Table of Contents
Overview
Creality has dominated desktop 3d printers market for a while, it is true that ender 3 is a great choice for any beginner to mid-level printer because of its affordable price and they got largest community in this industry. Since the first generation, many models have been marketed by the manufacturer and dealers: Ender-3 Pro, Ender-3 Xs Pro, Ender-3 Max and Ender 3 v2 which modernized the benchmark machine of 3D printing to the House.
I am sure lots of users are wishing to print a flexible filament such as TPU and wish to have an Ender 3 printer with automatic bed leveling when the machine arrived on hand. It seems that Creality finally decide to give us a direct drive extruder, a new bed platform, and CR touch for automatic bed leveling pre-assembled at Ender 3 machine.
So in this article, I will discover a new Creality printer, Creality Ender 3 S1, it is based on the Ender-3 v2, is not a real v3 so does not change many technical specifications compared to the v2 released in spring 2020. The main distinction is its Direct Drive extruder, instead. from the original one (Bowden Style), some modification is already possible in evolution to a Direct Drive upgrade kit for Ender-3, but require some tink. But with Ender 3 S1, it will be delivered as standard and have some upgrade as well. .
Unbox & Assembly of Creality Ender3 S1
For assemble, Creality Ender 3 S1 comes with 90% pre-assembled, you only put a few parts together ready to start printing straightly
Product Feature OF Creality Ender 3 S1
Self developed direct drive extruder: We all know that Extruder is one of the most important part of a 3D printer, because it pushes the filament through to the heated nozzle where it’s melted and extruded. It usually have Bowden style and direct drive. The distinguish between this two type is within the location of the extruder and how far the filament has to travel before it enters the heated nozzle. In a direct drive system, the extruder is mounted on the printhead and so pushes the filament directly into the hot end, so it usually give your more reliable extrusion, better retraction.
With Ender 3 S1, Creality uses a self-developed direct drive extruder, that allows you to print flexible filament such as TPU, and other filaments.
Auto bed leveling: There are tons of 3d printer users who had problems with BL-touch and the plastic pin, so Creality upgraded it and made CR-touch with a metallic sensor pin, which can’t collide with the print bed because it is always automatically retracted. It can automatically adjust the uneven hotbed. Precise pressure strain gauge,16-point precise leveling, so no headache with leveling even you are beginner in 3d printing.
Dual gear extrusion: Ender 3 s1 is equipped with 30 teeth chrome steel dual gear extrusion, 1:3.5 reduction ratio gear, extrusion force up to 8kg, compared with other extruder, the weight of the extruder only has 210g, which mean lower inertia and higher accurate positioning, the entire nozzle motion assembly is highly integrated and compact.
Silent print: 32-bit silent board to keep printer silent during printing so that you won’t get disturbed.
Dual Z-axis: Since the direct drive extruder is positioned near the hotend it means that there is a little bit more weight than on the other side, this little upgrade is quite helpful if you want to print at faster speed without losing stablity.It can help you reduce vibration to a great extent that eventually results in 3D print models with an efficient smooth finish.
Spring steel magnetic platform: This one resists higher temperatures and is more flexible, It is compatible with a wide range of filaments such as PLA, PETG, PEEK, ABS, ASA, TPU, and other filaments.Scratch-resistant coating and easy model removal.
Belt tension: supports a faster and more convenient way to adjust the belt tension of X & Y Axis. The knob added to the extruder can be used more easily.
Filament Sensor: The sensor helps you detect when your filament runs out during the printing process.This actually serves a double purpose because it has an anti-reversal latch in there.
Large leveling nut: It comes with large twist nut so that you can easy to modify your hotbed level even you have a big hand.
Tool box: A smart add on to the body of the machine, much more convenient for small tool organization and storage, you won’t need to worry about the parts being too small and difficult to find.
User friendly control: 4.3 inch lcd screen, smooth and simple operation step by step, I thought it is a touch screen at first time, but after I press it, and it does not have any responding, I start to realize that it is not , and so far, it only have English and chinese language, but I believe they will add more language after they update firmware.
Software
Like all FDM Creality 3D printers, the Ender-3 S1 can be used with Cura, Simplify3D, PrusaSlicer, SuperSlice, Repetier-Host slicer software, etc. If the software does not yet include a dedicated profile, future versions will be offered by default is the Creality Ender-3 S1 as the printer choice.
Printing Result of Ender 3 S1
The maximum print volume of the Creality Ender 3 S1 is 220 x 220 x 270mm, just slightly larger than its predecessor, and it is direct drive, so I test it in PLA and TPU mainly.
Pros of Ender 3 S1 Printer
- Easy to operate even you are a beginner
- Largest online community on the market so that you can always get some tips from discussion
- Direct drive extruder which is great for flexible filament and other types
- Has potential room to upgrade your machine
Cons of Ender 3 S1 Printer
- Could be relatively easier to clog since it is using all-metal extruder
- The control panel is not touch screen.
Specification of Creality Ender 3 S1
| Building Volume: | 220 mm x 220 mm x 270 mm |
| Minimum layer thickness: | 100 µm |
| Maximum layer thickness: | 400 µm |
| Noise Level: | 50 dB |
| Material: | |
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| Number of extruder (s): | 1 |
| Nozzle diameter: | 0.4 mm |
| Filament diameter: | 1.75 mm |
| Printing bed: | Glass Plate |
| Particle filter: | |
| Dimensions: | 48.7 cm x 45.3 cm x 62.2 cm |
| Weight: | 8 kg |
| Power Supply | Meanwell 350W |
| Connectivity: |
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| Control: | 4.3 Touch Screen |
| Software: | |
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| Operating system: |
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| Slicer Software: | Cura, Simplify3D, PrusaSlicer… |
| File Format: |
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Conclusion
Although Creality Ender 3 S1 offers high-quality performance in all 3D printing aspects, you may need to tweak some settings in the slicer as well,but since Creality has a very large community to discuss,so you can always get massive support from their official community.
Ender 3 S1 is a direct drive 3d printer that can be used various diy creation. It’s easy to use, has in-built software with plenty of features, and comes with active community. This machine work well for someone who wants to print flexible filament at an affordable price tag that will last them years without breaking the bank too much – and it also has great potential to upgrade your machine when you need more capacity.
