The Creality Ender 2 – Itty Bitty Power
The Creality Ender 2 is a budget conscious 3D printer with a small build size but reportedly, high quality output. This printer was sent by Gearbest for an honest review. This printer comes in a quasi-kit form that should not take a lot of time to assemble. In my review, I am planning on printing a couple of upgrades that I have read are very good to add, including leveling knobs and a part cooling fan. I’ve read how those are pretty much must-have items that make the Creality Ender 2 function much better.
In putting together the Ender 2, it took me about an hour, and I didn’t watch any build videos. (I meant to… ran out of time). It went together pretty straight forward and comes partially assembled. I received the EU version (the US version was out of stock) so I need to modify a power plug for a US plug to put on it. I ended up using this power brick cover instead of modifying a plug. It allows me to turn the power supply on/off and allows me to use any computer style plug in and now, the brick is easy to fully unplug. I had planned on using this on my Tevo but never got around to printing it out. I’ve already started putting together a collection of upgrades. So far, I have printed the cover mentioned above, A couple of leveling knobs, hot bed strain relief, and a Tool Tray. I plan to print a fang here shortly for part cooling. Usually, I don’t do many upgrades before I review a printer. Since I received an EU version, that upgrade was based on what arrived and I ordered. Leveling knobs seem to be a must-have for most printers. The Tool tray isn’t needed, but it works well to use up dead space. Strain Relief and part cooling is kind of cheating, I will admit. But, with these more inexpensive Chinese printers, upgrading is part of the draw to them.
My ultimate plan is to convert this into a small prints, printer, eventually. I want to try and make a good FDM printer, for printing miniatures. To do that, I plan to convert this over to a .2mm nozzle from the .4mm nozzle.
So, after messing with it today, I have discovered that bed leveling kind of sucks, even with new knobs. So far, that seems to be my biggest complaint. It’s cool how compact it is. I am curious to see what terrain will fit on it, and what won’t fit.
Since Twitch disconnected and wiped the last 20 minutes of my build stream, I ended up doing a 2nd video featuring my thoughts and plans like I had done the night before.
- I have found this is a good resource on Facebook to get help with these Ender 2s as well. Here are some items I have picked up for this already:
- To get a reading on how much power this uses, I have a WeMo Insight Plug that gives me watts used and remote power on/off. I’ve been watching it, and it seems to stay at 151/152 W pretty consistently.
- The Inlet power switch used with the power supply.
- The XT60 connectors used in the power supply plate.
- You can purchase the Creality Ender 2 from Gearbest. I track the best prices and coupons for printers on my sales page and I recommend checking there for the best prices and latest coupons.
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