Simple Creality LD-002R Review – Worth Buying or Not?

You’re most likely in one of two situations, you have been FDM printing and are looking to get into resin printing or, you’ve been researching resin 3D printers and came across the Creality LD-002R (Amazon).

Either way, you are deciding whether you should purchase this 3D printer and in this article, I’ll do my best to point you towards making the best decision.

Whether you’re a beginner or you have skin in the game, the Creality LD-002R is a budget resin 3D printer that is not only affordable, but a machine on which you can get countless successful prints.

Features of the Creality LD-002R

• Air Filtration System
• Quick Leveling System
• Fast ChiTuBox Slicing Software
• 30W UV Light
• 3.5-inch 2K LCD Full Color Touchscreen
• Anti-Aliasing Feature
• Offline Printing
• Convenient Vat Resin Cleaning
• All-Metal Body & CNC Aluminum
• Stable Ball Linear Rails
• Lifetime Technical Assistance & Professional Customer Service

Air Filtration System

Double fans and active carbon air filtering system deodorizes the odor from resin.

The Creality LD-002R is equipped with a great air filtering system. At the back of the print chamber, there is a small box containing a pouch of activated carbon, which is the main filter which removes unwanted smells from exposed resin. It also has a set of double fans which helps activate the carbon air filtering system.

It’s what you’ll find in most air purifier devices, and it works well.

Quick Leveling System

Everyone loves a quick leveling system, especially one that can allow you to start printing just 5 minutes after assembly. Simply level your build platform by adjusting 4 hex screws, then loosen them before dropping the plate. Once you’ve done that, it will align to the level of the screen.

Fast ChiTuBox Slicing Software

The latest version of the ChiTuBox slicing software is used for the LD-002R, a software that is well-known for it’s amazing user experience and speed.

It only takes 1 minute to slice a whole 30mb .stl model file, whereas in some cases an open-source slicing software could take up to 10 minutes!

30W UV Light

A powerful UV light is necessary for fast resin printing, so this machine has a nice 30W lighting system which ensures 4 seconds per layer.

It gives you incredible precision and resolution with ease.

3.5-inch 2K LCD Full-Color Touchscreen

Ease of operation is definitely in-built within the Creality LD-002R through a full-color responsive touchscreen. It’s very user-friendly and has a nice interface to choose 3D printing files and view print progress for ease of use.

The screen is made of special high-strength tempered glass and is a 2K LCD Screen with a resolution of 2560 x 1440.

Anti-Aliasing Feature

This feature put simply, smoothens out the design of your prints as they are built up from several tiny rectangles, otherwise known as pixels. It’s mainly the edges of a print that is affected, so a digital process called anti-aliasing interpolates between these edges, resulting in a smoothened 3D print.

Offline Printing

There is an integrated computer board that allows you to print directly from the provided USB rather than need to connect to a computer. It’s a standard feature you’ll find in most 3D printers, allowing you to 3D print simply and quickly.

Convenient Vat Resin Cleaning

Convenience is always welcomed whatever the occasion, so the special FED release film is actually tightened from both sides, allowing for residue to be removed from the resin vat by removing the release film.

This prolongs the service life of the special FEP film.

During the printing process, the release film is smoother and more durable.

All-Metal Body & CNC Aluminum

The all-metal integrated body is manufactured by specialized CNC cutting techniques, which give extra strength to the 3D printer. This gives the machine a strong structure which reduces vibration and gives you smoother prints.

Stable Ball Linear Rails

Movement is important in a 3D printer for steadiness and sturdiness. The ball linear rails on the LD-002R eliminate negative print quality because it moves the Z-axis more steadily. It will help give smoother surfaces and more delicate texture.

Lifetime Technical Assistance & Professional Customer Service

Everyone loves a company that prides itself on great customer service, and Creality is one of those companies. When you purchase the Creality LD-002R, you’re also getting lifetime technical assistance, as well as professional customer service (24-hour).

Also comes with 1-year warranty.

Benefits

• Ball linear rails ensures steady Z-axis movement for smoother prints
• Strong metal frame reduces vibrations
• Uniform 405nm UV light source with reflective cup for even lighting
• Strong air filtering system provides cleaner environment
• Competitive pricing
• New easy to use user interface
• Anti-aliasing effect to produce finer prints
• Quick leveling system simplifies the leveling process – loosen 4 side screws, push home, then tighten the 4 side screws.
• Vat cleaning is a lot easier with the special FED release film
• Relatively large print volume of 119 x 65 x 160mm
• Consistently successful prints

Downsides

The manual that comes with the printer doesn’t help too much. I would recommend using an unboxing/tutorial video on Amazon or YouTube for setting up your printer.

There haven’t been too many, but sometimes people mention the control screen has some periods of not being too responsive, but after turning it off and on, it works fine again.

It would be better if Creality supplied some basic instructions on the cleaning and post-processing parts of 3D printing, but again, you can find some great videos around to help you in this.

This isn’t a negative with the 3D printer but in general, SLA printing is quite messy and requires many tools to get the final print. To make life a little easier, you should look into bundling your resin 3D printer with the Anycubic Wash & Cure (my review) machine.

Specifications of the Creality LD-002R

• Slicer Software: ChiTu DLP Slicer
• Printing Technology: LCD Display Photocuring
• Connectivity: USB
• Print Size: 119 x 65 x 160mm
• Machine Size: 221 x 221 x 403mm
• Print Speed: 4s/layer
• Nominal Voltage 100-240V
• Output Voltage: 12V
• Nominal Power: 72W
• Layer Height: 0.02 – 0.05mm
• XY Axis Precision: 0.075mm
• Print Method: USB
• File Format: STL/CTB
• Machine Weight: 7KG

What Comes with the Creality LD-002R?

• Creality LD-002R Machine
• Facemask
• Filters
• Extra FED film
• Plastic scraper
• Metal scraper

Basically you’re getting everything you need, except for the resin.

Customer Reviews

The Creality LD-002R has been described as the Ender 3 of resin 3D printers, which, if you are familiar with the Creality Ender 3 is a pretty big deal. It basically means it is reliable, affordable and produces some high quality prints!

People appreciate a 3D printer that’s easy to set up and this is definitely one of them. Depending on what liquid resin you are using, you can completely eliminate odors while you print, but the carbon filter does a great job at removing most odor.

You can use the lower layer heights for some seriously amazing print quality.

I think in the early days, there were complaints of instructions and firmware being in Chinese, but these were probably incorrectly sent. Nowadays, you’re getting your instructions and firmware in English.

Someone did complain about the instructions, but there are instructions online that you can make use of.

Calibration of the 3D printer is a breeze and the first few prints came out excellent, from detail to surface finish.

When you order this printer, everything you need minus the resin is provided, including extra FEP film and a USB stick.

One user had been running the resin 3D printer for two months and it hasn’t failed once. He also described that a question he had was quickly answered by Creality support. It won’t be instant since time zones are vast, but rest assured you’ll get some detailed responses.

The packaging of this machine is done very well, so you can ensure it won’t be damaged in transit.

Verdict

If you are looking to get a resin 3D printer, the Creality LD-002R is a great choice because of the print quality, ease of use and convenient features that make the process smoother.

There aren’t any real downsides that would stop me from buying this machine, and when you realize how competitive the price is, it’s an easy choice to make. I think the most useful features of this 3D printer are the carbon filters and double fans which deodorizes odor from the resin, and the easy leveling for the build plate.

Purchase the LD-002R from Amazon today for a great price.