User Review My first 3D printer - Creality Ender-3

Idea and Search for a 3D printer

After assembling Otto DIY robot I felt strong need of having a 3D printer handy. Though I have always wished to have some machine to create customised pieces.
After spending lots of time on reprap portal, I created list of parts / cost but was stuck at frame/roller portion. I called few dealers who sell complete kits but they were quoting too high price.
I once had a thought about production quality of self assembled printer. I was convinced that a self assembled piece is going to trouble me a lot while I wanted to focus of micro-controllers and electronics so I decided to look for better alternatives with a budget pegged at 20k.

In my search, I hit this Creality Ender-3 which was launched in March'18. It has amazingly positive reviews and all comparisons with every other printer in $200-segment left me struck, awestruck. No one is ahead of it. I found Ender-3 has been receiving appreciations from all directions.


Purchase, Shipping and the Customs

I found the printer selling for $199 at banggood with free shipping through India direct mail.
A few days later I again checked it and found it was available for $189. I had a $10 discount coupon. These $20 were going to lighten my Customs duty bill.
Ordered it on 26 June. On 11 Jul I was told that my order was returned by Gati as it could not pass through Indian Customs. They offered me to reship it by registered mail or to refund. I told them to reship through registered mail.

The parcel reached Delhi FPO on 25 Jul. On 1 Aug, the custom inspector detained it with reason 'Invoice missing'. I was expecting some kind of communication from FPO or customs deptt, but nothing happened for next two days. I contacted the customs office (ph: 011-25655128). The operator on the other side told me to send the invoice copy and a cover letter in word file to speedpost12345@gmail.com. It was done the next day 4 Aug, Saturday. On 6 Aug the parcel was released. On 7th, my postman called and request to pick the box from post office as he won't be able to carry it on his bicycle. He showed a small customs bill of Rs.5580, took money and handed over the box. The copy of same customs bill was also pasted on the box.

Screenshot_2018-08-20_11-49-24.png

Delhi Customs

We are always curious about customs. they have a website: delhicustoms.gov.in.
And their SOP is also on website: delhicustoms.gov.in/pdf/SOP-FPO-311017.pdf
They have a toll-free number too that doesn't work.
I could contact them only on 011-25655128. I must say that the staff at customs were extremely helpful and polite.

When asked to send the invoice copy, I sent them invoice copy downloaded from banggood.com, screenshot of order detail, screenshot of parcel tracking detail from Indian Post website and a cover letter.
It was released on next working day. The box was taped with branding of Indian Post. I can guess, the parcel was opened and inspected .

They charged me 40% of the actual price of printer ($199) and an extra Rs.100.
Anyway, I was ready for this. I send them actual bills without making any attempt for saving on customs. Its a totally useless idea when compared with hassles of getting summoned to their office and facing their questions. Better let the joy remain in continuity.

Bonus link: delhicustoms.gov.in/fpo-aircargo-export.html


Preparing for assembly

You need to keep a few things ready before you start the assembly:
A PLA Printer roll (not just a piece of filament).
Glue stick.
Vernier scale.
Tempered glass 22x22mm, (I am yet to purchase one. I guess iPad pro 12.9 tempered glass will fit)

Assembly
You can find many many video on youtube, I used official creality assembly video.
They are providing all the tools required for assembly, few spare screws, spare 0.4mm nozzle, a spare PTFE inlet connector, 8GB uSD with sample print and a copy of cura, and about 10m PLA filament.
It took me about 3 hours to complete the assembly. Bed leveling took another half an hour.


First Impression

Solid, quality manufacturing. You will feel great after the assembly. I felt Creality is continuously making changes in production as some of the cons pointed out by early-reviewers were not there. eg:
  1. no more uSD card gap
  2. Power supply cover is now injection molded.
  3. No loose parts, I was specially worried about the base.
  4. I didn't find any wires getting stuck, specially others complaining about y-axis cable getting stuck in the middle base rail.
IMG_20180812_000313.jpg


First print

Cura should be configured for Ender-3 first: funrobotix.com/instructions/3dprint/cura-settings-ender3.html

I would strongly recommend to print the following filament guides as your first prints.
Filament guide 1: thingiverse.com/thing:2873157
Filament guide 2: thingiverse.com/thing:2943947
And the first printing should be done with PLA only and print-quality set to `draft` or `fine` in cura.

Filament entry point is the only weak point in this printer.

Finally Creality has made this printer completely open source : github.com/Creality3DPrinting/Ender-3
Both hardware and software are available.


Future Plans

1) Printing lots of toys.
2) Modifying firmware UI.
3) Adding Laser etching. I believe Ender-3 community will soon start working on integrating a laser module.

I would like to receive your ideas about this printer and 3D printing.
 
Last edited:
Let me be first to congratulate you.

Awesome review, please keep posting pictures of the products you print regularly. :)
 
Idea and Search for a 3D printer

After assembling Otto DIY robot I felt strong need of having a 3D printer handy. Though I have always wished to have some machine to create customised pieces.
After spending lots of time on reprap portal, I created list of parts / cost but was stuck at frame/roller portion. I called few dealers who sell complete kits but they were quoting too high price.
I once had a thought about production quality of self assembled printer. I was convinced that a self assembled piece is going to trouble me a lot while I wanted to focus of micro-controllers and electronics so I decided to look for better alternatives with a budget pegged at 20k.

In my search, I hit this Creality Ender-3 which was launched in March'18. It has amazingly positive reviews and all comparisons with every other printer in $200-segment left me struck, awestruck. No one is ahead of it. I found Ender-3 has been receiving appreciations from all directions.


Purchase, Shipping and the Customs

I found the printer selling for $199 at banggood with free shipping through India direct mail.
A few days later I again checked it and found it was available for $189. I had a $10 discount coupon. These $20 were going to lighten my Customs duty bill.
Ordered it on 26 June. On 11 Jul I was told that my order was returned by Gati as it could not pass through Indian Customs. They offered me to reship it by registered mail or to refund. I told them to reship through registered mail.

The parcel reached Delhi FPO on 25 Jul. On 1 Aug, the custom inspector detained it with reason 'Invoice missing'. I was expecting some kind of communication from FPO or customs deptt, but nothing happened for next two days. I contacted the customs office (ph: 011-25655128). The operator on the other side told me to send the invoice copy and a cover letter in word file to speedpost12345@gmail.com. It was done the next day 4 Aug, Saturday. On 6 Aug the parcel was released. On 7th, my postman called and request to pick the box from post office as he won't be able to carry it on his bicycle. He showed a small customs bill of Rs.5580, took money and handed over the box. The copy of same customs bill was also pasted on the box.

View attachment 76284

Delhi Customs

We are always curious about customs. they have a website: delhicustoms.gov.in.
And their SOP is also on website: delhicustoms.gov.in/pdf/SOP-FPO-311017.pdf
They have a toll-free number too that doesn't work.
I could contact them only on 011-25655128. I must say that the staff at customs were extremely helpful and polite.

When asked to send the invoice copy, I sent them invoice copy downloaded from banggood.com, screenshot of order detail, screenshot of parcel tracking detail from Indian Post website and a cover letter.
It was released on next working day. The box was taped with branding of Indian Post. I can guess, the parcel was opened and inspected .

They charged me 40% of the actual price of printer ($199) and an extra Rs.100.
Anyway, I was ready for this. I send them actual bills without making any attempt for saving on customs. Its a totally useless idea when compared with hassles of getting summoned to their office and facing their questions. Better let the joy remain in continuity.

Bonus link: delhicustoms.gov.in/fpo-aircargo-export.html


Preparing for assembly

You need to keep a few things ready before you start the assembly:
A PLA Printer roll (not just a piece of filament).
Glue stick.
Vernier scale.
Tempered glass 22x22mm, (I am yet to purchase one. I guess iPad pro 12.9 tempered glass will fit)

Assembly
You can find many many video on youtube, I used official creality assembly video.
They are providing all the tools required for assembly, few spare screws, spare 0.4mm nozzle, a spare PTFE inlet connector, 8GB uSD with sample print and a copy of cura, and about 10m PLA filament.
It took me about 3 hours to complete the assembly. Bed leveling took another half an hour.


First Impression

Solid, quality manufacturing. You will feel great after the assembly. I felt Creality is continuously making changes in production as some of the cons pointed out by early-reviewers were not there. eg:
  1. no more uSD card gap
  2. Power supply cover is now injection molded.
  3. No loose parts, I was specially worried about the base.
  4. I didn't find any wires getting stuck, specially others complaining about y-axis cable getting stuck in the middle base rail.
View attachment 76287


First print

Cura should be configured for Ender-3 first: funrobotix.com/instructions/3dprint/cura-settings-ender3.html

I would strongly recommend to print the following filament guides as your first prints.
Filament guide 1: thingiverse.com/thing:2873157
Filament guide 2: thingiverse.com/thing:2943947
And the first printing should be done with PLA only and print-quality set to `draft` or `fine` in cura.

Filament entry point is the only weak point in this printer.

Finally Creality has made this printer completely open source : github.com/Creality3DPrinting/Ender-3
Both hardware and software are available.


Future Plans

1) Printing lots of toys.
2) Modifying firmware UI.
3) Adding Laser etching. I believe Ender-3 community will soon start working on integrating a laser module.

I would like to receive your ideas about this printer and 3D printing.
What was the final bill you paid in inr ?
 
its doing well.
You can go ahead.
I guess, you would have got some discounts during 11.11 or black-Friday sales.
Do calculate customs also, recently some restrictions have been imposed for off-shore purchases.
 
In my search, I hit this Creality Ender-3 which was launched in March'18. It has amazingly positive reviews and all comparisons with every other printer in $200-segment left me struck, awestruck. No one is ahead of it. I found Ender-3 has been receiving appreciations from all directions.

Very fantastic buying experience after I saw your post date. Customs are really troublesome with literally no idea for receivers like what to do, where to contact. Normally couriers like DHL do the brokerage themselves, but at a very high price. But many congratulations on your buy, probably might be one of the earlier ones in the country. How is it running now? How has been your experience?

Can I not buy locally from Amazon?
This is the one I got. Purchased from their site directly. It is a nicely build one. The bed leveling is a bit tricky and might need some recurrence. But the instructions provided was enough to get it going. I really like this, and have been doing mini projects since it came!
 
Umm. This doesn't appear to be a Creality product. More like a replica.
Please confirm with seller.
Price is certainly good.
Can I not buy locally from Amazon?
Post automatically merged:

WOL3D UPGRADED Creality Ender 3 DIY 3D Printer with Resume function (Print size - 220X220X250 MM) https://www.amazon.in/dp/B07D218NX3/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_YBL9DbMMFA4Q9

This
WOL 3D is a legit seller/distributor for 3d printers. I know the brand and their local distributor here in delhi. let me know if you guys want to buy, I may be able to get you guys discounts if there are 2-3 units being sold
 
Very fantastic buying experience after I saw your post date. Customs are really troublesome with literally no idea for receivers like what to do, where to contact. Normally couriers like DHL do the brokerage themselves, but at a very high price. But many congratulations on your buy, probably might be one of the earlier ones in the country. How is it running now? How has been your experience?

Its doing well and going strong.
I have modified it heavily.
My printer is running on Klipper firmware.
And the print quality have improved a lot with updated cura.
 
Congratulations!! What is your use besides the printing of toys?

I have had the urge to get one for printing a few of these toys myself but then I tell myself that it will end up becoming a "3 print wonder" for me!

Would you consider printing a few things for people for a fee? :)
 
cases for my hobby electronic items.
parts for broken items.
modding of other items.
not much these days.
I am giving most of my time to python programming these days.
Aiming for AI/ML.
 
Great job and I am glad that at least people in India are using 3D printers which are said to be a futuristic technology. It is hard to believe that 3D printers existed in the world even before the 21st century started and still, most of the people are unaware about it. While the Americans have successfully printed usable firearms and guns with the printers, people in India do hardly know even some brands which produce 3D printers. Perhaps, there needs to be a revolution soon so that the Indians can also get a better taste of this technology.
Probably some Indian brand should take the responsibility of manufacturing Indian 3D printers and then these devices would go popular in India. Researchers have printed human organ prototypes a long ago and many restaurants are serving 3D printed food products around the world. In such a case, not even having knowledge about the technology is a huge loss. It is believe that 3D printers would take over the majority of manufacturing and production processes in the world. However, it may still take a decade in India for these amazing devices to be as popular as a smartphone.
 
Great job and I am glad that at least people in India are using 3D printers which are said to be a futuristic technology. It is hard to believe that 3D printers existed in the world even before the 21st century started and still, most of the people are unaware about it. While the Americans have successfully printed usable firearms and guns with the printers, people in India do hardly know even some brands which produce 3D printers. Perhaps, there needs to be a revolution soon so that the Indians can also get a better taste of this technology.
Probably some Indian brand should take the responsibility of manufacturing Indian 3D printers and then these devices would go popular in India. Researchers have printed human organ prototypes a long ago and many restaurants are serving 3D printed food products around the world. In such a case, not even having knowledge about the technology is a huge loss. It is believe that 3D printers would take over the majority of manufacturing and production processes in the world. However, it may still take a decade in India for these amazing devices to be as popular as a smartphone.

Primary reason of lack of awareness in masses is attitude of our govt towards public.
our govt badly needs ignorants.
 
Where do you keep the printer? If in the house, isn't it a bit polluting (air & noise) ?

Just like Neo-N, I too occasionally get enthused about the idea of getting one. But as I'm not a strong DIY'er, I cannot justify a solid reason to get one.
 
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