3D printers require many different components to work together in harmony in order to function. This is why if one component does not work as it should, the printer starts malfunctioning. Experience is a key element of the process that enables you to detect and resolve problems more quickly and effectively when it comes to 3D printing because problems can occur at any time with the mechanical hardware, electronic hardware, or even with the software sometimes.
Your Creality Ender 3 may be crashing due to many reasons. It may be that the G-Code file your printer is running may be corrupted. Or perhaps a defective SD card may explain everything. Sometimes, the firmware that your printer is running is incompatible with the printer. Other reasons such as wiring issues or a malfunctioning mainboard could also be to blame.
Let’s dive into these issues in a bit more detail.
Why Does Your Creality Ender 3 Keep Crashing?
There is no doubt that the Ender 3 freezing during the 3D printing process is among the worst things that can occur, both because it leaves your 3D print incomplete and because there is no way to determine what went wrong.
Moving forward, we’ll examine each potential reason that could cause the Ender 3 to freeze in more detail and go through some possible fixes that could help solve this issue as soon as possible to restore your Ender 3 to functioning order.
Related: 6 Reasons Your Creality Ender 5 Isn’t Powering Up
Corrupt G-code File
You may be trying to print a corrupt G-Code file. Problems with the slicing procedure can result in a corrupted G-code file, rendering your Ender 3 incapable of correctly reading and executing the commands. A corrupt G-code can quickly result in a crash since even a single character corruption can result in a situation where the firmware is unable to understand the G-code file.
Defective SD Card
The SD card may be faulty and can’t be read properly. Even though it appears that the SD card is functioning OK, your Ender 3 may not be able to access a portion of the file if the G-code file is located in one of the sectors that can become inaccessible for a variety of reasons. As a result, the printing process will stall as soon as the firmware attempts to read this sector because the data is not accessible.
Firmware Issues
The firmware may not be functioning properly. Because your Ender 3’s firmware controls every aspect of its operation, circumstances like corrupted firmware during the flashing process or a firmware update with bugs may be to blame for the crashing issue.
Wiring Issues
It’s possible that there are issues with the wiring. Your Ender 3 may be negatively impacted by electromagnetic interference, improper wiring, loose wires, damaged wires, and more. This can affect your printer in many ways, including crashing during a print job.
Malfunctioning Mainboard
There could be a problem with the mainboard. Even though your Ender 3 appears to be functioning properly during menu navigation, a defective mainboard can occasionally manifest itself as the 3D printing process stalling or crashing midprint.
Connection Problems
Some users have had trouble with their 3D printer’s connections while printing on Wi-Fi or a computer connection, for example. The ideal 3D printing setup typically involves a MicroSD card, USB connection, and a G-code file that is loaded into the 3D printer.
Printing across other connections shouldn’t often be problematic, but there are situations when it can lead a 3D printer to stall while printing. Your computer may cease transmitting data to the 3D printer and muck up the print if you have a shaky connection or if it goes into hibernation. Or if your Wi-Fi connection is poor, printing may not work properly.
The printer’s thermistor and cooling fan connections may also be having problems. If the thermistor is improperly installed, the printer will believe that the temperature is lower than it really is, which will raise the temperature. This may result in printing problems that cause your 3D print to fail or cause your 3D printer to jam and pause.
It’s also possible that you experienced a power shortage during the printing process, but because most 3D printers have a print resume feature, this shouldn’t be a major problem. When you restart the 3D printer, you may simply pick up where you left off.
Related: 5 Reasons Your Ender 3 is Not Turning On
Slicer, STL Files, Or Settings
The below series of problems are driven by the slicer, the STL file, or your settings.
Your STL file might be too high in resolution, which would be problematic because it would contain several short parts and movements that the printer would not be capable of handling. You might try exporting your file to a lesser resolution if it’s really big. For instance, if a print edge had 20 tiny movements in a very small region and was quite detailed, there would be numerous movement instructions, but the printer will not be capable of keeping up very effectively.
By combining the movements, slicers can typically adjust to this and override such situations, but it may still cause a halt during printing. It’s possible that a slicer problem prevents it from handling a particular model correctly. If your printer still pauses, we’d suggest trying a different slicer.
A minimum layer time input in the slicer caused some people’s 3D printers to crash during a print. There may be pauses to meet the minimum layer time if you have several extremely thin layers.
Make sure there isn’t a pause command in the G-code file as the last check. Make sure you don’t have this activated in your slicer because there is a command that can be loaded into files that will pause it at specific layer heights.
Common Fixes
Replace G-Code File
We advise slicing the model file you’re having trouble with, a different model file, slicing with another slicer program, and downloading pre-sliced G-code to compile a variety of G-code files that vary from one another, testing them all, and making decisions based on the results.
Replace or Reformat SD Card
Reformatting the SD card is the first thing we advise doing to fix a broken Ender 3 card because this has been known to work in some situations. The best course of action is to replace the SD card if reformatting does not work.
Related: Why is Your 3D Printer Filament Brittle?
Reflash Firmware
Our advice for firmware would be to flash a fresh, current copy of the firmware you’re currently using, and if the problems persist, upgrade to a recent Marlin firmware version that is known to fix many of these issues.
Double-check Wiring
Check the wiring all the way around. Going through the wiring diagram as if you were assembling your Ender 3 for the first time and checking each wire for damage and loose or erroneous connections is the best way to double-check the wiring. The management of cables is another crucial consideration since electromagnetic interference might be introduced if power cables are placed too close to data connections.
Replace Mainboard
The last remaining option, if everything else fails, is to replace the mainboard because it is nearly impossible to identify and repair the root cause of the issue within the mainboard.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I Format My Sd Card for My 3d Printer?
You must format the SD card with the FAT32 file system and configure the partition table to the MBR, often referred to as the Master Boot Record, in order to use an SD card with a 3D printer without encountering any problems.
What Firmware Should I Install on My Ender 3?
You should download “Marlin 2.0. 1 V1. As of the date this article was written, the Ender 3 3D printer comes with firmware version “0.1 original version.”
What Happens If You Run out of Filament in the Middle of a Print?
If a 3D printer features a runout sensor, it will automatically cease production if you run out of filament until you can load a fresh roll and begin printing. If it lacks a sensor, you will need to manually pause printing and load more filament, start over from scratch, or print the incomplete part separately.
Final Words
The Ender 3 freezing at any moment is undoubtedly both a serious issue that must be resolved as soon as possible in order to resume printing and a tricky situation that could take some time to solve because the cause is largely unknown at first glance and may require technical know-how.
To sum up, a variety of independent issues, including a damaged G-code file, a faulty SD card, troublesome software, improper wiring, and, in rare circumstances, a malfunctioning mainboard, can lead your Ender 3 to crash during the printing process.
Fortunately, all issues should be rather simple to fix and get your Ender 3 back in working order quickly, with the exception of a mainboard issue, which is relatively uncommon.
