Creality CR-5 Pro H In-Depth Review: Hi-Temp Fully Enclosed Industrial-Grade FDM 3D Printer

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Hi everyone! This is Top 3D Shop, and in this video, we will test the Creality CR-5 Pro H FDM 3D printer.

Launched in 2014, Creality 3D developed into a household staple by producing a wide range of hobbyist-focused 3D printers and related products.

The company gained a following in the first years in business after the Ender 3 and CR10 series were well received by the 3D printing community.

Today, Creality is heavily invested in manufacturing FDM and resin 3D printers including industrial-grade solutions, electronics, 3D scanners and 3D printing consumables.

Over the past 8 years Creality has certainly become the hobbyists’ go-to brand for an affordable, yet capable 3D printer coupled with a decent level of print and hardware quality as well as customer support and in-house tech development.

The CR-5 3D printer series is distinguished from others by a steel-frame body and an enlarged printing area. The CR-5 Pro H is the third model in the lineup with added features.

The machine is delivered in a massive wood-frame enhanced box. Everything is firmly packed with thick protective foam tailored to the content with a total weight of the device at 70 pounds.

Here’s the full run-down of the box’s content: documentation, power cable, matt acrylic top cover. Other parts and components are shipped inside the print area space, such as the 5 mm acrylic side panels, 1 kilogram white PLA filament spool, spare parts, tools consumables such as a scraper, tweezers, glue stick, hardware lubricant, cable ties, wire cutters, necessary for basic maintenance. Spare teflon tube, fittings, nozzles, bed calibration sensor tip, computer connection cable, card reader, 8 GB memory card, and spool holder are also included.

The print area of the CR-5 Pro is fairly large for its tier: it is 300 x 225 x 380 mm.

Also, unlike its predecessors the Pro version has a fully enclosed chamber for temperature stability when printing materials with a high shrinkage rate.

The CR-5 Pro H version is equipped with a high-temperature extruder capable of reaching 300 degrees Celsius and processing more rigid materials to embark on industrial-level projects.

Two-millimeter thick steel used for the white-painted body provides enough weight and stability to cancel vibrations, wobbling and stepper motor resonance that can lead to distorted and failed prints. Creality went with a lot of steel on this machine. Even the outstanding touchscreen housing is made of steel. The number of screw joints is minimized with a few visible on the rear side providing for a stylish and eye-catching appearance.

Aside from the rigid body, Creality accounted for reliable mechanics with machined carriages and brackets, going with the Makerbot-based kinematics enabling cylindrical guides and linear bearings. With proper maintenance, the machine’s lifespan time can be extended while replacement parts are easy to source.

The X-axis runs on 8 mm guide rods, while 10 mm guides are used for the Y-axis. 6 mm GT2 belts can be replaced with generic non-looped belts.

Since the X-axis is burdened with a motor, Creality chose the lightweight 34 mm Nema 17 and Bowden extruder, to bring down carriage inertia and the related defects carried over to the printed part.

The bed steel platform travels on 12 mm cylindrical guides driven by a 10 mm motor powered screw rod with 4 mm thread lead. In our opinion, this is the sweet spot for Z-axis speed and accuracy performance.

However, Creality might want to revise the bed cantilever design and add more support to the platform.

The hotbed is a 3 mm aluminum plate powered by a 24 volt heater covered with a removable Ultrabase coated glass plate. The backside of the glass can be used for special adhesive and engineering-grade materials.

The bed plate is spring-loaded, fixed and adjusted with conveniently large thumb screws.

The filament is fed by a Bowden extruder with the so-called dual drive feeder which uses two gears to push the filament into the hotend. This feature provides more efficient extrusion and is powered by a high-torque motor.

Issues with Bowden extruders are usually related with low-quality spare parts, for example, loose fittings can result in play on a brand new device, but this CR-5 Pro H is set up well.

A filament run-out sensor is installed next to the extruder, detecting if the material feed has ceased. When triggered, the printer will pause for spool replacement or material-related troubleshooting.