Creality Ender 3 Pro 3D Printer

is this recommended for a noob?
are microcenters even open, or are they curb side only?

is this recommended for a noob?
are microcenters even open, or are they curb side only?

They are one of the best entry level printers on the market if you see 3D as a hobby. Great price, works well out of the box, probably the best supported printer for community support and modding. If you want something to plug and play get a Prusa.

No clue about curb side as the closest store is an hour from me.

Bought one at ~230 a few months ago, it's been amazing. Highly recommended. Added bonus you can return to microcenter if you get one with any QC issues.

I got my Ender 3 Pro from woot during the holidays for $180 and I've been having a ton of fun with it. Well worth it at $199.

There is a bit of a learning curve, and features like ABL (automatic bed leveling) can make things easier (and more expensive!) . But getting something like the Ender 3 or 3 Pro is a great starting point because it is fairly easy to put together and there are TONS of videos to help you. Look for the ones on how to setup the printer first because getting it put together correctly and making key adjustments is critical to getting good prints.

The printer is VERY capable out of the box, so I'd suggest learning how to get good prints with the printer as it is out of the box before performing any upgrades to the printer. Then, you can start experimenting with different types of filaments and then possible upgrades to address issues you run into.

For myself, I did buy several upgrades (BLTouch for ABL, PEI plate, glass plate, etc), but haven't installed them yet because it has been working great w/o the upgrades so far.

I have run into a rainbow silk filament PLA filament that is having some problems sticking to the print bed, but having done so many other prints, I can confidently say it is something specific to that filament...such as it probably needs a higher nozzle temp or something like that.

Note though that the one 3D printer often leads to another and possibly yet another. Many prints can take several hours, and while you are waiting for one to finish, you want to start printing something else. Or, if you want to print something with different colors for different parts, you can setup two printers with different filaments and print both at the same time.

Totally agree with this assessment. I picked one up less than a week ago for $219 at MC so I'm about to ask for an adjustment. There are tons of tutorials, from unboxing, setup and 1st prints. Look up CURA 3d & thingiverse and get familiar with them. If you have some bed adhesion issues, get some common glue sticks. I learned all of this in less than 5 days, complete noob but technically inclined.