Cr-10 Upgrades: 9 Best Options to Consider
The 3D printers manufactured by Creality are well-known in the consumer and hobbyist markets. Their most well-known products are the Ender 3 series and CR-10. The CR-10 prints well right out of the box. After some tweaks and improvements, though, it can rival the best. To ensure that your 3D printing experience is as beneficial as possible, we have selected the top upgrades for the CR-10. There are no flimsy embellishments here; instead, each enhancement serves a practical purpose and has a track record of success.
1. Capricorn Tube
An excellent and inexpensive way to upgrade your CR-10 printer is to get a new length of Capricorn tubing straight from the manufacturer. When printing with more pliable materials, the CR-10's conventional PTFE tubing can lead to several problems, including prints that are less detailed and rougher.
Capricorn tubing greatly aids in getting the CR-10 flexible filament ready by providing a more direct route for the filament to reach the hot end. There are alternatives, but if you want authentic Capricorn tubes, it's best to buy them from the manufacturer. With anti-friction lubrication inside and top-notch construction using only the finest raw materials, these shouldn't set you back more than $12.99 for a one-meter kit that includes fittings.
Purchase link: Amazon.
Price: $12.99
2. Bearing Spool Holder
The CR-10's spool holder is a common point of criticism due to its numerous shortcomings. The filament roll rests on four bearings, eliminating any concern regarding spool size; the holder's sides secure the spool in position, making this addition incredibly clever. Reduced friction is one way the design helps the extruder work more efficiently.
To facilitate usage and access, the holder rests comfortably above the control box. Since it is no longer attached to the printer, which exacerbated the problem, vibrations have less of an effect on some CR-10 models.
Download file: Thingiverse.
3. All-Metal Hot End
An upgrade to your hot end is essential if you intend to print with high-temperature filament and want to increase the number of Celsius it can reach. If you push the stock hot end past 250°C, the PTFE lining of the cooling block will probably break down, producing harmful fumes and damaging prints. A simple solution that will allow you to print with more unusual filaments and avoid the problem is to switch to an all-metal hot end.
Designed specifically to be a drop-in kit for the Creality CR-10 in all its forms, the Micro Swiss Grade 5 Titanium Alloy All Metal Hotend Kit requires no changes. To make things even easier to install, it makes use of the already-existing screws and mounts. Alternatives to the Micro Swiss include hot ends, such as the superb V6 from E3D, which requires more hardware and mounts than the CR-10 mod.
Purchase link: Amazon
Price: $63
4. Creality CR-10 Extruder Upgrade
As is typical with Bowden systems, the extruder on the original CR-10 and CR-10S works OK with rigid filaments like ABS and PLA, but its performance drops off sharply when dealing with more flexible filaments.
To solve this issue, you need to have an all-metal extruder. Doing so gets rid of tangling and jamming problems for the most part. We recommend the Bondtech BMG Extruder because of its long history of high-quality construction and dependability. Its dual-drive gears improve filament grip tremendously, especially when working with slippery nylon; it is compatible with the CR-10's Bowden system and provides all the necessary components to switch to a direct drive system, should you so desire.
Purchase link: Amazon.
Price: $83.
5. E3D Hemera
Among the many 3D printing hot ends available, E3D's V6 series stands out for its exceptional quality. To solve this problem, they created the Hemera, a tiny direct-drive extruder with a very small filament path.
They assert, among other things, that it can print PLA-fast flexible filaments. The well-constrained filament path prevents the filament from buckling or binding to itself, which makes this conceivable. One material that suffers from this is TPU, making printing with it a real challenge. Because it uses a hot end, the Hemera is compatible with all of E3D's products, including the Volcano and the SuperVolcano.
Purchase link: Matterhackers
6. CR-10 Nozzle Upgrade
If you've updated the hot end, you probably already have a much better nozzle than the one that comes with the CR-10. If not, you might wish to think about getting a stronger and more dependable nozzle instead of the standard brass one. This is particularly important if you plan on printing carbon fibre and metal fill, which are rougher and more abrasive. It can effortlessly rip through brass.
Stainless steel, plated copper, hardened steel, nozzle X (a one-of-a-kind high-hardness, high-temperature jack-of-all-trades nozzle with outstanding flow response), and reinforced brass versions of the E3D V6 nozzle are all available, and they come highly recommended.
No changes are necessary to install a nozzle from E3D onto your CR-10; in fact, durability is an integral part of every one of their products. Given their long lifespan and consistently good results, their higher price tag makes sense.
Purchase link: Amazon.
Price: $25
7. CR-10 Dual Z Upgrade
No CR-10 model has ever had dual z-axis capabilities, as any astute observer can tell you. You may be sure that upgrading your CR-10 will be worthwhile if the manufacturer makes a certain feature standard for all subsequent models. When you install a CR-10 dual Z upgrade, you can fix difficulties with the hot end assembly and the x-axis stability. If left unchecked, these can ruin your prints and make short work of properly levelling the bed. Inadequate Z support is a common cause of CR-10 bed wobbling; however, the additional lead screw and stepper motor keep the X-axis gantry from leaning and tilting.
If you want to avoid hassle and wasted time, choose the CR-10 dual Z upgrade kit. A set of Creality-manufactured direct replacement components (including a lead screw, stepper motor, chassis post, belt, and screws) is available for purchase at 3D Printers Bay.
Purchase link: 3D Printers Bay.
Price: $56
8. Bed Levelling Knobs
It's safe to say that Creality messed up when they sent out the CR-10 and CR-10S with such tiny knobs for levelling the bed. If there's one update we suggest, it would be printing larger bed levelling knobs, because they add extra finicky difficulty to an already annoying process.
Having a later model improves the experience, as Creality has finally added chunkier knobs. You can choose from a plethora of designs on Thingiverse. We recommend either Legacy Micro or the designs by Nerys.
You can print both of these quickly because they fit onto existing knobs, and the finish quality isn't an issue. When used, they provide a degree of accuracy that the default knobs simply cannot, and you have the option to print them in a distinctive colour to give your CR-10 modifications a personal touch.
Purchase link: Thingiverse.
9. CR-10 Build Plate Upgrade
The CR-10's stock glass bed frequently experiences warping issues. Although it's mostly down to chance, we suggest upgrading to a CR-10 build plate to prevent issues with layer adherence and levelling. One popular and reasonably priced option is the carbon-silicone-tempered glass construction plate from Creality. In addition to being easy to clean, the high microporous coating improves the initial layer's adhesion.
For simple flex-and-pop print removal, Creality has an equally well-liked flexible magnetic PEI build plate. Both are identical in size to the factory CR-10 plate, making it a seamless upgrade that makes complete use of the available space. When looking at third-party choices, the BuildTak FlexPlate is a worthy pick. Other excellent options are the Anycubic and Wham Bam plates.
Purchase link: Amazon
Price: $18.99
Best 3D Printing Software
There are a lot of 3D design software available that you can use to create your designs and prepare them for 3D printing and a good example is SelfCAD. SelfCAD is a powerful 3D modeling software that you can use to create 3D models from scratch or edit existing designs and customize them based on your needs.
After preparing your files, you can then use the in-built online slicer of the software to slice your files and generate the Gcode to send to your 3D printer.
In addition to being easy to use, SelfCAD also comes with many resources to help you get started with ease. There are many interactive tutorials to help you learn by actually creating 3D models. There is also a SelfCAD academy for those who like to follow step by step courses. 3D modeling 101 series and 3D modeling for beginners videos on YouTube are also great resources to help you learn how SelfCAD works and how you can use it to create your 3D models.
Conclusion
Improving the CR-10 3D printer's functionality, dependability, and print quality requires an upgrade. The top CR-10 upgrades fix typical problems like overheating, filament jams, and uneven prints with features like upgraded extruders, cooling fans, and bed levelling systems. These enhancements not only make the printer last longer but also let users print more intricate and detailed designs. Adding the correct accessories to your CR-10 will make it a more powerful and flexible machine that can handle more tasks with ease and reliability.
Enjoy powerful modeling, rendering, and 3D printing tools without the steep learning curve.
Need to learn 3D modeling? Get started with interactive tutorials.