I’m looking to buy my first 3d printer.
I’ve been thinking of getting a KE which is currently on sale for $369 CAD ($50 off) . But then noticed the V3 is on sale for $399 ($120 off)
Is it worth it to spend the extra $40 and get the V3?
What are people’s opinion on these 2?
If it helps I have a long background in electronics and have been working in the IT field for many years.
Hi @Jasonahf, welcome,
Here you have a comparison between the Ender-3 V3 and the Ender-3 V3 KE, good luck.
V3 goes a little faster and has an all-metal hotend which is better for some high-temperature filaments, but honestly you won’t get that benefit without enclosing it in a heated enclosure, and it’s not clear to me that it’s a win if you are printing only PLA.
I’ve sworn off of “bed-flingers” myself, but if I were choosing between them, I don’t see the newer V3 as compelling. Sure the CoreXZ can move the head faster side to side in the V3, but you still have all the mass of the bed and print in Y working against you, so I am not convinced you’ll see meaningfully faster printing with it. Volcano-style nozzles are cheap, too. So the KE feels to me like the better deal.
What do you want to print with the printer?
Mainly going to play with at first…printing knick knacks and useful things. The speed of each is a big plus. Want to have the option of printing ABS if/when I choose to enclose it.
Was probably going to try printing a modular hydroponic tower for the wife etc
I also rebuild ebike batteries and might be handy to print enclosures for them
You might consider one of the enclosed printers from the start. A heated enclosure makes a big difference for printing ABS. I tried without and it was an abject failure for me; now with heated enclosed printers with carbon and HEPA filtration I rarely print anything else. The larger the print, the more true that is. (You could print ABS washers without an enclosure…)
For making battery enclosures, ABS or ASA are good choices, and both want heated enclosures. PETG will work well without an enclosure.
If you really care about speed, seriously consider a coreXY printer rather than a bed-flinger. I will never go back.
You can get something like the Sovol SV08 which it looks like can be upgraded to an enclosure later rather than having to pay up front, if it would cost too much. Keep in mind when you think about space that a bed flinger takes up extra room front-to-back because of moving the bed around; corexy (and similar) designs are more efficient at use of space. This is particularly true when you keep in mind what it takes to enclose them.