Creality K1C - 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 K1C

One of the FDM 3D printers in Creality's catalog is the flagship Core XY closed chamber K1C 3D printer, an upgraded version of the K1 3D printer. Most of the technical parameters remain unchanged between the K1 and K1C 3D printers. Thus, both offer a build volume of 220 x 220 x 250 mm, a maximal printing speed of 600 mm/s, an extrusion temperature of up to 300 ºC and a maximum bed temperature of 100 ºC.

Image 1: The ultrafast K1C 3D printer is perfect for carbon fiber filaments. Source: Creality.

Nevertheless, the K1C 3D printer has some of the hardware upgrades, which makes it suitable for working with a wide range of 3D printing filaments, including carbon fiber reinforced filaments. The printer's modern design includes a solid die cast frame, acrylic side panels, and a transparent lid. This chic design not only looks great but also ensures stability, durability and ease of supervision. What's more, to increase the printer's reliability and durability, Creality has included solutions such as pre-installed damping pads for reduced vibrations, an anti-shatter film and damper hinges on the doors, and a reinforced cable chain.

Image 2: The lightweight and agile CoreXY structure of the K1C printer. Source: Creality.

With 20000mm/s² acceleration and the lightweight and agile CoreXY structure inherited from the K1 printer, the K1C printer achieves a speed of 600 mm/s in only 0.03 s, delivering full speed in 90 % of the printing time. With a build volume of 220 x 220 x 250 mm, an extrusion temperature of 300 ºC, a bed temperature of 100 ºC and a heated build chamber, the K1C 3D printer offers unparalleled speed and productivity gains, as well as a perfect environment for materials such as ABS, PLA, PETG, PET, TPU, PA, ABS, ASA, PC but also their carbon-fiber reinforced versions such as PLA-CF, PA-CF or PET-CF.

Video 1: The K1C 3D printer by Crealiy. Source: Creality.

K1C is equipped with an all-metal direct drive extrusion system enhanced with a bolster spring and a ball plunger for a strong filament grip. The ball plunger locks the extruder level in place, the side spring bolsters the grip of the extruder gears, and the sturdy powder metallurgy lever retains the extrusion force. Furthermore, the extruder is equipped with a special clog-free design to ensure problemless extrusion with fiber-filled filaments even at high printing speeds for over 1000 hours. 

Image 3: The extruder of the K1C printer. Source: Creality.

The extruder kit is equipped with a quick-swap tri-metal nozzle to ensure optimal performance with abrasive filaments. The robust copper nozzle has a steel tip combined with a heatbreak made of titanium alloy. The copper alloy dissipated heat rapidly and melts filament quickly. The titanium alloy effectively prevents heatcreep, and the hardened steel tip guarantees abrasion resistance up to 6 times higher than with standard nozzles. It must be kept in mind that nozzle changes should always be performed once the nozzle has cooled down. To ensure the nozzle's cleanliness, Creality has included a silicone wiping strip installed on the side of the build surface.

Image 4: The nozzle of the K1C printer has an innovative tri-metal design. Source: Creality.

The K1C printer was also designed to provide even more efficient cooling. The upgraded hotend fan ensures minimal upward heat creep, which avoids premature filament melting and compromised feeding flow. Furthermore, the new part cooling fan provides stronger part cooling, resulting in improved layer bonding and surface finish of the parts. 

Image 5: The K1C triple cooling system. Source: Creality.

What's more, the printhead fan weight is optimized for dynamic balance, reducing the probability of oscillation and minimizing effects like ringing or ghosting. Model cooling is further assisted by the third auxiliary fan installed in the build chamber. This fan maximizes overall print quality and minimizes stringing and warping for bridges and overhangs.

Image 6: A part 3D printed with and without air cooling. Source: Creality.

The printing surface of the K1C printer is a flexible PEI build plate that makes it easy to remove the 3D printed parts by simply gently bending the build plate. This printing surface ensures optimal adhesion for a wide array of filaments. Thanks to an array of smart features employed in the K1C printer, the Z-offset, bed leveling and input shaping testing are all automatized. The user only has to click on the printer's 4.3" color touchscreen to give the command, and K1C will perform the self-check.

Image 7: The K1C printer automatically performs self-check with just one click. Source: Creality.

The K1C 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 included air purifier (active carbon filter). 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 K1C printer generates less than 45 dB of noise in silent mode, even at high printing speeds. This makes the printer adequate for various printing environments, even for households and offices.

Image 8: The K1C printer can be monitored remotely thaks to the AI camera. Source: Creality.

The additional smart solutions that ensure ease of use and efficiency are the filament runout sensor, power loss recovery, sleep mode, and a lighting kit. What's more, K1C comes with a built-in AI camera that constantly monitors the printing process and alerts the user of the occurrence of errors (spaghetti effect, foreign object detection, etc). Thanks to the AI camera, the printing process can be monitored at all times even remotely, and time-lapse videos of the print job can be recorded and shared.

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 dedicated laminating software is the Creality Print software but the K1C printer can also work with Cura (5.0 or higher).

Image 8: Failed parts can be skipped in batch printing. Source: Creality.

With Creality Print and K1C, the user has access to multiple advanced laminating options, such as skipping failed parts in a batch print. Creality Print also offers options such as smart cooling, optimal retraction, slim supports, and 3D printer farm management. Another benefit is the integrated accessible 3D model library.

K1C can print via USB drive or WiFi, and with a network connection K1C 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.

3D print faster than ever

The K1C 3D printer is perfect for 3D printing not only toys, props, ornaments, and other objects for hobbyistic use but also for working with engineering materials for the purpose of prototyping or the 3D printing of jigs and fixtures, or functional parts with great mechanical strength and dimensional stability. This versatility of the K1C printer results from its smart design and high quality hardware adapted to such a wide range of materials.

Image 9: Parts 3D printed with the K1C 3D printer. Source: Creality.

The numerous smart features included in the K1C 3D printer make is a reliable, safe and efficient 3D printer, designed to ensure impeccable results and smart workflow solutions that will streamline production and ensure a high level of control over the 3D printing workflow.