What Ender 3 Upgrades has Everyone Done and Why?

I’m curious what upgrades and improvements everyone thought was crucial to their Ender 3s.

For my Ender 3 Pro I made the following upgrades:

  • Dual z-axis
  • CR Touch
  • Bi-metal heatbreak
  • Enclosure (repurposed grow tent)
  • Filament dryer box attached
  • Printed part cooling fan shroud
  • Direct Drive
  • Klipper setup
  • Garolite bed
  • Extruder motor heatsink

As for why I made these upgrades, first was bed leveling issues. This led to my second z-axis, garolite bed, and leveling probe. Which, ended up very successful with consistent leveling. Only wet filament causing anymore issues, so I bought and mounted a dryer box.

Next I wanted to print flexible filament, particularly TPU for its durability. So I went with a Direct Drive setup so I could have less backpressure with the filament, and less extrusion issues. Also just higher speeds for every filament.

I was fed up with the SD card setup and having to go to my office room to generate gcode, so I set up klipper. This also helped with speed, which is why I additionally printed the fan shroud to support.

And finally, I wanted to be capable of (haven’t tried yet) printing filaments that need higher temps, and enclosures. So I added a bimetal heatbreak, enclosure, and the heatsink for my extruder motor as it began overheating when enclosed.