The Creality K1 Max is an exciting new 3D printer that offers a large build volume and fast print speeds at an affordable price point. With a build area of 11.8 x 11.8 x 11.8 inches, the K1 Max can handle printing large models and multiple objects at once. Its high-speed printing capabilities allow it to churn out prints quickly without sacrificing quality.
In this in-depth review, we’ll take a close look at the features and performance of the Creality K1 Max to see how it stacks up against other 3D printers in its class. We’ll examine the print quality, speed, design, setup process, software, and other aspects that make this an intriguing option for hobbyists, designers, and prototypers looking for an affordable workhorse machine.
Overview of the Creality K1 Max 3D Printer
The Creality K1 Max is a fused filament fabrication (FFF) 3D printer that uses the common thermoplastics PLA, PETG, TPU, ABS, and wood filaments. It has a build volume of 11.8 x 11.8 x 11.8 inches, making it one of the largest build volumes among desktop 3D printers in its price range.
Some key specs and features of the K1 Max include:
- Build volume: 11.8 x 11.8 x 11.8 inches
- High print speed of up to 250mm/s
- Direct drive extruder with all-metal hot end
- Automatic bed leveling and resume print after power outage
- Touchscreen color display
- Filament runout detection and power loss recovery
- Connectivity via USB, WiFi, Ethernet, and USB flash drive
- Works with common slicers like Cura and Simplify3D
- Quiet printing around 50 decibels
With its sturdy metal frame, enclosed design, and large build volume, the K1 Max is well-suited for high volume prototyping, model making, product design, and education applications. Its faster print speeds allow you to churn through prints quicker than many other large format desktop 3D printers.
Let’s take a more detailed look at how the K1 Max performs in real-world use across factors like print quality, speed, design, noise levels, and ease of use.
Print Quality
One of the most important metrics for judging a 3D printer is the quality of the parts it can produce. Overall, the Creality K1 Max is capable of excellent print quality on par with more expensive printers.
The printer can achieve layer heights as low as 0.1mm, allowing for fine details and smooth surface finishes. Small objects and miniatures printed on the K1 Max can look almost injection molded when printed with care and the right slicer settings.
Larger prints also come out looking great. The enclosed heating chamber and direct drive extruder provides very even extrusion and prevents warping across the large build platform. Overhangs and bridges come out clean without drooping or sagging.
There are some limitations though. Due to the bowden tube setup, flexible filaments like TPU tend to underperform and you may experience some stringing. Small lithophanes and miniatures may require slowing down the print speed to get perfectly clean details.
But overall, the K1 Max punches far above its weight class when it comes to print quality. With a little bit of dialing in slicer settings, it’s easy to get great looking prints across PLA, PETG, ABS, and other common materials. The all-metal hotend can also handle exotic filaments like wood or metal composites.
Printing Speed
One of the highlights of the K1 Max is its impressive printing speed capabilities. This printer can crank prints fast with average print speeds ranging from 100-200mm/s. The MAX accelerated printing mode can go as fast as 250mm/s.
While you won’t want to print everything at full speed, it’s great having the ability for quick draft prints. Printing large objects or batches of smaller prints goes much faster than on an average desktop 3D printer.
The K1 Max doesn’t compromise quality too much at higher speeds either. Thanks to its direct drive extruder, quick accelerations, and rigid metal body, details still come out crisp and clean when printing fast. Just be prepared for some additional noise when the print speeds and cooling fans kick into high gear.
For more detailed prints, the 60-100mm/s range seems to be the sweet spot for getting great quality results. The MAX mode is best reserved for draft prints where surface finish isn’t critical.
Overall, the speed capabilities give the Creality K1 Max impressive throughput for high volume printing and rapid prototyping needs.
Design and Build Quality
The Creality K1 Max has an understated, matte black exterior with a fully enclosed body reminiscent of industrial grade 3D printers. The metal frame, side panels, and doors feel very sturdy with no creaking or flexing. The printer has a relatively compact footprint of 20 x 24 x 28 inches but manages to cram in a huge 11.8 cubic inch build volume inside.
Some nice design touches include the spring loaded filament spool holder on top, built-in LED strip lights, and the full color touchscreen interface. The responsive touchscreen makes it easy to navigate menus and monitor prints.
Inside, the electronics are neatly organized and major components like the power supply and mainboard are housed in a well-ventilated electronics bay. The modular hotend is easy to maintain or replace. Ribbons cables and neatly run wires give the inner workings a clean look.
The linear rails, v-rollers, and belt drive system all appear sturdy and built to last. The direct drive extruder provides the necessary stiffness for fast accelerations without ghosting artifacts. The heated aluminum build plate helps adhesion during those speedy prints.
Overall, Creality did an excellent job with the industrial design and build quality of the K1 Max. It’s built like a tank and has the heft you would expect from a commercial 3D printer.
Setup and Calibration
Setting up the Creality K1 Max is relatively straightforward for anyone comfortable building desktop PCs and other electronics. Expect 30-60 minutes for the full unboxing, assembly, and calibration process.
The well-illustrated quick start guide steps you through the build process. This involves mounting the gantry, attaching the tool head, loading the filament, leveling the bed, and installing the side panels.
The color touchscreen provides an easy to follow setup wizard for the rest like homing the axes, calibration, and loading/unloading filament. The automatic bed leveling probe does a great job of tramming the bed quickly without much manual adjustment needed.
If anything, the bed might need some minor tweaking at the corners to get it perfectly trammed after the auto leveling routine. But it certainly removes the pain and frustration often associated with manual bed leveling on other printers.
For software, you can choose to slice models in Creality Slicer, Cura, Simplify3D, or any other slicer capable of handling .gcode files. The printer comes preloaded with Creality Slicer which provides good default profiles to get up and printing quickly. More advanced users will appreciate being able to customize their slicer workflow.
Overall, the well-refined setup process makes getting operational fast and easy with the K1 Max. Creality put a lot of effort into simplifying the out of box experience while still providing flexibility for more advanced users.
Reliability and Ease of Use
Aside from speed and print quality, reliability and ease of use are critical factors for any 3D printer intended for serious work. Here the K1 Max delivers well across the board.
Once dialed in, prints adhere well to the heated bed and maintain consistency over long print jobs. The auto bed leveling ensures the first layer squish remains on point without drifting over time.
After extended use, everything on the K1 Max still feels tight and properly aligned. There are no signs of premature wear on the motion components that would indicate quality issues. It’s clear this printer was designed for reliability from the ground up.
Recovering from problems mid-print is easy with the K1 Max. Run out of filament? Just pause the job, load a new spool, and hit resume. Experience a power outage? Again, just restart and continue printing from where it left off. The printer reliably handles these interruptions with no loss of quality.
The large touchscreen and intuitive menus make interacting with the printer a breeze. Options like filament loading/unloading, bed leveling, z-offset tuning, and hotend preheating are just a few taps away. It’s simple enough for beginners but provides all the controls a pro would expect.
For remote control, you can easily connect via WiFi or Ethernet. The built in camera lets you monitor jobs from across the room or around the world. Creality Print and other software allows you to manage your printer from a computer or mobile device.
Overall, the Creality K1 Max proves itself as an extremely capable and reliable workhorse 3D printer. Once dialed in, it can churn through prints like a champ while maintaining ease of use and recovering from problems automatically.
Noise Levels
With its high print speeds and dual cooling fans, there are inherent noise tradeoffs with the K1 Max. It’s not an especially loud printer, but it’s not silent either.
At normal speed prints around 50-100mm/s, noise levels stay around 50-55 decibels. This is similar to background noise you might hear in an office environment. Faster print speeds ramp up the fans more, pushing noise closer to 60-65 decibels. But layer fan RPM can be reduced if desired.
The printer itself produces minimal noise aside from some slight vibration and the clicking steppers. Most of the audible noise comes from airflow against the print head. An enclosure can help reduce noise levels a bit further if desired.
While not as quiet as a direct drive printer optimized for stealth, the noise produced by the K1 Max is reasonable. It’s quiet enough to have running in a home, office, or classroom environment without being too distracting. Just don’t expect it to disappear into the background when running full tilt.
Creality K1 Max vs Competition
The Creality K1 Max goes up against several other large format desktop 3D printers in the sub-$2000 price tier. Printers like the Artillery Sidewinder X2, Raise3D Pro 2 Plus, and SV01 are top competitors.
Compared to these machines, the K1 Max stands out for its massive 11.8” cubic build volume. Most rival printers top out around 10” cubic inches. The K1 Max build area can accommodate very large multi-part assemblies.
It also leads in print speeds thanks to its lightweight toolhead and beefy acceleration. The 250mm/s MAX mode leaves everything else far behind. But the K1 still manages great quality at lower speeds.
The Direct Drive extruder, auto bed leveling, and other premium features match or beat the competition too. And it comes pre-assembled unlike many DIY kit printers.
Downsides are mainly just the noise levels. Some competing enclosed printers run whisper quiet. The K1 cooling fans can get loud at full speed. But for the speed and volume, little else matches the K1 Max capabilities for the price.
Who is the Creality K1 Max Best Suited For?
With its large build volume, high print speeds, and reliable performance, the Creality K1 Max is a great fit for:
- Product designers and engineers – Rapidly iterate through prototypes
- 3D printing hobbyists – Print models, figures, cosplay armor
- Schools and educators – Spark student creativity and interest in 3D printing technology
- Architects and contractors – Create architectural models and design concepts
- Manufacturers – Printing jigs, fixtures, and end-use parts
- Dental and medical professionals – Gorgeous high quality prints on one machine
The K1 Max has appeal for everyone from beginners to advanced users. Novices will appreciate the refined setup and intuitive controls. But pro makers get the bonus of commercial-grade quality and speed.
If you need to maximize build volume to create large prints or batches of smaller parts, the K1 Max really shines. The print speed capabilities also make it feasible for printing quantities of prototypes, end products, or teaching aids.
Should You Buy the Creality K1 Max?
Overall, the Creality K1 Max makes a compelling case as one of the best large format 3D printers available today. It punches far above its price class with build quality, features, and performance rivaling prosumer machines costing much more.
For under $2000, you would be hard pressed finding another printer that can match the K1 Max across the key metrics that matter:
- Huge 11.8” cubic build volume
- Blazing fast print speeds up to 250mm/s
- Excellent print quality with detailed models
- Rugged industrial design and quality components
- Flexible connectivity options and remote monitoring
- Straightforward setup and maintenance
- Reliable performance for high volume printing
If you need a workhorse 3D printer with maximized build volume and swift printing to create large or high quantities of prints, the Creality K1 Max is an outstanding choice. Novices and advanced users alike will find a lot to love with this capable printer.
