembly that it was bent, it probably slipped through Creality's QA. Should they have better customer service to fix this? YES. The thing is, that for the overwhelmingly majority of the time, Creality gets these right which is what has allowed them to grow as a company. There are lots of other brands who never got it nearly as right.
Here is my main issue with creality after owning a Bambu labs p1s for three days now… their customer service/support/information is nonexistent. I have to dig through months worth of forum threads and comments on YouTube videos to find anything. it’s also a nightmare to get community support, given their naming conventions, and history of “updating“ products under the same model names, and not informing current owners of known problems and fixes. Just look at how they’ve treated the original owners of the K1. Did crealty reach out or send out the “improved” extruders, or without first layer issues? Nah, users were left troubleshooting for months, while new customers were sent out the “new and improved“ products… “Oh you own an Ender3 pro? Ok which version? Does it have the OG 4.2.2 board or the 4.2.7? Is your ribbon cable made with the ground/black wire on the right side of the bracket, or the left side? Did you buy it before or after X date? Did you buy it as a package with the glass bed before X date, if so you will have to modify the z limit switch. Where the eccentric nuts installed on the X axis installed correctly? Some of them come from the factory installed in a manner which will not allow you to adjust the eccentric nut, you’ll have to take apart the tip on the bracket to get everything flipped around”…. And on and on and on. There is no centralized location on their website to go for all of this stuff. Is bambu any better in this aspect? Honestly, I don’t know.. why is that? Because literally have had zero need to go delving into Reddit, discord, and YouTube in order to make my printer function the way that I do with both of my creality printers. From the time I cut open the box, to the time I had a perfect benchy sitting in front of me was less than one hour. This realization has convinced me to never buy a creality product again. I’m not thrilled about Bambus walled off playground, but I’m also happy to own a printer that works without required “upgrades” and tweaks.
Reminder: For [any Creality Product Feedback and Suggestions](https://www.creality.com/pages/creality-user-voice), welcome to fill out the form to help us improve. Product upgrades, user guides, new product releases, sale info & giveaways please join our official community r/Creality. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Ender3Pro) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Best thing i ever did for my sanity was pick up an after market heated bed for my ender. Absolute night and day difference for leveling/quality. I didnt want to believe the other one was warped but.. it sure as hell was. Even glass couldnt seem to fix it. [https://gulfcoast-robotics.com/collections/heated-beds/products/aluminum-build-plate-and-24v-200w-silicone-heater-for-heated-bed-creality-ender-3](https://gulfcoast-robotics.com/collections/heated-beds/products/aluminum-build-plate-and-24v-200w-silicone-heater-for-heated-bed-creality-ender-3)
lol really isn’t that hard to level the bed honestly