Creality is well known brand in the amateur 3D printing with popular cheap 3D printers like the Ender or CR-10 series. Bamboo Lab on other hand, came late on the market with almost professional machines in the 1000 $ range and bite a big market share from Creality and Prusa.
With its new K2 Plus Combo, Creality is now trying to catch-up. This time they listened to their users and went through a lumpy Kickstarter launch. IMHO they listened to other communities too. K2 Plus seems to be the ultimate machine, but is it just a bigger X1C? Let’s find out.
K2 Plus vs. X1C – the specs
When you are a challenger you have to give more and Creality does give more for a similar price. Here are the specs of the two machines:
| Feature | Creality K2 Plus | Bamboo Lab X1C |
|---|---|---|
| Kinematics | CoreXY | CoreXY |
| Max Hotend Temperature | 350 °C | 300 °C |
| Hotend type | All-metal 40mm³/s High-flow | All-metal |
| Toolhead max speed | 600mm/s | 500 mm/s |
| Max acceleration | 30000 mm/s² | 20000 mm/s² |
| Build Volume (W×D×H) | 350x350x350 mm | 256 × 256 × 256 mm |
| Build Plate Surface | PEI Frosted Build Plate | Bambu Textured PEI Plate |
| Auto Bed Leveling | Anti-tilt Auto Leveling | Dual ABL / Lidar |
| AI features | Dual AI Cameras | First layer check / Spagetti detection |
| Multimaterial | CFS | Bamboo Lab AMS |
| Chamber | Actively Heated | – |
Creality K2 Plus seems to have better performance in many areas, however let highlight the most important advantages over those that are just marketing.
K2 Plus – performant hotend, chamber and bed
The 350°C max hotend temperature is a real advantage, because it gives you access to more engineering type filaments. The K2 Plus hotend is also high-flow, which is important when using nozzles > 0.8 mm on big prints.
The K2 has a heated chamber which combined with the high temperature HF nozzles allows to print the new Polymaker Fiberon™ filaments, like the Fiberon™ PET-CF17 and the Fiberon™ PPS-CF10.
The heated chamber maintains 60°C steady and the heated bed goes to 120°C.
The Bamboo Lab X1-Carbon doesn’t have a heated chamber, which is a clear disadvantage when a controlled temperature is required. It has a small volume though and the heated bed is generally enough to heat the enclosure.
The chamber has a glass door on top, similar to the K1 max, but the hinges have been improved and feel more robust.
K2 Plus – activated carbon rear filter
When working with ABS or engineering grade filaments there are number of various malicious particles in the air during the extrusion. The activated carbon filter, similar to the one on Voron 3d printers is used for filtering the air from the enclosure before it is expelled outside.
The X1C comes with a carbon filter as well – so no advantage here, just a must have on modern higher-class printers.
K2 Plus – speed and velocity
Creality says K2 Plus can handle speeds up to 600 mm/s and acceleration up to 30000 mm/s². I want to see that speed/acceleration on a big print – I believe something will break, because the K2 toolhead is pretty heavy. For me it is just a marketing argument with no value. The K2 Plus is able to deliver consistent prints at 200 mm/s and 3-5k mm/s² acceleration though, which is fine.
K2 Plus – the motors/fans noise
Creality did a really good job in making a well sealed enclosure and deployed high-quality FOC steppers, which suppressed all motors and fans noise. It results in practically noiseless machine.
If you are interested to add the multimaterial CFS system though the noise there is not optimised (gear/motors).
K2 Plus – the print quality
Probably the most important question is about the print quality of the K2 Plus. Well, let’s just say it is not the major strength of this machine – you will get some issues you may expect from a printer that big – especially the Z-banding artefacts.
The z-banding could be reduced if Creality would have listened more to what customers want and would have implemented a better z-axis motion system – like the 3-leadscrews on the Rat Rig V-core or Voron Trident large printers.
K2 Plus – conclusion
Should you buy the Creality K2 Plus printer?
It is certainly a very capable enclosed machine that will make your life easier by laying a perfect first layer every time. It gives access to a multitude of engineering filaments, including Nylon and PPS-CF. Printing ABS and PC is also easy.
It is solidly built and despite the z-banding issue it is winning against the X1C in terms of versatility and performance.
If you missed the Kickstarter price, you can visit the official store – K2 Plus sales for just 1299$ until December. If you add the color 3D printing option (the Combo) the price is 1499$.
