Printing at speeds as high as possible is every 3D printing enthusiast’s dream, as print times can often become outrageously long for large and intricate models, to the point where the printing process takes a few days with breaks in-between.
On the other hand, since using too high speeds, even when the 3D printer can technically handle it, can cause issues such as layer shifting and artifacts, it’s often not a good idea to push the 3D printer to its limit in terms of speed.
Today, our topic will be the maximum print speed potential of Creality’s Ender 3, a piece of information that allows us to ensure we stay within the bounds of what the printer can mechanically offer during the process of determining the print speed.
So, what is the maximum print speed the Ender 3 (Pro/V2) can reach?
According to the specifications published by Creality, the maximum print speed the Ender 3 can technically reach is 180 millimeters per second, which is a lot faster than the recommended print speeds for printing with most filaments.
Next up, we will take a deeper look into the maximum print speed of the Ender 3, discuss if it’s feasible to print at the highest speed, and look at the signs you may observe in scenarios where you print too slowly or too quickly.
Table of Contents
What Is the Maximum Print Speed for Ender 3 (Pro/V2)?
The knowledge of how quickly your 3D printer can print is, without a doubt, a vital one for the health of the printing process, as it allows you to determine a print speed value the printer can handle reliably and without error.
Creality, the manufacturer of Ender 3, states that the maximum print speed the Ender 3 can reach is 180 millimeters per second, meaning that the printer firmware won’t accept values that are higher than this number or clamp such values down to 180 mm/s internally.
On the other hand, even though the Ender 3 technically supports printing at 180 mm/s, printing at such a high speed is highly unlikely to yield successful results due to numerous reasons, ranging from plastic-related issues like poor layer adhesion to problems caused by hardware, such as layer shifting.
What Is the Recommended Print Speed for Ender 3 (Pro/V2)?
While the maximum print speed is a significant piece of information, the optimal print speed values and the maximum print speed value are far from the same, with optimal values usually being much lower than the maximum.
Since the optimal print speed for the Ender 3 largely depends on the filament you use and the model you print, there is no magic print speed number we can recommend that will yield the optimal results in all scenarios.
To understand how the optimal print speeds can vary between different filament types, let’s first go through the recommended print speeds for some of the most popular filaments.
- PLA – 60 mm/s
- PETG – 50 mm/s
- ABS – 60 mm/s
- TPU – 30 mm/s
- ASA – 40 mm/s
As we can see from the figures above, the optimal print speed varies quite a bit between distinct filaments, primarily due to some materials being a lot more prone to issues than others and requiring slower speeds to print successfully as a result.
Another vital factor contributing to the optimization of print speed is the nature of the model, as it’s far from optimal to print models with different qualities by using the same print speed.
As a rule of thumb, the best course of action is to reduce the print speed for printing models with intricate details, such as figurines, as lower print speeds will often yield better results for the quality of the print.
On the other hand, there is often no harm in printing models that are less complex with higher speeds, especially when the models are large and the printing process can take days with slower speeds.
While experimentation will always yield the best results, going up or down by 10-20 mm/s from the recommended print speed value for the filament you use depending on the model you print should produce an acceptable final product.
Signs of Printing Too Slowly or Too Quickly with the Ender 3 (Pro/V2)
Printing either too slowly or too quickly causes a different set of issues and impacts the 3D printing process unfavorably, making using the most optimal speed value a vital part of obtaining a successful print with no problems.
Here are some of the most common signs that you will observe if you’re printing too quickly with your Ender 3:
- Poor layer adhesion
- Weak bed adhesion
- Stringing
- Layer shifting
- Ringing
On the other hand, here are the most common signs that you will observe if you’re printing too slowly with your Ender 3:
- Unreasonably long print times
- Stringing
- Warping
- Deformation on detailed areas
How Fast Can I Print PLA with the Ender 3 (Pro/V2)?
No matter the capabilities of your 3D printer, the type of filament plays a significant role in the process of determining the optimal print speed value, where some filaments prefer slower speeds, and others benefit from printing faster.
While experimentation is vital to find the optimal print speed value for printing PLA with your Ender 3, as the optimal speed varies on the model you print, 60mm/s is a good starting point that is neither too fast nor too slow.
Since PLA is a filament that is less likely to create stringing and blobbing issues compared to filaments that are notorious for these problems, such as PETG, experimenting with higher speeds can often produce acceptable results.
Wrapping Up
While the Ender 3 can technically go up to very high print speeds, such speeds are often not desirable due to their unfavorable effects on the 3D printing process, especially for models where details are significant.
To quickly recap, while the hardware of the Ender 3 is technically capable of reaching a print speed of 180 millimeters per second according to the manufacturer’s specifications, it’s pretty unlikely to obtain a successful final product by printing at such a high speed.
Even though printing slower means higher print times, waiting a little longer is usually worth it to ensure that the details of your model are intact and avoid stringing issues that often appear as a result of high print speeds.
Happy printing!
Mike started his 3D printing journey with the Anet A8 when it first came out back in 2017, and has been obsessed with 3D printers ever since. Nowadays, he primarily uses his Ender 3 to print functional parts that make his life more convenient whenever possible.