The Ender 3 Neo is, essentially, the original Ender 3 with a few upgrades. You still get the Ender 3-typical 220 x 220 x 250 mm build volume, its iconic look with the prominent PSU placing, and its 3-inch LCD screen and rotary knob UI. in fact, there isn’t too much separating the Creality Ender 3 Neo from its wildly popular predecessor, but for the following:

Automatic Leveling

One of the new features of the Ender 3 Neo is the inclusion of an automatic bed leveling system in the form of a CR Touch probe. Creality’s in-house version of the popular BLTouch, the CR Touch, measures a mesh of a dozen points across the build plate and factors in any unevenness. On the Ender 3 of old, this was one of the most popular mods users would befit the stock version with – all the more reason to include it on the Neo.

Get to moding

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It doesn’t entirely rid you of making sure the plate is somewhat level with the four large leveling knobs underneath it, but it should help you get those first layers – and consequently the print – down neatly.

Glass Bed

Another popular mod within the Ender 3 community is upgrading the print bed surface. Ender generations have gone from a BuildTak-like print bed sticker to removable magnetic print beds to glass and removable spring steel plates.

For the Neo, Creality opted for its Carbourundum glass bed, a tempered glass that will grip prints firmly when heated and release them easily once cooled down. In our books, it’s not quite up there in terms of usability as the removable spring steel plate on the Ender 3 S1, but isn’t far off. The first layers are clean, and the glass provides proper adhesion without the need for adhesives. A definite step-up over the old Ender build surfaces.

Upgraded Bowden Extruder

Ender 3D printers and Bowden extruders have gone hand in hand since the dawn of time. Well, at least right up until the Ender 3 S1 came along. Nevertheless, fair to say, Bowden extruders have been an integral part of the Ender family.

The new Ender 3 Neo has stuck with a Bowden, but Creality has stepped it up and is now featuring a full metal extruder. This should mean greater durability and superior filament handling. Creality also claims it has a greater extrusion force without being any more specific than that. It should certainly help with feeding some of the more bendy filaments smoothly.

Get started

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Self Assembly

Almost a rarity these days, but the Ender 3 Neo seems to come in pieces, leaving the user to more or less assemble the printer. Most 3D printers today come semi-assembled, meaning only the gantry needs to be attached, but the Ender 3 Neo is taking it a step back and comes as a kit. You can get the true DIY feeling by piecing it together all by yourself.

Of course, this will take a bit more time, but if we take the original Ender as a reference, even for newcomers, it shouldn’t clock more than 2-4 hours. Self-assembly certainly does serve to give you a better understanding of the printer right off the bat and makes potential mods down the line easier to install.

Only Single Z-Lead Screw

Well, here is one of the original Ender 3 features we would have hoped to see upgraded. The Ender 3 Neo only features a single Z-axis lead screw. Fair to say, many 3D printers, even the most budget ones, come with dual lead-screw Z-axis nowadays, and for good reason. Having the Z-axis guided on both sides of the gantry helps cut down on the amount of vibration and unwanted movements during printing. On past Ender 3 machines, this was – again – one of the more popular mods, albeit a bit more tricky to install.

We would have hoped to see the new Ender 3 Neo come with a dual-guided Z-axis as well, but seeing as it’s not the case, maybe check out our guide on how to upgrade the axis before making a buying decision. Bit of a miss by Creality, really.

Further Features

Additional features on the Ender 3 Neo include:

• Quiet printing: Creality says the Ender 3 Neo is equipped with a silent mainboard and, presumably silent stepper drivers, which should make its operating sound less prominent. Creality’s lab data shows about 45 to 50 dB.
• Better heat dissipation: The print head’s heat sink got revamped and promises faster cooldowns — which should ensure smoother printing. The hot side also got a re-design, although on the exterior only.
• Resume Print: Print failures due to power outages should not be a problem, with the printer picking a job up where it left off.