In my last article, I mentioned that I would review my current and past printers: The Creality K1 Max, The Ender 3 and the Sermoon V1, all Creality brand printers. 3D printing is relatively new and it attracts a user-base of passionate individual hobbyists who spend their own hard-earned dough. So, there's a lot of controversy regarding which brands do what best. So, I wanted to provide the best consumer information based on my experiences. I initially got interested in 3D printing in 2021 when I saw some printers running at Kent State University's Design Innovation Hub where students and local residents can access public equipment. Later that year, I looked on Amazon for 3D printer prices and found that they were far less expensive than I thought. I decided, based on my income, I could afford something between 200 and 400 dollars, and with little experience, I settled on two possible options a Flashforge printer and Creality's Sermoon V1. The draw of both of these printers were that they were enclosed, they promoted being able to print multiple materials (beyond PLA plastic) and they promoted some level of "out-of-the-box" printing with auto-leveling, which was said to make the process easier. These two models were also marked down roughly 75 dollars during a temporary promotion. Ultimately, the choice was made for me when the Flashforge arrived either damaged or faulty, and I had it sent back. After I got my refund, I chose the Creality Sermoon V1 because it was still on sale while the Flashforge model was no longer available at the cheaper price. So basically, that's how I started out with a Creality printer. I'm sure, if I were to re-order a working version of the Flashforge, it would have been fine, but I never had the chance. I will say the return process for Flashforge was painless, and I had my refund in less than a week.
Working with the Sermoon V1, I found that while it worked as well as I could hope, it also lacked in certain areas. First it was not at all a "print out-of-the box" printer, and it did not auto-level. What it do was allow you to micro-step each corner of the printing bed with a button on the controller display. So, it took just as long as hand-turning a tension knob to level the bed. Plus, being totally new to the hobby, I had not yet learned how to download files, slice them and use the appropriate settings to make sure over-hangs were properly supported and and my models were well-adhered to the build plate. For about two months, at least half of my model attempts were failing in some way or another -even the samples pre-programmed onto the operating system. Additionally, my first few attempts at printing in the more stable ABS plastic were not good. First off, the odor of the ABS plastic (at build temperature) easily permeated the Sermoon's enclosure; secondly the printer just didn't seem to handle ABS well at all. Even at the appropriate temperature, ABS caused problems with clogging in the nozzle. Eventually, I got the hang of using my Sermoon V1, but in hindsight it was clear that some some of the "extras" it advertised as a step-up from other printers weren't all that great. I continued to stick with the Sermoon for a good 3 years working mostly with PLA plastic, since I primarily made indoor models and toys, for which a better material was not necessary. With the benefit of experience, I became a lot more successful, but I also knew what to look for in a upgrade when the time came.
In spite of my early troubles with the Creality Sermoon, I did choose to continue with the Creality brand when I bought a new printer. I was familiar with their slicing software, and they offer not only lots of models, but replacement parts. They also supported more third-party replacement parts than any other brand I was familiar with. So, things like nozzles, extruders, hot-ends and build plates could be replaced if they were to fail in the long-term. Ultimately, this was why I stuck with Creality. In a new industry, I was confident their products would continue to be made, and parts would continue to be made for them, either by Creality themself or a third-party manufacturer.
My next choice was the Creality K1 Max. It was about twice as expensive as my original Sermoon, but it advertised exactly what I wanted in a upgrade. A large 300x300 millimeter build space, true auto-leveling, an internal camera, WiFi-capable over-network printing, one of the highest varieties of supported printing materials, and really fast printing speed. When I purchased it, I was not at all disappointed. If there ever was a print out-of-the-box system, this was it. It came pretty much built; all I needed to do was set it down, add the filament and, boom, it was already printing one of it's pre-programmed models. It look me about 8-16 hours of following instructions, and making adjustments before I got my previous printer going, and the K1 Max was printing in minutes. On average, it prints at least three times faster than than the old one, with no loss in quality. Not to mention, it really does level itself! After about six months, I've had zero issues that were not due to my own mistakes in slicing.
If there is one area where the K1 Max falls short, it may be its advertised "Artificial Intelligence," LiDAR detection. While I do engage the optional AI settings, I'm still not sure what benefit it brings over modelling without the AI. At best, it does a test pattern, makes the first level of your print, and scans the LiDAR over it to make sure it's not faulty in some way, before moving forward. If an issue is detected the printer pauses, and allows the user to fix and move ahead or cancel the print. But, I don't think that high-tech feature is any more effective than just watching the print and cancelling it, if it's bad for some reason. Honestly, I think Creality may be trying to capitalize a bit on the "Artificial Intelligence" craze, when in reality it's just offering the same machine logic used in manufacturing for decades.
That said, the speed and build space alone make it worth the effort. Plus all the K1's offer a robust enclosure with 3 ventilation fans, and filtering material in the box fans that genuinely cut down on the odor from ABS plastic builds. For me, the K1 Max has met my expectations for a high-end printer.
However, perhaps my most interesting diversion was not an upgrade at all but a downgrade, to the Creality Ender 3. At just around 160 bucks, I thought I'd give it a try. Needless to say, having started with a 400 dollar printer and moving to a nearly 1000 dollar printer, I did not have high expectations for the 160 dollar Ender 3. And, it definitely proved to be a demanding and difficult, if not enlightening, process getting started. The neat part about the Ender brand, is that it's parts are all open-source and standardized, meaning that while the starter printer is really in-expensive, you've got endless options to upgrade and customize it with multiple competing third-party vendors. While it's got an introductory price, it's not a printer for the inexperienced, but rather a base-model for experience printers who want to tinker and upgrade their set-up. (At least that's how I see it). The open-source nature of the product ensures cheap replacement parts will always be available as well.
After making a few successful prints on the Ender 3, it was clear to me that this was more of a learning project than anything. The K1 Max was so dependable and fast that it would be pointless using the Ender 3 as anything other than an experimental unit -something I could use for learning. For my first "experiment" I replaced the stock extruder and filament feeder with a MicroSwiss REVO NG "Direct Drive" extruder, which was about 150 dollars. The MicroSwiss upgrade allows the Ender 3 to print more materials including ABS, replaces the clunky gear-catch filament feeder, and makes switching filaments a breeze. Replacing the existing extruder was a fun challenge, I had to be comfortable with cutting, stripping, soldering and crimping wires (a skill I initially learned setting up my first VHF/UHF radio station), and also be able to dis-assemble and re-assemble the machine. It worked great, and I felt like McGuyver playing with all those tools. Also, the MicroSwiss extruder was a huge benefit as well. My Ender 3 could now print multiple new materials types, but it also made replacing filaments so much easier, cutting out half of the re-loading process from the original set up. It also heats up faster as well, turning five to ten minutes of wait-time into about two. With a 150 dollar investment and some extra work, I turned a 160 dollar Ender 3 into a printer that rivals those in the 400 to 500 dollar range. Also, as an enthusiast in the hobby, I just enjoy seeing it run!As I mentioned before, the hobby has it's share of controversy, and Creality take it's share of criticism. The major criticism is that their customer support and maintenance service is lacking. I don't disagree, it's a huge company based in China, so getting assistance from a human being in real-time is difficult, if not impossible. You notice this immediately when opening their products. Compared to well-known US-based consumer appliances, and even a lot of foreign brands, who typically provide a good amount of user literature, Creality basically just had a QR code, or instructions to find a website and look up the product you just bought for basic set-up instructions. With so many different product lines and brands, it can be difficult to find the correct model. Did I buy the "Creality CR-10," "CR-10 Smart" or "SR-10 SE," or did I get the "Ender 3" or" Ender 3 Version 3?" yes, those are all different actual printers. I've found that random Youtubers have created better tutorials in their garages, than Creality produces on its own.
Another criticism is that Creality's quality control is inconsistent at best, allowing flawed broken products to be sent out far more often than established appliance brands would. Fortunately, I haven't had this problem with any of my Creality printers. And my experience with Flashforge suggests it may be an issue with 3D printers in-general, rather than something specific to Creality. However, while customer support may be lacking, you should always be able to send a new product back as Creality offers a 90 day no-questions-asked return policy through Amazon as well as other retailers. So, if you do get a flawed product, or are just unhappy with it, you can re-box it and send it back with no risk. This put my mind at easy after hearing some users reporting critical issues with some K1 Max models. While it may be difficult getting in touch with a person at Creality to ask a question, it is at least easy to send the whole product back if you're not happy with it. So, these are all things to consider if you're looking into one of Creality's printers.
In summary, I'm sure there are some brands to avoid when purchasing 3D printers, but Creality is an industry leader for a reason. In general, the lesson I learned with Creality 3D printers is that you don't pay for the quality of prints necessarily, you pay for faster, easier printing at the same quality level. In other words, a less expensive printer won't necessarily create bad prints, it will just take more time and effort to make the same product that a more expensive printer does. Additionally while Creality may lack in customer service and quality control, they offer a 90-day return policy, so be diligent in your first few weeks with a Creality. If it's not working properly, too much of a hassle to get working properly (or you just decide you don't want it) send it back for a refund.
For more information on my printers and stories about my hobby, check out the "3D printing"and "Fab Lab" tabs to the right.
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