Are you thinking about getting a 3D printer or another one for your shop? I think I just found
the best deal on an Ender 3 pro or an Ender 3. I'll explain it all on today's Filament Friday.
Filament Friday is brought to you every week by the generous donations
of these patreon supporters. This video is also brought to you by pcbway.com, a great place to
get low-cost circuit boards and also low-cost assembly services all from one place pcbway.com.
So what makes this a better value printer? It's because this is actually an ender 3 pro
x from banggood.com. And the x means extras. It gives you two extras: one, a silent driver board
already installed in the machine. It's an 8-bit board the version 1.1.5 but it's got the TMC
drivers so this thing is really really quiet. In addition to that, they give you a glass bed,
on top of the bed that's here, the magnetic bed. So you have two different bed surfaces. This alone
is a $20 addition. And the board itself, if you can get a hold of one of these, is about $35.
So it's $55 of material you're getting for only twenty dollars more than a standard Ender 3.
The current Ender 3 and Ender 3 pro come with a 32 bit board so some may say,
isn't 32 bit better than 8 bit? Well it is, and it isn't. It depends on the firmware.
If you have a 32-bit processor but you put crappy firmware on it, it's not any better.
In fact the firmware that's on these 8-bit boards is so solid. This is version 1.1.8 on here which
is a very solid version of marlin. The version that creality includes on their 32-bit Ender 3
and Ender 3 pro are missing a lot of features. That's why if you have a brand new Ender 3
and you try to run my bed level where it stops at each adjustment nut so you can level your bed,
I get reports of people saying it doesn't stop. It just keeps going. It's because their firmware
doesn't recognize the m0 command. I've had other people say I've tried to use prusaslicer with
their different levels to print multiple colors. Well that requires an M600 command and a lot of
the ender 3 / Ender 3 pro 32 bit firmware don't recognize that. So right out of the box you've
got to re-flash your firmware on your 32-bit machine. Which isn't a big deal but, if you're new
to 3D printing, that can be a big deal. And all those features are perfect on this 8-bit board.
And the fact that it's got silent drivers is a big bonus to me because those 32-bit boards that come
on the Ender 3 and Ender 3 pro, do not have silent drivers so they are really really noisy when this
thing is moving, the steppers are churning, it's loud. This silent driver incredibly quiet.
Now if you're looking for an Ender 3 with 32-bit and silent drivers and a glass bed
well that's where the Ender 3 V2 comes in, But you're going to pay 269 to 279 dollars
for that guy. I'm talking low value here. I mean this right here, The Ender 3X pro is $216
at banggood.com. And they got some sale going on the next couple days so you might find it on sale.
But if you use the links in the description below it does help the channel, it is an affiliate link,
but if you're really on a budget you can get the same machine as an Ender 3 with the extra board
and the plate for $199 dollars. So just under $200. And then you have the silent drivers.
it's just so great to have those silent drivers. That's why I think this is such a great value.
Now you may say, what about shipping from China? Well you don't have to. They have a USA warehouse.
I've bought from their USA warehouse and I've gotten it to Michigan in three days.
And it's free shipping at their site if it's over $49, so it's free shipping on this guy. So you
definitely save money. Now you'll get people that argue it's still better to get the 32-bit board
but my argument is the TMC drivers, the silent drivers, that come on here you actually get
better prints than you do with those drivers that are on the 32-bit board Ender 3 and Ender 3 pro.
In fact I've printed several items on this guy right out of the box beautiful. I did a
vase and it's smooth as can be. There's no little bumps on it like some of the printers give you.
And it's just really good quality. And if you print a benchy you don't get those
tiger stripes on it that those cheap drivers, noisy drivers, give you. The TMC drivers give
you a smoother print so in reality this guy with the silent drivers, even though it's an 8-bit
board is actually printing better than the 32-bit creality machines without the silent driver. So
it's not only noisier, it doesn't print as good. So that's why to me this is a better value. And
then the glass bed to me is just a bonus. There is the valid argument that the 32-bit gives you the
opportunity to add auto level and other features because 32-bit has more memory than the 8-bit.
But without the silent drivers, you're probably going to replace that board on your Ender 3 anyway
just like you would here. So in either case you're buying another board, a 32-bit, and that way you
could go to an SKR or some other brand. Now you did pay a little bit more for this but you got
a glass bed in it anyway, so for a while you print it with a silent driver and then when you're ready
to upgrade to a 32 bit with silent drivers. You're in the same boat. So that's why I still say this
is a better value. And watch all my videos. All of them will work. The bed level will stop at the
adjustment knobs. And the multi-color prints from Cura will work. You don't have to worry
about re-flashing firmware. I just think it's a great place to start at a great value for someone
getting into 3D printing or if you want a second printer and don't want to deal with all the crap.
It's a great printer to add to your collection. Speaking of circuit boards, I use pcbway for
all my projects. pcbway.com is a great place to get low-cost circuit boards but you can also get
assembly services. You can supply them the parts or give them a bill of material with the parts
list they will track down the parts, solder things together, review it with you during the process,
and at the end ship you completely assembled boards. So if you're looking for a manufacturing
partner for your electronics designs check out pcbway.com. If you like what I'm doing here
maybe check out some of the other videos popping up. And if nothing else click on that CHEP logo
and subscribe. I'll see you next time right here at Filament Friday