Creality 3D Printers and PLA

Creality's lineup in brief

Creality publishes a support page with a parameter table for most of its printers, and those tables, its product pages and its store comparison posts are the sources for this page. The current range runs from the Ender-3 V3 family of open printers, through the Hi, to the enclosed K1 series and the K2 Plus. Creality also makes its own filament feeder, the CFS (Creality Filament System), and a K1-series variant called the CFS-C, along with its own PLA lines, Hyper PLA and Ender-PLA.

Which Creality models are worth a look

Start from the nozzle. The Ender-3 V3 SE and V3 KE ship with brass nozzles, which is fine for plain PLA but wears quickly with carbon-filled spools. Every other Creality printer here ships with hardened steel or a hardened steel tip. Next decide on color: the Hi and the K-series machines work with the CFS, while the Ender-3 V3 models do not list a feeder. Finally decide whether you want a closed chamber, which only the K1 family and K2 Plus offer.

• Plain PLA, lowest step in: Ender-3 V3 SE.
• Faster open printer with Wi-Fi: Ender-3 V3 KE or Ender-3 V3.
• Multi-color on an open frame: Hi.
• Enclosed CoreXY for PLA plus ABS and ASA: K1C or K1.
• Bigger enclosed parts: K1 Max or K2 Plus.

Ender-3 V3 SE

The Ender-3 V3 SE support page (opens in a new tab) gives a 220 x 220 x 250mm volume, a 260°C nozzle, a 100°C bed and 250mm/s. It is an i3-style bed-slinger with a direct extruder, a 0.4mm brass nozzle and auto leveling, and it lists PLA, TPU95A and PETG. File transfer is by SD card only, with no Wi-Fi.

Ender-3 V3 KE

The V3 KE parameter table (opens in a new tab) keeps the 220mm bed with 240mm of height, lifts the nozzle limit to 300°C and the speed to 500mm/s, and adds Wi-Fi. The 0.4mm nozzle is still brass. ASA and ABS join PLA, TPU95A and PETG on the material list.

Ender-3 V3

The Ender-3 V3 (opens in a new tab) is not an i3 bed-slinger: Creality lists a CoreXZ gantry. It offers 220 x 220 x 250mm, 300°C, a 110°C bed and 600mm/s, with a hardened steel 0.4mm nozzle, so PLA-CF and PETG-CF appear in its material list alongside PLA, PETG, ABS and TPU90A.

Hi

The Hi (opens in a new tab) is an open-frame bed-slinger with a 260 x 260 x 300mm volume, a 300°C nozzle, a 100°C bed, 500mm/s and a built-in camera. Its tri-metal nozzle is tipped with hardened steel. The Hi Combo includes one CFS, and Creality's product page says up to four can be linked for 16 colors. Listed materials include PLA, PETG, ABS, PLA-CF, TPU95A, PVA and BVOH.

K1

The K1 (opens in a new tab) is an enclosed CoreXY printer with a 220 x 220 x 250mm volume, 300°C nozzle, 100°C bed and 600mm/s. It has a hardened steel 0.4mm nozzle, a direct extruder, Wi-Fi and auto leveling, and the CFS-C lists it as compatible.

K1C

The K1C (opens in a new tab) shares the K1's volume, temperatures and speed but uses a quick-swap tri-metal nozzle that Creality lists as hardened steel, includes a camera, and adds ASA to a list that already covers PA-CF and PLA-CF.

K1 Max

The K1 Max product page (opens in a new tab) moves to a 300 x 300 x 300mm volume with the same 300°C nozzle, 100°C bed and 600mm/s, a hardened steel nozzle, a camera and Wi-Fi. Its material list adds PC and PA.

K2 Plus

The K2 Plus (opens in a new tab) is the largest and hottest model here: 350 x 350 x 350mm, a 350°C nozzle, a 120°C bed and 600mm/s in an enclosed CoreXY frame. It lists PPA-CF and PA-CF among its materials and ships with hardened steel.

Where the models split

Brands to weigh against Creality

• Bambu Lab: the P1S is the closest rival to the K1 family, and the A1 to the Hi.
• Sovol: the SV06 Ace and SV08 cover open bed-slinger and large CoreXY formats.
• Anycubic: the Kobra 3 and Kobra S1 pair with the ACE Pro feeder.
• QIDI: heated-chamber CoreXY printers aimed at engineering materials.

Matching PLA to Creality printers

Creality rates Hyper PLA (opens in a new tab) at 190 to 230°C with a 600mm/s maximum and a 0.03mm tolerance, and Ender-PLA (opens in a new tab) at 190 to 230°C with a 100mm/s maximum. Both fit the 260°C limit on the V3 SE. Ender-PLA's 100mm/s rating sits far below what the K-series can move, so cap the slicer speed to the spool's rating rather than the printer's.

For the CFS, Creality's manual gives spools 197 to 202mm across and up to 68mm wide, 1kg maximum (opens in a new tab).pdf), and Creality says its own paper spools work. TPU is not supported in the CFS. Per-printer lists are on PLA for the K1 series, PLA for the Ender-3 V3 range, the Hi filament list and the K2 Plus filament list. Spool prices on those pages are ranked per kilogram of net filament, and samples of 250g or less stay out of the cheapest lists.

Frequently asked questions

Can the Ender-3 V3 SE print carbon fiber PLA?

Not well. It ships with a brass nozzle and Creality documents no hardened option for it, so our checker marks filled PLA as not recommended. The Ender-3 V3 and the K-series ship with hardened steel.

Does the K1 work with the CFS?

Creality lists the K1, K1C and K1 Max as compatible with the CFS-C, the K1-series version of its feeder. The CFS-C page (opens in a new tab) lists 1kg spools 197 to 202mm across and 42 to 68mm thick.

What is the difference between the K1 and the K1C?

Same build volume, temperatures and speed. The K1C adds a quick-swap tri-metal nozzle, a camera as standard and ASA on its material list.

Which Creality printer has the biggest build volume?

The K2 Plus at 350mm in each direction, followed by the K1 Max at 300mm.