My Custom Creality Ender-5 3D Printer Build
“Prusa Direct Drive 4 My Ender-5”
Imagine having a 3D Printer that was moderately safe and easy-to-use and virtually silent except for the fans because PWM noise and airflow.
Imagine having a Prusa MK3S+ Style Extruder on a Creality Ender 5 or Ender-5 Pro running Custom Compiled Marlin 2.1.2.1 Stable Firmware with Custom Thermistor Maps on a BigTreeTech SKR Mini E3 V3 Mainboard with Trinamic Sensorless Homing and a BL-Touch Bed Leveling Probe. It has a sturdy Filament Roll Holder with a Custom Sturdy Filament Interface Adapter. Custom Cabling makes Easy Wire Management possible. Additional Aluminum Support Braces and Integrated Cable Management Support Braces help sturdy up the frame. It also has an Upgraded X-Axis Stepper Motor, Heated Bed Support Braces, Heated Bed Thermal Insulation, a Newer Version Prusa Genuine IR Filament Runout Sensor, RFI Suppression on Analog Inputs, and has undergone extensive testing, troubleshooting, debugging, refactoring, and end-user validation testing.
There’s only 1 in the whole world…
Original Machine:
YouTube Video from Creality giving you a 360 View of a Creality Ender-5 3D Printer actually printing a part. Obviously this Stock Video from Creality shows a Stock “Off-the-Shelf” 3D-Printer with Stock Parts.
YouTube Ender-5 Video Playlist from Creality showing you first how to assemble a Creality Ender-5 3D Printer and more slightly irrelevant Ender-5 Videos. The Creality Ender-5 Assembly Video is great for seeing all of the individual Stock Creality parts and their placement somewhat close-up and in moderate detail.
YouTube Video from Creality giving you a 360 View of a Creality Ender-5 Pro 3D Printer on a black background and highlighting the very few differences between the alleged “Pro” version and a regular Ender-5. I would prefer the 320W MeanWell Power Supply in the Pro version over the 320W Lindy Power Supply found in the regular version. Either one will work because the machine only draws 270W Max for a minute or two when bringing the Heated Bed and Extruder up to the set temperature. Unfortunately neither Stock Power Supplies output a “power loss imminent” signal like a Delta Power Supply found in a newer Prusa machine. I however always prefer quality Seasonic Power Supplies if they’re available.
Original Inspiration Project:
PrEnder 3 – Prusa MK3S Direct Drive Extruder to Fit Creality Printers (Ender 3, CR-10, CR10, Tevo, ANET, etc) with ABL and BLTouch Mounts
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3639876
This modification allows mounting a Prusa MK3S Extruder and Hotend Assemblies to a Creality Ender-3, Ender-5, Ender-5 Plus, Ender-5 Pro, CR-10, and a Bunch More 3D Printers…
Additional Upgrades:
Make your ender-5 bed/nozzle visible
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3607722
These modification blocks raise the X-Carriage and thus the print head by 25mm which allows the print head to travel further left and right along the X-Axis than it would stock. Any shorter and the Hotend mounting plate wouldn’t clear the Y-Axis Carriage Plates vertically. This modification should allow printing and probing of the entire bed in the X dimension if reasonable nozzle and probe locations are chosen.
Ender 5 and 5 Plus “Raise the Bed” Mod
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3890803
This is a contoured Remix of the Visible Nozzle Project above for sophisticated users wishing to have a softer experience by looking for all the right curves in all the right places.
Ender 5 Cable Management Brace
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5834873
An essential upgrade to prevent future possible intermittent connection issues and possible failed prints. This modification bolts to the Lower Right Printer Frame and hides the majority of the Ender-5 Cables inside of the brace thus preventing damaged wires and possible fire.
Ender 5 Easy Compressive Bed Supports
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5262809
A better redesign of the original “Compressive” design I used below:
Ender 5 bed support – “Compressive” Super Struts
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4128533
These Struts can be installed two different ways to essentially attempt to prevent the Heated Bed from vibrating vertically during Z-Hops and sagging down under a full load.
Over-Engineered Ender 5 Bed Strain Relief
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4757029
An essential upgrade to prevent future possible intermittent connection issues and possible failed prints. This modification bolts to the Heated Bed Base Plate and secures the Heated Bed Heater and Thermistor Cables with Zip-Ties thus preventing damaged wires and possible fire.
Ender 5 x-axis cable support
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5178180
An essential upgrade to prevent future possible intermittent connection issues and missed steps. This modification bolts to the X-Carriage and secures the X-Axis Motor and X-Axis Endstop Cables with Zip-Ties thus preventing damaged wires and failed prints.
2020 Spool Holder
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4667084
A very sturdy Filament Spool Holder that will work great for many machines that use 2020 or 2040 aluminum extrusions. I would recommend printing in the vertical orientation with PETG for strength. Print a few more if you’re moderately into re-spooling or swapping colors frequently.
Ender 5 Display LCD PCB Cover
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4736049
An optional better fitting ventilated upgrade to cover the rear circuit board on an Ender-5 Control Panel. This prevents damage to the PCB and Control Panel Assembly from the natural human tendency to touch the low voltage Control Panel circuit board while operating the control wheel with the thumb. Think of this mod like putting a glove on before you shake someone’s hand.
2020 Cable Clips for 2020 Aluminum Extrusion
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2246832
An essential snap-in upgrade to tightly secure cables inside of 2020 aluminum extrusion channels. This modification works great to secures the Z-Axis Motor and Y-Axis Motor Cables as well as Endstop Cables if you’re not using TMC Sensorless Homing. I found that Scaling these clips to 103% yields tighter clips that don’t slide down the extrusion easily and are still removable. Printing these clips in PETG instead of PLA will allow them to be used again after removal.
(Round) Cable Clips for 2020 Extrusion
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4612080
An essential snap-in upgrade to tightly secure round cables outboard of 2020 aluminum extrusion channels. This modification works great to secure the Extruder Hotend Cable Bundle as well as the PTFE tubing. Printing these clips in PETG instead of PLA will allow them to endure more insertion and removal cycles without cracking and failing.
3-/8″ Cable Clips for 2020 Extrusions
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1520098
An optional snap-over upgrade to secure 3/8″ round split corrugated tubing or other similarly sized cables outboard of 2020 aluminum extrusion channels. This modification works great to secure the Heated Bed Heating and Thermistor Cable Bundle below and outboard of the Cable Management Support Brace. Printing this clip in PETG instead of PLA will allow it to endure more insertion and removal cycles without cracking and failing.
Custom Upgrades:
PrEnder-5 – Prusa MK3S+ Direct Drive 4 Ender-5
A very sturdy Custom PrEnder-5 Extruder Mount that safely secures the Hotend Cable Bundle that Norm3 Redesigned and Modified from the original smaller PrEnder-3 mount:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3639876
The custom modification adds a captive nut and prevents the loose cabling from complicating access to the Extruder Gear Door.
2020 Filament Interface Bracket
A very sturdy Custom PrEnder-5 30 Degree Filament PTFE Dual M10x4 Fitting Solution that Norm3 Redesigned and Modified from the 2020 Spool Holder mounted above it:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4667084
It’s made to match the Spool Holder and the 30-Degree angle and rounded contours make loading Filament into the PTFE tubing much easier. It’s sturdy enough to handle double fisting if you screwed the threads just right. Installing the tubing is easier with the last fitting free and a correctly sized drill bit backwards, a touch of beveling, some time, and enough patience.
Black 40mm Aluminum Heatsinks with Sticky Tape
Easycargo 40mm Heatsink Kit 40mmx40mmx20mm + 3M8810 Thermal Conductive Adhesive Tape, Cooler Aluminium Heat Sink for Cooling 3D Printers Stepper Motor TEC1-12706 Thermoelectric Peltier Cooler 40x40x20
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07ZNX839V
This upgrade cools the stepper motors while in operation. Truly sophisticated users prefer to keep their cool with stealth colored cooling even under unrealistic circumstances. Note the placement of the heatsinks and orientation of the fins in the final build photos for optimal dynamic airflow.
Black NEMA 17 Stepper Motor 1.8 Degree 38mm
STEPPERONLINE Nema 17 Stepper Motor Bipolar 1.5A 42Ncm 42x42x38mm 1.8deg 4 Wires with 1m Cable and Connector (1 Pack)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B38GX54H
This upgraded motor essentially replaces the Stock Creality X-Axis 42-34 Stepper Motor and has a longer shaft and a meter of cable. The Stock Ender-5 Creality X-Axis 42-34 motor is too small, too short, and overheats too quickly for anything other than the single vertical Z-Axis which already has one installed. Even with two heatsinks and motor current adjustments the added weight of the Prusa Style Extruder and Stepper Motor can push the tiny 34mm Stepper Motor off of a figurative thermal overheat cliff. More sophisticated users may prefer to use this slightly shorter and lighter 38mm Stepper Motor for the Extruder instead of using the 40mm Stock Creality 42-40 Stepper Motor. Using the 40mm Stepper Motor for the X-Axis also allows the 40mm x 40mm Heatsinks to perfectly cover the Stepper Motor instead of leaving a 2mm overhang with the 38mm Stepper Motor. Either way they’ll both fit in either location and work fine.
Large Black 2020 Brackets with T-Nuts
8Pcs 2020 Corner Brackets Set with 32Pcs M5 T Slot Nuts, 32Pcs M5x12mm Hex Socket Cap Screw and 1Pcs M3 Wrench for 2020 Series Aluminum Extrusion Profile
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B713T1YR
This upgrade increases the structural rigidity of the PrEnder-5 allowing for faster printing without failed prints or artifacts from vibration. Requires major disassembly and retramming of printer to slide the T-Nuts in.
Bracket Modification and Relocation
This upgrade increases the Y-Axis Travel by 10mm by relocating the Stock Silver Bracket and carefully removing material from the Stock Y Axle Frame Bracket to allow the machine to home on the socket cap screws. This modification requires the installation of the 8 Black Bracket Mod mentioned above otherwise the frame won’t be strong enough even with 2 Cable Management Braces installed and the 2 Stock Silver Brackets reinstalled. The Stock Silver Bracket were reinstalled to the back bottom corners of the machine in a vertical orientation because all the other more important locations were taken by the longer and stronger Large Black Brackets.
Custom Length Cabling
Swapping the different length motor cabling around was just the beginning. Clearly we’ve all seen plenty of electrical hack jobs on YouTube over the years with popular influencers clearly plugging incorrect types of connectors into receptacles and lazily splicing wires while the camera is rolling. The connectors are sometimes different colors, sizes, and pin spacings with large gaps around the connector or such that the connector can be easily inserted backwards. Usually the YouTube influencers are “just trying to get their video out” to make a quick buck on content instead of quality and gloss over electrical considerations like proper cable management, modification, and termination. They either pretend nobody will notice or just act like everyone is lazy and it just works so who cares right?
Proper cable plant management builds a very sturdy base for every project to grow from. It takes failure and experience to understand what future issues might occur. Once it was realized that custom cable lengths were necessary I picked up a few tools and supplies to help get the job done right:
Crimping Tool Kit, Preciva Dupont Ratcheting Crimper Plier Set with 1550PCS 2.54mm Dupont Connectors and 460pcs 2.54mm JST-XH Connectors for AWG 26-18(0.1-1mm²)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07R1H3Z8X/
650pcs Heat Shrink Tubing Black innhom Heat Shrink Tube Wire Shrink Wrap UL Approved Ratio 2:1 Electrical Cable Wire Kit Set Long Lasting Insulation Protection, Safe and Easy, Eco-Friendly Material
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07WWWPR2X/
33FT PE 3/8 Inches (10 mm) Black Polyethylene Spiral Cable Wire Wrap Hydraulic Hose Wrap Tube Cable Management Protector Sleeve PC Manage Cable for Car Computer Cable Wire Holder Organizer PC and TV
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BKB4HHZ
The Extruder Hotend Cable Assembly can be completely unplugged from the host machine and there’s enough meat on the service loops to change out both Extruder Fans several times without partially or completely disassembling the Extruder. Having the Extruder Cable Harness Assembly terminated with individual connectors also makes future upgrades or modifications of the PrEnder-5 3D Printer like adding a Laser Engraver or swapping to a different Extruder much easier.
It’s necessary to stagger the length of the connectors to neatly fit into the Cable Management Brace Mod along with the Y Axis and X Axis cables. Using the stock cabling wherever convenient saved some time. The cabling was also spliced together in a staggered fashion to avoid creating a giant lump in the harness. Most of the cables in the Extruder harness were spliced together right below the top of the frame if they didn’t reach into the Cable Management Brace. The wires of the cables were wire-wrap solder-spliced together and covered with preinstalled lengths of heatshrink tubing which were then later carefully shrunk over the middle of the splices. Don’t forget to put the heatshrink on first before soldering the wires. Lots of Rookies forget; don’t let that be you: especially with a wire-wrap splice that takes forever.
BigTreeTech SKR Mini E3 V3.0 Mainboard
The best drop-in replacement for Creality Ender-5 and Ender-3 Printers:
https://biqu.equipment/collections/control-board/products/bigtreetech-skr-mini-e3-v2-0-32-bit-control-board-for-ender-3
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09LC34SCK/
32-Bit Arm Cortex M0 running at 64Mhz.
https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/STMicroelectronics/STM32G0B1RET6
STMicroelectronics G0 Series STM32G0B1RET6 Datasheet
4X Silent TMC 2209 Stepper Drivers in UART Mode with Heatspreader
512KB of Flash Storage, 144KB of SRAM, Onboard 24C32 EEPROM
Only the 3.0 Version mainboard has 5 additional I/O Lines.
Final Specifications:
Machine Name: PrEnder-5
Nozzle size: 0.4 mm
Nozzle Material: Nickel Coated Brass (Stock is Brass)
Enlarged Build Size: 230 x 230 x 320mm
(Stock Build Size: 220 x 220 x 300mm)
Feeder system: Direct Drive (Stock is Bowden)
Max. print speed: 200mm/s (Stock is 180 mm/s)
Max. Flow Rate: 15mm³/s (Stock is about half)
Filament Runout Sensor: Prusa (Stock is None)
Max extruder temperature: 290 °C (Stock is 260 °C)
Max hotbed temperature: 125°C
Bed leveling: Automatic (Stock is Manual)
Tramming: Probe Assisted (Stock is Manual)
Thermal Runaway Protection: Active (Stock Varies)
Homing: Sensorless (Stock is Micro Switches)
Motherboard: 32-Bit BTT (Stock is 8-Bit Creality)
Hotend Algorithm: MPC (Stock is PID)
Pointless Games: Three (Stock is None)
Example G-Code Scripts:
Example PrEnder-5 Custom 3D-Printer PLA Setup Script:
; Marlin 2.0 PrEnder-5 PLA Setup Script Norm3.com
M200 D1.75 L15.0 S0 T0 ;Setup Filament Parameters
M201 X1000.00 Y500.00 Z50.00 E5000.00 ;Setup Max Acceleration
M203 X200.00 Y200.00 Z25.00 E50.00 ;Setup Max Feedrate
M204 P1000.00 R5000.00 T1000.00 ;Setup Print/Retract/Travel Acceleration
;M205 X8.00 Y8.00 Z0.30 E5.00 ;Setup Jerk Off
M205 J0.08 E5.00 ;Setup Junction Deviation
M220 S100 ;Reset Feedrate
M221 S100 ;Reset Flowrate
M900 K0.03 ;Linear Advance Setup K PLA 220C 200mms
;M301 E0 P21.3 I2.00 D56.6 ;Hotend PID at 200C Fan 100 for PLA
;M303 C5 E0 S200 U1 ;Run PLA 5 Cycle Hotend PID AutoTune and Use Results
M304 P73.8 I14.40 D251.7 ;Bed PID at 65C for PLA
;M303 C5 E-1 S65 U1 ;Run PLA 5 Cycle Bed PID AutoTune and Use Results
M306 A0.063 C13.7 E0 F0.084 H0.0056 P40.0 R0.242 ;Hotend MPC PLA
;M306 E0 H0.0056 P40.0 T; Run PLA MPC AutoTune and Use Results
;Heat Capacity of 1.75mm Filament for MPC
;ABS 0.00515 J/K/mm
;Nylon 0.00522 J/K/mm
;PETG 0.0036 J/K/mm
;PLA 0.0056 J/K/mmExample PrEnder-5 Custom 3D-Printer PETG Setup Script:
; Marlin 2.0 PrEnder-5 PETG Setup Script Norm3.com
M200 D1.75 L15.0 S0 T0 ;Setup Filament Parameters
M201 X1000.00 Y500.00 Z50.00 E5000.00 ;Setup Max Acceleration
M203 X200.00 Y200.00 Z25.00 E50.00 ;Setup Max Feedrate
M204 P1000.00 R5000.00 T1000.00 ;Setup Print/Retract/Travel Acceleration
;M205 X8.00 Y8.00 Z0.30 E5.00 ;Setup Jerk Off
M205 J0.07 E5.00 ;Setup Junction Deviation
M220 S100 ;Reset Feedrate
M221 S100 ;Reset Flowrate
M900 K0.07 ;Linear Advance Setup K PETG 250C 100mms
;M301 E0 P23.2 I2.24 D60.4 ;Hotend PID at 240C Fan 80 for PETG
;M303 C5 E0 S240 U1 ;Run PETG 5 Cycle Hotend PID AutoTune and Use Results
M304 P106.9 I20.87 D364.8 ;Bed PID at 85C for PETG
;M303 C5 E-1 S85 U1 ;Run PETG 5 Cycle Bed PID AutoTune and Use Results
M306 A0.063 C13.7 E0 F0.084 H0.0036 P40.0 R0.242 ;Hotend MPC PETG
;M306 E0 H0.0036 P40.0 T; Run PETG MPC AutoTune and Use Results
;Heat Capacity of 1.75mm Filament for MPC
;ABS 0.00515 J/K/mm
;Nylon 0.00522 J/K/mm
;PETG 0.0036 J/K/mm
;PLA 0.0056 J/K/mm
Final Thoughts:
I first want to give credit to everyone who has helped advance and contributed to the 3D Printing Universe. Without their previous Open Source groundwork this build would have taken longer or even been impossible to complete in my lifetime and for that I am forever grateful.
With that said the only reason I have 2 Creality Brand 3D Printers is because I bought them used and basically broken as a whole-lot for half-price from someone looking to get out of the hobby. For everyone looking to get into the 3D Printing hobby for the first time I still recommend buying and assembling a Prusa 3D Printer Kit because the skills and information you learn assembling the printer will help later with maintenance and troubleshooting.
I don’t recommend cheap knock-off kits of Prusa 3D Printers for the same reason I don’t recommend Creality: They’re not really that capable, safe, or refined enough for most average end-users right-out-of-the-box and usually require upgrades and modifications that add cost and waste time. Starting with a Genuine Prusa instead of Genuine Disappointment might have actually kept this Ender-5 out of my lab.
It might be possible to use a Stock Creality Ender-5 as a bootstrap to print all of the parts required to build a PrEnder-5 but you’ll need an enclosure to print ABS Extruder Nozzle Duct and PETG might be very problematic with the Stock Bowden Setup. I printed most of the upgrade parts for the build on my Modified Prusa MK3S MMU2S 3D Printer and the rest on my Modified Creality CR-10 V2 and eventually a few on the PrEnder-5 itself.
Would I do it again: Probably. I learned a lot about Marlin Firmware; how its written and how different parts of the source code work together. I enjoyed the nuances of limiting diagonal travel and seeing the advantage Model Predictive Control has over PID loops. I basically learned how to push a 3D Printer so far beyond its stock limits that any weaknesses and short-comings became very glaring and readily apparent.
Through continual incremental revisions and improvements I eventually achieved repeatable and sustained success and you can too.
However, if I tallied the Parts, Supplies, and Labor actually involved in this project it would’ve been much cheaper and faster to buy a Genuine Prusa 3D Printer Kit, but then (Catch 22) I wouldn’t have the knowledge and experience to accurately and factually proclaim that statement to be true.
“If you’re basically reinventing the wheel you’d better be willing to steal”
Good Luck and Have Fun 3D Printing – Norm III
