Ender 3 Planning

   Priority  Order  Name  Cost  Source  Started  Done  Comments 
100Buy Printer188.00Ali express. Not too bad of an experience overall. 2019-02-152019-02-20Ordered through AliExpress. Cost includes the cMagnet magnetic bed.
211Z-Motor spacer0.00Thingiverse - Z-Spacer2019-02-152019-02-20Printed on MP. Works great.
311Cable Clip near Z motor0.00Thingiverse - Ender_3_Cable_Clip2019-02-152019-03-01Need to get a couple of screws to mount it. M3 (documentation said M2) at least 7mm long. The local Menards did not have what I wanted and it turned out they actually need to be M3 anyway. I ordered a kit of M2/M3/M4 screws and I obviously had plenty to choose from. 8mm did the job. I'm not thoroughly happy with this though. I think the cable chain is the way to go.
412Fan Shroud0.00Thingiverse - Fan_guard_with_support_fins (does not need support)2019-02-212019-02-21Installed. Works as advertised.
512Back cover for display0.00Thingiverse - ENDER_3_FACTORY_SCREWS_DISPLAY ...2019-02-222019-02-22Works perfectly.
612Z Axis Bar Wire Guide0.00Thingiverse - Z_Axis_Bar ...zip - use Z_Hamger_?mm_t-nut_3.25 (? is 3, 4, or 5).0000-00-000000-00-00Just using the simple wiring support.
712Cable clips for flat cable - need 2 or 30.00Thingiverse - CableClipExtra2019-02-152019-02-22Installed and they work for the display cable. The SD card holder cable doesn't fit them though.
812Filament guide near extruder0.00Ender_3_Slotted_Holes2019-02-212019-02-21Not really happy with this. It won't be on there long anyway as I will be changing out the extruder anyway.
913SD Card mount0.00Thingiverse - Ender_3_SDcard_Holder_v2 ...2019-02-152019-02-21Mounted on the opposite side of the beam the display is mounted on. Works great but cable is kind of all over. Will get it tied down, probably with twist-ties on to the display cable since it's already clipped down.
1013Filament guide (top)0.00Thingiverse - Guide_Open, Guide-End_Clip2019-02-212019-02-21Replaced the top part with one printed at 100% infill and it works just fine. Label this one a success.
1113Rail end cover for bed beam0.00Thingiverse - New_Ender_3_rail_cover2019-02-150000-00-00After printing this and checking how it would work I don't really see the need. I'll keep it but may never put it on.
1214Upgrade firmware to fix thermal protection issue and support other updates0.002019-02-232019-10-14DONE!
1321Glass Bed21.00Creality direct2019-02-282019-10-01I've tried the glass bed and it does work but the disadvantages kind of make it undesirable. I'll keep it around but I doubt that I'll use it much.
1422Cooling fan shroud0.00Thingiverse - 'CNC Kitchen Ender3' (CNC Kitchen)2019-03-022019-03-02I printed it today but don't know for sure how well it will work. It LOOKS really good so I have high hopes for it. Printed with PETG considering how close to the action it is. NOTE: Works great!
1523Cable Chain0.00Thingiverse - cableChain ... 13 parts, some need multiples.2019-03-032019-03-1412 1/2 hours of print time but it seems to be worth it. Z-axis chain in place and working well. Waiting on the Y-axis chain to do it at the same time that I replace the bed springs. Finished installing (mostly) when I replaced the springs.
1630Upgraded filament extruder to print flexible filament33.50MacEwen3D2019-02-222019-04-05Ordered the plus with the upgraded gear. Total cost includes shipping. Ordered replacement PTFE fitting for the hot end and will wait for that to arrive so I can also replace the Bowden tube with the Capricorn tubing I already have. I've installed the extruder and will do the Bowden tube and other extras later.
1730All metal hot end to print high temp filaments0.00So many to choose from!0000-00-000000-00-00Not going to do this - at least for now.
1830Uxcell Springs for bed leveling3.59Set of 10. Amazon2019-02-212019-03-14Order them. They're pretty cheap but will require some time to get here since they're shipping from China. No real rush. Arrived on March 7th. They're in. MUCH better! I had to move the z-axis stop back up though since these don't need to be squished down so much to get some decent tension.
1930BL Touch42.49Amazon0000-00-000000-00-00This isn't likely to happen. I've upgraded the firmware and will be using manual mesh. The cost there is zero and there are lots of other things I could spend the money on.
2030Micro Swiss hardened steel nozzle19.75Amazon
Micro Swiss direct - Free Shipping
0000-00-000000-00-00A must to print those exotic abrasive filaments.
2140OctoPi15.002019-03-102019-04-01It's set up and I've done a couple of prints with it. Nice to do some remote monitoring. No camera yet though. Also need to print a case for it so it's mountable. I also have these 6-24 volt to USB power converters that should work just fine to power the Pi.

USB power convert doesn't work. It is probably just trying to use all the same power supply. I'll try it in the future with a separate supply.

OctoPi is running just fine. I've used it for a few prints and this is definitely the way to go. Need a camera though. I'm using a Logitech C310 web cam ($15) and it's working great. I'm not happy with any of the mounting systems I've tried so far. I have one more printed and ready to try out when I get it cleaned up - lots of support junk to deal with.
2249Alternate build surfaces0.00PEI - TH3D Studios2019-10-160000-00-00Trying out PEI.
2359Comprehensive Review0.000000-00-000000-00-00This will probably never happen. I'm not really updating this list any more as I've moved all of the activity to: 3D Printing Experiences and Info