Sprite Direct Extruder

Most interesting on the Sermoon V1 printers is Creality’s new patented all-metal Sprite extruder, which the company refers to as “miniaturized”. It’s a direct, dual-gear extruder that does look quite slim in renderings Creality has included in its marketing. The company says nothing specific about the printhead’s weight, but if it holds up to Creality’s size claims we have high hopes for a lightweight all-metal direct extruder.

Wi-Fi & Remote Printing

The Sermoon V1 comes with built-in wireless networking and remote printing via a Creality app. Presumably, that app is Creality Cloud – the company’s repository and cloud slicer used with other Creality networking solutions like the Creality Wi-Fi box.

Creality Cloud isn’t an especially impressive wireless solution – it’s nowhere near the same ballpark as solutions like OctoPrint – but it does have its own appeal for simplifying the 3D printing process, which is great for introducing young kids to the technology.

Fully Enclosed

Being fully enclosed, curious fingers will be somewhat shielded from the Sermoon V1’s hot and moving parts. It should also easily print ABS, but we would advise sticking to PLA if you are using the printer in an education setting – studies of 3D printer emissions are clear that ABS is significantly more harmful than plant-based and easy-to-work-with PLA.

Aside from the rather expensive CR-5 Pro, the Sermoon V1 seems to be Creality’s only fully-enclosed offering right now. Even the mostly enclosed CR-200B has a gap in the top, so if you’re looking for something affordable and enclosed the Sermoon V1 may be a good buy.

Factory Tuning

The Sermoon V1 comes tuned and tested from the factory, so you won’t have to fiddle with much bed levelling or other calibration of your own. If any.

It’s not quite clear how the printer levels, though. The Z-bed looks to be lacking any knobs akin to the Sermoon D1 and other Creality printers but, being a Z-bed, it’s not fixed. As all printers do, the Sermoon V1 will inevitably require tramming and we haven’t the foggiest idea of how the user is supposed to do that yet.

It’s possible that Creality’s new patented extruder has some sort of auto bed leveling probe, but there’s no mention of that or any other tramming method in Creality’s marketing – which would be a glaring oversight for these sorts of desirable features. It seems more likely that Creality is simply trusting this machine to hold its shape a long time and distance from the factory. Which would certainly be magic.

Spring Steel Magnetic PEI Build Sheet

Speaking of the print bed, rather than Creality’s more common carborundum glass, the Sermoon V1 includes a metal magnetic sheet.

Our experience with these print surfaces is conflicted. With some printers, such as Original Prusa machines, the metal sheets are perfect. With others, like the Anycubic Vyper, it’s a miss that’s we’d rather steer clear of.

Creality also recently released the CR-10 Smart with what we’re assuming is this same magnetic PEI sheet. Time will tell if it sticks its landing. To be perfectly candid, the company doesn’t actually specify if it’s spring steel like the CR-10 Smart in the Sermoon V1’s feature list. So, a small assumption here.

Pro-Exclusive Features

The Sermoon V1 Pro is a 1:1 of the V1, of course, with exactly two quality of life features tacked on: a camera and open-door detection.

With the camera, the Creality Cloud app gets another function in print monitoring – probably the most useful function in the software.

The open-door detection (or “safety trigger”) simply pauses the print when the enclosure door has been opened. It’s a handy feature to have, especially in the marketed classroom setting, but honestly, we don’t see why this merits a Pro version. Even adding the camera, it really doesn’t seem like enough to warrant a second product release.

Further Features

In addition to those things, the Sermoon V1 has…

• Moderate Build Volume: At 175 x 175 x 165 mm the Sermoon V1’s print volume is fine, but nothing to phone home about. It comes in a little smaller than average, but that could be alright if saving space is your primary concern. And, at a machine size of 400 x 380 x 430 mm, you should find space for it even if you’re somewhat limited.
• Enclosure LEDs: If you are introducing young kids to 3D printing, they’ll inevitably want to watch it go. I mean, we all shove our faces over a hotbed during that first layer. LEDs are very practical, to be honest, so we’re always happy to see them in an enclosed system.
• Quiet Operation: Printers aren’t typically as loud as they once were, but it’s still a major talking point for manufacturers. Creality says they received a third-party certification confirming the Sermoon V1 operates at just 45dB, which sounds like a perfectly reasonable volume for a home office or classroom.