Creality Ender 5 S1 3D Printer Hands-On Review

"It's been 2 years, let's upgrade the Ender 5 Pro!" said Creality's R&D department. The new Ender 5 Pro upgraded Ender 5 S1 will be launched on November 3rd, Creality's official website has teased the news, and the slogan "Feel the sizzling speed" implies that this new machine is aimed at high-speed printing. As usual, we got our hands on the first batch of the new Ender 5 S1 and put it to the test before its release. To find out how it performs and if it's worth buying, join us in our review and let's see if it lives up to the expectations. 

Design:

The design of Ender 5 s1 is based on the Ender 5 pro and Ender 5 plus, adopting a classic cartesian system with a cube frame, it has the Ender 5 plus's integrated touch screen, but also the Pro version's Z-axis linear shaft on the back. To be honest, I'm not a big fan of the design that puts the screen in the base of the printer, once the screen has problems, the repair will be more difficult, you need to remove the bottom to take out the screen. What I like is that the new Ender 5 S1 is more visually neat and tidy, all loose cables in the air are wrapped in nylon wire harness sleeves, and some designs I like: 2 profile grips placed behind the Z axis, 2 cantilevers placed below the printing bed for extra stability, and 2 handles installed on two sides to make it easier for customers to move the printer. But Creality seems to have sacrificed something for the stability of this printer, the print size of Ender 5 S1 is 220*220*280 because the actual printing distance of the Z-axis has been decreased.

Specs:

Features:

1. 250mm/s high-speed printing

Since last year, Creality has been trying to solve the long-standing problem of slow 3d printing speed, but Ender 7 is obviously a very unsuccessful attempt, although it can print at 250mm/s, the print quality is not satisfactory. This time the Ender 5 S1 still aims for a high printing speed of 250mm/s, unfortunately, this goal still seems too ambitious for the Ender 5 S1 at the moment. But this goal can be accomplished with the use of the Creality Sonic Pad they introduced not long ago, the printer even can print with a speed of 300m/s if you use the Sonic Pad.
So high-speed printing as a promotional selling point for this new product is actually a misnomer. In our tests, we found that it is no different from the Ender 3 S1 series, and no different from the previous Ender 5 Pro, if you want to get a perfect printing model, you still need to print at normal speed.

 2."Sprite" direct extruder for 300℃ printing

There is no doubt that the launch of the Ender 3 S1 last year was a success, and its "Sprite" extruder launched at the same time has been greatly praised. "Sprite ”extruder is applied in the Ender 5 S1 with a new look, and it is Ender 3 S1 Pro’s all-metal extruder version that can reach 300°C maximum nozzle temperature, you can find this best direct-drive extruder here. It shows good results with flexible filaments such as TPU and PETG, and you can also print high-temperature filaments such as nylon with the help of an insulation cover.

The corrugated heat sink used in the Ender 3 Neo series was also added to the hot end, and with a large 5015 fan, the cooling system is excellent, and it is not too noisy when you print. There is another welcomed addition, they added 2 creative bullhorn-shaped air supply channels to the extruder, (it is said that this bullhorn-shaped accessory is finished with 3d printer printing), together with a large 5015 fan to accelerate the cooling and molding of the model, the melted filament can be quickly cooled and immediately hardened and then glued, thus reducing sagging or warping caused by overheating.

3. Stable cube frame

The Ender 5 S1 goes with the classic Cartesian structure. The thick linear shafts, extra gussets, two cantilevers, and silicone bed mounts enhanced the stability of the cube frame.

4. CR-touch auto leveling

If you have the Ender 5 Pro or Ender 5 Plus, you must consider CR Touch as the first upgrade. With auto-leveling and auxiliary leveling( you need to set Z-axis offset), you can easily get the perfect first layer with less hassle.

The New Ender 5 S1 has PC spring steel sheet, the frosted PC surface is good sticky to models, and the model can be removed right away with a slight bend. But better solution is PEI steel plate.

5. Straightforward touchscreen UI
   The 4.3-inch touchscreen features a wide viewing angle, sensitive response, and a tabbed user interface, and it supports nine languages (Chinese, English, Spanish, German, French, Russian, Portuguese, Italian, and Turkish). And a temperature PID control page is also added for easy adjustment.

6. Multiple ways of printing

You can print directly from an SD card, or connect to a PC via a Type-C cable to print, or you can use Wifi box cloud printing.

Test:

We tried printing a model of an astronaut and the first print was generally satisfactory. It wasn't perfect, but after I sandpapered some rough parts and cut out the support parts with scissors, everything looked good!

Conclusion:

PROS

1. Excellent print quality
2. Print very quiet and fast
3. Good bed leveling

CONS

1. It is not easy to set up, it takes me 30mins to install. It is recommended that you refer to the installation video or instructions to install.
2. The print size is not as large as the previous generation, but for personal and small business, it is enough.

Verdict:

We tested PLA and TPU filaments on the Ender 5 S1 and the most of results were invariably impressive. So based on our test and print experience, if you ask me if I recommend this product, then my answer is yes. And between the Ender 5 S1 and Ender 3 S1, my choice is Ender 5 s1, the cube frame is more stable, it can print much faster than Ender 3 S1, and the print quality is as same as reliable.

If you're looking for a new 3d printer for your small business, then the Ender 5 S1 is an excellent choice. But if have a limited budget that doesn't want to break the bank, you can go with Ender 3 Max Neo or Ender 3 S1 Plus. And the Ender 7 is on sale, if you don't mind spending time tinker, that's an option. All in all, Creality has lots of choices for your different needs and budget, and you will find the right one.