3D printing is both an enticing hobby and a crucial tool for engineers of all types. Whether you’re interested in designing art from scratch, building tools and parts for another project around the house, or just want to explore the possibilities of on-demand engineering, consider a Creality 3D printer. Creality makes a wide variety of 3D printers for beginners, experts, and professionals alike.
Creality LD-002R: Best Resin Printer Yet?
The hobby market has been waiting decades for affordable high-quality 3D printers. The catchily named LD-002R is the latest from 3D printing experts, Creality. At under $300, it's one of the cheapest resin printers we've seen yet, but it doesn't compromise on build or print quality. In a word, it's amazing.
I'm blown away by every aspect of the Creality LD-002R, and it's hard to find any faults. The build quality is fantastic, with smooth bearings and a metal body. At 20-30mm per hour, it's fast enough to print out a plate full of miniatures in a couple of hours. More than anything, it offers reliable printing at a fantastic price point.
Yes, you can find cheaper printers, but those will invariably be made of plastic and prone to warping, with more of your time spent diagnosing issues than actually printing.
I don't think we'll see quality resin printers getting any cheaper, so if you've been holding out for the technology to mature and the price to come down, now is a good time to buy. I can recommend the Creality LD-002R without reservation.
However, if you're a complete beginner to 3D printing, you ought to know that there's a lot of clean up involved, and resin is a nasty raw material to work with. As well as appropriate safety precautions (gloves and goggles), you'll need to clean everything with flammable 99% IPA. Removing supports is also a lot more work than FDM printing. But ultimately, the quality you can get from resin printing is unrivaled.
Creality CR-6 SE | Is It Worth It?
The Creality CR-6 SE* is packed with useful features. The time between unboxing and the first 3D print is extremely short. The Creality CR-6 SE* should be purchased by anyone who wants to quickly achieve great results without any start-up problems. It was hard to find negative points in the practical test!
With excellent auto-leveling, a sleek design, and many quality-of-life features, it looks very professional and rarely if ever gives you problems.
The 3D printer is very reliable and as long as it prints with dry filament, there are very rarely print errors.
Creality Ender 5 Pro 3D Printer - Runner Up
The Ender 5 Pro is a great choice for beginner and intermediate creators alike. This printer offers a number of advanced features, such as Creality’s metal extruder kit. This pushes filament through the extruder with more pressure, leading to higher performance and more accurate layer formation at high print speeds. It also uses Capricorn Premium XS Bowden tubing, which makes for smoother filament feeding and a better texture in your final print.
Another thing that users loved about this 3D printer is that it comes with a hot bed. It only takes five minutes to fully warm up, and then you’re ready to start printing. Users noted that using the hot bed even for high-speed test prints can make a huge difference in quality. The bed also features a removable print surface, which makes it easy to get prints off the machine.
Importantly, the Ender 5 Pro has a few adaptations that make the printer more stable. The y-axis mechanism comes with a dual shaft, while the z-axis includes two attachment points with a lead screw. These construction features ensure that vibration won’t affect the quality of your print.
What we liked: Users repeatedly expressed surprise at how quiet the Ender 5 Pro is while it’s printing.
What could be better: The Ender 5 Pro doesn’t offer a huge print space. In fact, the largest track, along the z-axis, is just 11.8 inches tall. The horizontal axes are just 8.7 inches each, which can limit your ability to print large models.
Creality Ender 3 Pro 3D Printer – Best Budget FDM Printer
You might be surprised to find that the Ender 3 Pro costs less than the Ender 3 V2. While this 3D printer shares many features, it’s missing a few upgrades that push the V2 ahead in our eyes.
For example, it doesn’t feature Creality’s newest silent motherboard, which is included with the V2. That’s not a huge issue, since the motherboard on the Ender 3 Pro is still relatively quiet. However, users did note that it can get somewhat noisy once you start running closer to the printer’s maximum speed.
Another important difference is that this printer uses a standard Cmagnet build surface plate rather than a glass base plate. First-time 3D printer users likely won’t notice the difference, but the Cmagnet plate doesn’t offer the same heat retention when the first layers of your print are going down. The hot bed is the same, however, so you’ll still reap the benefits of a more stable foundation for your prints.
We appreciated that the Ender 3 Pro is compatible with a wide variety of filament materials. You can use PLA and TPU, both of which are extremely popular, as well as ABS, wood, and carbon fiber filaments. This printer features a rotating knob on the extruder to make feed-in easier and smoother.
What we liked: The main reason to opt for the Ender 3 Pro is the price. This 3D printer is incredibly affordable, which makes it a good first printer for anyone just getting into 3D design. Since the printer is made by Creality, it’s easy to upgrade individual components over time to add stability and smoother extrusion.
What could be better: The extrusion nozzle on this printer is somewhat cheap compared to what you would find on pricier Creality 3D printers. This results in blockier lines of filament, which in turn means you have to do more sanding and smoothing to your print to finish it.
Creality CR-X - 3D Printer with Dual Color
This awesome printer supports printing in two colors, making the printed model more colorful.
