At a look
Knowledgeable’s Score
Execs
- Constructed-in digital camera
- Properly priced
- Spectacular print high quality
Cons
- Single color printing solely
- Will be very noisy
- Irritating to vary filament
Our Verdict
The Creality K1C is a formidable 3D printer that gives a shallow studying curve for newcomers. It’s dependable, quick and may print all kinds of filaments out of the field
If you happen to just lately purchased a Creality K1, then I’d advise you to cease studying this evaluate now as it’ll solely make you unhappy.
The K1 is simply about six months outdated, however is already being changed by the K1C. It’s no secret that the K1 had some teething issues and Creality ended up redesigning the new finish, fixing some software program points and open sourcing the software program that ought to have been open supply all alongside.
However as an alternative of simply persevering with to promote the ‘fastened’ K1, Creality determined to do a whole overhaul and launch a very new mannequin, the K1C.
It would look the identical, however beneath the pores and skin there are a raft of upgrades and enhancements that make it a greater printer. So, apologies to anybody who’s simply purchased a K1.
Options & design
- New extruder
- New easy-swap hardened nozzle
- AI digital camera as customary
Let’s begin with the C. When rumours of the printer began showing, some thought it stood for Color. Would Creality comply with Bambu Lab and launch a printer just like the P1S Combo that may print with as much as 4 colors?
Sadly not. The C truly stands for Carbon, and means there’s an upgraded, hardened metal nozzle that’s designed to keep up a temperature of 300°C.
The C truly stands for Carbon, and means there’s an upgraded, hardened metal nozzle that’s designed to keep up a temperature of 300°C
This is without doubt one of the K1C’s massive differentiators: it may reliably print abrasive carbon-fibre-infused filaments corresponding to PLA-CF and PETG-CF in addition to those who require greater temperatures corresponding to ASA and PC.
Alongside the ‘unicorn’ nozzle, as Creality is asking it, the all-metal direct-drive extruder is stronger than the unique K1’s, permitting it to extra reliably feed filament into the hotend.
Jim Martin / Foundry
The corporate says the nozzle is meant to be fast to swap out, however except I’m doing it fallacious, it’s nonetheless way more laborious than the Bambu A1, for instance. The recent finish is mounted on the rear of the print head, and the quilt (containing the fan) isn’t held in place by magnets: you must undo two screws. It’s worthwhile to take away this in an effort to take away the silicone shroud that sits over the nozzle. Then you could unscrew the nozzle utilizing the equipped spanner – hardly the one-handed swap Creality advertises.
The actual fact is, you’re not more likely to need or want to vary the nozzle fairly often anyway, making this all moderately moot for most individuals.
The all-metal direct-drive extruder is stronger than the unique K1’s, permitting it to extra reliably feed filament into the hotend
The K1 doesn’t have a digital camera, nevertheless it’s customary on the K1C. It permits you to verify on print progress remotely and report timelapses of prints for posterity. It’s known as an AI digital camera as a result of it may detect overseas objects on the construct plate or if a print fails half manner by and the filament begins to type a load of ‘spaghetti’.
So far as I can inform it’s the identical digital camera from the K1 Max so high quality is fairly respectable. It isn’t excellent on the AI stuff, although, and doesn’t at all times discover and warn you of failed prints. It’s fairly good at recognizing whenever you’ve left the earlier mannequin on the construct plate, forgotten about it and began one other print although.
Past this, you’d be hard-pushed to identify the modifications and enhancements. However they’re there. Creality says the body “adopts larger elements made by built-in die casting. With fewer seams, it appears to be like neat and turns into completely sturdy”.
Jim Martin / Foundry
It actually feels sturdy, and there’s now a steel plate on the entrance fringe of the mattress, presumably so as to add additional energy. Nevertheless, the cynic in me sees it as a duplicate of what Bambu has carried out with its construct plates, even all the way down to slapping the construct quantity on it: 220x220x250mm. (Pedants will spot – and be irked by – the faulty ³ on the finish.)
Elsewhere, there’s a carbon filter (because the K1 Max has) which helps to maintain nasty particles from being blown into your room, giant rubber toes which come already connected (to dampen vibrations) and a Bambu-style silicone strip caught to the rear of the construct plate for wiping the nozzle clear.
By way of meeting, there’s nearly none to do
By way of meeting, there’s nearly none to do: you get it out of the field, take away a number of delivery screws and foam packing, then connect the display screen and spool holder, plug in and away you go.
Jim Martin / Foundry
Fairly clearly, the K1C is an enclosed printer. The benefit of this design is that top ambient temperatures will be maintained to assist hold warping to a minimal when printing with ASA, PC and different supplies that warp all too readily.
Regardless of what Creality says about them being glass, the aspect panels are nonetheless plastic, with solely the entrance door being glass. The lid is plastic too, and must be clicked firmly into place to cease it from shifting and even falling off solely when the chain (which homes the PTFE tube for the filament and wiring for the print head) strikes to the far left aspect.
As with the K1, the PTFE tube is bent at a decent angle into the extruder which might make it tough or unimaginable to load filament into the new finish. Filament also can catch within the run-out sensor mounted on the rear of the printer (together with the spool holder).
Jim Martin / Foundry
This implies filament modifications will be irritating. If the filament catches on the tip of the new finish, the one option to repair it’s to take away the lid, pull out the PTFE tube from the extruder and push the filament in manually as straight as attainable till it goes in.
Examine this to Bambu’s AMS which mechanically masses and unloads filament and it does turn into an enormous annoyance whenever you need to print in a unique color or with a unique sort of filament.
The 4.3in touchscreen stays the identical as on the K1 and K1 Max. Creality has made varied enhancements within the interface, with probably the most important being the flexibility to regulate print velocity on the fly. This was a weird absence earlier than, nevertheless it’s there now (and it really works, I’m blissful to say).
Jim Martin / Foundry
It’s nonetheless extra restricted than the controls on Creality’s Klipper-based Sonic Pad, giving choices of 125%, 75%, and 50%. There’s additionally Quiet Mode which reduces noise to “as little as” 45dB. The unhealthy information is that “as little as” is the operative phrase: it was by no means persistently quiet in my testing, with the followers and motors nonetheless being louder than you’d need.
At full chat, the K1C is exceptionally noisy – a mix of high-flow followers and excessive print speeds. It shakes and wobbles like loopy at speeds over 300mm/sec. And whereas it may technically hit 600mm/sec (Creality even offers a check print to showcase it) it received’t obtain wherever close to this on most prints, and may solely do it with tiny layer heights in ‘floor’ mode. The ensuing print was mighty spectacular contemplating all of the shaking about: the partitions regarded excellent, with no layers or imperfections seen.
Speaking of efficiency…
Efficiency
- Absolutely automated calibration
- 200-300mm real looking print speeds
- Dimensionally correct, clear prints
Though totally different motors are used the K1C affords the identical print speeds because the K1. A helpful desk is included on a sticker contained in the printer itself, so you may make the primary settings in your slicing software program.
Jim Martin / Foundry
What’s bizarre is that Creality Print doesn’t apply these settings whenever you inform it what sort of filament is loaded. You’ll be able to choose something, nevertheless it at all times retained the identical settings for Creality’s HyperPLA, which is 200mm/sec for partitions and 300mm/sec for infill. This might have been as a result of I used to be given early entry to a construct of the software program that supported the K1C, although.
Surprisingly, even when utilizing these quicker speeds for filaments that must be printed slower, the K1C nonetheless delivered nice outcomes. I printed the velocity Benchy (pre-loaded as a check mannequin) in Creality’s silk PLA which was accomplished in roughly 18 minutes. I repeated the check by slicing a Benchy in Creality Print utilizing the really useful settings, nevertheless it was tough to inform the distinction between the 2: each have been extremely spectacular.
There’s nearly no stringing, with no wisps of filament hanging between the pillars on the boat, and no noticeable ringing on the hull.
I then printed this tiny hexagon field in PLA, which once more confirmed that retraction is great: it was very clear.
Jim Martin / Foundry
To check tolerances, I used the identical PLA to print this infinite dice fidget toy. Other than a few barely stiff hinges, which labored looser over time, it was totally practical proper off the construct plate.
Jim Martin / Foundry
I additionally printed a wall mounting bracket for my Ryobi space gentle utilizing Creality’s wooden PLA. The half fitted completely, demonstrating that the K1C prints precisely.
I then printed quite a lot of fashions utilizing some Bambu PETG-CF and PLA-CF, all of which printed with wonderful outcomes.
Jim Martin / Foundry
Mattress adhesion was nice with all filament varieties I attempted when utilizing the really useful glue stick. You should purchase the non-compulsory textured PEI plate, however the easy one labored completely nice for me and leaves the underside of prints equally easy.
Jim Martin / Foundry
The one time prints have been problematic was when utilizing PC and ASA. As you may see from this hexagon coaster printed in ASA, the corners have warped a bit of, regardless of utilizing the really useful temperature settings.
Jim Martin / Foundry
Earlier than every print, calibration takes round 5-6 minutes. This includes heating the mattress to the specified temperature, probing the mattress (utilizing pressure gauges within the mattress) and enter shaping, which makes an attempt to counteract vibrations triggered when the print head is shifting rapidly in numerous instructions.
Clearly this provides considerably to the time taken for very small fashions, however at all times value it for giant prints that take hours and hours.
Print time and progress are proven on the display screen, however you too can see them in Creality Print and the Creality Cloud cell app. You’re free to make use of different slicing software program, nevertheless it’s best to make use of these apps to watch prints and get alerts if there’s an issue.
It’s a bit annoying that print time doesn’t change whenever you modify velocity on the fly. After I tried out Quiet Mode, a print that will have taken 2h30 truly took 3h10, nevertheless it wasn’t till the print was nearly completed that the time modified. Hopefully Creality can repair this in a firmware replace.
Value & availability
The Creality K1C prices $559 / £539 from Creality. That lower than the $599 / £579 that the K1 initially price.
That is good worth contemplating the upgrades, though it’s value noting that the K1 is now cheaper at $499 / £479, and that ought to embody the up to date sizzling finish talked about earlier.
It actually undercuts Bambu’s P1S, which doesn’t have a touchscreen even when it does help multi-colour printing by way of the corporate’s AMS.
For options, see our roundup of the very best 3D printers.
Ought to I purchase the Creality K1C?
The K1C affords respectable worth for anybody searching for a flexible 3D printer that may deal with a variety of filament varieties, reliably with fast printing at top quality.
The 220x220x250 construct quantity isn’t the biggest, although, and there’s no phrase but on whether or not Creality will supply an upgraded model of the K1 Max. In lots of respects, it doesn’t have to because the K1 Max can – technically – already print with carbon-fibre filaments in addition to ASA, PC and nylon. You’ll simply put on out the nozzle quicker in case you do print loads of carbon fibre filament. It already has a carbon filter and a digital camera.
Jim Martin / Foundry
You need to take a look at the Bambu A1, although, in case you don’t have to print with filaments that want an enclosure. It isn’t any noisier for it, has much more options (corresponding to the flexibility to detect tangles on the filament spool) and is an effective chunk cheaper. Oh, and it’s nonetheless cheaper than the K1C even in case you go for the A1 Combo which lets you print in as much as 4 colors thank to the AMS Mini, which can be very handy with regards to auto-changing filaments.
Admittedly, you’d want to purchase Bambu’s hardened nozzle to print with carbon fibre, however the A1 can do it simply nice, and affords barely extra construct quantity. It might be a mattress slinger, nevertheless it’s not a lot slower than the K1C and it produces top-notch print high quality.