There are plenty of good 3D printers out there depending on which you prefer better. For those who are looking for a machine to print their model and don’t need a very high accuracy, the Creality Ender 3 Vs V2 are two amazing choices to consider. These affordable FDM printers are performing really well and fairly easy to use too but do have some differences. If you are also considering getting one of them, do check our article below to see which may fit you the most.
In this article, we are going to give you information about:
- Do You Need a 3D Printer
- What are the Popular Types to Purchase
- What are Creality Ender 3 and V2
- What Creality Ender 3 and V2 Look Like
- How are the Mainboard of Creality Ender 3 and V2
- How are the Performance of Creality Ender 3 and V2
- What are the Disadvantage of Creality Ender 3 and V2
- Creality Ender 3 Vs V2
3D Printers
Years ago 3D printers are still an unfamiliar world to adventure on because despite being available for consumers since the early 90s, they have only become more popular in the last decade where technology especially in computerization is reaching to almost everyone. This helps more people jump into the hobby and additive printing in general. Today, we can spend around $200 to start with a good and reliable printer but, do you really need one?
| Creality Ender 3 | Creality Ender 3 V2 | |
|---|---|---|
  |   |
|
| Product Dimensions | 17.64 pounds | 1.35 pounds |
| Shipping Weight | 18.3 pounds | 21.6 pounds |
| Best offer | Check price | Check price |
This is the first question we have to answer before making a purchase. A 3D printer is not something that everyone will benefit from and this machine requires learning curves that may take quite the time. It is better to try and see for yourself through events or shops that offer a 3D printing service to get an idea how the equipment will work for you. But, if you have the space, time, budget, or are willing to learn then starting with an entry-model is a good decision.
3D Printer Types
There are so many various technologies being used in 3D printers and currently there are about 11 of them out there yet, only a few are ideal for home use. The most popular is FDM or Fused Deposition Modeling where thermoplastic filament is heated and extruded through a nozzle to deposit the plastic in layers on the print bed. This is the most cost effective today and has been used in educational environments as well as in the home of hobbyists.
The best advantage of an FDM printer is probably their vast choice of filaments and how affordable these materials are while also varying from the character and color to fit just any of your preference. They are also popular for being quick in operation compared to many other technologies yet, the material can be susceptible to high-maintenance attention in case something goes wrong.
Resin 3D Printer
This is the second most popular technology being used out there and does have a very different mechanism than FDM. This type of printers are using vat photopolymerization or a process of hardening a liquid polymer by exposing it to ultraviolet light. A bit similar to filament printers, resin printers like ELEGOO Mars Vs ANYCUBIC Photon are building the model layer by layer in a vat of liquid photopolymer resin by shining UV light through a vat’s transparent bottom in which will selectively harden the resin.
Since they are building layer by layer, there must be a building plate that holds their construction and this plate will go up little by little after each layer is done hardened. Unlike the FDM that stands on the building platform, since the building plate of the resin printer is attached at the top, your model will come out upside down from the vat. The best thing about resin is they can print with higher details but a bit messy to work with.
About Creality Ender 3 and V2
You can pick any of them based on which seems to fit you the most because not all of us will do the same activities or print the same objects using this printer and the choice is all yours. While we don’t advise spending so much just to get a good and reliable 3D printer, it is quick to set a budget first to help you shop faster. Performance wise many popular models below $500, are very good but the higher they go usually there are more features as well in the unit.
If you don’t plan to print extreme details or objects planned to be attached as moving parts, chances are FDM can be the best option to consider. Not only less messy because we are dealing with solid material, this type of printer can work quite fast too depending on the level of complexity of your design. For FDM machines, Creality is one of the best options to shop from and as many already know, they do offer various models in different levels of price and features.
Among their popular machines, Ender 3 is probably the most popular when you ask about an FDM printer in the $200 range; just like how Photon is popular in the same price range of MSLA printers. It was a hype back then and even still a good machine today but, just like many other companies, Creality also tends to upgrade their machines every now and then so now we also have the Ender 3 V2. Both of Creality Ender 3 and V2 are very much the same to each other.
The Ender 3 V2 is a fairly new addition to the family and in comparison this is more of an in between models of similar version from the line. We do think the upgrade is great to improve experience and overall making the machine better in a sense but it also not a perfect option for everyone since the original Ender 3 is by no means a bad option to start, especially for beginners or those who want to modify their machine later.
Creality Ender 3 and V2 Design
Whether you are looking at the original Ender 3, the Pro or this V2 variant, they are all very similar to each other just like any small FDM printers out there but when you check the unit carefully, we begin to see the big and small differences between Creality Ender 3 and V2. The first prominent difference is now the power supply is built in the unit instead of being installed along the rail which makes the latter “neater” in appearance.
The second prominent difference is on their monitor because now the Ender 3 V2 is coming with a larger 4.3-inch smart color screen for better experience compared to the original machine. Additionally, you will also notice that the newer model is coming with a glass bed instead of a magnetic one but, you can always upgrade it later. What somehow seems downgraded is some parts are now made of plastic instead of metal including the hot end cover which is bigger as well in V2.
Creality Ender 3 and V2 Mainboard
Moving further, let’s see what the Ender 3 V2 is upgrading in its core and yes, as you may already know, this machine is now comes with a new mainboard TMC2208 stepper drivers with more memories which is not only quiet but also some improved features that you can enjoy by accessing it from the new display. Now we can adjust acceleration, jerk, setting the retraction speed up to 50 mm per second in comparison to the Ender 3 default of 25 second as well as saving it to EEPROM.
This electronic board also now has a plug for a BL touch which allows you to add it later combined with a filament run-out sensor. But, this model is not compatible yet with a run-out filament sensor bracket so you can modify it by reprinting the necessary parts later.
Creality Ender 3 and V2 Performance
As for the printing quality, when tested both of Creality Ender 3 and V2 are working very well and if you have the original machine then the same result can be seen here. Their test prints come out with a good amount of details and overall pretty good right out of the box without any upgrade so we do think anyone who just wants a working machine will end up better with the V2. The prominent difference in our opinion is now the noise is much lower in this new printer.
Creality Ender 3 and V2 Disadvantages
Our complaint for the new machine besides their decision on using plastic as some of the parts for the machine is leveling the bed using G-code because somehow the printer won’t read properly so you have to use a different method. In addition, when assembling Ender 3 V2, there is a screw that is bumped to each other hence making it impossible to tighten them properly; it doesn’t affect the printing ability yet we still hope they made it better.
Creality Ender 3 Vs V2
Both Creality Ender 3 and V2 are great machines for the price point but now we are talking about whether the cost difference justify the upgrade. Depending on where you buy them from, the price may vary as well but as of now the gap between them is almost $70 which is a bit tough to the pocket. The worthy upgrades are a new 32-bit mainboard with BL plug and overall quieter performance when printing.
Conclusion
All in all, there is no bad option between the two but the gap should offer more than what Ender 3 V2 has now. It also seems to have some issues for upgrading thus, we do highly recommend to go for the original Ender 3 which is now about $200 only.