Question about 3D printer for home use

Looking for reviews of the Creality CR-10 and CR-10s 3D printers for use at home. Would be primarily used by my 13 year old who has saved up $$ to buy one (and who has experience using printer available elsewhere so is not a complete novice)

If not the above printer, any other recommendations?

Thanks

Look at YouTube for a guy with the handle of RCLifeOn. He uses the Creality printers and has reviewed them.

1 Like

Thanks. Appreciate

I have a CR-10 at home, and really like it. There are great Facebook support groups for them, and lots of upgrades on Thingiverse.

Thanks. Do you know what the main difference between the 10 and 10s is?

From Creality’s web site: The difference between CR-10 and CR-10S is CR-10S upgraded with dual Z axies lead screw rod which make printing quality better and more stable.
Another upgrading is CR-10S mainboard with filament monitor function, this function can detect when filament is running out or not.
Resume prints: CR-10S has the ability to resume prints even after a power outage or lapse occurs.

1 Like

Thank you!

I’ve used quite a few printers including the CR-10. The Prusa i3 MK3 is the best for the money. There are cheaper, there are more expensive, but there aren’t any that offer better bang for the buck in my opinion. The only reason I’d go with the CR-10 is if you have a specific need for a build volume that size.

1 Like

Thanks. I will go have a look at the printer you recommended. I do not believe there is a need for large build sizes so this is very helpful

This is what I bought. It’s the kit form. Took me about six hours to assemble. The assembly manual is superb.

Their factory tour is very impressive in every possible way. I respect the way they choose to operate and conduct business.

4 Likes

Thanks Luke. This post is pushing me to get my own 3D printer as well.

Are the assembly and instructions such that someone that has not built a 3D printer before can do it? Or should I consider an assembled one working right out of the gate?

1 Like

The instructions are such that anyone could assemble it. There are only a few places where things can be tricky. Be sure to get the frame perfectly square by using a sturdy flat surface for that assembly step (heavy metal table in machine shop worked great). That’s the thing I’ve seen people gloss over that later causes issues.

I suggest building it so you know everything about it. When things eventually wear out or break you’ll know exactly how to fix it. The fully assembled one is a good option for people with zero interest in assembly but I feel like those folks miss out on a great opportunity to learn new stuff.

2 Likes

The web version closely matches the print version. You can get a good idea of the process online.

https://manual.prusa3d.com/Guide/1.+Introduction/506

3 Likes

If you get a MK3 only eat the gummy bears when told to by the manual. If you eat them all at the start your print bed will never be level and you will forever have extrusion problems. You must appease the 3D print gods.

Seriously though, I have a MK3 as well. Works great and the assembly was very easy as long as you followed the manual.

6 Likes

I looked very closely at the CReality printers about a year ago and almost bought one. They seem, on the main, to be very well reviewed, but I was a little put off by the limited factory support (although the FB groups are quite loaded and appear to be helpful), and then the timing just didn’t work out then. A buddy of mine got one though and has had good success with it, although it took more effort to calibrate than anticipated.

I ended up getting a Prusa i3 Mk3 earlier this year. It was fairly substantially more expensive than the CReality one, and it also has good FB groups in addition to actual factory support. I bought mine unassembled and my 15 year old daughter did most of the assembly on it because I gave her the chance to put it together and she saw it as kind of a grown-up Lego kit (the instructions are really, really good - just like Lego). She did a good enough job on it that we haven’t even needed to recalibrate it after quite a bit of printing.

In retrospect, I would buy the Prusa printer again. It has produced outstanding results for me right from the start with very little fiddling, which doesn’t seem to be the typical case with a CReality. They can also produce excellent results, but it just seems they need more fiddling to get them right, and knowing myself, I sometimes just don’t have the patience when I want a tool to just work. But, if you have the patience to deal with it, the CReality still seems like a good value. If I were buying, I’d definitely get the dual-z version. Good luck!

2 Likes