Recently buy the Ender5 pro, a very cheap version, and only 299 euros from 3Djake.at. The frame of the 3D printer is very solid, no complaints.
Do a simple modification of the 3D printer and update the printer with a BLTouch sensor and use a Raspberry Pi (with Octoprinter) to control it.
Because the motherboard is V4.2.2 which is special and it costs some time to figure out how to connect the BLtouch with the 3D printer. We change the firmware with Marlin. Before this mode, I also install the BLtouch with CR-10S which is simpler. And be careful of the compatibility between the Marlin Version and the build environment. For the Ender 5 pro, you need to use PlatformIO. I suggest using Microsoft visual studio code with the Marlin plugin (quite easy to modify).
Marlin Version Platform(s)Instructions
1.1.x or 2.x8-bit AVRInstall Marlin with Arduino IDE
1.1.9 or 2.x8-bit AVR, 32-bit ARMInstall Marlin with PlatformIO
2.0LPC1768 (Re-Arm)Install Marlin on Re-ARM
https://marlinfw.org/docs/basics/install.html
The print bed is very nice, easy to clean, and also easy to remove the printed parts. however, because of the open-frame design, sometimes the 3D printer will have trouble reaching a high temperature, especially for the bed. One suggestion is not to turn the side cooling fan on if the temperature of the printing head is higher than 250 degrees.
The bearings for the z-axis threaded rod are low quality which generates a lot of high-frequency noise. By lubricate with some oil, the noise is released. a similar problem can be found in https://forums.creality3dofficial.com/community/ender-55pro/ender-5-pro-noisy-bearings/.
One bad thing for this printer is once there is an error from the printer, for example when the bed loses too much heat, the printer will shut down and generate an extremely loud warning sound also the connection between the Octoprinter is cut off. A full restart is required to reboot the 3D printer meanwhile the raspberry Pi needs disconnecting from the 3D printer. After the 3D printer works again, then plug the raspberry Pi into the 3D printer and reconnect the printer with the Octoprinter. A little bit sad about this design and don’t want to change it at this moment by myself. with the older CR-10s, when there is an error, the printer will restart by itself and just need to reconnect the Octoprinter with the 3D printer in the browser by clicking a button.
For the printing head, we have tried both 0.4 mm and 0.2 mm nozzles. Quality is fine. 0.1 mm nozzle is not support.