Johannesburg, 09 Apr 2023
Creality is one of the biggest names in 3D printing and has been for the last five years. The Ender 3 is one of, if not the most successful 3D consumer-grade printer ever, and Creality printers are often in our list of best 3D printers. This year Creality is celebrating its ninth anniversary by releasing its newest flagship 3D printer, the K1, and a host of new products.
Looking very similar to the Bambu Lab X1 Carbon, or a Voron, the K1 is a CoreXY 3D printer, where the print area moves down as it prints, rather than in and out. This makes it very stable and allows printing at extremely high speeds. Creality says that the K1 and the K1 Max can print at speeds up to 600 millimetres per second -- around 12 times faster, at least on paper, than the Ender 3, which prints at around 50mm/s.
The K1 Max is the upgrade to the K1 with a larger print area -- 300 by 300 by 300mm as opposed to the K1's 220 by 220 by 250mm -- and some advanced features like lidar to correct your first layer and an AI camera that can detect errors in the print as it's printing. These features are also available on the K1 as optional extras.
Creality also announced several other 3D printers, laser cutters and other machines -- too many to talk about them all in detail here. CNET will be testing them as they become available. Here's a quick rundown:
- Halot-Mage/Pro: A resin 3D printer dubbed "one of the fastest resin 3D printers on the market" with a helpful tilting lid.
- Falcon 2 40-watt laser cutter: An update to Creality's 22-watt laser etcher, capable of cutting more materials than ever.
- CR-Scan Ferret: A handheld 3D scanner that's very light, making it easy to scan without a turntable.
- Sermoon D3 Pro: A dual-extrusion 3D printer designed to print industrial filaments such as metal-infused and water-soluble types.
The K1 was available in a limited presale for $599 but is now out of stock, while the K1 Max will be available at a later date for $999. The Halot-Mage is available now, priced at $329; the Halot-Mage Pro goes on sale May 15 for $699. UK and Australian prices are yet to be announced.
First published on April 9, 2023 9:10 a.m. PT.
James Bricknell, Senior Editor
James has been writing about technology for years but has loved it since the early 90s. While his main areas of expertise are maker tools -- 3D printers, vinyl cutters, paper printers, and laser cutters -- he also loves to play board games and tabletop RPGs.
Expertise3D printers, maker tools such as Cricut style vinyl cutters and laser cutters, traditional paper printers
Credentials
Six years working professionally in the 3D printing space / four years testing consumer electronics for large websites.