Creality K1 SE

About the Creality K1 SE

The Creality K1 SE is an addition to what has turned out to be a series of fast CoreXY 3D printers from Creality.

The enclosed Creality K1 established the series in 2023. It was a response to the success of the Bambu Lab X1 and P1 series printers and Creality tried to offer more at a lower price. While it is slightly smaller than the Bambu Lab printers at 220 X 220 X 250mm (versus 256 X 256 X 256mm), Creality wanted to show that it had the faster printer - they stated that it prints at 600mm/s, not Bambu Lab’s 500mm/s. Creality also has a large full color touchscreen on the K1 which Bambu does not offer on their P1 series printers.

Later in 2023, Creality introduced the K1 Max, upsized to 300 X 300 X 300mm. This is a size Bambu Lab cannot match as of 2024.

In 2024, Creality introduced the K1C, which is effectively an update of the K1 with an improved extruder. The Creality K1 SE is based on this printer.

What is the Creality K1 SE?

Creality introduced the K1 SE on August 22, 2024. Simply put, it is a K1C without the enclosure and a few other differences at a reduced price. This is the entry-level K1 series printer. It offers users all the speed of the K1 series and the most important upgrades of the K1C at a lower price.

Advantages of the Creality K1 SE

The Creality K1 SE benefits from almost all the upgrades of the Creality K1C, which is the latest generation of the K1 series and contains fixes and improvements based on lessons learned since the introduction of the K1.

Motion System

The K1 SE uses the motion system established with the K1 and meant to compete with the Bambu Lab X1. It is a 600mm/s CoreXY arrangement using a lightweight extruder on linear rods with 20,000 mm/s2 acceleration.

Extruder

The K1 SE is equipped with the K1C’s second-generation extruder. It has dual hardened steel gears, with one gear pressed against the other using a strong side spring and the assembly pivoting on a ball plunger. This fixes clogging issues some users encountered with the K1 and should grip the filament with extra force.

The quick swap nozzle is integrated with the heat break and is composed of three metals: copper at the heater end for high thermal conductivity, a hardened steel tip since copper is very soft, and a titanium heatbreak with low thermal conductivity to prevent heat creep.

The cables and reverse Bowden tube leading to the extruder are protected and retained by a cable chain.

The nozzle can quickly heat up to 300°C using a 60W ceramic heater.

Frame

The K1 SE uses the same frame as the K1C. It is a die cast aluminum alloy box frame with reinforcing corner gussets and crossbeams. It is designed to be very rigid in order to form a stable platform for high speed printing.

Connectivity and Controls

The Creality K1 SE uses the same 4.3” full color touchscreen that the K1C uses. Connectivity is by USB or WiFi and it connects to the Creality Cloud app running on a phone or tablet.

It is equipped with an accelerometer to calculate input shaping, which detects vibration and adjusts motor speed and acceleration to avoid resonance and ringing. It also uses linear advance, which scans through the G code, looking for corners or nozzle direction changes. It will lower the extruder feedrate just before these direction changes to reduce over extrusion in these spots.

Firmware

Like the other K1 series printers, the K1 SE needs fast, efficient firmware in order to process the G code at high speed and command the motors to do the work. This is Creality OS, which is based on Klipper and is open source to allow for customization and optimization.

Auto Leveling and Auto Z Offset

The K1 SE shares the K1C’s automatic leveling system which uses strain gauges and load cells, tapping the nozzle onto the bed to construct a multi-point bed mesh in order to automatically adjust for bed level. This system also automatically sets the Z offset. No manual adjustment using paper or other methods is necessary.

Anti-Vibration Pads

While this may seem like a minor detail, anti-vibration pads have an outsized impact on the vibration of the printer and how the printer transmits vibrations to the table or bench. Good anti-vibration solutions will not only increase the stability of the printer, they will make it a lot quieter. The K1 SE’s anti-vibration feet are mechanically attached to the printer, which is an improvement over earlier designs which were adhered to the frame with adhesive and would occasionally get shaken off.

Nozzle Wiper

To compete with the Bambu Lab printers, the K1 SE is equipped with a silicone nozzle wiper strip at the corner of the bed. This assists print quality by ensuring a clean nozzle at the start of every print. The nozzle lowers into the wiper and is wiped back and forth rapidly to clean the nozzle.

Limitations of the Creality K1 SE

Since there is no enclosure, the Creality K1 SE’s main limitation is in filament capability. Temperature sensitive filaments like ABS may warp without an enclosure - they need to be surrounded by warm, still air. As well, without a ventilated, filtered enclosure, users would be exposed to the hazardous fumes ABS will give off. There are other sensitive filaments that will not be possible to print even if the extruder and bed heater are otherwise capable.

The K1C has a large auxiliary part cooling fan mounted inside the enclosure. The K1 SE does not have this fan and instead relies on a single extruder-mounted part cooling fan. This fan is dynamically balanced to reduce vibration.

Unlike the rest of the K1 series which use PEI build plates, the K1 SE uses an unusual epoxy resin covered build plate. This is not necessarily bad, but it does not have the track record PEI has. It can always be replaced with PEI since the bed is the same size as the K1 and K1C, but that would be an extra cost.

Finally, the K1 SE does not come with the K1C’s AI camera, although it can be added later, also at extra cost.

Should You Get a Creality K1 SE?

The Creality K1 SE benefits from all the corrections and upgrades to the K1 series, yet it’s available at a low price for an ultra fast, fully automated CoreXY 3D printer. It’s really just a K1C without the enclosure, but with nearly everything else - for hundreds less.

Sure, it won’t print all the filaments the K1C can print, despite having the same extruder. And you may want to upgrade the print bed and add the AI camera. But this is the most accessible high speed CoreXY printer yet made.

Brand Summary: Creality

Creality is a well-known brand that offers a wide range of consumer 3D printers across all price points, from budget to higher end models. The Ender 3 is credited with originating the budget 3D printer market. While other brands now produce lower cost clones of the Ender 3, Creality remains the most established Chinese manufacturer of 3D printers. Creality uses off-the-shelf components and standardized aluminum extrusions on many of their printers to reduce costs, making their printers easy to repair and upgrade. Their official online community forums and manufacturer support are limited, but support can be found on communities on Reddit and Discord.

Learn more about Creality.

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