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I own an Ender 3, it's about 3 years old and the issues I have with extrusion, leaking and filament blockage are monstrous.

Examples of problems like this are filament flow issues, filament blockage, and filament leaking out of the sides.

Problems like this take all day to fix, and in the end, they are never really fixed. Everything is so overbearingly finicky.

Not only that, but it seems one of its parts breaks down about every week (this may just be due to its age but I thought I would note it.)

It seems I run into the exact same problems every single time I 3D print. Nothing ever seems to go right. I am getting really tired of it, and I'm wondering if these kinds of problems aren't so frequent/ as big of a deal with more expensive (better) 3D printers, or if this is just normal.

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  • $\begingroup$ I have a 3yo ender3 as well and it doesn't have any of these problems. But then maybe you print more than I do and yours is more worn. Or maybe you buy cheap filament with debris in it that clogs your nozzle and stresses the rest of the printer. Or maybe yours is actually ok and just needs some tightening. Or maybe I got lucky and got a good printer and Ender's QC is random. $\endgroup$
    – user10489
    Commented Nov 20, 2021 at 2:33
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    $\begingroup$ The issues you've hit (like filament "leaking") should not happen even on a cheap printer, and probably indicate you did something wrong (like not tightening the nozzle). There are lots of recurring problems with these types of machines that aren't user error, like play in undriven side of gantry, inconsistent extrusion from low extruder quality, etc. but the things you're hitting should not happen. $\endgroup$
    – R.. GitHub STOP HELPING ICE
    Commented Nov 20, 2021 at 17:51

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No not at all. The only way to eliminate issues is to practice and break things and learning how to fix it. I have 2 CR-10s, 1 CR-10S5, 1 CR-10 MINI, and 2 Anycubic Photons. They are all heavily modified, and the one thing i learned is that modifications only add to the problems

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I got solved the most problems with my Prusa Mini after a better extruder from Bondtech (Extruder for Prusa Mini or Mini+). Because it has double gear it has enough power to press the filament through the nozzle. Another problem was the filament I ordered. It always got stuck in the Bowden tube because it got too thick. For just one dollar more I got filament that is much more accurate in the diameter and so it never got stuck.

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  • $\begingroup$ Thank you for the update $\endgroup$
    – Greenonline ♦
    Commented Jan 25, 2023 at 13:39
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I use a German RepRap printer, which is very expensive compared to many of the printers in the questions on this list. I still see similar printing issues on a RepRap to other printers. The settings often control the issues. The RepRap however has a much larger print area than most of the printers referred to on this list.

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    $\begingroup$ I've seem commercial stratsys printers with issues like this, where you have to call a service tech to fix them. $\endgroup$
    – user10489
    Commented Nov 20, 2021 at 16:14
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    $\begingroup$ What is a RipRap printer? Please provide a link. $\endgroup$
    – 0scar ♦
    Commented Nov 22, 2021 at 8:59
  • $\begingroup$ germanreprap.com/printer/x400EN.aspx $\endgroup$
    – Perry Webb
    Commented Nov 23, 2021 at 12:24
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It would be highly dependant on the printer itself. For example, the Ender 5 is technically a more expensive printer than the Ender 3, but its hot end etc are functionally equivalent for the most part as the price difference is largely due to the large build volume and the Z axis being on the bed rather than the extruder.

Other higher grade printers, such as the Bambu range are significantly more expensive and have higher grade extruders and hot ends, but they can push the hardware much closer to its physical limitations, and so can create more problems.

Unless you are comparing differences between high and low end in the hundreds of dollars with very low end units and mid range units, the biggest single factor is likely to be how the printer is used and how it is maintained.

In some instances, problems may be more likely down to cheap filament, or filament with a high moisture content. Lower end printers may be more susceptible to these kind of issues.

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More expensive printers from reputable brands generally go hand in hand with better quality, but, there are exceptions. Some more expensive printers are just more expensive and do not offer a higher quality. I'm not going into the details of which brands these are.

I have experience with cheap, self-built and high-end printers and experience that even the higher end machines can have problems. Although the high-end printers generally have better engineered parts and better quality parts (e.g. like branded bearings, good steel, better hot ends) it is unlikely you run into failures more often, but failures do happen. E.g. recently I had a fine thread of filament wedged into the hot end cooling fan of an Ultimaker to fail printing PLA as the hot end becomes too hot and waisted a core on a PETG print that wrapped around the core.

One thing is for sure, when you do run into problems on expensive printers, it is generally also more expensive to fix it.

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Get a real E3D nozzle/extruder and 90 % of the problems disappear. The problem with cheap printers is that they use copies that are poorly build and low quality materials. After that if you want to improve even more you got to get a dual gear system for your extruder motor or a good gear and a body that you can adjust the tension in small steps. Besides that, just check if your steppers are well calibrated and do a proper extrusion test

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