Added a new printer to my collection. The Creality K1C. The “C” stands for Carbon.
It’s a part of the K1 series. Here is the link to the website for the full product information. K1C Link I don’t have a desire to repeat here what is readily available form the manufacturer. <grin>
The K1C is not the largest in the series. The K1-MAX is the big boy. I chose the K1C as it is big enough for my normal designs and it fits the space available in my office/studio.
The main reason for the choice is the extruder in this “C” (Carbon) version has a nozzle with a steel tip. Suitable for printing abrasive materials like carbon fiber.
I will eventually write a complete explanation on nozzle wear and abrasive material. I believe the entire subject is generally mis-understood and mis-represented within the 3D FDM printing universe.
Briefly, it is NOT nozzle hole wear from material flow, but nozzle tip wear from dragging the tip across abrasive surfaces. Nozzle lift (hop) and a steel nozzle are the cure. With nozzle HOP, the steel nozzle will last a very long time.
With the K1C, only the very tip of the nozzle is steel. (An insert like the ruby tipped nozzles)
IMHO the K1C is a very well designed high flow extruder system.
The K1C extruder and nozzle is also moving to the K1-MAX and the K1 printers. Creality has been very cagey explaining the extruder update to these printers, not completely explaining there was an issue with their original version.
Now, about the K1C
The steel nozzle is in no way a limitation to whatever type of filament I choose to use. For the fastest printing, the “Hyper” or high speed filaments are required. The older standard blend filaments must be used within the manufacturers speed recommendations. Usually not more than 70-mms.
The self leveling bed is not true bed leveling but executing print height compensation “on the fly” whilst printing, so the effect is the same as a perfectly level build surface.
The K1C printer is working perfectly and I am completely satisfied with every first layer in my many hundreds of prints.
With high speed filaments, I have everything set for 300mms max speed. I see no need to run the extreme 600mms possible (but not practical IMHO).
If you do choose to run extreme speeds. be sure to set Volumetric speed limitation (flow) (in the Manage Materials setup) to a high enough value. I have seen some filaments default at 2 mm3/s when 25 mm3/s is needed.
No print tutorial intended here. You are free do and ran at whatever suits your fancy.
The provided factory configurations are excellent starting points. Don’t be afraid to experiment. However, print quality is outstanding with original settings. The Creality Print (slicing program) is completely adequate to the task. The K1C has a version of Klipper built into printer OS and that can be accessed by any browser using the local network IP address.
I have NOT joined the Creality Cloud, so membership is not required to get full operation from the K1C. If you want/like the cloud services, they are certainly available.
If you want/need an enclosed FDM printer, the K1C is an excellent choice. I don’t own the K1-MAX, but for all intents, it’s basically a bigger version of the K1C (make sure it is the new extruder) and also has a few more operational “bells and whistles”. If you need more print area, check the manufacture website for all the details and printer spec. comparisons.
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