Today we are going to review Ender-6 from Creality, the first CoreXY printer from their lineup. Choosing the right 3d Printer can be a daunting task, especially if you’re new to the field and need something that suits your preferences.
This new addition to the Creality family was released at the beginning of 2020 and is the latest of the large spectrum of 3D printers.
We’re familiar with many of the other models in this established company, and this Core-XY machine takes the technical aspect of its predecessor, the popular Ender 5 Pro, and makes several improvements that we’ll discuss in more detail.
With the Creality line alone, you’re looking at over 8 different models, each with its own specifications and bonus features. With our review series, we hope to make your 3D printing shopping that much easier so you can spend less time on Google, and more printing out your favorite items.
Our Ender 6 review will cover many of the most common aspects you would find on 3D printers, and we’ll take a look at the assembly process, its specifications, printing speeds, design, and appearance. Afterward, we’ll give our verdict and let you know if it’s worth paying the money for.
Assembly
Get ready to take a few hours out of your Saturday afternoon, as the Ender 6 will take around 2-3 hours to assemble.
Whilst you could probably get this done in less time, we recommend you go slowly to avoid any future misalignments that can occur during the printing process, as there’s nothing worse than having to redo the build job because you rushed the build.
We found the manual to be straightforward and all pieces were easily labeled. The blue corners slide in comfortably, and everything is sticker and color-coordinated.
Just be careful when tightening screws on the plexiglass panels as they are prone to breaking. Although this could be completed solo, you can grab an extra pair of hands to help with supporting the metal frame.
Worth noting is that the aluminum extrusions only require a single screw which we thought would be a problem. However, once it was all fitted, it held up pretty well.
Design And Appearance
When we finally assembled the Ender 6, we were impressed with the overall build. The blue corners connectors, open door structure, and all-metal frame gave a very elegant appearance and are good to look at.
The blue-tinted side panel looked awesome and it didn’t have that industrial look about it. Overall this is a classier design compared to other printers in the Creality line, and the blue color scheme doesn’t look out of place.
It can also come with a lid, which will help to retain heat, which would be ideal for filaments that require a higher heat such as nylon. But this will have to be purchased separately.
In terms of table space, you’re going to need a lot of room to store this printer. Its volume is 61.4 cm x 54.6 x 40 cm, which puts it slightly larger than the Ender 5 Pro, and weighs roughly 22 kilograms.
It’s not the lightest model on the market and would be best left in one place rather than constantly moved around.
The easy-to-use touch screen that is 4.3 inches big won’t be a problem to navigate and features a wide range of visual capabilities that you can manually adjust, as well as view a wide array of printing parameters.
We did note that the top of the machine isn’t covered, and that’s because the printhead is mounted there. If you want to print at high heat, this may lose some of the temperatures.
If you don’t want to pay for the additional lid, you could try and cover the top of the printer with something to keep the heat in.
Specifications
Here is a list of the specifications which we’ll dive into in just a moment:
- Modeling Technology: FDM（Fused Deposition Modeling）
- Print Size: 250x250x400mm
- Print Mode: SD card
- Resolution: ±0.1mm
- Supported OS: MAC, LINUX, WIN7/8/10
- File Formats: STL, 3MF, AMF, OBJ, Gcode
- Printing Material: PLA/TPU/Wood/Carbon Fiber, etc.
- Ender-6 FDM 3D Printer Hardware
- Machine Size: 495x495x650mm
- Product Weight: 22KG
- Touch Screen: 4.3 inch
- G.W. : 27kg
- Ender-6 FDM 3D Printer Extruder Hardware
- Layer Height: 0.1-0.4mm
Overall this is a solid list of specifications, and exactly what we expect from Creality. This printer is great for printing within its printing size. The build volume is 250x250x400 mm which should be more than enough from the majority of your printing jobs.
We found the build plate to be rather small compared to the dimensions of the Ender 6. We’re not sure why the plate doesn’t fit the space but it wasn’t a deal-breaker and was large enough for a wide array of jobs.
The POM V-Slot wheels seemed robust enough, but it’s going to take a few runs to see if they manage to hold up with repetitive high-speed prints. It might be worth upgrading to polycarbonate V-slot wheels which will not deform so easily should you run into any problems.
Having a look at some other users who have tried the Ender 6, it’s clear that it does come with many upgrades. One of these enhancements is the BLTouch probe that automatically levels the bed, which helps to increase the production quality and reduce warping.
Printing
Once we had the printer assembled, we took the liberty of making some small figurines and a small vase to test out the prints to check the quality of the printing.
We tested at 60 mm/s and 100 mm/s using a bed temperature of 60 degrees Celcius using PLA and no supports.
During the print, there wasn’t that much movement, and we found it very sturdy, owing to the fact it is a heavy printer. We couldn’t imagine you would have issues with movement during the printing process, as we certainly didn’t.
Overall we found the quality of the printing very good. In terms of cooling, it’s not the best and some of our models didn’t come out the smoothest of finishes but we would still consider it an acceptable print. With a little sanding, our figurines could easily be painted.
We also didn’t notice any warping which was a bonus as some models in this price range suffer from this issue.
Speed
Overall we found the printing speed acceptable. With speeds of up to 1550 mm/s, it’s three times the speed of other FDM 3D printers.
However, we found that printing over 600 millimeters per second made a lot of noise, and for this type of model, you’re likely not purchasing it for its slow speeds. Make sure you store this in a workspace away from bedrooms.
If speed isn’t something that concerns you with a 3D printer, you might want to look at other models in this price range.
We’re not sure how extremely delicate print jobs would hold up at the top end speeds, because we didn’t test at the top speed, so we recommend using the slower options at 40-60 mm/s and slowly building up speed to determine what works best for you.
One more thing to note on speed. The magnetic Carborundum glass heat bed didn’t take long to heat up, so high-temperature jobs should be relatively smooth.
Our Verdict
Overall the Ender 6 is a solid 3D printer with some good features, strong printing results, and would be a great addition to any at-home printing job. But it did come with some drawbacks that let it down ever so slightly.
What we liked the most was the speed of printing, and despite the quick time, there wasn’t much compromise in terms of quality.
At 3 times the speed of other printers, you can get a lot more jobs done if you want to crank out the prints, without suffering too much in quality at higher speeds.
It’s really easy to use. The 4.3-inch touchscreen is responsive and doesn’t leave you feeling confused. You’ll also get a solid print and you won’t find much movement during the printing process.
Some of the problems arise from the speed of printing versus the final result of the product. Delicate items will likely lose printing quality so we would avoid using high speeds for this type of job.
The fan is loud, and if too much noise is either distracting or annoying to you, we recommend either keeping this item away from living spaces or waiting to purchase upgrades that reduce total noise from the fan.
We also didn’t understand why the bed was small in comparison to the size of the frame, but this is only a small nitpick as most jobs won’t require a large bed.
Is It Worth Purchasing?
The Ender 6 takes the best aspect of the Ender 5 Pro and adds many improved components to make it a solid 3D printer. We appreciated the quality of the print, and our examples came out as acceptable.
If you’re on the Ender 5 Pro and want to know if it’s worth upgrading, it is worth the investment.
With upgrades and mods from the community, we think this would be a solid purchase.
You could wait to purchase this as Creality to work out the bugs but right now you’re still getting a decent printer for the price range for these types of models.
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