BEFORE
About 2 years ago, I purchased an Ender 3 Pro, brand-new and fully stock. While the printer offered impressive performance out of the box for its low cost, I knew I could get more out of it with a little work, and it became a "project car" for me.
⮞ Bowden Drive Extruder
⮞ "Dumb" Printing (via SD card)
⮞ Looks Bland
⮞ Lacks Illumination
⮞ Plastic Build Plate
⮞ Marlin Software
AFTER
After completing dozens of modifications, this is the current state of my printer. Running a completely different printing mechanic and operating system, my tangible gains have been cutting print time in half while improving print quality more than 3x stock numbers.
⮞ Direct Drive Extruder
⮞ Smart printing (Remote Octoprint)
⮞ NASA themed
⮞ Illuminated via LED ring
⮞ Dual-sided steel PEI textured build plate
⮞ Klipper software on Raspberry Pi 4B+
⮞ 2.5x speed/accel increase off stock values
⮞ HQ Pi Cam for remote monitoring
⮞ Cable chains
⮞ Numerous quality of life upgrades