Scott surprised me with a new toy – the Creality Ender 3 Pro – for my birthday. I’ve been wanting a 3D printer for some time, and was waiting for a reasonably priced and decent quality design to hit the market. It’s definitely become my new creative addiction! Of course my first print was a cat 🙂 I played around with making some crowns and Easter toys. With the COVID-19 healthcare supply shortages, I also made mask straps to help alleviate ear irritation.
Here are some of the first prints I made with my printer. Ultimaker Cura (included with printer or download free online) is extremely easy to utilize to slice .stl 3D files to the .gcode files required by the printer.
Cat – First Print
Using the provided white PLA and cat file (already sliced and pre-loaded on the microSD card), we made this cute waving cat as our very first print!
Crowns – Elsa and Aurora
I discovered Thingiverse, which has tons of free .stl 3D files. Here are the Elsa and Aurora files I utilized. I ordered some gold PLA filament, which made really pretty crowns. I made the Elsa crown for a surprise visit to see my niece Layla for her Frozen themed “socially distanced” birthday party.
I’ve struggled with finding an Aurora crown so was excited I’d get to make one to have in my cosplay collection.
Easter
Here are the files I utilized to make cute Easter toys and decor: Easter Bunnies, Egg Holder Bunnies, and Egg Dispenser Bunny (11.5 hr print). The egg dispenser is the longest print I’ve done to-date at ~11 hours. My first attempt led to a “blob” so I had to implement some bed improvements before I could do this one (see troubleshooting below). I didn’t get around to making these cool Easter Eggs, but will probably add some of these to my decor next year.
Mask Straps
I used this design for the surgical mask strap with black and white PLA filament shipped from Amazon. The updated version with the thinner strap (1mm vs. 2mm) and gaps on both sides, actually seems to fit better and is more flexible. It also utilizes less filament and prints faster (~2 hours for 5 straps vs. 3.5 hrs).
Troubleshooting
Assembly was a bit tricky, and the provided manual/guides were sometimes a bit difficult to follow because it was primarily pictures with minimal written instruction. I’d recommend watching a few YouTube videos before you start to help avoid any mistakes. Follow the recommendations for putting on the belt because it can be difficult to get it on. We had issues with the Z axis not going fully down, and discovered that the screws have to be extremely loose (Step 9) – I wouldn’t tighten them at all.
A common problem with the Ender 3 Pro is a warped bed, which we discovered we had after a few prints. This leads to leveling issues, the filament not sticking to the bed, and “the blob.” Follow this video for tips to clean out a blob.
We bought a Glass Printer Bed and PEI Sheet to put on top of the existing bed to level it and improve adhesion. We used binder clips to help hold new bed on. The mask straps (see above) were the first print with the new bed. Thus far, this seems to have fixed the issues we were having.
There is a massive 3D printing community. I’d recommend joining the groups on Facebook and Reddit. Not only do they give ideas, but lots of suggestions/help for solving issues.
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