Accessories for Ender 3 Pro
There are many great quality of life upgrades you can make to your Ender 3 Pro. I've already shared with you the recommended immediate upgrades in the Ender 3 upgrade kit
The two quality of life upgrades I would recommend first after that (and both of which I have on my own printer) are:
CR Touch
CR Touch (what I have installed) or BL Touch - You don't necessarily have to install this immediately, but if you are planning to install it, it's easier to do it up front. The CR Touch is what I have, and it replaces the installed Z-stop switch - so if you do it later, you'll have to install the Z-switch first, and then later remove the Z-switch from the motherboard and from the frame. The CR Touch is newer and really is meant to be paired with a 4.2.2 or 4.2.7 32 bit motherboard - the cables and mounts it comes with make it super easy to plug in and use. If you buy the BL Touch (or cheap clones), you may end up getting different cables and/or modify the wiring to swap pins. If you buy the device stand alone, you also may need to track down cables separately, and mounts separately (or print a mount). For these reasons I recommend just getting a CR Touch along with the mounting brackets.
One word of warning, for upgrades in general but especially for the CR Touch - it seems like there are a number of knockoffs and fakes out there. From what I've seen, Comgrow is the reseller for Creality in the US, and so I would err on the side of buying from them or from the Creality3D Store for the BL Touch (which occasionally the listing seems to show the CR Touch, and sometimes it doesn't).
I also have a guide here on setting up the CR Touch on Ender 3 Pro.
Bed Surface - PEI Spring Steel Sheet
The next upgrade I recommend is an Upgraded Bed Surface - PEI Spring Steel Sheet or Glass Bed. You'll find folks talking about the benefits of each one. Personally I like the PEI Spring Steel sheet, I have this one from Fulament. These are nice to have upgrades and you can add them on later.
This is a super simple upgrade (no tools required) and honestly printing on PEI vs the stock surface is way easier. Glass will provide a flat surface and shiny finish on the bottom of the prints, but it can be tricky to get prints to stick - which is why I see folks resorting to glue sticks and tape to get their prints to stick. I haven't seen any such issues with PEI sheets, and in Facebook groups and Reddit I'm seeing the community as a whole moving towards PEI sheets.
That's all of the easy upgrades I would do first. These following ones are a little more involved. There are some nice accessories you may want to consider.
Additional Accessories and Notes
Filament - Not really an accessory...but you are going to need more filament! The best ones I have used are Hatchbox, Overture and FilamentOne. Read more about it here - filament reviews for Ender 3 Pro.
Filament Dryer Box or Modified Food Dehydrator (I purchase and use this specific dehydrator) - Not everyone needs this accessory. One variable that great impacts print quality is moisture in your filament. This can be due to humidity in the room you store your printer/filament, especially if it's been sitting for a while, or possibly the vacuum seal was broken and moisture got in before you purchased it. Whatever the case, you want to keep your filament dry, and dry it out if it's wet. Dryer boxes are one solution. Another is people buy inexpensive food dehydrators and put buckets or other materials over them to stack multiple spools and dry them out (or, you may have a dehydrator at home just gathering dust!). If you are in a tropical/humid environment, or in a basement, you may need to get one of these right away. If you're in the desert / a dry climate, you may not need it. How To Dry Out Wet Filament Using a Dehydrator or Oven
Filament Vacuum Bag - Similar to the above, if you live in a humid area, you probably don't want you filament sitting out. You can try other solutions like storage tubs or zip lock bags, but if the seal isn't 100% tight, humid air will get in and can result in brittle filament. I haven't had this problem yet. I also have a dehumidifier though that I run 24/7 in the spring and summer when it's more humid.
Digital Calipers - It is very likely your printer is accurate to within a few percent. So if you print something that's 10mm, it will be within a millimeter or so. If you want to get it really exact, you will end up printing calibration cubes and you will want to measure other parts you print as well. For that you'll want some inexpensive digital calipers
Smart Plug - Totally not necessary and a nice to have. Some people set up Octoprint to automatically turn their smart plug off after printing. Far outside this guide, something to come back to.
Nice To Have upgrades that I would do A Month Or Two In
Raspberry Pi Kit for OctoPrint - I installed this upgrade about a month into 3D printing. It made life so much easier - I can control everything from my web browser now. That said, it's unnecessary and too much to take on initially. Start looking now, but don't buy this until later. You absolutely do not need OctoPrint to start, and it literally is setting up a second machine in addition to your printer. Start with just printing from the SD card (which I'll discuss below) and then later on, get Octoprint. Get either a 3B+ or 4. Some folks try running Octoprint on lower powered Raspberry pis but again, the forums are full of folks reporting issues. If you get this you *do not* need the extender cable below
Wyze Cam or Pi Cam - If you do get a Raspberry Pi, or just for whatever reason want to monitor your prints remotely the Wyze Cams are very popular. With the Wyze cam you can just use it as a remote camera initially, simple to set up. However if you also later buy a Raspberry Pi, you can install firmware on the Wyze cam to allow your Raspberry Pi to access it as well - to do time lapse photos and other neat things. I had a Wyze cam already and so I installed the firmware and I used it to make a few time lapses. I have not personally used the Pi Cam but I understand they are popular, so including a link for you.
SD to MicroSD Extender Cable - To print you load files on the micro sd card and insert it into the printer. Unfortunately, this is a known weak point - this micro SD card slot is cheap and wears out. It won't happen in a few days or weeks, but it will eventually. Many folks install this extender cable to leave plugged in. If you use Octoprint, you're not going to be using the slot much, and in my opinion you do not need this upgrade then.
Ender 3 Pro Longer Term Printer Upgrades
The amount of upgrades you can make are endless. Some less common upgrades include LED Lights, dual-Z, Linear Rails and Dual Gear/BMG Style Extruders as well as direct drive extruders. I discuss these on this page -> Ender 3 Pro Longer Term Printer Upgrades
