7 Best Creality 3D Printers That You Can Buy in 2022
Creality are arguably the biggest manufacturers of 3D printers, so people wonder which Creality 3D printer is the best. This article will go through some popular options that many people love, so you can decide which one to go with for yourself.
1. Creality Ender 3 S1
The first 3D printer we have on this list is the Ender 3 S1, a high quality 3D printer that has several sought-after features. It has a respectable build volume of 220 x 220 x 270mm, having a slightly larger height than previous versions.
One of the main benefits is just how easy it is to operate, especially with the automatic bed leveling system. It has a modern “Sprite” direct drive, dual-gear extruder that can handle several types of filaments, even flexible ones.
The Ender 3 S1 comes with a CR touch, which is Creality’s automatic bed leveling system. This allows for easier leveling of the bed, while also reducing the time it takes to complete this process.
If you want a Creality 3D printer, having this feature is something that you’ll appreciate.
They also have the firmer bed leveling screws so once you level the 3D printer, you shouldn’t have to re-level very often unless you move it around.
The LCD screen gives a simple user interface, though it’s not touchscreen as some users may have wanted.
You also have very helpful features like the filament run-out sensor, so if you are printing a large model and your filament runs out, the printer will automatically stop and prompt you to change the filament.
It has a PC spring steel build surface which provides a bed with better adhesion, and the ability to “flex” the build plate to pop models off. It also contributes to better print quality since it gives a more stable foundation.
The Z-axis Dual-screw and Z-axis Dual-motor Design on the Ender 3 S1 printer helps to improve printing quality and reduce wear on the printer’s mechanical components due to the added stability. Previous Ender 3 machines don’t have this feature.
If you experience a power outage or accidentally disconnect the plug, it has a power outage resume feature where it records the last printing position, and once turned back on, continues from the last position.
Pros of the Ender 3 S1
- Dual Z axis provides better stability and print quality
- Automatic bed leveling makes for easier operation
- Fast assembly
- Direct drive system so you can print flexible models
Cons of the Ender 3 S1
- Quite pricey, but justified with all the newer features
- Some users had trouble with the bed surface ripping
The printer is considered by most users reliable, with the CR touch bed leveling making it very easy to set up.
One user likes that the print quality is good and the 3D prints comes off the print bed smoothly, while yet another user successfully printed ABS material with a little bit of blue masking tape and got good 3D prints.
2. Creality Ender 6
The Ender 6 is a new generation printer, with an updated MK10 extruder to improve the printing accuracy and speed. Having an updated core XY structure, vibrations are minimized for higher-speed printing and ensures good-quality 3D prints.
The Carborundum glass platform in this printer is a great choice because it is resistant to heat and has good thermal conductivity. This means that it heats up to 100°C quickly and the prints adhere better.
In terms of printing accuracy and printing speed, the speed of up to 150mm/s is far superior to the traditional FDM 3D printers. It is advisable to use the H2 Direct Drive Extruder and Klipper.
An acrylic enclosure is an optional upgrade for the Ender 6 Core XY 3D printer. The enclosure is in clear acrylic, which provides the best view to watch the 3D printing in action.
If your printer loses power or the filament breaks, it will automatically start printing again. This way, you don’t have to worry about your print failing.
Having a structure of core XY, the structure of the printer is more stable and the printing accuracy is extremely high due to its axis positioning accuracy and extruder position accuracy.
Pros of Ender 6
- Able to print larger object
- Has printing stability
- Ability to resume printing
- Has a filament sensor
Cons of Ender 6
- Not equipped with auto-leveling probe
- Relatively high due to its big printing size and all-metal Z-axis
Customer reviews show they are very satisfied so far with Ender 6, as it is very easy to assemble because of its pre-assembled print surface.
Users have found that the platform in Ender 6 allows for ultra-smoothness even on the first layer, and have printed designs very quickly yielding very high-quality 3D prints.
Users also like that it comes with a nice and sturdy metal hotbed and the acrylic body looks pretty cool.
Someone replaced the stock parts cooler with a dragon hotend and upgraded the screen so they could use it more.
3. Creality Halot One
The Halot One is one of Creality’s resin 3D printers, supporting SLA technology for 3D printing high quality models. It has a print size of 127 x 80 x 160mm, along with a Z-axis positioning accuracy of 0.01mm, resulting in great printing accuracy.
This 3D printer has a major feature of utilizing Creality’s self-developed integral light source for better distribution on screen. This capability gives the printer about 20% higher precision, higher uniformity, and higher saturation solving the problems caused by uneven light.
With a precision Z-axis module that uses a single slide rail and T-type screws with coupling, it has a widened and thickened micro-grade profile that gives more stability to prints.
It uses manual bed leveling, and has a 5-inch monochrome touchscreen display for interactive and easy control of printer features. It is easy to learn and use it with a resolution of 2560 x 1620 that gives better print granularity for quality prints.
The Halot One is specially designed to reduce odor emission and allows the heat to be released quickly. This is enabled by its efficient cooling and air carbon air filtration system.
Pros of Halot One
- Improved printing accuracy and efficiency
- Efficient and easy slicing with proprietary slicer
- Wi-Fi/App remote control for controlling prints
- Efficient cooling and filtration system
Cons of Halot One
- Exposure timing is quite high compared to other resin printers
- Not the largest build plate size, but enough for standard models
- Power switch is at the back which can be harder to access
Most reviews of the Halot One are pretty positive, with some negative experiences from quality control and other issues.
It’s a well-priced 2K resin 3D printer which doesn’t require a lot of assembly to get started. Many beginners mentioned that this was their first resin 3D printer and they had a great experience with it.
One user stated that it didn’t come with any gloves or resin, and the scraper tool wasn’t too sharp for removing models.
It works with Lychee Slicer which is known to be a better slicer than the Creality one.
4. Creality Ender 3 V2
The Ender 3 V2 is one of the most popular 3D printers on the market today, making a significant impact on people around the world. It’s one of the best Creality 3D printers you can get as it mixes a competitive price with optimal features and printing quality.
It gives a fairly large 220 x 220 x 250mm printing volume that can accommodate most prints and users can print using a MicroSD or from the Creality Cloud, which I haven’t tried before.
It uses Creality’s silent printing 32-bit motherboard for a stable motion performance, as well as a low noise printing experience.
This 3D printer has a Meanwell power supply with up to 270V output, which means that it meets all the needs to allow users to enjoy fast printing and print for longer times.
The Ender 3 V2 has a rotary knob on the extruder, which makes loading and feeding filament much easier.
The Carborundum Glass Platform that comes with the printer helps the hotbed heat up quickly and prints adhere better without warping.
If there is a power outage, your printing will resume from the last recorded extruder position, thanks to its resume printing function which will save you time and reduce waste.
Some changes made from the previous screen into a 4.3-inch HD color screen make it simple and quick to operate by users.
This printer is known to have useful modifications, the toolbox at the front of the base helps keep things organized as people often use screws and other small tools to do the printer upgrades.
Pros of Ender 3 V2
- Provides great printing quality
- Well-packaged kit
- Easy assembly so you can get 3D printing fast
- Easy to upgrade and add modifications
- Great-looking multicolor LCD control panel
Cons of Ender 3 V2
- Lacks auto-bed leveling
- Poor bed springs
- Poor bed adhesion
- Maintenance costs
- Internal components are not glued
People have found the Ender 3 V2 printer to be one of the most reliable and affordable of the Ender series printers, with good quality prints due to even heat distribution which reduces print imperfections like warping.
A very important fact by user’s experience is that this printer got some very nice print quality with a minimal amount of tweaking.
Some users found that they had to do some regular maintenance on the 3D printer, but with the right upgrades like firm bed leveling springs, you shouldn’t have to do too much to maintain the machine.
One significant modification if you want to 3D print with higher temperature materials it to add an all-metal hotend that is durable like the Eimiry All-Metal Hotend Kit, along with Capricorn PTFE Tubing.
5. Creality Ender 5 Pro
The Ender 5 Pro is a printer that is loved by many, due to its higher level of stability due to the cubic structure. It has a printing resolution of 0.1mm and a large build volume of 220 x 220 x 300mm. This allows you to print huge models without the need for complex resizing in post-processing.
This 3D printer has a smooth feed-in capability that helps to reduce wear on filament, this is also enhanced by a premium Capricorn blue Teflon tube, along with a metal extruding unit providing good extrusion force of filament down to the nozzle for better print quality.
It has the build plate fixed on the Z-axis so there are fewer movements and fewer points of failure. In terms of stability, it also has a dual Y-axis control system to provide synchronous operation, leading to higher performance and operation.
The printer has an ultra-mute motherboard and a 4-layer PCB that gives less noise, as well as higher precision for fine prints.
Equipped with a power protection device, you don’t need to fear sudden power failure, this helps to save on time and material as the printing resumes seamlessly thanks to its intelligent induction feature.
The Ender 5 Pro is often considered a PLA-only machine, but with a 260°C nozzle temperature and a 110°C bed temperature, it has provision for printing ABS and TPU with modifications.
Pros of Ender 5 Pro
- Easy assembly with DIY modular design
- Solid print quality
- Premium Capricorn Bowden tubing
- Quiet printing
Cons of Ender 5 Pro
- Challenging bed leveling
- Lacks a filament runout sensor
- Magnetic bed failures
Users love that Ender 5 pro has a frame that is very strong and sturdy, its wiring also appears quite well done, and bed leveling that takes a little time if worked properly.
Some other user reactions include distributor-related issues as some have randomly got older 1.1.5 boards instead of 4.2.2 32 bit boards that apparently lack a bootloader which necessitates an upgrade that needs real expertise to flash the firmware.
Replacing the magnetic bed with a glass build plate is highly recommended and a careful review for the selection of a distributor. Other than that, most users seem to have a positive experience with the Ender 5 Pro.
6. Creality CR-10 Smart
The Creality CR-10 Smart is one of the popular CR series 3D printers has a large 300 x 300 x 400mm print volume for printing a wide range of objects and comes with a 4.3-inch full view display.
One unique feature of CR-10 printer is the sturdy structure that uses V-profiles. It has a gantry structure with a metal diagonal drawbar that forms a solid triangular shape for precise printing.
It is equipped with a fully intelligent auto-leveling system which reduces the tedious leveling work, as you usually only have to level once usually.
It is the first Creality 3D printer to mount crossbars towards the rear of the printer for easier access to the print bed.
This also allows the gantry to move up and down easily along the Z-axis for consistency for smooth prints.
The CR-10 Smart comes with a Meanwell power supply which is a low noise power supply, this allows it to easily reach a hotbed temperature of 100°C and a 260°C nozzle temperature.
Mute printing with Creality’s silent board that is enhanced with highly efficient cooling fans, so printing 3D models is done in a quieter environment.
It also has an auto-feeding ability which allows for the simple retraction of filament making the process easier. The Carborundum glass platform makes it easy for better adhesion of prints, as long as the surface is clean.
You can also use bed adhesives like glue stick or hairspray to improve adhesion to the glass platform.
With an auto-shutdown capability, this 3D printer shuts down once the model is completed after 30 minutes of inactivity even in absence of the user, this saves both power and effort.
Pros of CR-10 Smart
- Easy assembly
- Workable with flexible TPU
- Auto-shutdown
- Large printing size
- Silent printing
- Smooth finish on parts
- Auto-leveling makes operation easier
Cons of CR-10 Smart
- Fans are the loudest part of the 3D printer, but relatively quiet overall
- No Ethernet or Wi-Fi setup
- No leveling knobs
Some users experienced issues with the auto-leveling feature being inaccurate. This was fixed by adding a Z-offset of around 0.1-0.2mm.
There may have been a bad batch of 3D printers sent out, or not enough guidance for people to follow correctly. One user said that the auto-leveling works fine as long as you have the right amount of tension on each side of the bed, with the rollers.
The lack of leveling knobs makes it difficult for users to shift to manual leveling on CR-10 Smart, which could help.
Some users have had cracked extruder covers because of cold PLA, changing to a gray metal extruder and adjusting the extruder to have more pressure on the filament helped to get back to printing.
Users have found that a major modification is exchanging the extruder to all Metal Extruder Aluminum MK8 Extruder from Amazon which helps to give much more consistent printing.
7. Creality CR-10 V3
The last 3D printer I am covering for the best Creality 3D printers is the CR-10 V3. It gives users an impressive print area of 300 x 300 x 400mm that can easily handle most 3D printing files and comes with a BLTouch auto-bed leveling probe option.
It has a direct-drive mechanism with little space between the extruder and the nozzle which allows the printer to print with flexible filaments like TPU.
The 350W power supply allows for rapid heating of the build plate to 100°C, so it can handle high temperature filaments nicely.
It uses a premium E3D metal extruder to withstand high temperatures and increase extrusion torque.
Something important for this large-format printer was the addition of a filament runout sensor that helps to avoid having an empty spool while there is a print job in progress. This is more useful since the CR-10 V3 has a resume printing capability on events of power outages or any unexpected stop.
It is similar to the Ender 3 V2 printer in some ways. Firstly, it adopts the V-profile structure using an all-metal frame that makes it able to effectively reduce errors caused by vibrations when printing.
Next, the design also allows NEMA 17 stepper motors to be added easily in the future so that the Z-axis can print at higher speeds than it currently does.
It comes with a glass bed to provide a reliable and flat surface for your 3D models. When dealing with larger 3D prints, having a flat surface is highly recommended for better printing success.
Another useful enhancement is its dual-port cooling fans, added to a circular heat sink on its hotend which helps to dissipate heat immediately. It’s ideal to help avoid filament jams.
It has a silent stepper motor driver added to its board that reduces noise when running and gives a more silent print environment in your workshop or office. Also, with more storage size, it can run more firmware and you can easily install an update using a MicroSD.
Pros of CR-10 V3
- Simple assembly
- Smaller retractions due to direct drive extruder
- Ideal for flexible filaments
- Silent printing
Cons of CR-10 V3
- Hotend clogs easily if settings aren’t done correctly
- The filament runout sensor is mounted in a bad area
- Loud control box fan
- Relatively expensive
- Still has the older display screen style with blue light display
Some user reviews show satisfaction with the coated glass build plate which works well. Also, users indicate that it heats up reasonably fast, usually by the time you load your filament and the program.
Regardless of whether you are 3D printing small objects or larger ones, there should be a smooth flow of filament without wobbling on the Z-axis.
Difficulties have been faced when trying to fix extruder or hotend jams due to the print head being heavier and more compact.
Also, users don’t get a fun experience with the regular blue light display screen as compared with Ender 3 V2 LCD which has a better interface.