{"id":1529,"date":"2026-03-31T13:58:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T19:58:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quantum3dprint.net\/?p=1529"},"modified":"2026-04-08T09:44:49","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T15:44:49","slug":"creality-cfs-update","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quantum3dprint.net\/?p=1529","title":{"rendered":"Creality CFS Update"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Creality CFS<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There is a thing that a techno-mechanical nerd like me appreciates. That is diagnosing a problem with a machine and getting it working correctly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I just accomplished that with my Creality K2plus 3D printer and it\u2019s CFS (Creality Filament System).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The printer has always performed well with a single filament feed. But the purpose for the K2plus was to print with many filaments through the use of the CFS filament switching system. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The CFS was not delivered with the printer. I received it about a month later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I discovered my CFS had a operational defect from the day I first added it to my K2plus. The #3 spool position always displayed that it had a filament spool in place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both the K2plus printer and the CFS feed system were a totally new product. I was an \u201cearly adopter\u201d and figured repair and parts would be slow and difficult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I discovered I could print just fine if I made sure position 3 always actually had a loaded spool.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But then after more that 1700 print hours, weird feed and retract issue cropped up. All the issues seemed to be due to filament position and handeling within the CFS. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My CFS filament feeder has become a love\/hate relationship. When it works, it works good. When it is bad, it is very bad. The complexity and difficulty to disassemble and repair is what makes it very bad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I first totally disassembled, replaced all internal tubing and re-assembled once. That is really once too many times (But not the last time). It is very difficult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With high use the filament friction cuts the PTFE tubing inside the machine to shreds. Creality supplied a complete set of replacement tubes with the new machine. So Creality knows this happens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have resigned myself to doing no muli-multi color changes with the CFS.  A few times per print OK\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What I didn\u2019t understand was there (at least now) is a total<\/strong> ban<\/strong><\/a> (click link) for the use of cardboard (paper) spools within the CFS. Creality (hidden deeply on their website) goes on to state, \u201cfor any CFS (type) multi-filament feeder.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Must be an industry problem. Not just the Creality Filament System (CFS).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is exactly the issue I suffered. Spool reverse rewinds would often quit working properly for what I thought was due to spool slippage. There is no detector for slippage so there ends up being a tangled jumble of filament inside the CFS case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No good for unattended printing.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I pulled my CFS off my K2plus for 6 months. It\u2019s a real PITA to run the K2plus with only one side spool. No auto threading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After reading the now adamant statement \u201c No Plastic Spools<\/strong><\/em>\u201d, I am giving my CFS another try. I actually labeled my CFS cover with the warning. See picture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I still run good quality cardboard spools but I know it is my own risk. They will work if they are not dented or damaged in any way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First test is printing and all seems well. No retracts yet. One spool only. The feed printing is excellent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ll let you know if the hand basket to hades<\/em> returns\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

AH! yeah… it did.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There are two sets of mechanical switches in each one of the four filament feed paths. They have a very thin metal band that must depress to sense presence and absence of the filament strand. They must also return to up or \u201copen\u201dposition with no filament present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These \u201copen\u201d leaf switches could be susceptible to filament dust as well as the wear debris from the PTFE filament guide tubing. I had completely worn through the tubing so that debris has to be going somewhere. I suspect into the sense switch openings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So I replaced the top combination spool and filament feeder for #3 that I knew was defective (since new) and cleaned all the other sense switch openings for the other spool positions in the system. One in each spool drive and 4 more in the bottom combiner hub.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First tests seem to be going good. But the system continued to show filament position sensing problems. Obviously there was another problem and it was in the combiner hub in the bottom of the CFS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I now know this was the main source<\/strong> of my operational issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I ordered and replaced the entire combiner and filament output unit. Easy to replace as it is not buried deep internally. Just 3 screws and two wiring plugs, serviceable from the bottom of the CFS. Now replaced, the CFS system works perfectly as advertised. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three defective component systems. One original when manufactured and two more mostly due to the extreme amount of filament movement through its delicate tubing and sensors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve decided – The CFS is an FMS (Filament Management System) rather than a high intensity and volume color swap system. Its a good way to have filament on line and ready for use as it is already loaded and stored in a dry sealed environment. Ready for running a spool out and auto start a new spool. It\u2019s like a library where you read one book at a time. Not one page at a time out of 16 books (Ha!) Oh! like an encyclopedia!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just because you can do that doesn\u2019t mean you do it all the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So the Creality CFS product marketing is aimed at the one attractive thing it does but does it the worst for a long machine life. Rapid fire color changes, creating huge material waste. Sometimes much more material than the finished printed item. (Been there, done that!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The customer just suck(ers) it all in\u2026<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Still glad I have the CFS, now that it is finally operating as fully intended and I really understand how to best use it. I worked around its original (delivered) fault untilI I wore it out and created the second and third faults.  I won\u2019t baby it, but no more thousands of filament swaps per print.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is a good system for filament management with on line storage. But the CFS cannot<\/strong><\/mark> long withstand the rigors of rapid fire kilo- (filament swaps) with multi color prints.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Creality CFS There is a thing that a techno-mechanical nerd like me appreciates. That is diagnosing a problem with a machine and getting it working correctly. I just accomplished that with my Creality K2plus 3D printer and it\u2019s CFS (Creality Filament System). The printer has always performed well with a single filament feed. But the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1528,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[63,39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-creality-k2-plus","category-hardware"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quantum3dprint.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1529","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quantum3dprint.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quantum3dprint.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quantum3dprint.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quantum3dprint.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1529"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/quantum3dprint.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1529\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1550,"href":"https:\/\/quantum3dprint.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1529\/revisions\/1550"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quantum3dprint.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1528"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quantum3dprint.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quantum3dprint.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1529"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quantum3dprint.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}