If you haven’t noticed from most of the blog posts on this website, I am an owner of the Ender 3 3D Printer. I decided I wanted to try something “new” and I started hunting around for a deal on the Ender 5. I found on eBay some sellers in New York offering “used” Creality Ender 5’s for around 249$ and decided to make him an offer, he accepted. I told him I would make sure that he gets included in this review. It was a great deal for a printer that seems much more sturdy straight out of the box than my Ender 3.
Ender 5 Technical Specifications
- Molding technology: FDM
- Build volume: 220 x 220 x 300 mm
- Heated bed: up to 125℃
- Print speed: up to 180 mm/s
- Print accuracy: ± 0.1 mm
- Min. layer height: 0.1 – 0.3 mm
- Frame: Aluminum 2020 and 2040 extrusions
- Stock nozzle diameter: 0.4 mm
- Max. print temperature: 260℃
- Filament diameter: 1.75 mm
- Connectivity: SD Card, USB
- Voltage: 110-240V (50/60Hz) and 24V PSU output
Initial Impressions
Basically I was skeptical about the printer since it was being sold as “Used, but after receiving the package and unboxing I was delightfully surprised. It seemed that whoever owned the printer before I did, simply did not know how to properly square up the frame and roller wheels. Once I got the entire Ender 5 together and everything setup how I like, I was quite impressed. The printer looked brand new, other than a little unknown substance on the build plate (likely glue stick).
Since I am a person who likes to tinker and modify pretty much everything I get my hands on, I decided to open the bottom cover and check the electronics. I was greeted with the Creality V1.1.4 board which usually comes with the A4988 drivers which are super noisy. It was at that point I went ahead and ordered a BigTreeTech SKR Mini E3 so I could use this thing in my office without getting a headache. The stock board is still very capable of producing great prints (as I will say later on in the review) but once you experience the silent steppers, you don’t want to go back.
Overall, my initial impressions of the Ender 5 were that it seems like a great deal for what you get. It’s a square frame which seems to have a whole lot more rigidity than a stock Ender 3. It reminded me of machines that are CoreXY FDM style, and it is often mistaken for the CoreXY. The Ender 5 is NOT a CoreXY printer, but it does have some of the advantages of a CoreXY style printer such as:
- Rigid square frame
- Stable Z axis movement
Print Quality
Once everything was setup and I leveled my bed, it was time to print the ceremonious 3D Benchy. I loaded up Cura and added the new printer, luckily all of your print profiles are available to each printer. I decided to re-use my Ender 3 Print profiles and the filament I used is Paramount 3D’s Destroyer Gray PLA (awesome color). Before the print started, I always do a 4 line skirt to ensure bed level; I was impressed with how level the stock magnetic build surface was out of the box compared to my Ender 3. After some slight dialing-in of the bed adjustment knobs, the print took off.
After several hours I returned to the Ender 5 to find one of the nicest benchy’s I have EVER made. I was highly impressed with the print quality of the Ender 5. Overall I would suggest to anyone that is looking for a 3D Printing to go for the Ender 5 instead of the Ender 3 IF you can afford to! The Ender 3 can be made just as good as the Ender 5 but will require some modification and lots of tuning.