Simple Ender 5 Plus Review – Worth Buying or Not
Creality is no stranger to top quality 3D printers, so looking at the Creality Ender 5 Plus is a serious contender for one of the best large-scale 3D printers on the market. It weighs in with a build volume of 350 x 350 x 400mm, which is massive!
It comes with a whole host of worthy features that provide Ender 5 Plus users with amazing quality 3D prints, although they are missing out on some other key aspects which you might want to upgrade.
Regardless of this, you can expect a great 3D printer when you have this machine by your side.
Let’s get into this review of the Ender 5 Plus. I’m going to be looking over the features, benefits, downsides, specifications, and what current customers are saying about this 3D printer, so you can choose whether this machine is the right one for you.
The price tag is sitting at around the $600 mark, which is very competitive for the build volume that you are getting!
If you want to check out the Amazon listing for the Ender 5 Plus, click here.
Features of Ender 5 Plus
- Large Build Space
- BL Touch Auto Leveling Sensor
- Filament Run Out Detection
- Y Axis Dual Shaft Motor
- Strong Power Supply Unit
- Thermal Runaway Protection
- 4.3 Inch Color Touchscreen
- Creality V2.2 Motherboard
- Dual Z-Axis Lead Screws
- Tempered Glass Plate
- Partially Assembled Kit
Large Build Space
The most noticeable feature of the Ender 5 Plus (Amazon) has to be its enormous build size, especially when comparing it to the average 3D printer.
You will be blessed with a build volume of 350 x 350 x 400mm. Compared to a normal medium-sized 3D printer like the Ender 3, measuring up at 220 x 220 x 250mm, it out-competes the Ender 3 with ease.
For those users who have larger 3D printed projects in mind, you can be sure that you’ll be set up very nicely with the Ender 5 Plus. Larger projects are possible with smaller 3D printers, but it means you have to split models up into relatively small pieces.
With a big build volume, you can get a lot more bang for your buck and make your ideas into a reality with less restrictions.
BL Touch Auto Leveling Sensor
Following on from the large build space, we can look towards the printing aspect of your 3D printer, namely the automatic leveling sensor called the BL Touch.
Many 3D printer users have to deal with manual leveling, which isn’t usually too bad if you have a flat surface, but the printing process goes a lot smoother when you have an automatic leveling feature.
The Ender 5 Plus made sure to implement this auto-solution which starts when the printer is plugged in.
It can measure the print bed surface’s inclination precisely and can ensure the compensation of the Z-axis in case the platform is uneven.
This sensor plays an active role in avoiding errors that could occur due to the print surface’s unevenness. Apart from this, it offers a reliable operation of printing with all the build surfaces.
Filament Run Out Detection
With a larger 3D printer, you are going to printing through plenty of filament, so having filament run out detection is a very good idea. What it does is basically detect when filament stops flowing through a sensor.
The sensor plays an effective role in detecting and avoiding the occasional printing errors.
It works its magic when filament unexpectedly breaks or runs out altogether. Once filament stops flowing, the 3D printer will automatic pause and wait for you, the user, to replace or fix the flow of filament through the extruder.
You can then happily finish your print from the paused point.
Print Resume Function
Similar to the filament run out detection, the print resume function works as a fail-safe when your 3D printer shuts off due to having no power.
Rather than lose your 3D print altogether, your 3D printer keeps a memory of the last location, and using that, prompts you to resume your 3D print after turning the power back on.
This new feature has ended the tension of people as they do not have to set the printer’s setting if it gets stopped due to power problems. The resume printing feature helps in starting the printing process, where it was left before the power went out.
Y Axis Dual Shaft Motor
Printing movements are made smoother by using dual Y-axis shaft motors and couplings. It does a good job to ensure high precision 3D printing throughout the whole process, especially necessary for a larger 3D printer.
Strong Power Supply Unit
The power supply is one of the most important components of the printer, and the company has stressed a strong power supply. They made sure to use a power supply that has CE certification, ensuring top safety standards.
The power supply used in the printer contains 500W of power which can heat the hotbed very quickly, giving you a 100℃ within 10 minutes.
Thermal Runaway Protection
The printer comes with various security measures to protect you as a user. Thermal runaway protection is a firmware function that automatically shuts the heating element down if it detects irregularities in the heating process.
Some 3D printers without this protection can result in dire consequences of fires started, mainly due to the printer overheating since it is not accurately measuring the actual temperatures, thinking that it is at a lower temperature.
This can happen from a thermistor that comes loose, loose heater cartridge, faulty connectors, or from fault or broken wires.
4.3 Inch Color HD Touchscreen
The operation of your 3D printer is something that you want to be as easy as possible. With the built-in 4.3-inch touchscreen on the Ender 5 Plus (Amazon), you can seamlessly adjust settings, choose 3D prints, and plenty more.
It has a great HD display which shows the key information about your printer’s status, making it easy to operate for any user.
Dual Z-Axis Lead Screws
Similar to the dual Y-axis shaft motors, you also have dual Z-axis lead screws, enabling a smooth layer-by-layer movement for more accurate 3D prints. Again, this is very necessary for larger 3D printers because there is more weight to move overall.
If it were a single Z-axis lead screw design, you would fall short of high quality prints, mainly showing in very visible layer lines throughout your 3D prints.
Tempered Glass Plate
The glass plate that comes with the Ender 5 Plus is a great addition that allows you to get a smooth bottom surface finish, as well as makes your models easier to remove.
It gives you a very flat surface to work with, reducing the instances of prints not getting proper adhesion to the build plate due to warping.
Glass plates are very popular in the 3D printing community, but you do have to watch out for possible ‘ghosting’ which is a print imperfection that arises from vibrations due to large weight moving around.
Though, with all the stability with the dual Y & Z axis, ghosting shouldn’t be a problem.
Partially Assembled Kit
Assembly becomes a lot easier when many of the parts are put together already, something that you benefit from with the Ender 5 Plus. You still get to learn how the components fit and work together to create your 3D prints, rather than having it all done for you.
Most users who purchased the Ender 5 Plus mention how easy the assembly process was, so I would recommend it for people who don’t want to have to take too much time to put it together.
Benefits of the Ender 5 Plus
- Assembling process of Ender 5 Plus is fast and easy for beginners
- The 3D printing process is made easier with the automated leveling process, saving you time
- Operating the Ender 5 Plus is easy with the 4.3-inch HD touchscreen
- Dual Z-axis & dual Y shaft motors gives plenty of stability and stable movements for accurate prints
- Very large build volume allows for big projects with ease
- The tempered glass build plate is removable, making the print process more flexible
- The Ender 5 Plus offers excellent dimensional accuracy and precision in prints.
Downsides of the Ender 5 Plus
I think the first thing to talk about regarding the downsides of the Ender 5 Plus is the noise that it makes while printing. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have a silent motherboard, so you can expect it to be pretty loud.
If you want to reduce this noise, you do a few things.
The most recommended would be to get a silent motherboard and install it within the printer. I did this with my Ender 3 and it made a huge difference to the noise emitted, where I now just hear the fans.
The Creality Upgraded Ender 5 Plus Silent Mainboard is a great choice, as it comes with TMC2208 silent Drivers.
Adhesion can be a little difficult with a tempered glass bed, so I would recommend getting some adhesive substances such as Elmer’s Glue from Amazon.
You can also go with some specialized 3D Printer Adhesive Glue for more advanced filament like PVA, CPE, ABS or PETG, some of which are very prone to warping.
It doesn’t have a Meanwell power supply, although the power supply it comes with is CE certified and pretty strong!
Changing filament can be a hassle because the extruder is located in the back right corner.
It comes with the standard transparent PTFE tubing, not the premium Capricorn tubing. It also comes with the standard plastic extruder, so you may want to upgrade to the all-metal extruder after some time.
There are a few upgrades that you’d want to install, which isn’t the most ideal, especially after buying this pretty pricey 3D printer. From upgrading the motherboard, to changing the extruder and PTFE tubing.
Once you overcome these few downsides, the Ender 5 Plus is a 3D printer that is worthy of the price tag.
Specifications of the Ender 5 Plus
- Build Volume: 350 x 350 x 400mm
- Printing Technology: FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling)
- Display: 4.3-inch HD
- Print Resolution: ±0.1mm
- Nozzle Diameter: 0.4mm
- Nozzle Temperature: 260°C
- Hot Bed Temperature: 100°C
- Working Mode: MicroSD,
- File Format: STL, OBJ, AMF, G-Code
- Supporting Software: Cura, Simplify3D, Repetier-Host & many more
- Filament Compatibility: PLA, ABS, PETG, TPU
- Net Weight: 18.2Kg
Customer Reviews of the Ender 5 Plus
There are a few listings on Amazon for the Ender 5 Plus, most of them having a rating of above 4.0/5.0 at time of writing. Many of the lower ratings for this 3D printer were due to manufacture errors in the early days, but it seems they have now gotten their act together.
One user who has plenty of experience in the 3D printing field, mentioned just how well-engineered and robust the Ender 5 Plus is.
His wife works for an engineering firm who make use of 3D printers that are a lot more premium than the Ender 5 Plus, and they said just how impressed they were with his 3D print quality.
Whether you are a beginner or an expert, you can look forward to some amazing quality prints from this 3D printer. Not only that, the print size is larger than most, especially in the price range.
Even though some customers faced issues, Comgrow (a seller of the Ender 5 Plus) went above and beyond in their customer service to ensure that issues were rectified as soon as possible.
They had an issue of the stock extruder not working properly at full-capacity, requiring an upgrade to a better extruder.
Another issue was with a bent tensioning plate, arising from a badly placed screw which collides with the t-nut sitting on the X-axis extrusion rod. If you tighten the screw too tightly, it can actually bend the plate.
Comgrow worked with the user closely to help replace many parts of the 3D printer, so although the customer service was great, it would be better to not have needed so many fixes in the first place.
One of the customers said after giving five stars rating that he found the printer very stable.
According to him, the build plate sensor allows him to stay alert about the adjustment of the build plate so that the print model comes out fine.
Moreover, he said that the Ender 5 Plus is superior to many printers of its range and highly recommends it to anyone who wants to get into 3D printing.
One of the customers who were new to 3D printing said that it was to assemble the whole printer; though he had trouble with the filament at the start, he is satisfied with everything now.
He said that the large build is provided to print bigger objects with ease, and he was impressed by the printer’s print quality.
Another customer who has been in the 3D printing business for quite some time said that this is a lot of printer with this kind of price.
He mentioned how the printing speed of the Ender 5 Plus is good, and has a large volume to print. He is more than satisfied with the purchase.
Verdict – Is the Ender 5 Plus Worth Buying?
After all is said and done, I would have to say that the Ender 5 Plus is a worthy purchase, especially if you are looking to do larger build projects. This fully open source, stable, durable 3D printer is one that thousands of users love to have beside them.
When you get past the issues and downsides mentioned, you can expect a smooth printing experience, although it might not be the best for a first time user. You would usually want to start with a simple build like an Ender 3 then work your way up.
Though, there are a few tutorials that a beginner can follow closely to get the most out of this 3D printer.
The quality and output of 3D prints from the Ender 5 Plus is top-level, so you can be sure that you are receiving a great 3D printer.
Get the Ender 5 Plus from Amazon today.