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The Creality CR-100 – A Kid-Friendly 3D Printer with a Unique, Colorful Look

If you were 12 years old, wouldn’t you want a 3D printer that looks like a truck? Of course you would!!

Kids are, without a doubt, some of the most creative people in the world. They are always trying to explore and create new things; they let their imagination run wild without fear of embarrassment.

There are, of course, many ways you can explore and encourage creativity in kids. But buying them a 3D printer is by far one of the best ways, and without a doubt, your kids will love it. The sad thing is that there just aren’t many kid-friendly 3D printers out there. Fortunately, the Creality CR-100 is here to solve that problem.

This 3D printer is designed to encourage kid-friendly creations, but don’t let this fool you into thinking it is just a toy 3D printer. The CR-100 also has some amazing top of the line features that are worth every penny.

In this review, I’ll be looking at some of the distinguishing features of the Creality CR-100, including its technical specs and pros and cons. And I’ll give you some pointers about 3D printer setup and usage. Here we go:

Specifications

Printing Technology: FDM
Build Volume: 100 mm x 100 mm x 80 mm
Layer Height: 0.1 mm – 4 mm
Maximum Nozzle Temperature: 210 Degrees Celsius
Extruder Type: Single
Nozzle Diameter: 0.4 mm
Connectivity: SD Card, TF Card
Control: Touchpad and Remote Control
Filament Diameter: 1.75 mm
Printing Material: PLA, ABS, TPU
Printing Speed: 30 – 60 mm per second
Slicer Software: Cura, Repetier Host, and Simplify3D
Operating System: Mac, Linux, and Windows
Printer Dimensions: 241 mm X 183 mm X 255 mm
Printer Weight: 2.8 KGs

Features

The Creality CR-100 might be a kid-friendly printer, but it sure has some incredible features that make it an excellent choice for creators of all ages. Just check some of its amazing benefits below:

The Creality CR-100 is one of the few kid-friendly 3D printers in the market. It is designed to enhance your children’s creativity but is advanced enough to still be perfect as they grow up.
The unit offers one-button printing—no need for confusing settings. Just one button and everything is sorted.
The CR-100 comes already assembled. It’s a plug and play kind of 3D printer that requires little to no set up at all.
The printer is fitted with an eco-friendly flame retardant too. It is constructed from premium high-quality electrical components that ensure safe and family-friendly use for your kids.
The CR-100 is finished in a colorful and playful truck design that should delight your children when they see it for the first time and will keep them coming back for more 3D printing!
An intelligent and automatic bed leveling feature is also included in the printer to ensure easy setup and operation.
The Creality CR-100 comes with an easy to use touchpad with easily discernible controls that should be easy for children to operate.
The printer offers a compact and sturdy design too. This ensures you don’t have to free up so much space on your workspace and can pack it away in a closet when not in use.
A highly energy-efficient power supply that offers printing speeds of up to 60 mm per second without eating too much power.
The Creality CR-100 is available in four bright colors, including red, blue, orange, and yellow.

Pros

One of the few 3D printers suited to children who want to be creative
Pre-assembled design with one-button printing feature for smooth operation
A colorful and playful design that should bring happiness and delight for your kids
Sturdy metal construction with a compact footprint for saving space

Cons

Some users have had trouble using the intelligent leveling feature that comes with the CR – 100
The view of the printer bed is almost completely blocked. This makes it hard to see the progress of printing in real-time
There is no “Print Stop” button. You can only stop printing if the printer is connected to a PC interface
Some users have also complained that the spool holder is a bit stubby making it harder to cater for larger filament spools

Unboxing and Box Contents

The Creality CR-100 ships in a sturdy box, wrapped in a plastic bag for an additional layer of protection. There is also heavy foam padding inside to absorb shock while the printer is on transit. All your need is a box cutter or a sharp knife to cut through the tape and open up the packaging. Creality also includes a few essential accessories inside the box that are all crucial in the overall operation of the printer.

First, you get a Creality full operation remote that you can use to control the printer. A power cable is also included in there plus a spare build plate. Additionally, you will also notice a plastic bag inside the box that contains an SD card, wrench, and needles to clear or unblock the nozzle when it clogs. The SD card also has a few sliced models that you can use to test out your printer for the first time. There is also a mountable spool holder in there and one roll of 1.75 mm PLA filament for you. Creality also gives you a scrapper that should be useful in dislodging printed objects from the bed.

Setup

As we have already noted above, the Creality CR-100 is a kid-friendly printer. There is, therefore, very little set up needed here. The printer ships already assembled. The bed is leveled too. The unit is a plug and play option that is ready to print the moment you remove it from the box. Nonetheless, there are a few steps that need to be taken.

First of all, you must attach the spool holder to the printer. Secondly, cut the filament into a 45-degree angle and feed it in. Attach the unit into a power source, and you are ready to go. Creality offers an SD card inside the box that has pre-sliced models. They should be a good start to test out the printer. Just plug in the SD card, select the model you’d like to print, and hit print. Yes, the Creality CR-100 offers one-button printing and should be perfect for kids ten years and above.

Software

The Creality CR-100 is compatible with all the popular slicer software. However, we recommend three main ones, including Repetier Host, Cura, and Simplify3D. These are all third party slicers, and they are very popular with other 3D printers out there. They should be easy to use. The Creality CR-100 is also compatible with three major Operating Systems, including Windows, Mac, and Linux.

In Use

The Creality CR-100 is by far one of the easiest to use printers. The unit is controlled by a touchpad with non-cluttered buttons, all clearly marked. You may also control the printer using an equally easy to use remote control that ships in the box.

The print quality achieved is also quite commendable. While researching information for this review, we did come across a lot of YouTube videos showing the Creality CR-100 in action. It’s safe to say that the quality achieved in the final prints is excellent.

We did notice, however, that the Creality CR-100 is not the quietest of printers out there. So, be ready for some noise, but it’s a minor disturbance considering the overall quality and usability of this unit.

Customer Service

Creality has an online support service on its website that allows users to send in any queries regarding the printers they are using. Creality have been around for many years, and although they don’t get the best feedback relating to customer service, their 3D printers are so popular that there is always lots of great information and community forums available online that will give you all the information you need to solve most problems you might encounter.

Conclusion

The Creality CR-100 is a kid-friendly 3D printer that delivers impeccable build quality and playful design. The unit is also constructed using high-end electric components and eco-friendly materials that should be safe for your children to use. The overall printer design is also very creative. The Creality CR-100 looks more like a truck, something that should be delightful for the kids that use it.

You also get a compact design, high-quality print precision, and easy setup. If you ever wanted a simple plug and play 3D printer, then this would be it. Nonetheless, there are also some shortcomings with the unit that we should highlight.

For starters, while Creality markets this unit as one of the quietest printers out there, truth is it’s not. From the videos we saw writing this review, it seems like the printer makes quite some noise during operation. There is also no print resume feature, plus you don’t get a “stop” function when the printer starts working. This is pretty odd, to be honest. We did also find some people on Reddit complaining about the stubbiness of the spool holder.

Nonetheless, these are all minor shortcomings. The Creality CR-100 features solid, high-quality design, and it delivers top of the line print quality. It is also very affordable. You won’t find any other kid-friendly 3D printer out there that matches up to the value delivered by the Creality CR-100. It’s highly recommended!

Review: Creality CR-100