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I joined the 3d printing crowd - I got an Ender Creality 3 V3 SE

I remember that in those ancient times when the year number still had two zeroes in the middle, I read an article in a computer magazine, it was either CD-Action, or CHIP, an article about this new idea: a printer that could print object in 3D from plastic! The article said that already prototypes were being build, and maybe one day in the future this novel idea might become popular.

3D printer placed on a IKEA Alex box of drawers. It's in my storage room, with wooden doors covering the whole wall behind it.

The 3D printer in all it's glory

Fast forward a few tens of years, buzz through the pandemic, and here I am with my own 3D printer: a Creality Ender 3 V3 SE.

Why?

I've been thinking of owning a 3D printer for a few years now, but as with many other things in my life, I had been postponing it to "after I move into my house". Yes, this is yet another blog post partially inspired/caused by me moving into my house. This will never end. And now I am here, and I have place for a 3D printer and many other gizmos.

I have been wanting to have a 3D printer, to well, print useful stuff like cases for Raspberry Pis, cable holders, maybe some garden stuff. I've been reading about organisation systems like Gridfinity or OpenGrid and that sounded like a cool idea. And I saw people printing things for astrophotography like telescope holders, and that looked useful.

Also having a 3D printer felt like a natural next step in my fabrication journey, I already know how to solder, so adding to that being able to create cases, grommets, holders and other stuff surrounding cables and PCBs made sense. Now my dream is to learn how to weld and have a lathe, but that is for the future.

Which 3D printer and why?

I wanted to buy a Prusa printer, mostly because of their local, Czech, origin and because of all the positive reviews I read about them. I've never seen anyone complain about a Prusa. But they are expensive, and I have this thing with hobbies that when I start a new one, I start with reasonably cheap tools, and later move to expensive ones. That's how it happened with astrophotography, and with bicycles. So I thought that instead of saving a lot of money to spend on a Prusa, I could buy a cheaper printer, see if I get into it, and if I do, someday in the future get a fancier one.

And so I went with a (deep breath) Creality Ender 3 V3 SE. I chose this one, because of positive opinions that I found both on the internet, and among people I know in real life (Hi MikoĊ‚aj and Arek). Also I got a gift card from my employer, and it was almost exactly the price of the printer and two spools of filament. So I pulled the proverbial trigger.

First impressions

The printer arrived, the build was just connecting a few large parts with screws, I put it on a table, connected the power, it turned on, calibrated without issues and that was it. I already had a few things that I wanted to print prepared, so I put them on the provided SD card (8GB, it has been a long time since I've seen such small cards). I started the print and...

It printed. It just printed. I have not changed any of the default settings, and the print went without issues. With the first thing, then the second, third, it just worked. From all the things I printed, only one or two failed, and only because I ignored obviously wrong settings in the splicer, like things placed upside down without supports.

I am amazed, I've read about people spending endless hours calibrating their printers, and, at least for me and my simple prints, that is no longer a requirement, I just unpacked the printer and started printing. Just like with an electric kettle or a washing machine.

Filament choice

So far I have been printing with the Creality Hyper PLA filaments. I went through the small sample provided with the printer, and a full 1kg spool. I don't have anything smart to say here yet. It works, the filament is filamenting finely, and I am not lamenting.

Software

For slicing I am using Ultimaker Cura. Currently I am using version 5.12 downloaded as AppImage binary. I am using it this way, because the version shipped with my Ubuntu 25.10 distribution is 5.0.0, and it does not have the presets for the Ender 3V3 SE.

Basically the only thing I do in the slicer is open the downloaded STL file, press Slice and save the resulting file to the SD card. Only once or twice I had to turn on supports or rotate the object around. Seriously, a total nobrainer.

What did I print so far?

Gridfinity

Gridfinity is a configurable and modular storage system. It's based on a grid made of squares, on which modules of different size can be placed. The photo should explain it better. Apart from the basic storage modules, I also printed a special one for my utility knife: Milwaukee Fastback Gridfinity storage

Shelf on my storage rack, with bright orange boxes full of small tools placed on a square grid kinda like a chess board.

Ethernet cable wall holders

Those are very useful for putting cables in my attic around the homelab. Link

Photo of my roof beams. There are small orange cable guides screwed into the beams, and a single gray ethernet cable is attached to them, going the full length of the attic.

Lenovo laptop stand

To save space on my desk. Link

A closed laptop standing upright on my desk, held by an orange stand surrounding its base.

Hollowtech crank cover

To replace a part I lost somewhere in the forest. Link

Closeup of a bike's crank, showing a bright orange plug closing the crank axle.

Next Steps

Other filaments

I want to try printing with PETG, mostly because I want to print stuff for the garden that will stay outside, and I've read that PETG better handles the hazards of the outdoors, like the UV rays. And also just to see the comparison between PLA and PETG in how they handle and feel.

Designing my own parts

That is the big one. For now I have only been printing projects downloaded from the intertubes, but at one point I want to start making my own parts. Looking at the available options, I want to do some tutorials and projects with FreeCAD and see how it goes. Any protips and good resources on this, dear readers? Please let me know via email or the Fediverse.

Remote control of the printer

Putting files on the SD card and carrying it manually to the printer feels a bit 2012. For now it's fine, but I want to put the printer on my LAN and control it remotely. I have a spare Thinkcentre Tiny M715q which I might use as the controller of the printer, maybe put something like Octoprint on it. Something to investigate in the future, and once I settle for a solution I will for sure describe it in an upcoming blog post.

Bottom Line

So yeah, I have a printer, it just prints, and I am happy to have a new toy and a starting point for a new skill under my belt. Now, calling it a "toy" does not paint the full picture, as I am using it to finish the setup of my home. Anyway, my nerdy side has a new area to focus on and feel content.

Hopefully this is the first post in a series about 3D printing. Thanks for reading!

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