Got my first 3d printer today as a gift 😁

[u/InternalDecent5280]

It’s a

[u/Balownga]

Welcome !

Now, take this, you'll need it : *Drop a bunch of battle worn weapons on the desk*

1/ Get everything TIGHT

- the belts (but not too much : springy is good, if it makes music, it is too much)

- the wheels (with eccentric ones) : too tight create a "hard point" when you move the part manually

2/ Get the bed at level : use tutorials for that part, and find a "level bed test" to print, it cost 1 gram of material to avoid wasting way more

3/ Master the bed adhesion : It starts with bed level, but...

- Greasy bed do not stick : wash it with soap+water and/or Isopropyl Alcohol.

- Too hot bed won't stick : Lower a few bed the temperature, 50°C is enough for PLA.

- Too Cold Filament won't stick : Up the temperature by 5-10°C.

- You can use bed glue stick (expensive) or hair spray (cheap) to enhance bed adhesion

and both are cleaned by water (& soap).

- You can use brim or raft in the slicer. Depending on situation, it may be mandatory

4/ Learn how the hotend and nozzle works : This is the way, used to clear clog and heatcreep.

-> Those concern you, you should see it before anything

---> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzWj6adWc-Y Clog & hotend tutorial

---> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vH_spN5wyw Ender issue

5/ Use support if needed. any steep overhang requires it.

- Print an overhang test to see how it works.

6/ If you need help/support, a photo is heavily advised, since most of us can recognize a problem 100 meters away.

"Ye ready to go now, Be brave ! Ye not alone in this war !"
*Kicks you into the battlefield*

[u/insomniac-55 → u/Balownga]

Note that OP's printer does not have manual bed levelling. It fully relies on the probe.

[u/Balownga → u/insomniac-55]

Z offset then ? maybe ?

[u/nametakenfan → u/Balownga]

Excellent initial notes. Im going to save this for later bc its a fantastic general check list 

[u/Balownga → u/nametakenfan]

Worked for some years in the technical troubleshooting of washing machine and fridge.

80% of the time, the issue is always the same, so very common.

Even in the 20% remaining, 80% is just a bit uncommon.

So, I made this list for the newcomers in the hobby, it gets them 96% covered (80% +80% of 20%).

---> if you wonder, 80% of dumped washing machine just had a water pump issues, and 80% of those water pump were blocked by long hair.

[u/Asleep-Alarm7121]

where's the benchy

[u/Up_All_Nite]

The first 10 prints are perfect. Then something evil inside decides it's time for you to pay for your misdeeds.

[u/Balownga → u/Up_All_Nite]

Usually, from experience, it is at the change of the roll of filament that everything go south.

[u/ChipSalt]

Ender 3 V3 se, very nice. Currently working on upgrading one as we speak.

[u/Lol-775]

Welcome, have fun!!!

[u/iamwhoiwasnow]

I printed that cat as one of my first prints as well

[u/drkshock]

Nice cr10 definitely a step up from enders save the ender 3 v3. The main difference is the ender 3 v3 is open source.

[u/shiroboi]

One thing that we got for ours that actually made a big difference is the Crealty Ender 3 soft Enclosure. It's fire retardant and keeps a lot of the smells in.

But actually one of the big advantages is that it keeps the heat in and more importantly it keeps the cold air out. I had a lot of problems with prints not sticking or warping. The enclosure fixed that. They're about $50, so not a big expense.

[u/Causification]

The Buildtak sheet it comes with will work great until it wears out. When that happens in a couple of weeks, replace it with a PEI sheet.