I was so excited to get this printer. I got a YouTube video queued up to assist with putting my new Ender 3 pro put together. Now this printer was a return to the manufacturer, unknown reasons to us as to why. As I’m building it, I noticed that some screws were missing and other pieces were still semi-assembled. The power supply cable housing was slightly damaged, but nothing a little electrical tape couldn’t handle. The missing screws were for the filament spool holder, also no big deal, two of the four screws would work. And luckily the other missing screws were just the M3’s which I happen to have from building computers. The only piece that was missing that was crucial to being able to start printing was the Z-Axis bearing. This single missing piece stopped me from continuing the rest of the assembly for a day while I tried to figure out if I could print the missing parts.
Wanting to ensure the printer would have nothing wrong with it I printed some “upgrade” pieces on the Qidi, a gap pieces was recommended because the z-axis rail could be flush at the base but then tilt away from the frame at the top. I also printed ribbon clips, a tool box and a raspberry pi case. Addressing the missing z-axis bearing, I had ordered replacement parts and wrote to the company complaining of the missing screws and bearing. I was amazed they responded the next day, asking how much I spent on the replacement parts and providing me a refund for that amount as well as mailing me the replacement parts.
At this point I had found a z-axis bearing and printed it on the Qidi. This is when I leaned that to help with giving a part strength, you needed to add more perimeter, top and bottom layers. So, my first printed broke with very little effort, google searched why it broke so easily, found my answer, back to my slicer, updated settings and reprinted. This time the part didn’t break. The bearing that I printed was correct in size, not necessarily shape; we had to cut it using a Dremel to fit properly. Queue TinkerCad. I measured the dimensions needed and altered the piece to print and fit. Finally, I finished assembling this printer.
Now it had been 3-4 days since receiving the Ender Pro and I had printed some additional upgrades that were recommended from Teaching Tech’s video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYYDlxJ0O1E . I printed the cable clips, extruder wheel, z-stepper spacer, and the tool tray, I will link the items below. But I was still having a lot of leveling issues on the Ender. The bearing I had printed just wasn’t up to the task of keeping up with the demand. While working out in the shop, changing filament for the PETG masks I was making, Shawn walks in with another Ender 3 Pro box. Now I have two Ender 3 Pro’s, and discussing which printer I was talking about was becoming increasingly difficult. How else do you fix this issue? Name the printers of course! The first was easy, it’s an Ender so I named it the Enderprise; yes, I am that nerdy. This is all happening in mid/late April, and somehow, we had not finished watching the Picard series, until a few nights prior to getting the second Ender 3 Pro. What other names could I give the second Ender than Jean-Luc? I can’t just name two of the four printers, so the Artillery Sidewinder X1 became “Data” and the Qidi became “Locutus”.
Thank you for the read and the visit. More to come!
Printed Parts List:
Tool Tray: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2957317
Extruder Knob: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2776404
Ribbon Clips: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2949858
Z-Motor Spacer: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2925230