So, my son recently convinced his grandmother that the perfect holiday gift would be a 3D printer. I was not as sure of this as he. Knowing only that 3D printers require a great deal of patience, much specific knowledge, and that such hardware is challenging to maintain, I was pretty much certain that I would be spending more time assisting my son with this holiday gift than if he had asked for a puppy.
However, as with all things, he was right, I was wrong, and I became obsessed as soon as the printer's parts began to come out of their packaging. Fortunately, where my son is fearless, I am circumspect. He gets the ball rolling, and I keep it from running away.
We assembled our new printer carefully, using the precise measuring tools that a hobbyist woodworker, like myself, is fairly likely to own. These devices proved essential to proper assembly. While the printer went together without a hitch, we knew nothing more about operating it than where the power switch was located.
What were all of these parts that we had just joined? What could they do? What could they not do, that other, similar printers might be able to achieve? Had we purchased a reliable workhorse with mediocre talents, a machine filled with bugs and design flaws, or a Thoroughbred of a printer?
We found the printer's specifications a good place to begin our journey. Why start the exploration of 3D printing with the printer's product specifications? A 3D printer is a complex piece of hardware, with many technical parts that work together to produce output. The specifications tell us what our device is capable of doing. They reveal the beginnings of the language of 3D printing, as well. They give us points of comparison and contrast to other devices. They provide a reference resource for the future.
These were sufficient reasons to start our education here. Besides, Creality had not provided a more useful starting point, and we were finding our printer's physical specifications not at one central location, but scattered across the Web. Collecting this data in one location seemed a sensible starting step. Our specifications list below is fairly comprehensive, carefully vetted for accuracy, and will continue to expand as we delve deeper into the inner workings of the machine.
If you are just beginning to explore 3D printing with this article, look through the specifications below, and see for yourself how many questions this information inspires, and how answers are hinted at, right in the data.
In the next article in this series, Part 2. First steps into the world of 3D printing, we will begin to answer the questions raised by these hardware specifications, and make some sense of 3D printing basics. Looking forward to sharing this learning process. Stay tuned!
GENERAL
Max. build volume: 300 x 300 x 400 mm (11.8 x 11.8 x 15.75 in)
EXTRUDER - COLD END
Type: Bowden style (as opposed to direct drive)
Print speed: 80-100mm/s
EXTRUDER - HOT END
Count: Single extruder
Diameter: 0.4mm (comes with one nozzle fitted and two spares)
Precision: +/- 0.1 mm
Layer height: from 0.1 mm to 0.4 mm
Max. temp.: 260° C
FILAMENT
Molding method: FDM
Compatible materials: PLA, PLA+, ABS, TPU, PETG, wood
Filament size: 1.75 mm
BED
Bed material; Carborundum glass plate
Max. temp: 100° C
Note: The way to identify that the plate is Creality's upgraded glass plate is that the original version had a smooth surface, and displayed the Creality logo in large type across the center of the plate. The upgraded glass plate is textured, and the logo has been reduced in size and lowered to the leading edge of the plate, so as to not interfere with the first layer of prints.
MOTHERBOARD
Creality CRC-2405 V1.2
POWER
Power supply: Creality-branded Meanwell LRS-350-24 DC Switching Power Supply, 24V 14.6A 350W
Input: AC 100-240 V 50/60Hz
Output: DC 24V
Total power: 350W
CONNECTIVITY
Methods: SD card, Ethernet, WiFi
ETHERNET / WIFI CAPABILITIES
The CR-10S contains the same circuitry as Creality's accessory WiFi Box 2.0. Due to this, users can register the printer with Creality's Cloud App. This linkage makes it possible to remotely access the printer from beyond of the local network it resides on, and permits the many available print files on Creality's cloud platform to be sent directly to the printer. The Cloud platform also makes it possible to remotely make setting adjustments to the printer. With Creality's accessory CRCC-S7 HD Webcam (not included with printer) plugged into the available USB port on the CR-10S, remote viewing, recording and playback of printing progress becomes possible.
ADDITIONAL 'SMART' FEATURES
• Resume printing on power failure (also making it possible to change filament mid-print)
• Filament detector
• Auto-leveling
• Automatic shut-off (on completion of printing)
• Screen protection
DISPLAY SCREEN
4 x 3 in. full touch screen
OS & SOFTWARE
Compatible OSes: Windows 7+, Mac OS X 10.7+, Linux Ubuntu 12.04+
Compatible slicer software: Creality Slicer, Ultimaker Cura, Repetier-Host, or Simplify3D
FILE FORMATS
STL, OBJ and AMF
OTHER FEATURES
Belt-driven, dual Z-axis
Full tool set, neatly organized in a magnetically locking drawer
A note about this article series...
Having recently entered into the world of 3D printing, we have found the information available on the subject to be both broad and deep, but not always clear, organized, or reliable, especially for beginners. This series of articles attempts to bring some order to the massive amount of available information.
The information in this series will tend to be specific to the Creality CR-10S Smart 3D printer and to the suite of Creality software, as this is the platform we're learning on. However, it is quickly becoming clear that much of this information will apply to not only other Creality printer models, but to many similar 3D printers and software packages. Hope you find this information useful.
Available articles in this series:
part 1.
the Creality CR-10S printer: making sense of the product specifications
part 2:
first steps into the world of 3D printing
part 3.
setting up the Creality CR-10S 3D printer
Planned future installments:
one, simple explanation for why prints fail, and the best solution to resolve this issue
all about Creality CR-10S automated bed-leveling
Creality Print and Slicer application basics
stepping into the world of Creality Cloud
adding the Creality CRCC-S7 web camera to your 3D printer setup
how to replace the extruder nozzle on the CR-10S, step-by-step