Introduction
There are various ways to use the Creality K1.
At first, there were many issues, but as the firmware was updated and the hardware improved over nearly two months, it seems to have become a quite useful device.
However, the biggest issue remains that the default slicer is too slow. The default settings provided are only High Quality and Normal, and with just these settings, it is difficult to fully enjoy the high-speed printing that the K1 boasts in its advertising.
When people buy the Creality K1, the part they are most concerned about is likely high-speed printing. In terms of print quality, it seems a bit lacking compared to Prusa Velvet.. But we should be able to enjoy high-speed printing to our heart's content. However, it seems Creality has done a good job making the K1, but fails to properly support basic aspects like software development and sharing of setting values.
Of course, you could try settings through Cura or other slicers, but users like me just want to open the box, install the supported slicer, and easily use network printing with just a few clicks.
Indeed, the network printing and control of the default Creality 3D slicer are very convenient. Since it does not use SD cards, which have traditionally been a bottleneck for 3D printers, it is extremely good.
So, for users like me, I am writing this based on the month-long trial and error I went through to create high-speed printing options in the default Creality Print.
The Goal of This Fiddling
Using the Normal settings of the default slicer to slice the Benchy Ship data takes 38 minutes and 21 seconds. Let's see if we can reduce this time to the 15-minute range.
Why do we have to cut it down this much?!
In my case, I tend to model thoroughly and perform test prints to verify the shape before finalizing the data. At this stage, speed is the most important factor. (Speed is king.)
So, the goal of this challenge is to use settings that maximize print time while still achieving a usable level of quality.
0) Output Environment
This document is written based on Hyper PLA, Creality's official high-speed printing PLA. If you use other PLAs, increasing the nozzle temperature by 5-10 degrees and the bed temperature by about 5 degrees may be helpful.
Dyair Hyper PLA sales linkhttps://smartstore.naver.com/ssack3dprinterstore_dyair/products/8559334139?ref=soonsoon.ghost.io
1) Create a Profile
First, press the "+" button on the right menu to create a new profile.
Name the new profile. I named it "Low_Fast". You can also select a reference profile to copy values from, choosing between "High Quality" and "Normal".
Later, when profiles are added, custom profiles can also be selected as the standard, but at that time the values you set are not applied. (It is not saved correctly.) The Normal or High Quality that you originally set as the standard will be applied.
I don't know if this is a bug or intentional, but it is very sticky.
Anyway, here we select Normal.
Then, an Edit window will appear as shown below. Here, activate Advanced for detailed settings. If the sub-window does not open properly, close and reopen the Edit window to see it correctly. (There are many bugs.)
In the method I found, I will modify some values of Quality, Shell, Infill, Speed, Material, and Cooling to set up high-speed settings. This is not the correct answer, and it is based on my experience, so I think it is best to use it only as a reference.
2) Quality Settings ( 38min -> 26min )
For high-speed settings, I set the Layer Height to 0.30 mm and the Initial Layer Height to 0.30 mm as well.
Since the normal layer height is 0.2mm, setting it larger than this will make printing faster, but the quality will be slightly lower (the layers will be more visible).
Here, we will proceed with 0.30 mm.
There is a claim that turning off Arc settings improves quality, but I didn't notice a difference. Several overseas YouTubers argue this, but it seems to be based on the Pro version. Based on the 3D Benchy Ship data, there is no significant difference whether it is turned off or on.
Once these settings are completed, the time is reduced to 26 minutes.
3) Shell Settings ( 26 min -> 25 min )
Set the Outer Wall Wipe Distance to 0.30 mm, which is the layer height. If you change the Layer Height in the future, it is recommended to adjust it accordingly.
If this value is incorrect, there will be gaps in the moon part during printing. I don't know the reason.
Once these settings are complete, the print time is reduced to 25 minutes.
4) Infill 설정
Infill Density is lowered to 10%. The default is 15%, but this is to reduce the print time, however slightly.
At this point, the Infill Line Distance is automatically adjusted to match.
Of course, since internal infill settings affect the strength of the print, if you feel that 10% is too little, it is better to increase the infill amount even if it takes a little more time.
5) Speed 설정
This is the most important part for reducing print time.
First, the default speed setting is set to 300mm/s. I increased this to 600 mm/s and raised the other values to around 400~100.
For internal infill and simple travel moves, it is best to move at maximum speed, while reducing the speed for external prints or top/bottom layers.
Since the first layer adhesion is most important for FDM 3D printers, the speed was set relatively low at 100 mm/s and 200 mm/s.
有趣的是，即使完成此设置，打印时间也并没有减少多少。它只减少了大约 30 秒。
This is because the following settings are even more important for immediately reducing print time.
Next is the modification of overhang speed control and acceleration.
Overhangs are a part that controls printing speed according to the angle, as the print quality may decrease depending on the shape during printing output.
Therefore, when overhang settings are enabled, the speed drops rapidly, resulting in a visible difference in appearance. However, when printing at high speed without overhang settings enabled, the print itself does not work properly due to shrinkage, so I increased it slightly from the default value.
Additionally, the acceleration value was set to a default of approximately 5,000 mm/s² to 12,000 mm/s², but we adjusted the maximum value to approximately 8,000 mm/s² to 20,000 mm/s².
Just like speed, for areas where quality is important, we used relatively low values, but generally applied the maximum acceleration.
To reduce print time, acceleration settings are very important.
Print time also dropped to the 23-minute range, a reduction of nearly 2 minutes.
Jerk settings are a great option for reducing print time. If set too high, print quality suffers significantly, but I set the default to around 20mm/s. This automatically adjusts the following values as well.
When the Jerk setting is adjusted, the print time is reduced to 21 minutes and 53 seconds.
6) Material 설정
It seems that printing at a slightly higher temperature is advantageous for high-speed printing, as the extrusion amount must be sufficient compared to normal printing.
I set the temperature to 230, which is 10 degrees higher than the default 220, and set the bed temperature to 50, which is 5 degrees higher than the default 45.
Raising the bed temperature is something I tried because there was a theory that it's beneficial for the bottom to be slightly hotter during high-speed printing, and it feels good to the touch, so I'm using it this way.
7) Cooling 설정
I came across this after seeing a video from an overseas YouTuber, and the part that has the most dramatic effect on reducing time is reducing the Cooling's Minimum Layer Time.
It defaults to 8 seconds, and I reduced it to 2 seconds, but naturally, the longer the time, the better the quality seems to be.
However, before the slicer update, the default was 4 seconds. So, since even around 2 seconds seems to produce decent quality, I've been using it this way.
The time reduction is most dramatic.
It is reduced by a whopping 14 minutes and 54 seconds.
Therefore, if the quality seems too ambiguous depending on the PLA used, it is also good to leave the cooling time at about 4 seconds and print.
Setting it to 4 seconds results in a setting of approximately 16 minutes and 50 seconds, as shown below. This is not bad either.
8) Conclusion: Final Print Time (Normal 39 min -> 15 min)
With these settings, you can expect approximately 15 minutes of printing time.
And as with the previous post, the following level of results is achieved. Considering the time, it is a fairly good result.
Personally, the most noticeable effect when reducing print time is
Reduce cooling time -> Adjust Jerk settings -> Increase acceleration -> Increase Layer Height
This seems to be the order. Adjusting Layer Height is the most absolute, but since this changes the layer height itself, it seems like a different story, so I put it last.
Finally, I must emphasize that the content shared here is not official data, but rather personal data I obtained after a month of trial and error. Therefore, it is not perfect.
Therefore, based on the key parameters discussed above, it would be advisable to adjust your own high-speed printing settings to suit your specific environment.
You might also find the following content helpful.
SOONSOON STUDIO
When you find better output settings, please let us know.
I will test it and update.
Below is the purchase information for the K1 and K1 Max.
Domestic official seller Dyair K1 purchase linkhttps://smartstore.naver.com/ssack3dprinterstore_dyair/products/8745837965
Domestic official seller Printboard K1 Max pre-order linkhttps://form.office.naver.com/form/responseView.cmd?formkey=ZmJkZWRjYmEtYTdlYi00ZmU1LTk4MTMtMTRjZTA3YzRhYTYz&sourceId=editor