Review: Sovol SV01 3D Printer

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Sovol SV01 3D Printer – Much more than a Re-badged Ender 3

Sovol SV01

by Dylan Miller @io3dprint

Easy to Setup
Easy to Use
Print Quality
Value For Money
Features

Summary

For its low price, the Sovol SV01 offers a lot, including a direct drive extruder. For 3D printing flexible materials like TPU then there aren’t many competing 3D printers available in this price range. The SV-01 builds on the proven Ender 3 design, with some well thought out improvements and extra features. All in all, this is an impressive 3D printer that offers fantastic bang for your buck.

4.1

Sovol is known for its 3D printing accessories and filament but the SV01, launched in May 2019, is their first 3D printer.

To those in the know, the similarities to the popular Creality Ender 3 are obvious. The frame and control box are identical. However, what makes the SV01 most interesting is where it differs from the Ender 3, and indeed where it appears to greatly improve upon the Ender’s design. 

Table Of Contents

Features

Despite similarities to other 3D printers, the SV01 is loaded with additional features that make it stand out from the crowd. Let’s take a look at the most significant features. 

Direct Drive Extruder

The most significant feature on the SV01 is the direct drive extruder. Direct drives are a great benefit on 3D printers as they alleviate all of the issues seen with Bowden cables and allow you to print with soft and flexible filament materials like TPU and TPE. 

Carbon Silicon Crystal Glass Coated Bed

The coated bed plate is uniquely permanently bonded to the heated bed which results in a very stable platform that requires much less calibration between prints. 

The coating itself is similar to the Ultrabase coating seen on Anycubic 3D printers, and works in the same way, providing a superior gripping surface that negates the need for glue or hairspray while also making prints pop off with ease once they have cooled to room temperature. 

Dual Z-Axis

Two Z-axis screws and stepper motors drive the vertical axis of the SV01, improving accuracy and precision, resulting in a specified Z-axis accuracy of 0.001mm. 

Power Supply Integration

Another area where the SV01 differs from the Ender 3 is that the 24V Meanwell power supply is neatly integrated underneath the printer with an aluminum cover over it, rather than being mounted precariously and unprotected on the outer frame. This protects both the printer and the user and looks more attractive. The cable routing and ATMega2560 motherboard are also under this cover, giving the printer a very neat appearance. Unlike other manufacturers, Sovol hasn’t cut corners with a cheap power supply. The Meanwell branded unit is a trustworthy brand which will deliver the power needed without cutting out or causing a safety hazard.

Auto-leveling Sensor Location

While the SV01 doesn’t have auto-leveling, Sovol has thoughtfully left space and appropriate mounting holes for a sensor if you should want to upgrade. As this is one of the most popular 3D printer upgrades, but not for everyone, it’s a good idea to not add to the printers price with a feature many people won’t want, while making it easy to upgrade for those that do want to. 

Thermal Runaway Protection

So many 3D printers do not have this basic safety feature, so it’s great to see Sovol make this a selling point as it is so important. Thermal runaway protection ensures your 3D printer stops sending power to heating elements in the event of an error. This can prevent catastrophic overheating. 

Filament Runout Sensor

In the event of your filament running out too soon, the SV01 will detect this and pause your print so you can fit a new spool of filament and resume the print, saving you from failed print disaster! 

Power Outage Resume

In the event of a power outage, whether a tripped fuse or an accidental unplugging, the SV01 will simply ask you if you want to resume from where it stopped. Again, this is a print-saving feature that can easily save you from canning hours of printing. 

Pros

  • Direct Drive Extruder
  • Good design
  • Proven chassis
  • Meanwell power supply

Cons

  • Not enclosed
  • Manual bed leveling

Verdict

The Sovol SV01 has a lot to offer at this price range. In fact, it’s rare to even see a direct drive 3D printer at this price. 

If you want to print flexible materials like TPU then there aren’t many alternative 3D printers available without spending many hundreds of dollars more. 

Making use of the Ender 3’s proven frame design makes sense as it has no fundamental issues. Adding a few bells and whistles makes it all the more appealing. 

All in all, this is a great 3D printer that is a genuine threat to some more popular models. 

You can find out more about the SV-01 on Sovol’s website.

Specs

Print Volume: 240mm x 280mm x 300mm

Filament: 1.75mm PLA, ABS, TPU

Max Nozzle Temp: 250C

Precision: +/- 0.1mm

-Dylan

Last update on 2024-03-19 at 04:04

2 thoughts on “Review: Sovol SV01 3D Printer”

  1. Hey, I just bought a SV01 and was curious if you had any settings saved for different filaments or what ones you have tried. So far it prints really nice prints with very little adjusting. Although I am having some trouble loading TPU. I admit that I haven’t done a lot of research but I also just got it yesterday :D. Thanks for the review and any help.

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