Well, there’s another saying: dogs that bark don’t bite. Very calm and gentle on the way in the most common non-Asian mother tongue - Spanisch. They go a different way and they will bite hard, but even I can be wrong. Looks like a very strategically slow entry that I will be following with great interest…
Looks as though Sovol SV08 will be beating the Phrozen to market. Sovol SV08 will have a build volume of 350mmx350mmx345mm, whereas Phrozen is just 300mm^3. Sovol SV08 is a flying gantry, of very similar design to the Voron 2.4–so much so that Sovol says they’ll be donating $2 for every printer sold to the Voron team to help fund further development. Sovol is claiming the SV08 will be fully open source. Looks as though it is shipped mostly pre-assembled and will be cheaper than a voron kit, and with better build quality, so possibly a huge disruption to the voron market.
Creality K2 Plus will also have 350mm^3, a heated chamber, and a 4 color AMS.
This is all the latest of the news which has come to Harvaaaard, and there may be many others but they haven’t been discovaaaaaard.
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It doesn’t bother me that K2Plus seems to have “borrowed” quite a bit from BL, as the video clearly shows. In fact, I’m sort of extatic that K2 (and very likely other manufacturers as well) will take a large market slice from BL (larger print plate, improved hardware and software (especially the open source firmware) which will either push BL to come up with a better and innovative printer, seriously improve its customer support and shipment and delivery, and (re)consider it’s closed Apple style business model, or…it will simply just wither out and die (overtaken by its relentless competitor.
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Sovol looks promising as well, but I’d definitely go for Creality K2 Plus
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The Sovol looks interesting just for the fact that it’s a voron 2.4 at it’s core. Always wanted to build a voron 2.4. Might be a way to experience it without having to sink the time into a project like that.
I’m a bit past my days of wanting project printers though, and just want a printer that works.
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Creality doesn’t have a great track record of “finished and refined” products. Time will tell if they differ from the norm on this one. Also claiming to open source a product has no weight until they actually release the files.
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As I’ve said in my earlier post, the information came from the video I’ve just shared. The guy who made it was on site at Creality apparently invited to test and review the new K2 Plus. While I don’t disagree with the fact that Creality hasn’t got “a good history” with some of its products, I can’t also deny the fact (based on viewing a couple of more videos, including a partial recording from the Creality’s official K2 launch) that they might have learned some lessons from X1C, and looks like they’ve sort of have taken it apart and reverse engineered it to come up with K2. Whether they’ve really improved and pulled their s…h…i…t together, that remains to be seen.
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Creality is the Harbor Freight of 3D printers. They are selling to the “good enough” crowd who are willing to accept worse performance and/or greater hassle in exchange for a lower price. They come out with printers, many of them much alike, to cover as many price points as they can. How many Ender 3 variants have there been? Lots. How many are there now? Isn’t it something like 4? Very similar, with small differences. Why? It’s like the game of Go. They want to block competitors from encroaching on their turf, so they block anywhere their competitors might gain a foothold. At least, I can’t think of any other explanation.
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Mainly I see a lot of memories, so it’s better I don`t look at it at the moment. Maybe when the model K44 is next to the Model CR-30.
So off the top of my head, and it’s not really what everyone thinks, before doing something like that - I would get another X1 with the idea that the spare parts warehouse would be right next to it in the form of a complete printer.
I’m not sure I’d classify them that poorly. Granted the K1 releases were a mess, but it looks like they got to a decent point by the K1C. I chalk that up to rushing to copy Bambu.
The problem I have with Creality is their need to dump unnecessary printers on the market as a money grab. Its super obvious they know their “New” latest and greatest, ain’t that late or that great. But that’s what businesses do, make money anyway we let them. And considering they sell ton of the lightly updated printers every year or two, suggests there’s a market for that business model.
I actually think they will have a winner on their hands with the K2. I don’t expect the same type of K1 problems, and the tech is a couple of years mature now. Also, they did tons of beta testing with the K1’s buyers. Not to mention they likely copied the Bambu processes to a tee. So, the only weak point I can see will be the chamber heater or the closed loop steppers.
However, I’m more interested in the Peopoly Magneto X. Its definitely the most interesting to me, even if the features are a little lacking. Its definitely an innovative printer, but the pre-production machines, don’t look ready for primetime yet. We’ll see.
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Same here. And it’s an even bigger build volume, so mo’ better. [Well, only kinda. I just now checked again: 400x300x300. So only a little more in one dimension. Aw, shucks.
I just lost interest. ]
What’s Sovol’s reputation? I was tempted to try it while I wait for the Peopoly, if only because of all the hype to date about Voron:
The Sovol looks really good. If I were in the market for a Voron, that would be my choice. And honestly, I have been fighting the urge to create a printer with a 80-100C chamber. And a Voron was my choice as a starting point, so the Sovol would be the one I’d likely start with. But that’s me making a solution to a non-occurring problem. However, if all you want is a bigger print volume, that looks very appealing in the $500 - $600 range.
Curious which one will be better though, the Sovol or the Arco.
BTW, Sovol’s rep is solid. Lots of good printers, but mostly budget options.
Sounds good to me! Have a look at stepper motors that have Class H Insulation. They’re readily available and can withstand up to 180C.
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I see that in just the last few hours though that Nero seems to have gotten rather bitter about it:
So, buying one on early bird discount may just be giving them a loan and only getting a promise of future delivery on something more finished. Nope. There’s a opportunity cost that comes with that, and it’s not worth it.
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The idea with the Voron type printer was to help with this. Vorons house the steppers just about out of the chamber (with the electronics) so, ideally, I would only have to worry about the extruder, toolhead electronics and the belts. Of course, I’d have to address all the heat expansion characteristics of all the materials too, but that’s a given. Overall, I’m assuming it would need Nylon CF printed parts to hold up in 100C with good strength. Probably a good place for a PA6 CF, stiff and temp resistant. Anything vital and uncomplicated, I can cut from aluminum on a CNC if the PA6 CF proved incapable. And then just troubleshoot the stuff I couldn’t plan for. But again… that’s me solving problems that I don’t have.
A 350 mm3 Voron 2.4, partially assembled for 600$, is a breakthrough. It is interesting to see Sovol not following the hype and addressing a different market. At least, in my opinion, this printer would be user-friendly for those with some experience and interest in 3D printing. I wouldn’t classify it as a printer for everyone. I wonder how the printer will perform with technical filaments at higher bed temperatures.
Creality is a relevant player in the market because of the drop in the price of flagship components, thus forcing other players to innovate.
If I remember correctly, BL’s patent polemic was justified as protective measures against players that address the market with low-cost technology by avoiding expenses in R&D. Isn’t this X1 homage an example for which patent would (will) be used?
In my experience, Creality printer’s hardware has good quality (not excellent) for the price. Yet, in all the rest, they tend to fail.
Does the K2+ have a price tag? Or still undisclosed.
I still believe BL’s next generation of printers will bring innovative features that work out of the box. Yet, I am not entirely sure, but I am hopeful they can remain cost-competitive.
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If we could both print and anneal in the same chamber, preferably back to back, I think it would count as a big improvement over what’s commonly available today. Seems like it’s within reach. Somebody just needs to do it.
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According to a quick google search, " The Creality K2 Plus is expected to be priced $999 or $1199 with CFS combo ." Or maybe add another $100.
Creality K2 Plus 3D Printer and Material Stations is coming!.
At that price it needs to work, or people will send it back. So, for that reason if no other, maybe it will work. 
Or at least work better than their first 3 attempts. 
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I think so too. I have pretty high level of confidence they will be good off the line, but like all new products may need a moment to fix something that can only be found when 1000’s of people start doing things they never designed it to do.
The cost competitive part… that may be a stickier this time around. I’ll hope for the best, but, honestly, I’m expecting about a 10-15% bump. Mostly because it will have parts it didn’t have before. With the X1E, I’m almost 100% sure the X2 and XL1 (whatever it will be called) will have a chamber heater. I’d also expect faster speeds and acceleration. Besides PPS and PPA, I can’t think of a reason to push nozzle temps up to 350C, but they might do it… not sure.
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If they launch novel features ahead of the market, a 10/15% bump can be acceptable. However, the cost can increase significantly if they address many user requests, such as increased size, double extrusion, etc.
Despite not looking for a 3D printer, I would be tempted if they come with a printer able to print PEI ULTEM;… Operating at such temperatures in a desktop 3D printer is challenging and may impose risks, and I never needed to use such advanced filaments. But I would love to test it.
That is an exciting feature; I would add a swift, accurate, reliable calibration or “compensation” for the expected expansion/contraction of the large bed with temperature.
Many thanks.
I google it (not thorough) but only found advertisements with little relevant info.
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