Creality K1 - FDM 3D printer

Creality is a company specialising in the design and production of 3D printing related products. Undoubtedly, this company is known for having some of the best-selling 3D printers on the market, due to their great value for money. Creality offers a wide variety of quality 3D printer models that adapt to the user's needs and at a much lower cost than other brands.

The main features of K1

One of the most interesting FDM 3D printers in their offer is the Core XY closed chamber K1 3D printer, dubbed by Creality "the King of Speed". K1 can achieve an astonishing printing speed of up to 600 mm/s, making it approximately 12 times faster than a standard FDM 3D printer.

Image 1: K1 encapsulates revolutionary printing speed in a compact frame. Source: Creality.

With 20000mm/s² acceleration, K1 achieves a speed of 600 mm/s in only 0.03 s, delivering full speed in 90 % of the printing time. K1 has a build volume of 220 x 220 x 250 mm and is compatible with 1.75 mm filaments. K1 is delivered assembled and calibrated, which makes it possible to start printing "right out of the box".

Video 1: The superfast K1 3D printer by Crealiy. Source: Creality.

The K1 3D printer has a unibody die-cast and CNC-machined frame that ensures ultra-stability. Precision and staiblity are further boosted by the smart G-sensor that helps reduce ringing for high-speed printing. The G-sensor is embedded in the printhead and it is responsible for measuring the resonance frequencies of high speed printing.

Image 2: The sturdy and stable structure of the K1 printer. Source: Creality.

The G-sensor autotunes the printer to mitigate vibrations, thus reducing printing artefacts such as ghosting or ringing. The Z-axis positioning of the K1 3D printer has also been tuned to perfection in order to reduce Z-banding, resulting in very subtle and smooth texture of the 3D printed parts.

Image 3: The hotend of the K1 printer is encircled by a ceramic heater for better thermal efficiency. Source: Creality.

K1 is equipped with a dual-gear direct drive extrusion system with 50 N extrusion force. The hotend of the K1 printer is encircled by a ceramic heater and contains a titanium alloy heatbreak and a copper alloy nozzle (a standard 0.4 mm nozzle is included but 0.6 mm and 0.8 mm nozzles can also be used). The extrusion temperature of 200 ºC (max. 300 ºC) can be reached in just 40 seconds and the maximum maximum flow rate of 32 mm³/s is achievable at the highest printing speeds. The entire printhead is lightweight (190 g) which ensures less motion inertia, making the printing agile and swift.  

Image 4: The K1 model cooling system. Source: Creality.

Quick model cooling is performed by a fan with directional air ducts placed on the printhead, as well as the 18 W auxiliary  fan placed in the build chamber. This solution for part cooling makes the model harden before any stringing or warping can occur, and is very helpful with model features such as support-free bridges and overhangs.

Image 5: A part 3D printed with and without dual cooling. Source: Creality.

K1 it compatible with many standard 3D printing materials such as ABS, PLA, PETG, PET, PA, ABS, ASA or PC, but also with flexibles such as TPU and even fiber reinforced filaments such as PLA-CF, PA-CF or PET-CF. The heatbed can heat up to 60 ºC in only 90 seconds (max. temp. 100 ºC). For performance optimized for fiber-reinforced filaments, see the Creality K1C 3D printer.

Image 6: The strain sensors in the heatbed ensure accurate hands-free leveling of the build plate. Source: Creality.

The printing surface of the K1 printer is a flexible aluminum build plate that makes it easy to remove the 3D printed parts by simply gently bending the build plate. The printing surface is finely frosted to deliver a model with a smooth bottom. Thanks to an array of strain sensors embedded in the heatbed, an accurate leveling mesh can be generated. This process happens on its own after the printing starts so the uesr does not have to do anything.

Image 7: The straightforward UI of the K1 printer, with the self-test tab displayed. Source: Creality.

The K1 3D printer is equipped with many features that make it very easy and safe to use. The safety and health of the user is protected at all times with the help of the fully enclosed design that prevents the user from accidentally touching the moving parts of the operating printer (and facilitates the printing of more demanding filaments).

The additional smart solutions that ensure ease of use and efficiency are automatic filament loading and unloading, filament runout sensor, power loss recovery, self-test with one tap, and effective air filtering. Thanks to the smart Creality OS that runs on a powerful dual-core 1.2 GHz CPU, it is possible to add on optional features to the K1 3D printer. Some examples of add-ons are the AI camera (for additional monitoring of the printing process) and AI LiDAR (for ultra-precise first layer calibration).

Simple user interface and Cloud Printing

The printer's UI is available in many languages (English, Spanish, German, French, Russian, Portuguese, Italian, Turkish, Japanese, Chinese) and is displayed on a 4.3" color touch screen.  The user can also see the printing progress with real-time model preview (only supports models sliced by Creality Print using default settings).

Image 8: Advanced connectivity. Source: Creality.

K1 can print via USB drive or WiFi, and with a network connection K1 can be controlled or monitored remotely from Creality Print or Creality Cloud APP/WEB, a feature very useful at 3D printing farms. Creality OS makes sure that data and commands are synched with phone, PC, Cloud and add-on modules, which makes the 3D printing workflow incredibly smooth. K1 uses the upgraded version of Creality Print - Creality Print 4.3 that includes rich presets and streamlines the laminating process into 3 simple stages. Apart from Creality Print, K1 is also compatible with Cura, Simplify3d and PrusaSlicer.

3D print faster than ever

The K1 3D printer is perfect for those who are making their first steps in 3D printing as well as those who print a lot and therefore want to enjoy seamless printing anytime and anywhere. The wide range of compatible materials allows the user to try out new materials successfully and learn while printing. The numerous user-friendly and safety features, the strive for efficiency, as well as the compact and sleek design make using the K1 3D printer ideal for teaching centers, classrooms, offices and even households where children can learn about 3D printing, as well as for uses in rapid prototyping and manufacturing in series. With this ultra-high-speed FDM 3D printer the users can bring ideas to reality faster and with more precision than ever.