Creality has finally released the final piece of the Ender 3 V3 saga, The Creality Ender 3 V3.

This CoreXZ, yes, not CoreXY, is expected to be Creality’s answer to the “next gen” 3D printing with input shaping and fast 3d printing with no visual loss.

Is the new Ender 3 V3 what we’ve been waiting for? is it tinker-friendly enough and cheap enough to live up to what the original ender 3 was? Let’s dig into it.

Quick Ender 3 V3 overview

The new Creality Ender 3 V3 is most likely the final “Ender 3” version and is really more an V3,5 when compared to the Creality Ender 3 V3 SE and the V3 KE which both are cheaper and less refined.

The Ender 3 V3 SE and KE were both “reactions” to the trend of faster 3D printers thanks to input shaping. The SE really didn’t have it, while the KE had a input shaping preset. This preset may have worked for many, but to really calibrate the printer you had to upgrade it with a “vibration compensation sensor” for an extra $13 (sold separately) which many missed.

The lastest Ender 3 V3 now has a full printer package built around the input shaping trend with parts and technology dripped down from the Creality K1 and K1 Max.

Creality CoreXZ benefits explained

While it’s still a "bedslinger”, which is considered worse (since the bed moves your part, and any large or tall part may vibrate or flex during fast printing), Creality are transforming how the X-axis (and Z) works in practice.

Although you don’t really NEED a fast Z-axis (it’s not thaaat fast of a printer) you can benefit quite a lot from this design.

As shown in the design, the motors for both X and Z are now in the bottom, which means less weight are moved around in X-axis, meaning less vibrations and the potential to accellerate faster.

When compared to Ender 3 V2, you save 300g by going from 900g to 600g.

Less Wobble

By reducing weight, and having one system move both axis while under tension, you end up with a stiffer construction that wobbles less.

Creality has also cleverly removed the top-loaded filament roll and stiffened up the construction.

They claim to still have ≤15㎛ of accuracy, which sounds impressive!

Is the Creality Ender 3 V3 a faster 3D Printer?

According to specifications from Creality themselves (If we review one, we’ll confirm) the printing speed is around 300mm/s on regular prints. The Max speed is apparently 600mm/s but you probably want to stay at normal speeds, which are still very fast compared to just a few years back.

However, the acceleration is specified at 20’000mm/s2, which I find odd. The Creality Ender 3 V3 KE had a max acceleration of 8’000mm/s and while the CoreXZ IS a new upgrade, I would assume that only accelerated faster in the X-axis, part of the XZ-system? And not the actual bed itself?

I’m thinking there is an a-symmetric acceleration in the Ender 3 V3, but I may very well be wrong. It just “feels” weird to have a bed accelerate at 20’000mm/s with a big print on it.

The V3 KE also had linear bearings on X and Y axis, while the new V3 has none, which may be a small concern.

Upgraded Extrusion on Creality Ender 3 V3

There has also been upgrades to the extrusion package on the Ender 3 V3. Still a direct drive extruder with dual gears (geared) that appear to really grip the filament. According to Creality this is “clog-free”. Sure, and my car runs forever…

The hot end is an upgraded 60W ceramic heater which is great for those fast prints!

The nozzle is now a new one-hand-swap system for quick changes between nozzle sizes and materials. The Tri-Metal Nozzle is a new style of long nozzle that goes all the way into the extruder. There’s even a e3D Nozzle mod available!

Quality of life improvements

There are more than just fast 3D Printing speeds that are trending right now. Ease-of-use and multi color are among them.

We have no idea how well the new Ender 3 v3 competes with Bambu Lab A1 or P1S (which is more of a Creality K1 challenger) just yet, but we see more features aimed to make using the printer easier.

As with Creality, you always want to await exerienced reviewers to really see how bug-free it may be in the real world.

Promising features

Features like automatic XZ belt tensioning sounds promising! The new and (hopefully) more reliable extrusion and hot end system also looks great.

And of course you get 1-click calibration and self-check doing everything from checking heaters, temp-sensors, fans input shaping vibration, auto leveling and AI-lidar.

The huge 4.3” color touch screen is a great addition, providing much better interaction with the machine and more information to be displayed. Let’s hope the guides and software is as good as it should

Open Source Creality OS

Speaking of software, the ender 3 V3 runs Creality OS which is based on Klipper. At the time of writing, Creality has just said “Creality OS will be open-source soon.” So at least it’s coming!

Since the new Ender 3 V3 has Wifi you can send prints from Creality Cloud directly. Meaning you don’t technically have to slice locally and send the files to the printer.

This all means that if you buy the “AI Camera” for failure detection, and timelapses you can also monitor the printer in real time on the go, through the Creality Cloud.

2024 Creality Ender 3 V3 specifications

Build Volume: 220x220x250mm

Printing Speed(max): 600mm/s

Typical print speed: 300mm/s (with hyper-profiles)

Acceleration: 20’000mm/s²

Nozzle Diamter: 0.4mm

Nozzle Temperature: 300°C

Nozzle: Quick-swap nozzle (hardened steel tip) integrated with heatbreak

Filament Diameter: 1.75mm

Extruder: High-speed direct drive extruder

Build Plate: PEI Flexible

Build plate Temperature: 110°C

Connectivity: Wifi (files via USB/Wifi/Creality Cloud)

Input Shaping: Yes (G-sensor included)

Leveling: Full Auto leveling

Interface: 4.3” 840x480px color touch screen

Mainboard: 32bit processor

Features: Power Loss Recovery, Runout sensor, G-sensor and optional AI-camera.

Power Draw: 350W

File formats: STL, OBJ, 3MF (in Creality Print Slicer)

Pricing and availability of Creality Ender 3 V3 3D Printer

The Ender 3 V3 is priced at $389 which is a totally OK price.

Given that the KE and SE are both under $300 MSRP, it’s a good price within the Creality ecosystem.

Going up to the bigger brother, Creality K1 you still have to pay “just” $599 (currently on sale for $499 here) which isn’t much more for an enclosed CoreXY printer that really prints fast. But, you just end up gaining 30mm build volume in Z-axis compared to the Ender 3 V3.

When you consider that the Bambu Lab A1 Mini, which sure, only has 180x180x180mm build volume, is priced at $299 with features like active noise-cancellation and the ability to run AMS (4-color/material printing), you end up with a price that is in the upper range, and should be quite discounted from time to time.

Shipping starts in end of February 2024 but for new orders (at last in US store) they are shipping around march 8.

My recommendations for the Ender 3 V3?

Well, in general I’d reefer you to this guide of buying a 3D printer as a beginner for tips and guidance.

Since I haven’t tried the Ender 3 V3 yet, and don’t have enough sources to reach out to for feedback, I won’t add it to the list just yet. Although it has potential to be a great option in between Bambu Lab A1 Mini, the A1 and The Creality K1.

The thing about Creality Ender 3 V3 machines should be that they are very cheap and capable. And right now it looks like it’s still cheap, but maybe more capable when doing the price-balance.

Good thing is that the Creality Ender 3 V3 KE with input shaping sensor isn’t a bad choice. It’s just slightly less fancy, but is often discounted (like now) to $279.