Creality Ender 3 Aluminum Extruder, Ender 3 Metal Extruder, Ender 3 Pro Extruder Upgrade MK8 Drive Feed Bowden Extruders for Ender-3 V2/ Ender-3 Pro/Ender-3 Max/CR-10/10S/ Ender 5/ ENDER5 Plus

I've had my 3D printer for two years. I had so much trouble getting it to print that I gave up for a year. I decided to give it another try and found the cheap plastic on the stock part broke. After installing this replacement, I could suddenly print with relative ease. It is sturdy and works well, much more solid than plastic. It also came quickly.

I read other reviews before I purchased this, and therefore I don't think I need to go into a lot of details- It's a great product, and has improved the print quality over the stock unit quite noticeably. Installation is very simple for anyone who is at least mechanical enough to assemble the machine.The CHPOWER unit comes with a complete set of all the hardware associated with the extruder- screws, filament drive gear, filament drive bearing, guide tube fitting, etc, but I used the original items other than the metal frame and spring. This kit would work well for someone wanting to replace a damaged bearing or gear too, though, since that hardware is included.I agree with the positive reviews of this item - it's such an affordable addition that improves the print quality so much, I'm surprised Creality doesn't use something similar on the unit as stock. It not only eliminated almost all of the random voids that seemed to always keep my prints from being 100%, but it also affected the overall look of the print in a positive way. Odd as it sounds, there's a change in appearance that's tough to describe but makes them somehow more visually appealing - I could not capture the difference on camera, but the prints have a smoother look where the layers meet.

Didn't have instructions but was easy enough to figure out without them. Has been working well since install.

I originally got this for my Ender 3 because I was having inconsistent extrusion issues, the filament was slipping on the gear and did not have enough tension. I could correct this temporary by putting pressure on the swing arm. I did my research and decided to go with this all metal extruder. It did not correct my extrusion/tension issue, but it is a quality upgrade that I will keep and suggest others upgrade as well.Pros:* Build quality is fantastic. No rough edges, scratches, and feels like a premium product.* Swing arm is sleeved compared the the stock plastic one that only has a screw holding it in place. Sleeve allows it to move more freely.* Eventually you're going to have to replace your plastic one, plastic wears out. Catch this while it's on sale and never worry about your extruder assembly again.* I did not have the issue that some buyers reported with the parts being mirrored. I believe they have sorted this issue out as mine can in the correct configuration.Cons:* Did not fix my extrusion/slipping issue. As seen in my picture I ended up printing a small spacer to add more tension and it has worked fantastic after 30+ hours of printing. If you are buying this to fix an extrusion/slipping issue please print the spacer first. You can find it on Thingiverse, it takes 4 minutes to print with 100% infill, and all you'll need to do is keep pressure on your swing arm for that 4 minutes while it prints. While I do still suggest an all metal extruder upgrade, if you need to get printing quickly or are short on cash the spacer will work just fine for you.* The "upgraded" bowden tube fitting is not much of an upgrade at all. It still slips a bit like the OEM Ender 3 one did. I'd suggest looking into one that has metal teeth.* The product advertised an adjustable tension screw for the spring; this is not true. While the screws are technically adjustable, all they do is hold the spring in place. They do not add any extra tension.All in all this is a good upgrade over the OEM plastic extruder, it's just missing some of the features I originally bought it for.

I bought this to replace the cheap plastic extruder drive on my Monoprice IIIP Mini and was doubtful that it would work. I removed my extruder and all the allen screws holding my stepper motor and used the hardware that came with this one and everything lined up and tightened down properly. I did not use the drive gear wheel that came with this unit however because I was worried that I'd have to recalibrate the feed (E) steps and I cannot do that because the firmware on my printer is not accessible nor updatable. But no worries. This unit worked just fine with my original drive gear on my stepper motor. I didn't even have to adjust its position on my stepper shaft. It has a very strong spring. It may be too strong for flexible filaments but since this extruder is not designed for flexible filament I can't really fault it for that. This thing is a huge improvement over the plastic extruder that this replaced. And the price is right. This far exceeded my low expectations and I'd buy another but my next printer will have direct drive. This is an awesome solution and value.

Definitely a must have for smoother filament extrusion. Very easy to install and much more robust than the existing extruder that came with my Ender 3 Pro.

For anyone looking at this review after purchasing an ender3, go ahead and buy this! It's very easy to install and you will never have to worry about cracking the plastic extruder. The parts themselves feel sturdy and the coating is very nice and looks neat.