Creality Ender 3 S1 || 3D Printer Review || What’s missing from Creality's latest release!?

[@rossgee1091]

Excellent video Callum. Yes I would be interested in seeing how an uncoated spring steel bed would print. Although I am starting to think that a glass bed may be the way to go...

[@CallumColes]

I’ll add it to the to do list! I’m a big fan of glass as well. Another option would be the PEI coated spring steel beds, not a surface I’m very familiar with, but I know many swear by them

[@golddarren140]

Great review and so nice to see a KZbinr that isn’t bias

[@CallumColes]

Thanks for the comment, appreciate the continued support! It’s easier to stay neutral when you’re not being paid for the review, some KZbinrs can’t risk upsetting a manufacturer, don’t bite the hand that feeds you sort of thing.

[@raspberrypiploy771]

Very good review Callum. I am slowly starting to become a fan of the the Creality Machine after a lot of tinkering. My CR10 Smart is pretty amazing. Your review here is very refreshing because it doesn't hide away from some of the issues. One other thing that I have to mention again.... and again.... and again is the filament. I can honestly say I haven't come across a product as good as the products you sell. Yes I have got my machine tuned however the consistant results have exceed everything I have used before. ..... Sounded like you had done the audio from the loo lol ;-)

[@CallumColes]

Haha yep the sounds was awful😂 sorry! So annoying as I’d literally just bought a new mic especially for this review as thought it would be a popular topic. I would have recorded it again but currently on holiday and had promised the review this weekend! Anyway, glad you liked the review. I try to bring an unbiased perspective, realistically nothing is perfect! If manufacturers used my reviews to help improve their products they could be on to some real winners, but equally completely realise my channel is small at the moment so not all that influential. A critical approach is the only way to improve, it’s the same angle I have for my filament, I really appreciate your positive feedback but equally know there are still areas that can be improved and will continue to do so!

[@andymiller9498]

Great review. The ender 3 S1 is my first printer and I've only used 3d tomorrow filament through it. It's been great so far, with no issues yet. I'm going to try my first biopro print today 🤞. Thanks again for your help

[@CallumColes]

Thanks Andy! It’s a good first printer for sure, few issues to contend with which helps you learn, but reliable enough to properly get into printing. Have a few people using BioPro with this printer, just use standard PLA settings and increase hot end / bed by 5-10C

[@Happy3dprinting]

Update, I have just updated the firmware from ver 1.0.3 to the latest 1.0.5 and it has changed the operation of the printer, it now interfaces with the Creality WiFi box properly and enables the filament run out sensor which now pauses the printer ready for filament refill. I recalibrated the bed levelling and the printer is far more consistent in maintaining its zero offset setting which help’s immensely. The User interface seems to have changed slightly and looks more polished. All in all I would recommend that anyone with an ender 3 S1 update the firmware, even though I was worried at first due to the possibility of turning the printer into a £400 paper weight. I would hope Creality would allow firmware updates to be done via the Creality WiFi box as an option.

[@daveedaem]

Changes in the z offset were a known issue with the original firmware and this could well have been the cause of the damage to the print surface in this review

[@Happy3dprinting]

@@daveedaem what I found was that the surface started to delaminate from the spring steel sheet, I was careful not to use the scrapper but the build surface failed and I replaced it with a glass bed which removes these issues. The bed was only the major let down as far as I found, the ender 3 S1 has proven to be really reliable.

[@CallumColes]

Cheers for the update, pleased to hear you are having better results now! Yes if a company is going to release a printer with serious bugs, they really should also reduce effort to upgrade the firmware, via the Creality WiFi box could be a good future implementation.

[@CallumColes]

@Dave Meade the damage to the print surface was due to deviations in the height of the bed surface itself, nothing to do with the z offset, since 95% of the print was at a perfect first layer height. There was a small raised area in the bed / adhesive texture that resulted in over compression of the print in that area. That sort of textured print surface is seen as a consumable anyway, if you do a lot of printing, it will occasionally rip. It's just not ideal when the hardware expedites this process...

[@mustardtiger9265]

got this printer about 3 weeks ago as my first one, love it a lot so far. the only area i have had issues with is the bed. it is very uneven, even with the CR touch there are high spots that have made bigger prints a PITA for adhesion. using a brim is a nightmare, some areas it digs into the bed and some it wont stick at all. i have to move the location of the print around to find a suitable area. once i am able to get a decent first layer the quality of the prints are amazing tho. also they include an absolutely cheap a** spatula tool, that is stamped and not cleaned of burs. one side had terribly sharp edges and the first go i gouged my bed because i didnt check the tool. didnt check it because i never expected a company to include a tool that could so easily destroy the object it was intended to interact with.

[@CallumColes]

Hey Tom, thanks for the comment, glad you're enjoying your new printer. Always nice to hear when people have started on their journey into the world of 3D printing. Yes the bed is not the best, which is a shame. The spatula is useless, really hate it when companies mass produce worthless tools, so wasteful!

[@Happy3dprinting]

Great review Callum, as with your experience I changed to glass and 3dlac build surface as the spring steel unit surface failed within 2 weeks, shame as it is the main let down on my first 3d printer. Fortunately I haven’t found the software as buggy as you have shown. The home function with the CRTouch shifts the zero offset so I have to reset the zero adjustment after every couple of prints, annoying but not the end of the world. The performance of this printer is superb as a first printer if you don’t want to modify a cheaper option. With my limited knowledge learned through the use of the ender 3 S1 I now know what features that are important and Creality apparently are bringing out a dual fan cooling adapter which will help with the overhang cooling issues that we have both seen. Shame that the sprite unit isn’t full metal which drops max print head temp but sliceengineering are producing a heatbreak that is full metal for the sprite unit so something else to look at upraging in the near future. Keep the great reviews coming. BTW the 3dTomorrow BioPro filament continues to impress, as are the other filaments bought from yourself directly and through Amazon, can’t wait to see what you develop next.

[@CallumColes]

Thanks Steve! Glass + 3DLAC is definitely a great combo, where did you order your glass it might help others reading the comments? Will be very interested to see how the dual fan adapter fits in, would be fantastic if done well. I don’t actually think the metal hot end is too needed for this printer, since there aren’t too many materials that require high heat but can be printed in an open enclosure. You can already print PLA, PETG, modified ABS and of course BioPro as it is! So think it’s unnecessary added cost, really sure what a high temp hot end would actually add.

[@Happy3dprinting]

@@CallumColes I am enclosing my printer to allow more temperamental filaments to be printed and the hot end upgrade will give me greater scope, the ender 3 S1 is a test bed for me to decide on my next printer. I bought the glass bed off Banggood - Creality ultrabase 235x235x3mm and they were available from a uk warehouse but unfortunately no longer, they are on Amazon aswell but I haven’t purchased one yet as I bought 3 from Banggood to allow me to keep printing while waiting for the glass bed to cool and release the print. I don’t use the textured side normally but it does work without adhesive, again though it does not last long. I have used the spring steel sheet but the reverse side without the coating, but the glass is a more stable build surface. I have had a few blockages with the sprite extruder and every time it is in the ptfe heat break within the heater block, easy sorted but the ptfe tube is also starting to fail. So a full metal unit will hopefully reduce maintenance issues. The ender 3 S1 is a great printer, I believe the ender 3 S1 Pro resolves the build surface and sprite issues that are a let down for me personally but it would be nice to do a comparison review.

[@Brog420]

Brand new to this, havent even finished the video but i see lots of comments about the bed and potentially replacing the print surface. I ordered the printer plus the PEI print surface, is that a suitable replacement or would you recommend something else?

[@CallumColes]

How did you get on with the PEI surface? Glass is another good option if you dont like the PEI, but obviously with glass you'll not have the flexible benefit. I personally like glass, because the bed is normally flatter.

[@Brog420]

@@CallumColes ive really been liking the PEI its got good adhesion and the flexibility is nice! But i did have a question since you clearly know alot more about this than me haha, im at a standstill right now. The printer works great and ive had no issues until the other day, when i print with a brim the brim comes out extremely thin and stringy. So thin it cant even stick to the build surface it just clumps up and drags around. Even after perfectly levelling the bed and using new filament. If i print without a brim its fine, no issues but then its more prone to warping. Just last night i lost a print 5 hours in cause i used a skirt and it warped, so i kind of need to use a brim. Do you have any ideas? I use Cura btw

[@sierralarars]

Pretty decent review! You got me a click through on your filament brand, would you ever consider making PLA+ at all?

[@CallumColes]

Thank you! Yes, it’s certainly something I’m considering, something to sit between the UK PLA and BioPro. Currently main focus is trying to launch a few recycled lines, but after that will see what I can do😊

[@davidtaylor6870]

Thanks for the video. I also have just bought this printer. SW ver is V1.0.3_C (Australia). Like the walk around, and some detail. However, I did not get the creality slicer to run on my windows PC. I do have Cura, but do not have the start/end gcode. I watch the videos and it does a nice priming of the nozzle before it starts to print. Is it possible to make a video about these small ins and outs. Gcode is yet another skill I would have to learn. regards

[@CallumColes]

Hi David, you're welcome and thank you for the comment. Here's some gcode you can add to the start of your print, should give you the little wipe you're after. G28 ; home all axes G1 Z5 F3000 ; lift G1 X5 Y10 F1500 ; move to prime G1 Z0.2 F3000 ; get ready to prime G92 E0 ; reset extrusion distance G1 Y80 E10 F600 ; prime nozzle G1 Y100 F5000 ; quick wipe

[@st3ddyman]

What is you get a filament jam in that hot end or extruded though? Looks like it would be a nightmare to take apart. Also, with having the extruded on the hotend, wouldn't that means the prints have to be slower to prevent ringing?

[@CallumColes]

With clogs so far I have been using a metal rod, you could also use an allen key. I've not tried to take it apart yet as agree with you, it does not look like an appealing task. I will be doing a comparison video between this printer and the CR6 SE soon and this is one of the features I am going to talk about. I'll take it apart for that video and see how easy it is to get back together! For bed slinger designs, the bed is the heaviest component, so generally that dictates the speed more so than the hot end. There are probably some bowden setups that have heavier heads than this one anyway, it's been designed to be quite light.

[@st3ddyman]

@@CallumColes Thanks. Does it jam often? Is the filament path perfectly straight through the extruded and hotend? If it is, I presume you could do a cold pull? That complex hotend is all that is putting me off because print 24/7 and frequently have to clear jams.

[@CallumColes]

Sorry slow reply, didnt see this! Yes, as far as I can tell the filament path is straight, because I use a straight metal rod and it goes all the way through. A cold pull would also be possible yes. I have noticed a few clogs here and there, but nothing out of the ordinary, it's a fairly reliable machine. I'd suggest an upgrade to the bed, opt for glass or a spring steel PEI plate, the stock one is easy to break (surface tears away).

[@CodeBroRob]

between the ender 5 plus and this printer, which one do you recommend overall? especially in terms of not having to replace parts right away. or perhaps just a different printer entirely, i'm looking for one that is just plug and play with auto leveling and a silent board, something structurally sound with decent print speed and big print dimensions and a budget of 400-500 euro kinda, i don't expect anything with dual extruder but would be cool ig.

[@CallumColes]

Hi Robert, sorry for slow reply! They’re quite different printers really, the Ender 5 plus due to its size is great for big parts, the mechanics are quite reliable so it’s a good workhorse. The Ender 3 S1 is more versatile, the direct drive extruder makes it perfect for printing TPU. There is better cooling performance too. It’s definitely the more plug and play printer of the two, but the size is obviously more limited.

[@CodeBroRob]

@@CallumColes thanks for the reply! Creality might have filled the gap a little as i learned the ender 3 s1 plus came out, but sadly no reviews yet anywhere and i heard on the subreddit that firmware also isn't listed on their website yet. I'm looking forward to learn more about that printer tho!

[@daveedaem]

It's not clear when you did this test or if a firmware upgrade was available when you did it. I can sort of see your reason for wanting to do a test out of the box, but if a firmware upgrade was available, and you just chose not to do it, then I would say you have put yourself through a world of pain for no reason. I've had this printer for nearly three months now. I immediately updated the firmware, and it has been flawless. I have had none of the issues you have highlighted and none of the damage to the print surface. Just thought I'd give a perspective of what it's like if you just update the firmware. I have had no failed prints, no temperature problems either. I would say so far; it's been an exceptional printer for the money. I would have no problem recommending it or getting another one. In the interests of impartiality, perhaps you should have upgraded the firmware too, to see if it also fixed the issues you highlighted rather than just leave it and say the Prusa mk3 is a better printer. That maybe so, but it's also more than twice the price.

[@CallumColes]

Hey Dave, thanks for the comment! The firmware upgrade was indeed available and there is a very good reason why I chose not to do it for this review, well actually a few reasons: 1. Not everyone will instantly upgrade their firmware, some users will never have had a printer before and wont even know what firmware is! By watching this review, they might recognise some of the issues and also figure out that updating firmware could be the answer. 2. Accountability. No company, especially one that is as established as Creality is, should be releasing a production level printer (e.g. not Alpha/Beta releases) with that many software bugs. They should be testing their products properly.... 3. Price. This is no longer in a super budget class and I would expect to be able to use it straight out of the box, any modifications required to make it work properly whether that be hardware or software have to be treated more critically. The bed issue was hardware related, with a raised area of the bed causing an 'over-squashed' section. This was on a print that used the full surface area of the bed. At the end of the day, it is still a great printer and I would recommend it as I said in the video. In terms of impartiality, I am not affected in the slightest if you buy this printer or go on a mad rampage against it, so would say that makes me pretty impartial. I really like a lot of the Creality products, but will always show the experiences I have had with a printer openly and honestly.

[@fireheadpet2039]

Another great review! Once again, hitting the plus/minus. It is unacceptable for Creality to release a new more expensive printer with buggy SW. This is not their first printer nor their first release. After all these years of manufacturing, it should have been flawless. You are too forgiving😉 A couple of suggestions for your video that are strictly meant to help. The sound wasn't that great. It sounded like you were in a tin and with some strong echo. The closeup of the white tower was never quite in focus, competing against a busy background and always in motion. As an added touch, it would be cool if you were to write the topic/issue/point in unison of your voice. It would help the viewer "follow" you more and retain more. Not critical but you are competing against some pretty good video editing out there! C

[@CallumColes]

Thanks for the detailed feedback, really helpful! I do agree the printer shouldn’t have been released with the amount of software bugs it had, perhaps I was a little too blasé on this point. It’s just I highly expect it will already have been fixed with firmware updates, so didn’t want to over emphasis a point that for most people buying now will not be their experience. The sound was bad, completely agree. It’s annoying as I’d recently upgraded my lav mic and so this should have been the first video with greatly improved sound quality. Unfortunately, the adapter I used meant it wasn’t recognised by my phone so had to rely on the camera mic. I would have recorded had I not been on holiday this week. Next video should be really good sound 🤞🏼 In terms of the white tower, perhaps it would be better to do example prints against plain background. I’d opted for a more visually pleasing background, but for those genuinely interested in the print the most detailed video is important. When you say about adding the topic as well, do you mean in addition to the KZbin chapters/timeline? As in something like the occasional on screen subtitle?

[@fireheadpet2039]

Glad you didn't take the feedback too harshly. Really want to help people like yourself grow where I feel they add a niche that others don't. BTW, keep the well balanced approach (i.e. firmware). I'm a marketing-engineer and very critical on manufacturers who think that "good, is good enough". Martin Zeeman is an example of amazing editing. Again, I'm nitpicking and being over the top. Yes, the YT chapters are great. In your video, I didn't pay too much attention to them as I was watching as if you were talking to me. It is like watching a presenter, when there are many points, the audience can get lost or lose track when the only sense is hearing. But, if you had a growing list on point form, our minds would retain a lot more. Simply my 2 cents (pence🙂). Claude

[@CallumColes]

Of course, thanks Claude! It's really helpful to have an outside perspective, so greatly appreciate your willingness to give feedback. I typed Martin Zeeman into KZbin but couldn't find anything, any chance you can send a link and I'll have a watch:) Yep that makes sense, a more interactive list sort of thing could work well. I'm also considering adding a few metrics to reviews which would make it easier to compare the printers I review, so will try to find a nice way to add this visually to reviews.