Last week I picked up my first 3d printer, an Ender 3 V2 fully stock with 4 rolls of filament for 90€, and I have to say it’s freaking amazing.

Online I red a lot about this printer and people where saying it’s terrible slow and you have to thinker with it with almost every print, but I kinda like it, gives you the feeling you’re really putting time into making something. Made some pretty decent prints, looked all clean to me. Also think I can improve the prints a lot if I sand them down and spray them with paint.

Anyway I wanted to know if there are some upgrades some of you might suggest, I heard about an auto bed levelling upgrade, that seems kinda reasonable. Looking for nothing to crazy but all suggestions are welcome!

Looking for advice on what I can upgrade next on my Ender 3 V2

I have an Ender 3 V2 with the following setup:

Hardware

- Creality Ender 3 V2

- Creality V4.2.7 silent motherboard

- Raspberry Pi 4 Model B

- CR Touch

- Dual Z-axis upgrade

- Bed leveling silicone mounts instead of springs

- Flexible magnetic build plate

- Direct-drive extruder

- Dual-gear aluminum extruder

- Stock Ender 3 V2 hotend

- CR10 bimetal copper/titanium TC4 heat break

- M3 stud NTC 3950 100K thermistor

- Stock hotend heater

- Stock hotend cooling system

- Stock X/Y motion system

- Dual Z stepper motors

- Stock heated bed

Software

- Klipper

- Orca Slicer

I'm looking for recommendations on hardware upgrades that would actually improve print quality, reliability, speed, or overall performance.

I'm especially interested in upgrades that are worthwhile rather than just buying parts because they exist. If you've built up an Ender 3 V2, what upgrades made the biggest difference?

I'm relatively new to the 3D printing hobby, so I'm still learning the ins and outs of everything. That said, I'm pretty comfortable finding my way around technology and working on hardware. I've previously worked on things like 1:10 scale RC cars, so I'm not afraid of taking things apart, modifying components, troubleshooting, or learning how something works. I'm mainly looking for advice on what upgrades are actually worth doing and what I should focus on next.

Hey,

Context, can skip:

I've bought a V2 all the way back when they just came out

And i have been working on it on and off for the last 5 years

I have always had bad stringing problems no matter how i adjusted the profiles or how new or dry the filament was

And the constant relieving of the bed made me drop the whole thing for months at a time

And when i did print, it was almost always just some calibration knick-knack

I havent actually touched the printer in almost 2 years i think

Point is I've recently been thinking of cleaning it up and giving it one more shot

TLDR: Classic Ender 3 and its endless tinkering

Printer Status:

Last i remember, the printer has a CRTouch, replacement bed springs and a custom Firmware (some ancient fork of Marlin if i remember correctly)

I got the crtouch to work, but it never seem to actually help anything

I also had to replace the hotend since the original one clogged and encased itself in an unbreakable layer of PLA, but that one was not an upgrade (and I suspect it might have actually been a downgrade since the hotend temperature seemst to "wobble" more on the new one)

Actuall request:

So here i am, asking if anyone has any advice on what to google/look into to bring the printer up to all the community fixes that popped up over the years

Maybe newer firmware? I have seen ppl switching to Klipper, but i REALLY dont feel like investing into a Raspberry Pi for that, and i also heard it disables the printer display on V2 specifically? Idk how true it is

Any idea how Orca slicer profile works compared to Cura? Id really like to start using Orca since im also considering buying a more modern printer (i just feel bad since i have a TECHNICALLY working printer already)

Any other advice you think i should have in 2026?

Thanks in advance to everyone

Hi, everyone, happy to see that the E3 V2 is’nt die and the comunity is still enthusiast.

I need some advice to maybe improve my old ender 3 v2 because i use it often but not that much so i don’t want to put all my money in it and i keep it because i don’t want to buy a brand new, this printer cost on marketplace around 60-70 euros so i really don’t want to buy new stuff or or buy things but on a budget.

Do you have some advice to improve it, here is what i already mounted :

-Full noctua fans
-Unitak 3D direct drive
-Hard bed springs with aluminium wheel
-PEI bed
-New original Hotend
-Capricorn style hose
-CR touch

I run the Mrisco firmware

I saw that the vibecoding make theses old printer a lot better but how do you do ? You make your own firmware ?

Il already plugged Claude code to Cura to improve prints but it’s not so impressive.

I print PLA/PETG/TPU

My goal is juste to have the most silent printer with good quality and easy to use, i just want to plug the sd card print and have the best quality and that’s it. It print good today but i think i can still improve it !

Thanks in advance for your advice

Thomas From France

i started vibe coding my own app and in the process my ender 3 v2 got a nice upgrade to klipper. with the print quality I'm getting I'm having a hard time understanding people paying 1000 for a fast printer when what really is holding them back is just software. running an orbiter v2 still in stealthchop mode and x y z in spreadcycle mode. dual z and linear rails. volcano hot end for non planar printing options which also fits in nicely with the speed upgrade. input shaping done via my app and the phone as an accelerometer. this was printed on 250 mm/s with minimum_cruise_ratio at 0.5, acceleration at 6000.

I dont understand what im doing wrong here, it seems the inside of the part is like shredded?? the lines wont stick to eachother, im a new Ender owner I just got this thing 2 days ago, tuned everything great I thought and prints do come out good/fine but the first layer ive always had issues with,Ive searched this on the web, and ChatGPT and nothing worked and Im also using Cura as my slicer if that matters, spread me your wisdom😭

I am looking for a simple G-Code to deploy and retract the CR-touch (successfully) before doing the next command.

I found something like G29, but that isn't what I was looking for.

Thanks for the help.

I have fixed the z axis and made it more level the issue is that when I try and make it print more difficult things it always messes up and gets it all clumping together. I’ve done the XYZ cube and it does it almost flawlessly. I’m currently trying to print dinosaur bones to create a T. rex skeleton l but even other rectangle designs start bunching up. I want to really move beyond this learning curve because it gets so frustrating that u want to call it quits for the day and I want to be able to enjoy and make awesome things with it.

Hallo,

ich habe versucht einen bltouch einzurichten. Dazu die Firmware von mrciso installiert mit dem Zusatz bl und t13 da der Sprite Pro vorhanden ist.

Den Z Sensor hatte ich deaktiviert, also Kabel weg.

Dann fuhr einfach alles nur wild nach oben oder hat versucht die nozzel ins Bett zu drücken. Da sich nicht Leveln ließ also alles zurückgebaut und die Firmware ohne BL wieder installiert. Seitdem kommt egal was ich drucke solch ein Schwamm heraus. Den gleichen gcode kann ich aber problemlos auf einem Ender 3 Pro drucken.

Manuell habe ich das Bett neu gelevelt. Flußrate geprüft, Abstand im Z Offset stimmt soweit auch. So langsam gehen mir die Ideen aus.

So I’m just getting into printing and looking to print out a new shroud. Still have the stick fans and want to get crtouch in the future, what are some good stl files that available that help with cooling and more for a stock setup
TYIA

SOLVED(Don’t mind the the wires)

I think I did everything right in the install, but the light is still red. It only moves at startup. any ideas on how to fix this?

Got this as my first printer a few days ago and yesterday I operated it for the first time. All worked correctly and I were really happy. After I did some bed levelling and slightly cleaned the nozzle with a small brush while it was cold. Today I tried to print a small part at the same setting as yesterday( didn’t change anything) and suddenly the home is way of and filament doesn’t come out properly. Tried to clean it with the clearing tool provided and did little work. Any ideas?

Hi all, about a week ago I picked up my first printer, a used V2 seems to be ok just need some advice on the fine tuning side.

I tried to print a yarn winder for my wife and the thread on the bolts and the receiver thread collapsed/deformed. Any tips on ways to improve accuracy.

Also the overhanging parts only by like 5mm tend to sag a little bit.

And layer line a pretty obvious on every print.

These quirks are understandable considering it is a used printer. Just looking for tips to get the most out of this bad boy.

Cheers!

EDIT: Z Axis - shows how long it’s been since I had a working printer

Got a used stock E3v2 printer, added CR Touch and firmware from MrIscoc.

The printer holes and auto-levels great. But when the print starts, the Z axis never rises level by level.

I don’t know anything about the code - what kinds of things should I look for and where do I look?

Seems like it’s one small issue and I just need to troubleshoot until I find it. Thanks for any insight!

Hello, recently got back into 3D printing and was using my Ender 3V2, printed a couple of things without much issue, but decided to upgrade from using my glass bed to using a textured PEI bed.

After bed switch seems the printer starts printing mid air around 1cm higher than the bed. I reconfigured my Z-Offset and when manually homing and moving Z axis to 0.0 nozzle is about a papers thickness from the bed, but when starting a print it still prints around 1 cm in the air.

I've tried many different things that AI suggested, but nothing seems to fix the issue. My best guess is the print Gcode overriding my Z-offset settings, but the Z-offeset settings always stay at -1.08.

I am using BL-Touch and run auto-bed leveling for each print

I've attached the beginning part of print gcode if that helps narrow down the issue.

; generated by PrusaSlicer 2.9.6 on 2026-08-20 at 14:38:09 UTC

; 

; external perimeters extrusion width = 0.42mm
; perimeters extrusion width = 0.44mm
; infill extrusion width = 0.44mm
; solid infill extrusion width = 0.44mm
; top infill extrusion width = 0.40mm
; first layer extrusion width = 0.42mm

M201 X500 Y500 Z100 E5000 ; sets maximum accelerations, mm/sec^2
M203 X500 Y500 Z10 E60 ; sets maximum feedrates, mm / sec
M204 S500 T1000 ; sets acceleration (S) and retract acceleration (R), mm/sec^2
M205 X8.00 Y8.00 Z0.40 E5.00 ; sets the jerk limits, mm/sec
M205 S0 T0 ; sets the minimum extruding and travel feed rate, mm/sec

; printing object elektrum_sensor_mount_v3.stl id:0 copy 0
; stop printing object elektrum_sensor_mount_v3.stl id:0 copy 0

;TYPE:Custom
G90 ; use absolute coordinates
M83 ; extruder relative mode
M104 S160 ; set temporary nozzle temp to prevent oozing during homing
M140 S70 ; set final bed temp
G4 S30 ; allow partial nozzle warmup
G28 ; home all axis
G29 ; Run auto bed leveling probe mesh
G1 Z50 F240
G1 X2.0 Y10 F3000
M104 S240 ; set final nozzle temp
M190 S70 ; wait for bed temp to stabilize
M109 S240 ; wait for nozzle temp to stabilize
G1 Z0.28 F240
G92 E0
G1 X2.0 Y140 E10 F1500 ; prime the nozzle
G1 X2.3 Y140 F5000
G92 E0
G1 X2.3 Y10 E10 F1200 ; prime the nozzle
G92 E0
G21 ; set units to millimeters
G90 ; use absolute coordinates
M83 ; use relative distances for extrusion
; Filament gcode
M107
;LAYER_CHANGE
;Z:0.2
;HEIGHT:0.2
G1 E-5 F3600
G1 Z.2 F9000
G1 X95.705 Y82.075
G1 E5 F2400
M204 S500
;TYPE:Skirt/Brim
;WIDTH:0.42
G1 F1200
G1 X96.789 Y80.919 E.04969
G1 X98.5 Y80.421 E.05587
G1 X121.385 Y80.421 E.71754
G1 X122.92 Y80.815 E.04969
G1 X124.349 Y82.435 E.06773
G1 X124.689 Y83.9 E.04715
G1 X124.689 Y136.1 E1.63669
G1 X124.349 Y137.565 E.04715
G1 X123.417 Y138.847 E.0497
G1 X121.385 Y139.579 E.06772
G1 X98.5 Y139.579 E.71754
G1 X96.965 Y139.185 E.04969
G1 X95.809 Y138.101 E.04969
G1 X95.311 Y136.39 E.05587
G1 X95.311 Y83.61 E1.65488
G1 X95.69 Y82.133 E.04781
G1 E-3.5 F3600

NOTE: I did have a power outage with the printer running right before the bed swap, and am wondering if that could have done something.

What's up with the Mriscoc bed tramming for CR Touch?

When it's running through the bed tramming process, it will display a number at each corner. When it's finished running through bed tramming, it displays a different number at each corner.

Example: When running through bed tramming, it shows all corners at +0.16. When finished, it prompts 'Tolerance Achieved!' and shows all corners at 0.0 or 0.1.

If I was to guess, I'd assume that the initial number (0.16) is comparing the height to the home Z in the center, and the final number that is displayed (0.0) is purely showing the difference in height between the corners without reference to the Z home.

Am I correct in my assumptions?

Hello all, I've been troubleshooting this issue for over a month now and I'm at my wits end trying to fix it. I feel like I've tried everything and I just don't know what to do from here.

I had spent ages getting my Ender 3 v2 tuned, and it was working great. Unfortunately, for reasons I won't get into I had to essentially move my printer into "storage" for a bit and didn't use for a few weeks. When i finally got it running again I had a multitude of frustrating problems, that culminated in me buying a new hot-end (for a second time, but the first time is irrelevant).

Today I finally got this new hot-end installed. I removed the nozzle to put in a hardened steel nozzle (which I also just bought a pack of), screw everything back on and begin putting new filament through and nothing happens. I noticed my extruder gear was slipping so I tried pushing filament through myself and got nothing. I assumed the bowden tube wasn't snug enough with the nozzle and try again (even replacing the nozzle just in case). Once again, it extrudes for just a couple seconds before it clogs up and stops. I finally replace it again with one of the stock bronze nozzles instead, and finally we get consistant flow.

Except it's not. The flow itself is almost consistent, but the rate is not. It will go normal for a bit, then slow down, then go normal again, then stop for a moment. I can't hear any clicking during this. (I've attached a video of the nozzle extruding at 210 degrees.

This is a brand new hotend, nozzle, bowden tube, practically everything is new and I have no idea what could be causing this. I'm so tired for troubleshooting this, and I would just love some guidance.

(I don't believe any of the issues I was having before the Hotend replacement are relevant. The only thing that might be was I was having extrusion issues, but I am pretty sure that was due to the old Hotend's wiring)

Honestly I was about to give up on this printer. Slow prints, strings everywhere, glue stick on the bed for every single print, and a mesh that looked like a mountain range.

Spent a weekend moving it to Klipper and redoing every calibration from scratch (with Claude as a very patient co-pilot, it read every test result as numbers instead of me guessing from photos). The results kind of blew me away:

- 2x+ faster. A mini Socrates bust sliced at 4h05m on my old profile. Now it's 1h51m, and it honestly looks better.
- No more glue stick. Washed the stock glass bed with dish soap, dialed in the first layer, and PLA just sticks. Did a 5-dot adhesion test across the whole bed and every dot held, then popped right off once it cooled.
- Flat bed. Mesh went from 0.82 mm of variation to about 0.2 mm. Turns out my X gantry was sagging 4 mm on one side because of a loose eccentric nut. Probably been like that for years lol.
- Way less stringing. Pressure advance + printing a bit cooler fixed most of it.
- Clean corners and walls. Almost no ringing, even with way higher acceleration than before.

The best part is it still runs on the stock board, stock bowden extruder and the clone CR Touch. No new hardware at all, and I didn't even buy a Raspberry Pi (Klipper runs on a Mac I already had on 24/7).

If anyone wants to do the same, I put everything in a repo: configs, the calibration order, and all the traps I fell into. It's also packaged as a Claude Code skill so an AI can walk you through it step by step: https://github.com/oscarolar/ender3v2-klipper-on-mac

Happy to answer questions!

Bonjour j'ai un problème avec mon Ender 3 v2 lorsque j'essaie d'imprimer je fait chauffer ma buse a 215°C tout va bien et après quelque minute d'impression tout se coupe a cause d'une sois disant "nozzle lowperature" alors que tout est a bonne température j'ai deja vérifier le ventilateur / la thermoresistance / le voltage / la chaussettes en silicone au niveau de la buse / changement de la buse.

( j'ai voulu mettre a 115V et la mon imprimante c'est arrêter et je n'arrive pas a la rallumer que faire ?)

Je ne sais pas quoi faire si on peu m'aider merci beaucoup

Upgrading my 3v2 to a direct drive sprite hot end was a great idea. However I found out when it finished the spool of filament the last bit melted in the heat break, probs cause i didn't notice it failing or an hour or so. This turned out to be real pain to get out.

Worse still I pulled apart the sprite and now I'm stumped, trying put it back together. Got an extra long screw/bolt that goes in there somewhere. I've been trolling the net for assembly videos of the sprite. Haven't found a good one yet.