Creality 3d printer reviews

Creality CR-10 Review 2022 - Is This 3D Printer Worth The Money?

So is the Creality CR-10 3D Printer even worth it? We tested this printer recently and here are all things that we discovered!

By Justin Evans

May 26, 2022

3.8

See Price

When it comes to low-cost 3D printers, there are a lot of choices. The problem is that some of them just aren’t worth your time. Maybe they’re just too small, or perhaps the print quality just isn’t up to scratch. However, there are some real diamonds in the rough if you know where to look.

Take the Creality CR-10, for instance. This comes to us from a relatively little-known company, and as a result, it hasn’t seen as much success as some of its entry-level rivals. Today, we’ll be taking a closer look at this model to see if it’s right for you and your high standards.

Filament Diameter	1. 75mm
Extruders	1
Supported Materials	PLA, ABS
Connectivity	USB, SD Card
Printing Speed	100mm/s
Build Volume	11.8 x 11.8 x 15.7”

Table of ContentsShow

Design

First things first: this printer has an open design. Better still, though, it has one of the largest build areas we’ve ever seen on such a low-cost product. After all, just because it’s for beginners, doesn’t mean you have to put up with only being able to make tiny prints.

You can control this unit either directly from the PC, or by using the microcontroller. We’d advise using the computer whenever possible, though, since the controller can be a little tricky to get to grips with. There’s also the option to import models from an SD card if you choose.

Now, as you might expect, there’s just one extruder. The print speed isn’t exceptional either, but at this price, it’s difficult to complain too much. Suffice it to say, you’ll spend a little extra time on each model, but the crucial thing is that they come out looking especially great. So do they?

Printing

Actually, yeah. Now don’t get us wrong – you’re not going to be creating extremely complex models, but for day-to-day use, it works surprisingly well. Edges are generally sharp and clean, and there’s a good level of detail reproduction. Essentially, the CR-10 prints like something that costs twice its price.

One of the first things you’ll want to make is an enclosure. This printer supports PLA but can struggle to maintain a consistent temperature for ABS filaments. Enclosures are very simple to make, although they’ll have to be assembled in parts. It’s worth it, though, as it greatly expands the number of things you can do.

You’ll find that there can be some layer skipping, and occasionally, you’ll notice visible stepping between the layers, but overall, this isn’t a huge problem. Just bear in mind that this is very much a hobbyist’s printer – not one for commercial use.

Features

The CR-10 comes with a heated glass print bed, but you’ll have to manually level it. There’s also no software included, so you’ll have to find that for yourself. We recommend using Cura – it’s free and ranks among the most popular 3D printing applications. If you look, you can even find a settings profile for the CR-10.

Unfortunately, there’s no WiFi compatibility. Admittedly, this is usually only found on higher-end printers, but it still would have been nice to have. With a little extra investment, you can add this functionality, but you should know that it’s not included as standard.

The CR-10 is pretty barebones. You won’t find many advanced features or functionality out of the box. However, it’s important to remember that it is a low-cost model and intended to help familiarise you with the basic elements of 3D printing. Besides, you can always upgrade when you outgrow it.

Cost

The Creality CR-10 retails for around $400, so it’s one of the cheapest around. There is a weird quirk, though – Creality doesn’t actually sell it themselves. Instead, you’ll have to find a third-party retailer, each of which has their own warranty terms and support options. This seems designed to free Creality from any kind of obligation after the printer has been purchased.

We liked that you can use 1.75mm filament from any brand, though. Sometimes you’ll find that low-cost printers are more expensive to run due to their proprietary-only materials, but luckily, that’s not the case here.

The CR-10 provides exactly what it says it does: an inexpensive, powerful printer with minimal running and maintenance costs. Really, the only thing you’ll have to pay for is extra filament and possibly adhesive sheets for the print bed.

Now, there really isn’t much in the way of support. Creality have a brief FAQ section on their website, but there’s no mention of any warranty or support of any kind. Really, you’re relying on the retailer to provide a good enough warranty, which is a real shame since they’re unlikely to do any repairs for you.

The “Download” tab is very interesting. Its headings include “Firmware”, “Product File”, and “Model” but each of these pages is completely empty. As such, it falls to the user to find and install the correct version of any updates or software they choose to use.

This is a real shame. The CR-10 is an excellent printer for beginners, but there’s very little in the way of direction here. At the very least, we’d have liked a support ticket system, but sadly, this is non-existent.

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Creality Ender-3 S1 Pro 3D printer review

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REVIEW – Six months ago, I was bitten by the 3D printing bug when I reviewed my first 3D printer, the Voxelab Aquila S2. Since then, I have fallen in love with 3D printing. There is a lot to learn. And it can be frustrating at times. But it is one of the most satisfying things I have ever done. So, when I was approached by Creality to review one of their newest 3D printers, I jumped at the opportunity. Let’s take a closer look at the Creality Ender-3 S1 Pro.

What is it?

The Creality Ender-3 S1 Pro 3D printer is an upgraded version of the Creality Ender-3 S1 3D printer. This 3D printer features an all-metal dual gear direct drive extruder, auto bed-leveling, a 4.3-inch touch-screen, and more.

What’s in the box?

Chassis module
Nozzle kit
Wire clip
Filament tube
Gantry
4.3-inch touch screen
Rack & filament runout sensor
Metal spatula
Cutting pliers
Filament sample
Wrenches & screwdriver
Power cord
Nozzle cleaning needle
Memory card & reader
Extra nozzle
Assembly bolts z-axis limit switch

Hardware specs

Molding Technology: FDM
Build Volume: 220 x 220 x 270 mm
Machine Dimension: 490 x 455 x 625 mm
Nozzle Temperature: Up to 300°C
Heat Bed Temperature: Up to 110°C
Leveling Mode: CR Touch Automatic Leveling
Display: 4. 3-inch color touch screen
Motherboard: 32-bit silent motherboard
Gross Weight: 10.7 kg
Printing Speed: Maximum 150 mm/s
Printing Precision: +0.1 mm
Layer Height: 0.05-0.4mm
Filament Diameter: 1.75 mm
Resume Printing: Yes
Filament Sensor: Yes
Rated Voltage: 100-120V, 220-240V, 50/60 Hz
Rated Power: 350W/24V
Nozzle Quantity: 1
Data Transmission Method: Type-C USB/ SD card
3D File Format: .stl/.obj / .gcode (after slicing)
Nozzle Diameter: 0.4 mm
Extrusion Force: 80N
Extruder: “Sprite” full-metal dual-gear direct extruder with 1:3.5 gearing
Slicing Software: reality Slicer/Cura/Repetier-Host/Simplify3D
Build Surface: Spring steel PEI magnetic build plate
Supported Filament: PLA, ABS, WOOD, TPU, PETG, PA

Design and features

The Creality Ender-3 S1 Pro 3D printer arrived in a good-sized box, and each part was securely packed in foam. Assembly was a breeze. The printer is 96% assembled in the box and literally goes together in 6-steps illustrated below.

The wiring management is also excellent. Everything is labeled, and the plugs only fit together one way. So it is nearly impossible to mess up.

I had the Creality Ender-3 S1 Pro 3D printer fully assembled and ready to go in under 20 minutes.

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Overall the build quality of the printer is impressive. All of the parts are solidly built, and everything feels robust.

The chassis is fully covered by injection molded plastic giving it a premium look and feel. But it still has a rigid metal frame underneath.

A full-size USB card slot and a Type-C port are located on the front of the printer.

Just to the right of the ports is a 6 x 71/2 – inch drawer. I like this addition because it gives me plenty of space to store my accessories. Things like the cutting pliers, Allen wrenches, and tweezers fit nicely inside. It also helps keep the printer workspace free from clutter.

The Creality Ender-3 S1 Pro 3D printer has dual Z-axis screws and motors. The two separate motors are synchronized by a belt at the top of the gantry. This allows the Z-axis to move more smoothly, resulting in more precise prints.

The Creality Ender-3 S1 Pro 3D printer comes equipped with several upgrades over the Ender-3 S1. Chief among these is a full-metal dual-gear direct extruder. The Sprite dual-gear direct extruder ensures smooth feeding and less clogging when using different filaments. It works particularly well with softer filaments like TPU, for example.

The full-metal hot end allows the nozzle to reach a temperature of 300º C. The higher temp lets you print denser filaments such as ABS, nylon, and carbon fiber.

The Creality Ender-3 S1 Pro 3D printer comes with an upgraded PEI spring steel magnetic build plate. The PEI coating on the steel sheet gives better layer adhesion, especially on the all-important first print layer. It is also flexible, allowing for easier print removal.

The 4.3-inch display has been upgraded with a touch screen. The touch screen makes it easy to quickly navigate the various menu options. And since almost everything we use these days has a touch screen, this is a welcomed addition. The display itself is bright and easy to navigate. The screen has an auto-dimming feature that dims the screen when it is inactive for more than 5 minutes. I did find that some of the menu options are buried in sub-menus, making them a little hard to find. So it is a good idea to familiarize yourself with the touch screen before printing.

The Creality Ender-3 S1 Pro 3D printer also comes equipped with a built-in LED light bar. The light does a great job of illuminating the print bed and surrounding workspace. A conveniently located power switch on the side makes it easy to turn on and off.

Another small add-on is the pull handle on the front of the print platform. I like that it allows you to move the bed without fear of burning your fingers while the bed is hot.

Performance

The Creality Ender-3 S1 Pro 3D printer boots up quickly and is relativity quiet. Before printing anything, you need to level the print bed. The S1 Pro has auto bed-leveling to make this all-important process easier and faster.

The Creality Ender-3 S1 Pro comes equipped with a CR Touch. The Touch is Crealitys auto bed-leveling sensor. It uses a metal probe to measure 16-points across the print surface and compensate for any anomalies (low or high spots) as the printhead moves across the bed surface. Running the auto-level is easy. From the start screen select Settings-> Auto-Level-> Start. It takes about 2 minutes for it to complete. Once completed, return to the previous screen and run auxiliary leveling. This will allow you to adjust the Z-axis compensation for the center and four corners of the print bed. Tapping each number on the screen will move the printhead to the corresponding spot on the print bed. From there, you can adjust the Z offset until you can slide a piece of A4 paper under the nozzle and feel a slight resistance. Repeat this process for all 5 spots on the print bed. This stores the Z offset into the printer.

This was my first time using any kind of auto bed-leveling. I spent hours manually leveling the Aquila S2 before getting it level. The auto-leveling on the S1 Pro makes the process a whole lot easier.

Time to do some printing. I preheated the nozzle and bed using the Preheat PLA function from the menu. This automatically heats the nozzle to 200º C and the bed to 60º C, which are the optimal heat settings for most brands of PLA. There are separate settings that allow you to individually heat the nozzle and bed to different temperatures for different filaments. Once the nozzle was preheated, I loaded the white PLA filament that came with the printer.

For test purposes, I wanted to print models from the SD card, and a few I sliced myself. I also wanted to print using a variety of filaments to see how the S1 Pro handled each one.

I then sliced a couple of models of my own that I downloaded.

The Astronaut was printed using MatterHackers Blue Raspberry Quantum PLA. It is an awesome-looking PLA that combines two colors per filament, displaying a different color front to back, and blends those colors on the sides.

Then I ran into an issue. I had several prints that failed because of the extruder clogging. I tried different filaments, settings, and models, but the clogging persisted. I contacted Creality, and they were kind enough to ship me a new extruder. The extruder was easy to swap out, and I was ready to begin printing again in no time. And since the swap, I have not experienced any further clogging.

I also wanted to test the Sprite dual-gear extruder to see how it handled TPU. TPU is a very soft, pliable filament. I printed a trash can to use on my workstation for discarding my filament scraps.

The print turned out amazing, and the Sprite extruder handled the TPU filament like a champ. You can see from the video just how pliable (squishy) TPU really is.

Overall, I was thoroughly impressed by how well the Creality Ender-3 S1 Pro 3D printer printed with just out-of-the-box settings. As you can see, all of my test prints turned out excellent. I don’t think I could have asked for better results.

What I like

Easy to assemble (96% preassembled in the box)
Quiet operation
Sprite extruder
PEI coated spring steel build plate
Auto leveling with CR Touch
Dual Z-axis
4.3-inch touch screen
LED light kit
Large drawer for tool storage
Full-sized USB card

What I’d change

The ability to print using a WiFi connection

Final thoughts

In conclusion, the Creality Ender-3 S1 Pro 3D printer is an extremely capable 3D printer. It has every feature you could want and produces high-quality prints. And all of those features make it very easy and fun to use. With upgrades like the Sprite all-metal dual gear direct extruder, auto bed-leveling, and 4.3-inch touch-screen, the S1 Pro is a definite step up from the S1. But is it worth the extra $80? In short, the answer is yes. In fact, IMO it is one of the best sub $500 printers on the market.

Price: $479.00
Where to buy: Creality store and Amazon
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Creality.

Creality Ender-5 Pro 3D Printer Review

Welcome to the Color World.

For the past few years, Creality has been the leader in the production of home budget FDM 3D printers. In particular, their most popular Creality Ender-3 printer.

At the moment, there are already several of its modifications. But in parallel with them there is another line of printers - Ender-5. And today we want to tell you about one of its versions. Creality Ender-5 Pro.

Unpacking

We will not delay the introduction and move on to unpacking and assembly. The printer comes in a fairly large box in a semi-disassembled state. On top is paper detailed assembly instructions and some more waste paper.

Mounted screen.

Extruder motor with feeder

Z-axis mechanism assembled.

Portal with X and Y axes, also completely finished, with a hot end and all belts.

A table with an already glued elastic magnetic substrate and a wire, at the end of which an XT60 connector is installed.

And at the very bottom of the box there are 4 vertical profiles 20x40 cm.

The lower part of the case with the control unit and all wires.

Also included is a 250g spool of white PLA plastic.

And a box with tools and fasteners.

In addition to assembly screws, a filament spool holder, and a power cable, the box contains: a bunch of zip ties, a nozzle cleaning needle, a set of hex keys, a wrench, a small screwdriver, the most common side cutters with soft blue handles, a spare nozzle, a Teflon tube fitting and several clamps for fittings. MicroSD card 8GB with card reader. And a simple metal spatula. The set is quite standard, only tweezers are missing.

Control unit

While the printer is not assembled, let's look at the control unit. It opens from the bottom, the cover is held on by 4 screws. There is also a power supply and a control board.

The power supply is quite standard for printers with such a printable area, 24 volts 350 watts in a low profile case. However, unlike the Ender-3 Pro printers, it is branded here, but not MeanWell. The logo says Lian Lida, what kind of company, we, unfortunately, do not know.

But the control board upset us a little. Despite the fact that Creality already has 32-bit boards on STM32 microcontrollers and they put them on the Ender-3. Here stands, one might say, an already outdated 8-bit board, also on a far from the most advanced Atmega1284 microcontroller.

I am glad that the drivers soldered on the board are not noisy A4988, but already quiet TMC2208, although they are also not the most modern, and also connected in the so-called Standalone mode. This means that it is not possible to fully use their functionality. Well, okay, at least something.

Assembly

Let's move on to assembly. It's not complicated here, especially if you follow the step-by-step instructions. We fasten 4 vertical racks to the bottom.

We install the portal from above and also fix it with screws.

We fasten the Z-axis mechanism to the back wall of the printer with 4 screws.

And already to this mechanism we attach the table itself with the frame.

On one of the vertical profiles we fix the extruder motor with a feeder on screws with T-shaped nuts.

We insert a Teflon tube into it and fix the fitting with a plastic bracket from the kit.

Install the holder for the spool of filament under the feeder

And the screen on the front of the printer.

After that, it remains only to connect and run all the wires so that they do not interfere with the movement of the printer nodes. All wires are marked and there should not be any difficulties with this.

Mechanical

So, the printer is assembled. Let's look at it in more detail. We have already seen electronics and electrics, so let's move on to mechanics. The declared print area is 220 x 220 x 300 mm.

The printer uses Cartesian kinematics, commonly referred to as MakerBot after the company that first started using it.

The kinematics are simple, fairly reliable, but far from the fastest, since when the Y-axis moves, the X-axis motor moves along with the extruder and the beam.

To move the X and Y axes, the OpenBuilds system is used, that is, rollers that roll on aluminum V-shaped profiles. 4 rollers on two Y-axis carriages and 3 rollers on the X-axis carriage.

On all carriages, eccentrics are provided on one side, allowing you to adjust the pressure of the rollers.

On any printers with such a movement system, before the first start, you need to check if the rollers are set correctly and adjust them if necessary.

The rollers should be pressed so that nothing dangles, but at the same time it is not pinched. After all, this will directly affect the quality of printing and the durability of the rollers.

In our case, we only had to slightly loosen the rollers of the X-axis carriage.

It also makes sense to check the belt tension. The X axis has one, its tension is carried out by shifting the return roller on a small area.

The Y-axis has two belts, they are also tensioned, but it must be borne in mind that their tension should be as uniform as possible.

Both axles are driven by NEMA17 motors. At the X axis it is normal, and on the Y with a through shaft, the motor itself is fixed in the center.

The decision is quite logical.

The Z axis is implemented differently. It runs on two 10mm shafts with linear bearings and is driven by a NEMA17 motor through an 8mm 2-way screw.

The coupling connecting the motor with the screw is rigid split.

The brass nut is ordinary, fixed on the table platform.

The platform itself is made of 4 mm aluminum sheet.

There are no stiffeners, the platform is absolutely flat. At first glance, it doesn't look very reliable.

But, looking ahead, we can say that this does not affect the quality of printing and stacking layers. However, it will not be superfluous to strengthen it.

The heated table is made in exactly the same way as the Ender-3 Pro, 3 mm aluminum sheet with a glued magnetic surface. From above, a flexible substrate with an adhesive coating is “magnetized” to it.

The wires coming from the table are not fixed in any way.

Of course, with such kinematics, the table does not make constant fast movements, but it is still not safe.

Printer calibration

There is no auto-calibration of the table. We manually move the carriage around the corners and center of the table, placing a sheet of paper under the nozzle and twisting the large comfortable adjusting knobs until we achieve the same pressure over the entire surface. The leaf should move with little resistance.

In general, the standard procedure.

Construction

A bowden extruder is installed here, the feed mechanism is placed on the printer body, and the filament is fed to the hotend through a rather long Teflon tube.

The feeder can be called already outdated - aluminum MK8, most manufacturers try not to use them and have long since switched to geared feeders like Titan or BMG, not to mention more modern solutions.

MK8, of course, also works and performs its tasks, but has problems, for example, when printing with soft flex plastics. Adjustment of a pressing of the giving gear wheel to a counter roller is provided.

The hot end is the same as the Ender-3, it is called CR10.

Also not the most modern solution, however, this hotend showed itself normally on other models and, if used correctly, does not cause significant problems. The thermal barrier in the hot end is through, the Teflon tube goes straight to the nozzle.

By the way, on such hotends, before the first print, it is advisable to get a Teflon tube and check how it is cut off. The cut must be as even as possible, otherwise the tube will not be able to fit snugly against the nozzle, and plugs will occur.

Our tube was quite even, but just in case, we even trimmed it.

The top of the hot end is covered with a metal casing.

To cool the hot end radiator, a conventional 4010 axial fan is used, and a 4010 turbine fan is used to blow the model.

The casing is exactly the same as on the Ender-3. And it has a long-known minus, the radiator cooling fan blows down on the model and can cause difficulties when printing with plastics that are prone to shrinkage and do not require airflow.

On the other hand, there are many alternative Ender blowers on the internet, the only thing to consider is that the bottom bracket on the Ender-5 is longer than on the Ender-3, and many models of blowers are attached to the bottom bracket on the right.

You need to choose a model that is suitable for this particular printer.

As for the strength of the frame of the entire printer, everything is fine here. Due to the use of a 20 x 40 mm profile as vertical posts, the entire frame is very strong and does not wobble at all.

The printer is controlled using a simple non-touch screen 12864 with an encoder.

This may seem like a disadvantage to some, but practice shows that such screens work stably, do not affect printing in any way, and also have a fairly large functionality.

Seal

Turn on the printer and try to print. The power button, MicroSD card slot and MiniUSB port for connecting to a computer are located on the front side of the control unit, which is convenient.

We send all axes home and face the first oddity. The X and Y axis limit switches are on the right and rear, respectively.

In this case, clicking on them assigns zero coordinates to the axes. Zero points are usually located on the left front and all slicers are designed for this location. As a result, by exposing models in the default slicer, they will be printed backwards. A strange solution, even if it was not possible to install the limit switches in another place, it was possible to configure the firmware so that when you click on them, not the initial, but the final coordinates are assigned. In general, not very convenient, but not critical.

Test models

We calibrated the table, refilled the Tiger3D red PLA plastic and printed some routine tests. XYZ cube, Benchy boat, low poly fox and small vase in spiral mode. The models are standard, but from them you can immediately understand how well the printer can print. The speed was set to an average of 30 mm / s for the outer contours and 60 mm / s for everything else.

The result was very worthy. The cube is even, the corners do not protrude, the layers are laid quite evenly, there is no echo, the deviations in size are insignificant within one tenth.

Everything is fine with the benchy boat. There are no strings at all. Even the airflow was enough on a strong inclination in front, although it must be borne in mind that this side of the boat was turned directly towards the fan. The windows also turned out well, there are no hints of sagging.

The fox was also printed with its muzzle turned towards the airflow, and it turned out perfectly. Everything is smooth, smooth. The seam of transitions between layers is almost invisible.

Yes, and there are no complaints about the vase, the layers are laid evenly, there is not a single flaw on all surfaces.

Printing models

Filled with gray PLA + Tiger3D and tried to print a more interesting model. This is an easter egg from blogger Makers Muse. It consists of three parts that are printed in each other and do not touch each other. And after printing, these parts should be able to rotate. True, we increased the model to 200%, therefore the gaps between the parts also increased, but in any case, this is a rather complicated model.

Most printed without any problems. From above, where strong slopes begin, difficulties appeared, the edges were bent upwards, the nozzle touched them and the thin high parts swayed a little. Because of this, bulging layers are visible in some places. However, the model was printed to the end and when removed from the table it immediately started working. All parts are free to move.

The next model is also printed assembled. It is a folding box. Printed folded and has many moving joints. All parts are interconnected by small jumpers so that nothing falls during printing. Then they are removed from the printed model. There were no problems. Some of the layers that were in difficult areas are sticking out a little. But all the mechanisms work, nothing stuck together. The box unfolds and assembles as it should.

We tried to print with PETG plastic from Esun. And then the first difficulties began. No matter how hard we tried, plastic constantly leaked from the nozzle during transfers. Neither different retract settings, nor temperatures, nor combing, nor even a change in print speed could save me. The walls of the models turned out well, but the lids were constantly underextruded, and strings formed in the holes.

Having somehow picked up the settings, we ventured to print a larger model. Here is an elephant.

This is not just a figurine, you can store cutlery in it.

Its trunk is made to hang over the sink, and water from wet forks and spoons flows through it.

The elephant is printed with supports underneath and under the ears. And also by mistake, we left supports inside the trunk. During the printing process, it was already clear that it was not perfect. When transferring, there were small streaks of plastic everywhere, especially inside. But it was possible to get rid of underextrusion on the lids.

Supports from below and from the ears separated without problems. The trunk was more difficult. From below, the supports stuck quite strongly, and they had to be removed with side cutters. And it turned out to be very difficult to get support from the trunk in general. As a result, the elephant's trunk was accidentally broken and had to be glued back with super glue. I also had to remove plastic stains from the walls, although it was not difficult.

In the end, it turned out like this elephant. If you don't look closely, everything is fine with him. But on closer inspection, there are many small flaws. There are traces of sagging, the surfaces above the supports leave much to be desired. He can perform his tasks, but he looks so-so.

The next thing we wanted to test on this printer was flex plastic printing. After all, the feeder and the long Teflon tube, to put it mildly, are not very suitable for this.

They took Esun eTPU 95A, it is not the softest and there was a hope that the printer could handle it. We printed a tire for a small typewriter. In the original, it is very small, so it was doubled. The speed was greatly reduced - 10 mm / s for external contours and 20 mm / s for everything else. Combing put up everywhere to avoid unnecessary transfers. And the printer coped with this task. Moreover, the tire turned out to be very high quality. Not a single gap, the layers are laid evenly, the lids closed normally. Even the seam is almost invisible.

We decided to take a chance and doubled the print speed. And, unfortunately, the printer has not coped with this. At first, everything went fine, but soon the plastic jammed in the feeder and the printing ended there.

It's a shame, though expected.

Uploaded Tiger3D pink ABS plastic. You need to understand that on an open printer, and even with a through thermal barrier with a Teflon tube, printing with ABS plastic is not desirable and difficult. But it was necessary to try, besides, ABS from Tiger3D has a rather low print temperature, 235 degrees, like PETG. We decided to print some small modifications for the printer. The color is not very suitable, but at the moment it does not matter. The first is the mount for the table wires.

For every fireman, they printed on a raft and with supports, the airflow was turned off. The model turned out well, the support and raft separated without problems, although the surface above the raft was not beautiful.

The mount fits and holds the wires really well.

The second model is a screen cover. The modification is purely decorative. It was printed already without a raft on a clean table. The cover stuck well, and even the corners did not bend during printing.

The overall quality is very decent. Except that in some places there were small smudges of plastic during transfers, but they turned out to be easy to clean.

The cover is designed for the Ender-3 printer, and as it turns out, it does not quite fit the Ender-5 Pro. On the one hand, it protrudes a little.

The third model is unpretentious, this is a wheel for the feed mechanism, it makes it more convenient to manually push through the plastic, and during printing you can see how the feed takes place.

The wheel turned out well, fit normally, works as it should.

And the latest model is a slightly improved airflow.

It printed well, although during installation it turned out that it was a bit short and pressed against the heating block. It will work for a while, but will most likely melt quickly, especially if you print with the blower turned off.

And finally, we decided to print a detailed art model, Kratos from the game God of War, perhaps one of the most beautiful plastics that we came across. Esun eSilk copper color. The layer height was made 0.12mm. The model is printed without supports, in some places it has strong slopes, just check the effectiveness of the new airflow.

Kratos turned out just fine. On this plastic, in general, even the slightest flaws are very clearly visible due to the fact that it reflects light. And any protruding layer or gap immediately catches the eye. Here everything is smooth, the layers are almost invisible. It seems that the model is polished to a shine. The seam stands out a little, but you can't get away from it, especially with such a long Teflon tube.

Review summary

Okay, let's summarize. The printer is not perfect. Some solutions are very outdated, and the Creality Ender-5 Pro is just asking to be modified. The community of this printer is quite large and there will definitely not be a shortage of ready-made models. In addition, some models for modifications come from Ender-3. Even the control board of the printer has something to change, almost all companies producing control boards have already released versions specifically for Enders. Simply switch all the wires, install the new board in the old place and you're done.

Despite the simple extruder and feed mechanism, the Ender-5 Pro does a good job. We had difficulties only with PETG plastic. Even with medium hardness flex at low speeds, the printer can print normally.

The body of the printer is strong and durable. Any plastic is glued to the magnetic substrate without any problems, and it is easy to remove the models. The substrate itself does not peel off from the table, even when printing with ABS plastic and a temperature of 100 degrees. The printer is quite quiet thanks to the TMC2208 drivers.

In general, the Creality Ender-5 Pro did not cause any particular delight in us, but there was no complete disappointment either. The printer is like a printer. It prints quite well, although not fast.

Watch the video version of the review on our Youtube channel !

3D printer Creality Ender-3 Max

The Creality Ender-3 Max

Creality Ender-3 Max 3D Printer Features

With a copper nozzle that can withstand high temperatures, the printer achieves both fast melting and smooth filament extrusion.
True to its name - Max, the printer has a large build chamber (300 x 300 x 340 mm), thus ensuring high productivity.

The printer has a reliable movement system, which shows stable and smooth printing, which is structurally composed of a system of linear pulleys, V-shaped profiles and a special T-shaped screw that ensures Z-axis accuracy.

Equipped with an advanced air cooling system in the form of a double cooling fan that effectively removes excess heat from the equipment. Axial fans cool device components and filament during extrusion.

The Ender-3 Max features a Bowden all-metal extruder that delivers fast, distortion-free filament for consistent smooth printing.

Supplied with a heated platen made of carborundum glass, which provides excellent thermal performance that starts smooth printing from the very first layer.
The stability and flatness of the print bed make it easy to handle prints - they adhere well and are also easy to remove.

Features a simple yet powerful display, both for monitoring the printing process and making the necessary adjustments.

Equipped with a filament sensor that will stop the printing process in time if the material runs out or deforms.

Implemented the ability to resume printing from where it stopped in case of various hardware problems, as well as power failures.
With the dedicated MC2208 driver, 3D printing becomes quiet and comfortable. The driver is made in Germany and adapted for use in X/Y axes, and is also designed to reduce engine noise and vibration.

Unlike the original Ender 3, the Ender 3 Max has a side spool holder, making it similar to the Creality CR-6 SE. This change makes the Ender 3 Max much wider than other Ender series printers, but this change makes the printer shorter than the standard Ender 3.

Features

Operating systems

WindowXP / 7/8/10 / MAC / Linux

Power supply

100-240V AC50 / 60Hz DC24V

Energy consumption

350 W

Weight kg

Software

Slicer: Creality Slicer / Cura / Pepetier-Host / Simplify3D

Country of manufacture

China

File formats

STL/OBJ/AMF

Materials used

PLA / TPU / PETG / ABS / Wood

Working chamber

300x300x340 mm

Print technology

FDM

Layer thickness from

100 µm

Print Precision

± 0.