Large Build Volume

Never change a winning system. While that doesn’t hold true for all of the CR-10 Smart Pro, it most certainly does so for the series-typical 300 x 300 x 400 mm print volume. Creality’s CR-10 series has always been popular among the community because of its large build volume and the CR-10 Smart Pro has as much space as the rest of them.

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There are larger build volumes out there, but for the most part, you will have ample room to produce day-to-day prints without running into any size constrictions.

Sturdy Build

While on the subject of not changing what works, our next talking point would be the diagonally-mounted dual support struts. While always a hereditary trait on CR-10s, it was the Smart Pro’s direct ancestor, the CR-10 Smart, that first mounted the crossbars towards the rear of the printer. We mark it down as evolutionary progress, as this small design change allows for even easier access to the print bed.

The struts make a difference by adding stability to the frame, reducing vibrations and potential Z-wobble, especially in higher latitudes on the Z-axis. Having tested numerous CR-10s, we can confirm the design choice helps with Z-axis consistency and smooth prints all the way to the top.

Plus, the gantry moves up and down with dual Z-axis lead screws, which should reinforce that smooth movement.

Smart Leveling

Here it gets a little tricky. The CR-10s of old were manually leveled, but the last ancestor, the CR-10 Smart, was fully auto-leveled, and the new CR-10 Smart Pro looks to be combining the best of both worlds – or is it just a way of patching up a mistake?

Creality has dubbed this combination “smart leveling.” Equipped with a CR Touch, Creality’s version of the BL Touch, and manual leveling wheels beneath the bed should, in theory, help you obtain a perfect level rather easily. Unfortunately, the “advanced auto bed leveling” on the CR-10 Smart, and the lack of any leveling knobs, seemed to cause more problems than it solved for some. This could be a case of Creality failing to get that system working effectively, and adding back in the manual leveling knobs to give users a Plan B. If that’s the case, labeling it as a new feature is a bit rich, and users could find themselves using the knobs far more than they’d like.

Direct Drive & High-temperature Hotend

Direct drive, Bowden drive, CR-10 printers have seen it all. For the CR-10 Smart Pro, Creality opted to go for direct drive, again, like on the CR-10 V3, but not on the Smart. More precisely, a self-developed, dual-geared all-metal extruder that is stated to withstand temperatures up to 400 °C and provide smooth feeding of filaments, even the more flexible ones.

Speaking of high temperatures, the Smart Pro also one-ups its predecessors with its hotend. Coming with a chromium-zirconium(-copper) nozzle and a titanium-alloy heatsink, you can safely reach temperatures up to 300°C, which should allow you to 3D print with some of the more advanced materials such as Nylon, carbon fiber, and more. Bear in mind that the latter might result in higher nozzle wear, although Creality is stating the wear resistance to be enhanced fourfold. Without statistics supporting that though, we’ve no idea what that’ll mean for users.

Metal Print Bed

Now, this is a first on a CR-10 machine; a magnetically attached removable print bed. The powder-coated spring steel PEI plate should allow for fast heating of the build plate up to 100 °C without deformation, provide proper adhesion thanks to its rough texture, and allow for easy removal of prints afterward by slightly flexing the sheet and letting the prints pop right off. No more hacking at the build plate with a spatula. We quite liked the coated glass beds found on earlier CR-10s (not the super early ones with just a glass plate), but if it works as well as it looks, the new system should be good too.

New UI & Remote Control

Like the Smart before it, the CR-10 Smart Pro comes with a large 4.3-inch multi-color touchscreen instead of the brick-like control unit that was the CR-10s most prominent trait for the longest time.

On it, you will find a new and improved UI alongside the ability to hook up the printer to your Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Besides your computer, you can also use the Creality Cloud App to slice and send your prints to your printer remotely from your mobile. Creality Cloud also has an online 3D model repository to choose from.

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What’s more, the CR-10 Smart Pro comes with an external HD camera that not only lets you properly monitor your cloud-send prints from anywhere in the world but also allows you to create videos of your 3D prints for you to share with your friends, colleagues, or on social media – should you wish to do so.

Further Features

Additional features on the CR-10 Smart Pro include:

• LED lighting: The CR-10 Smart Pro comes with attached LED lighting on top of the Z-axis. The LED strip provides a clear view of the model day and night, especially if you monitor your print remotely via the supplied HD camera.
• Filament sensor & power recovery: Must-haves these days, a filament runout sensor that pauses the print in case of filament breaking or running out, and a power recovery mode that lets you resume your print in case of a power outage.
• Auto-shutdown: The CR-10 Smart Pro will automatically shut down after a print is finished to save power. You can toggle this setting on and off.