Creality CR-10S Pro Review Roundup

The Creality CR-10S Pro is the successor to the hugely popular CR-10S and is undoubtedly one of the most popular 3D printers so far this year. If you’re in the market for a new mid-range 3D printer, then the CR-10S Pro is probably on your shortlist.

This review roundup aims to consolidate the thoughts and feelings from all of the reviews for the CR-10S Pro so you can make an informed decision on whether to buy one or not. Despite being one of the most notable 3D printer releases of the last year, there aren’t that many reviews for it, which is quite surprising. So this review roundup should be extra helpful.

Before we dive in, let’s first take a look at the features and specs of the printer, which All3DP has concisely listed out. Check out the rest of their specifications article. They do not yet have a review article of the printer itself.

Feature List & Specifications

Features

• Automatic Leveling - the printer has the ability to automatically detect the bed and assist in reading a matrix of points across the bed for bed levelling
• New Motherboard - upgraded version of the mainboard used in the CR-10S - increased stability and reliability (claimed not proven)
• Imported Teflon Tube - better for feeding filament due to the high lubricity and high-temperature resistance
• Touch Screen - Appears to have been lifted from the CR-X
• Resume Print Function - able to resume printing after a power cut (same as CR-10S)
• Filament Detection - alerts and pauses print when filament runs out (same as CR-10S)
• Double Gear Extrusion Mechanism - Bondtech-like dual gear feed in the extruder which should result in a more reliable and stronger feed of filament
• Quick heating print bed - Claimed to heat up to 110°C in 5 minutes
• Branded power supply - by Mean Well - reputable for safe and reliable PSUs

General Specifications

Technology	FDM
Year	2018
Assembly	Semi-assembled
Mechanical arrangement	Cartesian-XZ-head
Manufacturer	Creality3D
Filament diameter	1.75mm
3rd party filaments	Yes
Compatible materials	PLA, ABS, TPU, composite filaments
Accuracy	+/-100 Microns
Layer height	100-400 Microns
Feeder system	Bowden
Extruder type	Single
Nozzle size	0.4mm
Max. extruder temperature	260°C
Max. heated bed temperature	110°C
Max. print speed	180mm/s
Closed print chamber	No
Bed leveling	Automatic
Print bed	Heated
Display	LCD touchscreen
Connectivity	SD card, USB
Built-in camera	No

Review Roundup

Nexi Tech

“You need around ten minutes to assemble this printer and it's super easy, great for beginners. It comes with a lot of improvements over the CR-10S starting first with a new frame design, which looks very nice, simple and clean. All components and electronics are now hidden inside of the metal frame and there is no need for a control box anymore.

I have nothing bad to say about the CR-10S Pro. In fact, I think that this is the best 3D printer that Creality has ever made. I like the new design, features and performance of this machine. The Pro is definitely a big step up over the CR-10S from last year and I believe that this printer will be the next great success in the 3D printing community.”

Teaching Tech

“In summary, it's a difficult decision. The print quality is fantastic so with that in mind can you forgive the other shortcomings of this printer. We know this is probably going to be popular on the reputation of the original CR-10S alone and that means a lot of community support and already we're seeing a lot of mods coming out to solve some of these problems.

The question is then are you willing to spend this much money on a printer that still needs a fair bit of tinkering and that's something that each individual has to decide for themselves. I have mixed feelings on this printer it's got amazing print quality and so much potential but those few niggling problems probably should have been caught by Creality in the early design stages.”

Teaching Tech released a later video describing the fixes to his problems with the printer

“My CR-10S Pro has had some problems, but I've found fixes that have made my machine user-friendly and reliable. It is now one of my best machines. Not everyone will have these issues, but hopefully, this can be helpful for those who do. Now that these issues are out of the way, this really is an outstanding printer.”

Naomi Wu

“If you want a basic printer and don't have much money, but have lots of time to assemble and learn how to use it, I still recommend the Ender-3.

If you want a larger printer - again with a learning curve, I recommend the CR-10S.

But if you want a better out-of-the-box printing experience, which is more reliable, easier to use and less fiddly, the CR-10S Pro is absolutely your best bet. It definitely has the best quality prints and the least numbers of things to go wrong. It's the right printer if you're willing to pay a bit more for print quality and reliability.”

CHEP

“I'm really impressed with how solid this thing is. It printed really really nice. But getting to this point, well now that was a headache.

This is a fantastic PLA printing machine. They should have put an E3DV6 hotend on it though. There are PTFE tubes still going down to the nozzle that limit your temperature range. An E3DV6 with a heat break would have been much better.

And now at six hundred dollars, you're in competition with printers like the Prusa MK2S. This has an actual E3DV6 and a direct drive so it'll print flexible filament and it's got an auto level that calibrates itself, no screwing around. It just does it. It’s definitely a smaller printer than the CR-10S Pro, but it's very reliable and prints beautifully. So this is what you're competing with now once you're in this price range.

The advantage of the Creality machines was that they were sub $400 like the CR-10S, CR-10 Mini and the Ender 3. And they're fantastic printers for that price. But once you start getting up into the six to seven hundred dollar range, you better have some really good parts because the competition gets a lot tougher.

For the extra two hundred bucks, you're definitely getting a lot more machine than the CR-10S. Is it worth the extra 200 bucks? Well, that's really your call.”

How Does It Compare To The Standard CR-10S?

CHEP goes on to gives a thorough explanation in the video above:

“So what are the major differences between the CR-10S and a CR-10S Pro? Well, first of all, it's $200 more. But what do you get for that $200? Quite a bit.

You get better electronics built into the base. You get auto level on the hot end. You get Capricorn tubing for higher temperatures. You've got dual threaded rods driven by Trinamic drivers. You've got dual gears on the extruder with fewer gaps so you should be able to print flexible filaments and you do have the filament run-out sensor, just like the CR-10S, although it's much beefier and built into the bracket on the side.

So let's look a little closer at the electronics. You've got more memory on the motherboard and you've also got Trinamic drivers, which makes driving the stepper motors much quieter and smoother. You've also got a touchscreen control versus a graphics control with a control knob and it works really well. You've got a Mean Well power supply - 24 volts just like the Ender 3 so it heats up the bed and hotend a lot quicker. In addition to that, you've got easier wiring. There's one ribbon cable that comes up to the side and connects up by the extruder assembly. And just below the filament sensor is a circuit board where it breaks all the wires out already connected. So one connection of that ribbon cable and you're just about done.

It's basically four screws to mount the gantry, two connectors for the stepper motors and then this ribbon cable and you're ready to go. The bed assembly is a lot different compared to the CR-10S. It's got dual aluminium extrusion that is spread out and eight wheels to guide it so it's much more stable. And it's got an aluminium frame and an aluminium plate clipped on top of it with Buildtak, not glass. The CR-10S has a glass bed and this has aluminium. And then it's got insulation underneath so it keeps the heat in and heats up quicker.”

What Do We Think?

The general consensus among reviewers in the industry is that the CR-10S Pro is a fantastic printer. We think that the print quality sets it apart as one of the best FDM printers on the market right now, but it does require quite a bit of testing and trial and error to get to that point.

If you are willing to do that, then we can thoroughly recommend the CR-10S Pro. You can buy one from Technology Outlet with free UK next day delivery.