Creality Ender 3 S1 / S1 Pro - FDM 3D printer

Creality, established in 2014, is a company devoted to the design and production of FDM/resin 3D printers, filaments and resin, 3D scanners and even drones and robots for STEAM education. Creality 3D printers offer great value for money and an elegant, reliable and strong design.

The Ender-3 3D printer series, aimed at the domestic 3D printer market, includes several affordable models of high quality 3D printers with outstanding features. Compared to other 3D printers from the same price range, the Series 3 Creality printers are sturdier thanks to their aluminum - not plastic - structures. Creality 3D printers are open source, which means they can be used with any slicing software and any material compatible with the printer.

The Ender 3 S1 series includes, among others, the Ender 3 S1 and the Ender 3 S1 Pro 3D printers.

Distinguishing features

The internationally certified Ender 3 S1 3D printer is part of Series 3 S1 by Creality. Its most outstanding features are the dual-gear direct extruder "Sprite", the CR Touch 16-point automatic bed leveling, the double Z axis technology, the XY-axis belt tensioner, the removable PC spring steel printing sheet, and a convenient 6-step assembly. It supports materials such as PLA, ABS, TPU and PETg.

Video 1: The Ender 3 S1 3D printer presentation. Source: Creality.

The Ender 3 S1 Pro 3D printer, part of the same series, has all the features of the S1 printer but it is designed especially for high temperature materials (up to 300 ºC), while also supporting standard filaments thanks to its brand new brass nozzle. This printer can print PLA, ABS, TPU, PETg, PA, PVA and wooden filaments.

Video 2: The Ender 3 S1 Pro 3D printer presentation. Source: Creality.

The heatsink on the Ender 3 S1 Pro printer provides effective heat dissipation and fast cooling thanks to the liquid cooling technology. This ensures supreme printing quality.

Technical upgrades

This near-end double gear extruder is a new extruder developed by Creality. It has chrome steel gears, with the gear transmission ratio of 1:3.5.

Image 1: The dual gear “Sprite” extruder, part of the Ender 3 S1 printers. Source: Creality.

This extruder is characterized by an extrusion force of around 80N, smooth feed and recoil, and great printing effects with flexible filaments, such as TPU.

In comparison with other proximal extruders, which tend to weigh around 300 g, the Sprite dual gear extruder is about 30 % lighter (it only weighs 210 g), with less inertia and a more accurate positioning. In the Ender 3 S1 Pro printer, the extruder weighs 334 g.

The automatic CR leveling technology of 16 points is a significant advancement, since it frees the user from the need to manually adjust the leveling, which can lead to imprecise leveling and failed prints.

Image 2: The CR Touch 16 point leveling technology in the Ender 3 S1 printers. Source: Creality.

The intelligent leveling system goes over the whole space, touching each of the 16 points on its way, and automatically compensates height discrepancies.

The double Z axis technology consists of a dual Z axis screw and a dual Z axis motor.

Image 3: The synchronous double Z axis on the Ender 3 S1 printers. Source: Creality.

This innovative solution ensures smooth operation, and increases printing accuracy and quality, avoiding the displacement of layers thanks to the synchronous linkage.

The knob axis tensioner allows for a quick and convenient adjustment of the belt.

Image 4: The XY belt tensioner on the Ender 3 S1 printers. Source: Creality.

An XY belt tensioner that is too loose or too tight can lead to layer inconsistencies and faster belt degradation.

Ease of use

The Ender 3 S1 printing platform is composed of 4 layers: the platform, a magnetic sheet, a spring steel sheet and a PC coating. The Ender 3 S1 Pro build platform additionally enables fast heating of the printing bed.

Image 5: Magnetic PC (left, Ender 3 S1) and PEI (right, Ender 3 S1 Pro) spring steel build plates. Source: Creality.

The 3D printed piece can be easily removed by just taking the printing base out and bending it gently until the piece comes off. The Ender 3 S1 Pro build platform has an extra feature - a handle allowing for a safe and quick removal of the build plate even with high temperatures.

Both the Ender 3 S1 and the Ender 3 S1 Pro 3D printers come 96 % assembled. The further assembly process only takes 6 steps. The Ender 3 S1 can be extended by adding a laser engraving head or a LED light (they have to be bought separately). The Ender 3 S1 Pro already comes with a LED light and can also be extended with a laser engraving head.

Image 6: A LED light and a laser head can be added to the S1 printers. Source: Creality.

A video on how to install the printers can be seen in the Usage Tips section. The complete assembly guide provided by the manufacturer can be found in the Downloads tab of this product.

Both printers are equipped with a 4.3 inch screen and a new straightforward user interface. Ender 3 S1’s interface has 2 languages while Ender 3 S1 Pro’s interface serves 9 languages. On Ender 3 S1 the screen can be turned and adjusted according to user needs.

Image 7: The 4.3 inch screens of the Ender 3 S1 (left) and Ender 3 S1 Pro (right) printers. Source: Creality.

The screen of the Ender 3 S1 printer is operated by a turn knob (turn for moving and click for selection) and the Ender 3 S1 Pro has a touch screen. The display on both screens automatically dims after 3-5 minutes of inoperation to save energy.

The 32 bit base plate of the Creality Ender 3 S1 and S1 Pro printers only produces around 50 dB of noise, which lets the user enjoy a quiet printing process. For comparison, the decibel level of a conversation is around 50-60 dB, and in a quiet library the level noise is usually around 30-40 dB.

In order to avoid wastage of filament and time, both the S1 and the S1 Pro printers have two systems that allow it to resume printing after an unforeseen accident occurs. One of the systems detects broken filament and notifies about the issue. The other system ensures that the printing data is not lost in case of a power shortage.

Video 3: Recovery of the printing process after a power shortage. Source: Creality.

The printer meticulously records the data of the printing session to be able to recover it after it is suddenly interrupted.

The features of the Ender 3 S1 and Ender 3 S1 Pro make the printing process very straightforward, safe, and easy to manage even by amateur users. The Ender 3 S1 is perfect for hobbyistic as well as professional use, and the Ender 3 S1 Pro enables even more advanced projects with high temperature materials.