For Christmas 2021 my wife bought me my first 3D printer, an Ender 3 V2. She chose that model because it was my first printer and I always live by the tried and true method of buying a meh tool first (a 3D printer is a tool in my opinion), then buying a good one when you wear it out. For instance, if I’m buying a new tool for a project that I don’t see time over time usage for, I’ll often go to Harbor Freight and get a cheap one first. If I use the tool enough that it’s quality drives me nuts, or I break the tool, then I go and buy a higher quality model. So it didn’t surprise me that I’ve had nothing but frustrations with my Ender 3 V2.

It’s a lower end 3D printer, which is capable of good prints, but there’s an expectation that you’ll tinker on it like crazy. I’m 300% convinced that the parts they ship with are just parts that are good enough to get you buy until you 3D print and replace all the other parts over time. So that’s what I’m going to do. After spending nearly a year fighting with this thing, constantly dialing in the bed, having prints fail at the last minute, and 900 other little annoyances, I’m going to rebuild this thing from the ground up and throw out 70% of the hardware and replace with stuff that works.

This is a job and will cost more than a new printer would, but I’m super stubborn. This will be a living post as I go through the project. So now, without further delay, I’m off to Microcenter to pick up the first batch of these parts.

Magetic Build Plate

Easy, quick win to hopefully allow for cleaner prints so I can design the parts I’ll need for the rest of this job. Basically, open the box, remove the adhesive film that attaches the base to the build plate, then put the magnetic plate on and pull of the shipping film.

That’s it.