Linear rails guide and test on Ender 3 and Ender 5

[@DjZorlag]

So, this must be the last upgrade to my Ender 3 before I can build a complete stock Ender 3 from the remaining parts.

[@kerbodynamicx472]

DjZorlag lol. Cheap machine, expensive mods!

[@DjZorlag]

​@@kerbodynamicx472 Yeah, I'm seriously considering this linear rails mod over the PC wheels that they sell. Should work a lifetime.

Food for thought, isn't it?

[@spoonforthought3534]

Iñigo Zapata spend extra first, save more later

[@jamesswartz3600]

I had some magic smoke during an upgrade a while back and never got around to revisiting my Ender-3. Now, I use it for spare parts for my new Ender-5.

[@gosupersheep2006]

This is what happens when a professional teacher makes how-to videos! Good job

[@NINEWALKING]

If those assemblies didn’t have had rubber bushings ringing would be worst with the linear rails. Some vibration dampening is a must with linear rails it seems. So glad you have not actively sold those parts like some other KZbinrs. It shows integrity. Some others just sell them even if the results where worst. This solution might be the best option and does not make the prints worse. It might give higher durability to the system provided one uses good linear rails. But truth be told V slots adjusted properly are enough to achieve maximum printing quality of the complete system disregarding that it is the “inferior” solution.

[@brucem1553]

06:09 Y axis for ender 3., 09:00 X acis Ender 5., 11:27 X axis ender 3., 12:39 General Tips.,

[@bacaw2856]

For anyone still debating, upgrading a couple of things won't give you much in terms of speed, accuracy or performance. But now that I've done about everything you could dream of (without altering the frame) on my Ender 3 Pro, including 32-bit mainboard, ABL, linear rails on every axis, rigid build plate, dual z steppers and direct drive with an all metal hotend, I can confidently say that immediately after finishing the project I'm now printing at 300 mm/s with equal-to-or-better quality than what I was able to achieve before upgrading anything. Skimp and settle for limp, go full ham and kablam! Still testing to get the speed ever higher. The Ender 3 is a versatile and awesome piece of kit, just needs a few QOL updates to make it an astonishing one :)

[@JonLake]

300 is hard to believe. Best I got without fail is 150 😂 Did you replaced your hot end ?

[@psedach]

What options did you change in your slicer to take advantage of these upgrades and how did it change print times? I've already invested time and money making my 2x Ender 3's silent and I was debating getting a Bambulab P1P for speed but it's expensive and I read it doesn't perform well with 0.6 or 0.8 mm nozzles (only stock 0.4).

[@llasher]

With no goal of increasing speed I have done similar to the modestly specced E3V2, including all metal hot end, BL touch,BTT SKR mainboard and TFT35 screen, plus just got a Sonic Pad,but about to get X rails and wondering if I should get Y as well..Y not? And must look up what rigid build plate is and i am yet to do another Z stepper which is think is an option for an E3v2. I have been printing the notoriously uncooperative PETG like a dream at ridiculous speeds of 75mm plus I can honestly say this Frankenmess with wiring all ove the gaffe and various scratches and loss of power coating on the extrusions etc. that this is still a way better machine than my E3S1Pro which I am def not crazy about lol has printed PETG about twice without problems and sometimes struggles with PLA...at the moment has a burned out mainboard I think..what a turkey the S1 Pro is

[@tenseikenzx-3559]

What acceleration speed do you have it on?

[@tommegg8486]

Happy to agree, Ender 3 platform is such a kit to modify. Even a simple custom home made Firmware recompile enabling linear advance and manual mesh give me better and consistent result for basically free

[@timkowalik]

My guess is that the initial quality will be similar or the same, but linear rails will hold that quality in the long run with no adjustments needed. At least not the same as rollers and concentric nuts.

[@Juiceboxmakes]

Which is always a big positive. Consistancy is key

[@justd3fy]

@Kenny Eaton precision ground bed but you mount linear rails to aluminum extrusion lol... Also you can get within 0.005" with rollers. It's the aluminum extrusion that's going to make or break your tolerances. Sounds like you just kinda throw money at the thing.

[@Graham_Wideman]

Yep, those concentric nuts don't help at all. That's why I use eccentric nuts. :-)

[@originaltrilogy1]

@@justd3fy No, the cast and ground plate is one of the best things I ever bought, mostly because it doesn't change when heating. The original plate bulged hideously when a Keenovo bed heater was added. I don't have rails, but the bed change alone meant never having to re-level, and I no longer had to bother with the BL-Touch. I've been thinking of adding rails just to cut down on the maintenance, I don't expect to see better prints, but don't have to worry about wheel wear and adjustments. My printers run pretty much constantly doing days-long prints, it's worth it to me.

[@TheDrake]

@@WhiteG60 I, too, would love to hear of source suggestions. In my relatively brief search, the only place that MIGHT have what we're both looking for would be Midwest Supply. "Cast Aluminum Tool & Jig Plate (ATP 5)" has yielded the only online source I've found that will give an immediate quote for small quantities. Shipping to my area was about at expensive as the plate, though, lol. Oh well.

[@eerikkarlov8439]

what a silly smile at the end? :) Appreciate your work, very informative and teaching. Thank you

[@TeachingTech]

I tried extra hard for that one. My wife is always teasing me about them not being big enough.

[@ikbendusan]

@@TeachingTech hahahaha nice

[@nidhogg3390]

Thank you, you just saved me $100. Was thinking it would be an improvement to prints, im glad i did some research and found your video, thank you

[@blockhead3654]

You forget the most important reason to do the rails. Its printer bling.

[@TeachingTech]

Haha I am enjoying the appearance.

[@asmith8673]

Can you get them in gold? And maybe insert rhinestones in the screw holes...

[@musingsofanitwit]

@@TeachingTech How about some RGB linear rails? lolllll

[@VintageTechRepairs]

@@musingsofanitwit hold my beer

[@Real28]

@@musingsofanitwit I mean, are you even PC Masterace without RGB? Hmm, gives me ideas...haha

[@BigDaddysChannel]

In a previous job I had installed hundreds of these linear rails on optical measuring machines.These rail do not come in straight, they are all kinds of warped. We had to use some pretty sophisticated measuring tools to install them. They are also designed to be mounted to granite because its the best material that can over come the twists in the rails. To really benefit from linear rails they need better alignment tool installation. 1 tip i can give you is to tighten the bolts in the center and work your way out. A 2nd tip is try to mount a dial indicator somewhere on your nozzle end and run it across your bed. you will begin to see how nonparallel the rail is installed.

[@TeachingTech]

Very good insight, thanks for sharing.

[@scottwillis5434]

I have to wonder how much warp is from the factory and how much is from shipping, packages being tossed onto pallets, shipping guys fencing with them, customer handling, ...

[@ikbendusan]

@@scottwillis5434 that's just bad packaging then

[@ikbendusan]

they're mounted on mineral machine bases (like granite epoxy) because it combines high rigidity with high internal friction, which means it dampens vibrations

[@novakmiler7944]

I got mine because of consistency and reliability. In the long run, its just better to have them. It eliminates possible issues in the future as well as gets rid of those annoying concentric nuts. Doesn't really affect quality like you stated but I do think you're able to print slightly faster. Thanks for the informative vid. Ender 5 looks like a great machine

[@ameliabuns4058]

chinese rails have a reputation for failing over time and having paly tho

[@snickerdoooodle]

@@ameliabuns4058 WHICH Chinese rails? That's kind of a sweeping generalization

[@starsstripesjacket]

I've been hoping for this video! Good to know that the print quality is pretty much the same, i'll hold off on this mod for now :)

[@FRANKMUSIKOFFICIAL]

Professional firmware for bed leveling was a game changer for me.

[@chriswoolvin7284]

I was having the worst time with my Ender 3 and the stock rollers, could feel and hear notches during motion that made my prints awful. I tried replacing them but the only Amazon parts had horrible tolerances for the bearings which gave me lots of side to side play and still bad print quality. the moment I changed to a linear rail (initially then rails) I noticed significant improvement down to supports coming off like a dream. I had a bit of binding with the belt tension and the roller cage so ended up getting a second linear rail for the bed and my prints have never been so good. the only down side has been a loss in build volume and I don't want to mess with any code or board swap so thank you for letting me know about this kit, will order ASAP

[@BigDan1190]

I would treat it more as a "quality of life" upgrade - a perfectly set up ender that always gets great quality then yeah, no point. But if you're having issues that might be due to poorly adjusted POM wheels it would be a great upgrade.

[@LaughingMan44]

@@BLV-3D he often doesn't use much critical thought in his "tests"

[@lucky4the4turtle]

What's POM?

[@Blamm83]

@@lucky4the4turtle en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyoxymethylene

[@snickerdoooodle]

@@LaughingMan44 Why do you suggest it's not a valid test?

[@timm3802]

Just the video i was waiting for...... THANKS.

[@alexscarbro796]

I guess the benefit of linear rails is really only going to be seen in the long term repeatability and reliability of the print performance rather than in radical improvements in print quality.

[@michaelbuckers]

No. The main benefit is that they're extremely rigid, but for a 3d printer with light (sub 1 kg) print head lack of rigidity is not an issue. Prusa printers don't use them, that should tell you something.

[@cutty02]

@@michaelbuckers Yes but prusa doesnt use roller wheels they use linear rods which is very similar to the linear rails

[@sitgesvillaapartmentneilsc7924]

Linear rails still need maintaining , removing old grease and putting in new from time to time as against wheels that crack and need replacement every few years.

[@Renaldo015]

@@cutty02 Yep linear rods is in between linear blocks and rollers. It easily slide and with added rigidity. Linear blocks needs weight applied to it to slide well and no weight in 3d printing gantry or bed is heavy enough. Linear rods can really benefit the bed and the gantry.

[@tomandrews5392]

I added liner rails to x, y and z on my Ender 3 Pro and am quite happy . I used 3DFused products a little expensive most of my printing issues have been corrected . One issue I ended up with was a issue of getting the first layer to adhere to the glass bed ..If you have a suggestion for this issue please send it to me ...I like your series and have used it to learn and operate Marlin this is a bit of a choir but like the challange....thanks for you time ..keep up the great work ....

[@jasonking7570]

Wait... how did you linear rail the Z?

[@tomandrews5392]

@@jasonking7570 I don't know if 3DFUSED still sail the rails or not...if you have direct drive make sure you get the mount needed.

[@RonFloyd]

Thanks for such detailed instructions Michael - as usual!

[@LivnlargeCO]

I know this is an old video and hope you monitor comments. I truly have learned a lot from your channel for first of all thank you! I have an ender 5 plus that I use regularly and am looking to speed things up a bit. Runs great now, but will be adding linear rails here in a few days when they show up. My request of you is would you be able to share your Cura profiles that you use to attain reasonable quality at 100mm/s? I am creeping that way but would like to reference your configuration along my journey.

[@ChuchaTV3D]

Y axis - MGN15 rail, 3D printer Ender 3 kzbin.info/www/bejne/fJLMpouLoK1rfq8

[@MultiSteelking]

I think the biggest difference would be dual Z and linear rails on Z-axis, in my opinion the Z rollers that has flat spots make the biggest surface imperfections on prints

[@Splatterpunk_OldNewYork]

The more I try to upgrade my Ender 3, the more I realize it was born perfect.

[@iDigStuff]

Living through this now as my “upgraded” ender 3 sits dismantled

[@Splatterpunk_OldNewYork]

@@iDigStuff Lol. Perfect except of course: Cr10 bed springs, A metal extruder, Capricorn Bowden, Spider coupler and an anti-backlash spring. Otherwise, born with it.

[@SeizureGman]

@@Splatterpunk_OldNewYork Mines stock and I was amazed at how well it printed I did now upgrade the bed springs and the extruder is metal and it's gone from amazing to almost prefect

[@Splatterpunk_OldNewYork]

@@SeizureGman Hang a sandbag on the top beam, or otherwise add some weight (kilos) to the frame. Do this while having the machine rest on foam feet or sheet. Large machines have lots of mass, allowing for cleaner prints.

[@SeizureGman]

@@Splatterpunk_OldNewYork Thanks I'll give it a try. The ender 3 v2 is leagues ahead of my FLSUN qqs Pro

[@TheTruth-fs2rm]

I would not trust 3d printed alignment brackets. Get a decent indicator to align the rails. Plastic 3d printed alignment brackets are crap.

[@julianweiser9985]

Oh yeah. But who wants to spend 50 $ on a proper indicator?

[@geblah187]

Great video as always! A question though: did you go with name brand/pricier rails, inexpensive ones, or somewhere in between? Keep up the amazing work :)

[@TeachingTech]

The rails were supplied by printer mods, so I'm not sure exactly which ones they are

[@MrButuz]

Glad I watched this I was getting "KZbin upgradeitis" on my brand new Ender 5 plus but now that I know these particular upgrades make zero difference to performance I won't bother! Must be embarrassing for the company selling the upgrades.

[@whatevernamegoeshere3644]

Considering how much you can tinker around with linear rails, you have a decently good chance of screwing it up if you don't use a dial indicator, don't lubricate them properly, don't set the tensioner up right, don't use the same torque, etc

[@PiefacePete46]

I wonder if linear rails are better reserved for a CNC router or mill, where their strength and rigidity is more significant? As always, an excellent, thought-provoking video. Thanks.

[@Waltkat]

I ran the stock rollers on my Ender 3 for about two years and other than a wipe down every so often, I didn't need to do any adjustments to the rollers. I then decided to try a linear rail on the Y axis to see if there would be any improvement in print quality. I found a conversion on Thingiverse and used that. If there is any improvement, I can't see it. To be fair though, with all the rollers properly adjusted, the printer was printing pretty good as is. Decided to leave the X and Z axis with their rollers since they're still fine with no adjustments required.

[@OU81TWO]

There's no advantage to rails if you're rollers are adjusted correctly. At the end of the day the goal is to minimize play between the components. Well adjusted rollers can achieve almost zero play just like precision linear rails. The difference is longevity. Rollers are plastic and will eventually wear thus requiring adjustment. Linear rails use hardened bearings and case hardened rails so they'll last much longer before requiring replacement.

[@GaryMcKinnonUFO]

Great stuff pal, i've watched a few of your vids now and all's good. Liked and subbed :)

[@heinrich-peterhimmelbauer1418]

I guess it will pay on the long term; I was a bit disappointed, that there is no significant advantage in the quality, but on the other hand it shows that the basic concept of the 3D printers is not that bad. But I may give it a try to my Ender 3 Pro, as it's bed has always problems after some (2 or 3) prints. either wobbling or new leveling necessary, got a monday reviewed modell I think.

[@robertomicieli819]

Same here..... wobbling

[@StefsEngineering]

I'm going to test this one as well but do intend to add upgraded belts (wider, double supported pulleys, also for the motor side) and if that doesn't offer any effect I also want to try to use a high helix spindle setup. I don't think the setup allows you to get everything out of the linear rails because the frame and the driving elements have to much backlash/flexibility. Still a valid test though, under more reasonable circumstances. What I plan to do is pretty much designing and building a new printer.

[@EvileDik]

Have to disagree on the maintenance, linear rails are much less tolerant of dirt than vslots+wheels, you'll need to clean them more often, and the servicing is much more involved. Add to this the fact that 3d Printers generate all sorts of cruft like strings and UFPs, there's more than one reason for vslots on consumer 3D printers than cost.

[@originaltrilogy1]

The one printer I own that has linear rails needs less maintenance than my CR10 fleet. I understand where you are coming from, but it hasn't played out that way in my print shop. The V-slots and wheels need more cleaning and the cleaning takes longer, and the wheels need adjusting and replacing which hasn't been an issue on the big-boy.

[@the-potato-warrior]

Just got my ender 3 built and tuned in and I’m 30 minutes into my first “cat” print

[@1nvertedReality]

Happy with the stock set up on my cr-10 s5 X axis. Going to round linear rails for Y axis was the best thing I did. That 510x510 bed and rubber rollers were nothing but a head ache. Almost sold the printer off cheap before the upgrade, now I don't even think about replacing it.

[@jasonvoorhees9585]

Just bought the kit, thank u!

[@andrewbabbo123]

At what point is it no longer an Ender 3?

[@JimGriffOne]

The precision of the linear rails will likely cause the vibrations of the stepper motors to show in the print much more than the standard system, since it's more rigid. I can see it in some of the prints where there are straight lines. Thanks for the video. Really enjoyed watching it!

[@Rogenth91]

Yeah, actually the rubber wheels have a good damping coefficient, that dissipates more energy due to kinematics

[@princefpv1]

hey buddy what's up PJ here from 3D printing Canada I just recently did the micro Swiss direct drive linear rail as well as bed and zerails I found it made some improvements in my print quality but like you said not tons it definitely has helped me push speeds mind u I'm running klipper

[@McLeod40]

Thumbs up for the Renault shirt. GO DANNY RIC! :D

[@Diogo-dt1uf]

Why did you disassembled the top frame in order to slide the rail? Those T-Nuts can slide into the T-Slot of the frame if put horizontally.. as you apply some torque to the screews their respective T-Nuts twists and binds againt the walls of the frame's inner tslot and stop twisting... thus, tightening the rail...

[@julienrouaix9808]

Nice video and nice shirt!

[@cjansson]

V-rollers wear out and I think you might see a bigger difference if you compared against worn out v-rollers. Is that a fair comparison, well not when the machine is new but when its time to replace the v-rollers, linear rails might be a good way to go, given your frame imperfections are not transferred to the print that is as mentioned.

[@kerseyfabs]

I created my own Ender 5 rail mod a while back and I showed similar results to yours. Minor improvements but not worth the cost short-term. As you mentioned, there are other positives to linear rails that have to be taken into account. If you don't mind, here is a link to part 3 of my mod which includes the results: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qoCUgWWtrZV_Z7s

[@LincolnWorld]

How do you keep doing videos about things I've been wondering about??? Are you a mind reader? You could open for my stage show! Keep up the great work!

[@MakerFarmNL]

I have modified my CR-10 S5 and mounted linear rails on all axes. Except for flat nylon rollers that you won't have to worry about anymore and the sporadic adjustment of tension with the eccentric nuts on some of the rollers, there is not much of a difference to be seen in the print quality... just as you concluded.

[@b.c.4336]

I am new to 3D printing and I have ordered first 3D printer which is the Ender 3. I enjoy your videos over most other YTers because you are easy to follow. My question is this: Would one still need to add the smoother chip sets if linear rails are installed? Do the linear rails help with minimizing/diminishing if the dreaded shaking/wobbling that occurs?

[@RockGodZeppelin]

I got so sick of seeing my bed/carriage wobbling every few months I just decided to get a near maintenance free option

[@KiR_3d]

It just may be badly tuned. Or your wheels has bad quality. Buy some normal PC wheels. Much cheaper than linear rails and will not need much efforts to replace (no any kits).

[@ym30214]

I am a very big fan of your channel. This is my go to if Im doing researches to printing topics. In KZbin you can find pretty little about the v2 with mounted linear rails. Does this "printermods"-Upgrade fit to a V2 as well?

[@jimberg98]

If there's a zero net gain it quality, the fact that there's much less to maintain would be worth it. The linear rails won't get loose over time. I can't imagine that there's any time that you can disassemble and reassemble your hot end assembly without having to set your Z offset again. There's just too much play in that hardware. What about your bed leveling numbers? Have you noticed a difference in how "warped" your bed may be? I suspect that what a lot of people see as a warped bed is actually warped 2020 extrusions.

[@leofortey7561]

Alex Kenis FTW! What should be mentioned is the linear rails increase rigidity(a Good thing!), therefore will transfer the smallest movement-noise to the nozzle. Everything else needs to become more rigid. (Frame, carriage assembly, belt setup...)

[@cryptology3975]

I think these comparisons might show that the quality of your result depend on more than just the rails that everything is riding on. I personally believe the belt drive is "bottlenecking" the potential quality gains of the linear rails, but engineering a new drive system would basically mean re-engineering the entire system. Thanks for the video! I was mainly curious to see if the linear rails would noticeably minimize extraneous movement (and hence affect quality) running high speeds with a non-lightweight direct drive extruder on the Ender 3. I'd say my curiosity has been quelled.

[@SianaGearz]

Belts are decent enough and you can get higher quality belts. Belts are not just rubber, they have some sort of reinforcement fibre, it can be glass fibre or nomex, to limit their stretchiness. What's not nice is running a toothed belt over a smooth idler, because depending on the phase of the belt on the idler, the tension goes different. If getting toothed idlers, they can't be super cheap, since if the bearing seizes, it'll be trouble (bearings often seize in smooth idlers, but then the belt just slips and it's fine), and they need to have nicely machined deep groves as well. Anyway these are easy fixes. Less easy is i think typical printer undertensions the belt. But tensioning the belt correctly to its spec provides undue sideload on the motor. Need many more bearings and support. I also think not enough attention on Z axis. Who cares if your XY runs exact if your layers end up slightly different height, and thus there is a diffeent layer squish and you get wavy print appearance. I think belt drive has acually proven itself nicely for Z.

[@Linuxdirk]

Generally better: no. Better than plastic wheels grinding away in the extrusion: yes.

[@timf7354]

One question I have is whether changing to linear rails made the printer sound different? I know you've done many videos in the past on replacing mainboards and stepper drivers, which have a huge impact on print quality and sound. Did replacing the hard rubber wheels with rails make it sound any different when doing long or short movements? TIA!

[@ahmedal-modaifea4457]

Minor fix is needed in your video, on blink fox you said "Top/Bottom" when they are set side by side. otherwise, this is cool. I have never thought of using linear rails and i believe it reaches to the point of diminishing returns.

[@KernsJW]

Thanks for covering this. Do you feel it would benefit other operations such as laser, pcb, and acrylic etching? I don't use my ender 3 for much 3d printing. Im wondering if they would help keep the gantry on each axis more rigid

[@TitoSabbyPH]

No more Printermods? I was hoping for this since they have the best setup

[@NuarStanger]

I absolutely HATE that you have to print a piece to hold the belts on the ender 3 x axis. Plastic will flex...I think that printermods should sell a machined aluminum piece with their kits or at least give us an option to add it to a kit.

[@TeachingTech]

That's a fair point.

[@PetrSedlacek]

Yeah, that printed part with those tiny bits of plastic on the sides that are supposed to hold the belt tension is pretty poor. I'm sure it would break very quickly with properly tensioned belt. Not sure why they didn't design an aluminium part, it seems to be very simple (basically just routed sheet).

[@danieldimitri6133]

On a 3d printer? Well not always. I don't like end supported rails but sometimes they are okay if they are bigger than 8mm. Rubber v wheels make some of the best prints but need adjustment for wear eventually. Linear rails can be great but not always as quiet and noise can contribute to artifacts.

[@Chlorate299]

I would wager that the main source of ringing in belt-driven axes is probably in stretching of the belts themselves as the machine accelerates, also with Prusa-style moving Y axis printers, the bed-suspension springs and the Y axis carriage plate themselves are a huge source of unwanted movement - neither of these would be improved by adding linear rails. The fact those kits came with rubber washers to allow for flex between the rail and the carriage is somewhat concerning - what is the point of precision components in the travel mechanism if you're just going to include compliance in to compensate for misalignments, (granted, getting two linear rails to run perfectly parallel with no binding is rather difficult because theoretically two rails overconstrains the movement...) you might as well stick with V slots and contact wheels. I bet that in order to take full advantage of linear rails you really need to design the printer with that level of precision in mind.

[@Gijoeandstarwarsguy]

You are the ONE that essentially also caught that! The rubber that allows for free-form movement equivalent of POM wheels, but on precise linear rails kind of undermines what this expensive / complex upgrade is trying to achieve! You are essentially upgrading this for the benefit of "lower maintenance liability"

[@lacomarca3d796]

Great step by step and trial. I was considering the change for linear rails, but I’m not on the stage of pushkng my printer’s limit, so better keep saving or upgrading other way. Thanks a lot! 😁

[@jtroutt19]

I saw a difference in the prints. Might of been minimal but there was still an improvement in quality.

[@hettibouman7913]

What exactly is the point of lineair bearings if you use rubber washers ?

[@TheDgdimick]

The Prusa's don't use the same type of rails as the Enders, so I think Thomas Slanderer's video can't be compared "apples to apples", however, with this said, owning 2 Ender3's with Linear Rails, I'd have to say, that I don't see a dramatic improvement in my prints from doing the upgrade. I'd still do the upgrade again however, knowing that it's just one less thing that will wear out later, as well as using a heated enclosure with rubber wheels isn't such a great idea.

[@nicholasherbst9821]

None of your links work for me!!!!

[@CrowClouds]

When a belt system is set up perfectly, it will work similarly well as a linear rail system, obviously. The advantage is when the belt system is "off" somewhat, which can happen in a variety of ways. The linear rail just has less moving parts, so less things can go wrong. So setting them up perfectly and then comparing them is kind pointless

[@jonjonsson6323]

A circular shaft is at least more silent. Linear rails is difficult to fix new bearings on while a shaft bearing works fine in pla at 60 mm/s

[@airliners321]

Your review of print quality was lacking. You can't demonstrate any real difference if your before and after were both just 'fine'. Push it to the limit for both and see what happens, otherwise you're just wasting time.

[@RBallarddesigns]

I am thinking about the linear rails might be good for me because I don’t use my Ender 3 very often so I get flat spots on my wheels. I would think they would have an option for the z as well?

[@elmahjoubchanna8886]

Good job!!

[@dimitrijspsow7497]

Those nuts you have to put in the profile first, so don’t need to disassemble the whole machine.

[@jamesvangemert5641]

Use a digital scale to adjust your e steps off the weight of the length of filament used to produce the object vs what your object actually weighs. And you won't clog extruder ever again.

[@chackokhan]

Thanks for this video, I was just thinking if I should do this mod on my printer.

[@otaviocoelho]

If you install a linear rail of unknown flatness/straightness to a extrusion of unknown flatness/straightness you risk getting twice as imprecise. Unless you want to keep shooting blind, get yourself a dial gage + granite plate. There can't be any improvement if you can't measure it.

[@Doogleraia]

Seems more folks have better results the bigger the printers are, so the rails do more for the larger printers when there's more moving inertia etc

[@Stuntman707]

I’m upgrading my x axis to a linear rail as the acceleration with Klipper is grinding the v-slot wheels. I’m also going to do an input shaping calibration to hopefully eliminate any ringing.

[@gglovato]

Can you test smooth idlers vs toothed idlers to see how it affects the low frequency artifacts on the print?

[@andybates5644]

Your description says an x-axis linear adaptor is only required for the Ender 5, but at 11:45 you mention a 3D printed adapter for the Ender 3 X-axis. Where can I find this file to print? Edit: Found the link here printermods.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/60000606385-linear-rail-printable-files

[@timvukman4734]

Thank you. that was helpful. I don't have a print quality issue but I was looking at linear rails. I probably don't need them

[@Jackpsycho]

can i put an hemera with this convertion?

[@OriOnTheIguanaHunter]

where can you get the lineal rail for the X-Axis? I cannot find it on the website

[@jraiello]

PrinterMods seems to be out of business or some issue as of this post. Any other sources for an Ender 5 Linear rail kit?

[@nathan1sixteen]

This is probably a good update after a few years of printing, when you'd need to replace the bearings/wheels anyways. Other than that, on a newer printer with new wheels/bearings, there isn't enough wobble to make a difference

[@janosnagyj.9540]

May I ask, what is that filament you used for the lion model? Looks like a kind of steel blue, but very shiny! Thanks!

[@jasonvoorhees9585]

Looking to change motherboard, BTT or duet2? CR10 5S changing to ball-screw so need for moar amperage than the OEM. Video idea, updating older printers to stay modern.

[@TeachingTech]

I'm yet to fit my Duet to the SK-GO but one advantage of the bigger BTT boards is you can plug in whatever driver you want, which means something like a TMC5160 if you need big current.

[@S41t4r4]

@@TeachingTech on the other hand, going with the duet board from duet3d will get you a good designed board and a relatively good support. BTTs support is horrible or non existant.

[@primoshunter]

I'd say the biggest advantage of the linear rail kit is the "set & forget" aspect of it. If you're having problems with your 3d printer, it reduces your problem tree significantly. It's also a little quieter

[@ashokkumar5581]

The lookout here is not for the quality improvement as there will be none. the key is the consistency of the print and life longitivity. along with a Glass bed, dual Z and BLtouch the printer will be ready to make commercial prints where you will set the printer and forget it without making any adjustments. you can make print after print without issues. if you are hobbyist looking for one print per week, then there is no use in going for rails as you can adjust the setting everytime you print.

[@keichide]

I'm a bit late.. But how about doing that Video on the Ender 3 with Z? Since Bending is a real commen problem there, and is also caused by the Pom Wheels and not just by the Rod.

[@brettvitaz9101]

Linear rails won’t fix your banding. Properly adjusted wheels and a clean lead screw will.

[@keithcu2]

Nice video. I just ordered an Ender 3 Neo Max and I wonder if the linear rails could be more helpful for the larger and heavier bed. I have heard the printer is great but there can be some Y-ghosting issues, which perhaps this could fix.

[@cscoppa]

Funny that you showed what happened with the 5015 part cooling fan, I just had almost the same thing, except one strand of the wire touched the other, causing a short and killing the SKR 1.4 motherboard. I'm going to post a PSA about these 5015 fans, because it's really easy to get a short from them the way the wires are soldered. Basically I used a couple spots of hot glue to make the fan more resilient, so you're not weakening the solder joints when you work on the hotend.

[@TeachingTech]

I guess I was lucky. I used hot glue as well after my repair. It's good insurance.

[@cemdemirkartal6684]

That's a mistake. You should have double bearing blocks on each linear rails.

[@microdesigns2000]

Linear guide rails may not produce better prints on a new machine. However they will exhibit their higher build quality like this: - longer life, print quality over the printer's lifetime. - less maintenance, such as roller adjustments - probably fewer scrapped prints due to printer mechanics - if the printer will be converted to another use, such as changing the print head with something heavier, or to a light cnc, dual extrusion, etc, then the bearings will endure the compromise.

[@ramtek2702]

This is a waste of time & money and I am a mechanical engineer. The original parts work fine if properly assembled and adjusted. If the wheels ever do need replaced they are cheap and easy to R&R. Creality needs to put money into their power supplies before anything else.

[@tormodhag6824]

RAMTEK the ender 3 pro has a 350 watt meanwell psu

[@ramtek2702]

@@tormodhag6824 Plug it into a power meter and heat it up. I'm betting the heaters alone will pull more than 350 watts. The Ender 5 plus draws over 700 watts on a 500watt supply.

[@VideoJocky1]

I was looking at linear rail mods for durability because of metal ball bearings vs the delrin wheels for longevity. Long term test over time would be important in this case. Going cheap on the rails and bearings might not be an answer.

[@gregd393]

Thanks! finally ender 5 mods from someone I trust.

[@molomono9481]

This doesn't really highlight the considerations going into modding your printer, first and foremost a typical loss in quality when going from Bowden to direct and direct to Bowden just have to do with the assembly skills of the person modifying their printer. So doing a mod and going back doesn't mean you get the same results as before since you took it apart and put it back together. This is true with any major component you alter, it is even reflected in how much you concern yourself with the perpendicularity of the axis of your printer and how you go about tightening the screws. Linear guide - higher rigidity ----> can cause binding, The z axis on the creality has a motor on only 1 side, causing the flexion of the gantry to always make it less than level, especially in prints with lots of retracts it is an evident problem. So you only need 1 linear guide to swap out 1 set of rollers to get the benefits and you won't have to be as experienced to assemble it right. You place it on the actuator side since then the rigidity of the linear guide has a better mechanical advantage to reduce flexion of the gantry. Don't waste money, be smart this is the most important upgrade to remove hard to explain artefacts that are caused by the position system of the ender 3. (on the Ender 5, it is the unnecessary bed flexion because of the lack of gussets necessary to increase rigidity of the metal sheet holding the bed which is the main design flaw of the position system) Again a linear guide on the gantry of just about any ender printer --> biggest benefit is the ability to upgrade to things such as the EVA 2.x, or Voron or some other open-sourced superior carriage system that is built on the MGN12C/H mechanical interfaces and with that in mind this is a HUGE upgrade since it allows you to take advantage of some of the most iterated upon designs for just about any higher end hotend-extruder combo. Installing the rail without the purpose of upgrading your carriage is like putting on shoes and not tying your laces. Get the job done right before you get back to running. In all other cases Linear guides just serve the purpose of getting rid of typical issues you might see with v-rollers such as flat sides causing binding or other deviations in the movement, and yes it will last very long without any complications when done right. But an ender 3 getting this many linear guides is not a good upgrade, there is no point installing things on your printer if you don't have a well defined function for doing so. See the above rant for an example of defining a "function" for each upgrade. Installing a part without a function isn't ensuring it to be an upgrade but just a change or alteration you make naively assuming spending money means better quality. There is a high correlation between these things however we must think about the causal nature of these two things. Better quality requires more money, more money won't give you better quality by definition.

[@marcusbuschbeck1121]

I'm in the Desicion between the Tronxy OCR Rails available for the X5SA Pro series or the cheaper mgn12h Rails for my X5SA-400. Because the plastic rollers are a bad decicion for such an build Size and reachable Speeds known for CoreXY kinematics. Do you know these OCR-Rails running with rounded Steel Wheels? Newly, they are build in the Flsun V400 nowadays!

[@Bretware904]

Those carriages do not come ready for service, not even close. I have the dual MGN9C option on my X, but linear rails are night and day compared to the wheels, also the Ender 5 plus benefits the most from this mod. I find this evaluation very suspect, it needs to be revisited.

[@cap1sup]

It’d be interesting to see a multi-material system similar to the Prusa MMU Mk1. The Mk1 style seems like a cheap, quality multi-material without the complexity of the servo switcher.

[@bigchippa101]

i have (what im guessing) a clone cr-10 called SC-10 (lol) from LotMaxx ........ im going to assume the mod will fit the sc-10 as it does the CR-10. and at less than $50 for the build plate and top rail . i mean........ even if it doesnt work,,,,,, its not $100's tossed , by im thinking this will work just fine as i have already done a bunch of mods to the SC10 based off CR10 parts. all in all, great informative video Sir... thank ya much ..