Creality Ender 3 S1 & S1 Pro Review and Comparison

The Creality Ender 3 series are quite popular 3D printers among 3D printing makers, from the Ender 3 budget friendly for beginners to the Ender 3 V2, and now we have the latest Ender 3 S1 and the Ender 3 S1 Pro. Today we'll review over these two 3D printers and learn the differences as well as similarities between them.

Creality Ender 3 S1 and S1 Pro Review

Named as the best 3D printer under $500 by All3DP, the Ender 3 S1 is an easy-to-use 3D printer with decent printing qualities, and meanwhile, the Ender 3 S1 Pro is much of a more professional version or upgrade of the Ender 3 S1.

Both of the Ender 3 S1 and S1 Pro have similar shapes and almost the same print volume with their predecessors. Also they have great similarities in between themselves. Thus this review will review these two printers along with similarities as well as differences.

Now, let's start from their similarities to see why they stand out as the next level 3D printers comparing with budget 3D printers.

32 bit silent mother board

Some budget 3D printers claim they have silent mother board in their description, but it finally turned out in daily use, they do not work that silent. But on the Ender 3 S1 or S1 Pro, the electronics and the mechanical components are operated well by the silent mother board and much less noise can be heard during print.

Sprite dual-gear direct extruder

The new Sprite direct dual-gear extruder on Ender 3 S1 or S1 Pro provides stronger filament feeding than before. This ensures the printer more extrusion force and enhances feeding stability for various materials.

It's said the new dual gear direct extruder can produce up to 80n pushing force which assures smooth filament feeding and reliable extrusion without slipping.

The slight difference is the Sprite direct extruder on the Ender 3 S1 Pro is all metal component, which is more reliable than the one on the Ender 3 S1 3D printer.

CR touch probe enabled auto bed leveling

Featured with accurate 16 points (4*4 evenly scattered over the bed surface) auto leveling, the new CR-touch probe applied onto the Ender 3 S1 or S1 Pro frees us from exhausting yet not that reliable manual leveling (especially for beginners). All you need to level the printer bed is to select auto leveling function on the control panel and the probe will go over the bed and complete leveling automatically.

Dual Z-axis design

To enhance Z-axis stability and precision, Ender 3 S1 or S1 Pro 3D printer has two Z-axis motors to move the print head up and down along two Z-axis lead screws.

Convenient X and Y-axis belt tensioners

The knob designed tensioners on both X and Y-axis are another plus for the Ender 3 S1 or S1 Pro. These tensioners give us convenient X and Y-axis belt tightening to prevent loose belt caused layer shifting.

Dual print resumption

Both the Ender 3 S1 and S1 Pro printers will automatically suspend printing when power supply failed unexpectedly, or filament breakage or outage is detected by its pre-installed filament sensor. And when power supply is recovered or new filament is filled in, you can simply select print resumption function to continue the unfinished object.

6 steps quick assembly

The Ender 3 S1 comes with most parts pre-assemble while the Ender 3 S1 Pro
comes at 96$ pre-assembled. Both of them supports 6 steps quick assembly. The only difference is that assembling the Ender 3 S1 Pro is much easier and quicker than the S1.

Now, let's go to the next section of this review. That is the differences between the Ender 3 S1 and S1 Pro 3D printer.

4.3 inch knob VS touch screen

Have to say, the 4.3 inch screen on either an Ender 3 S1 or S1 Pro 3D printer gives a better and clearer view of menu and status of current printing than smaller ones on most budget 3D printers.

But there is a big difference between the 4.3 inch screens on these two printers. On the Ender 3 S1, the screen is operated with a knob while the Ender 3 S1 Pro is a touch screen. And to be frank, most of us would prefer a touch screen.

Another difference is the languages provided on these two different screens.
The Ender 3 S1 screen only supports Chinese and English while the S1 Pro touch screen supports 9 different languages, including Chinese, English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Turkish.

If you prefer either of the other 7 languages more, then an Ender 3 S1 Pro is a better option for you.

Magnetic PC VS PEI spring steel build sheet

On Ender 3 S1 3D printer bed, it's a magnetic spring steel build plate coated with Polycarbonate (PC) surface. This provides a reliable bottom layer adhesion for different materials, and meanwhile an easy removal of printed objects. The only thing to do is to take the PC build sheet off from the printer bed and then bend it, and you'll see the object peel off from it.

The magnetic PEI sheet is certainly an upgrade on Ender 3 S1 Pro to distinguish from the S1. PEI powder coated spring steel build plate has stronger adhesion to filament. Another upgrade on the Ender S1 Pro print surface is its handle design, which is convenient for pulling the plate off from the bed.

Up to 260 °C VS 300 °C high temp nozzle

On the Ender 3 S1, the nozzle can stand up to 260 °C high temp heating, which is a little higher than the average 250 °C on most entry level 3D printers and is compatible of printing most materials, such as PETG, ABS, PLA and TPU.

But on the Ender 3 S1 Pro 3D printer, its more advanced copper nozzle can endure up to 300 °C heating, which enables the nozzle to deal with nylon and even carbon fiber filament.

Thus, if you want to print with materials at ultra high temperature, the Ender 3 S1 Pro is a better option.

Common cooling fan VS liquid cooling

as we see on the above pictures, on the left it is a common fan with air cooling for the Ender 3 S1, and on the right it's a liquid type for the S1 Pro, which is more efficient in heat dissipation. If you always print at high temperature, this can be a plus for your choice.

LED light strip

Another upgrades on the Ender 3 S1 Pro comparing with the S1 is the LED light strip which can be placed across the top bar of the gantry. It gives a great lighting over the printer bed and helps you to detect if there is something with your print.

This can be an advantage when you print in a dark room.

Upgraded titanium heat break

The titanium heat break hidden inside the print head of the Ender 3 S1 Pro is certainly an upgrade over the common stainless steel heat break on the S1.

This small upgrade can be neglected easily unless you have disassembled the print head. But the titanium heat break's higher temperature resistant performance than a stainless steel type is also a thing you should know.

Parameter Comparison

Now let's get the last part of this review, a quick review over the parameters of the Ender 3 S1 and S1 Pro 3D printer.

Creality Ender 3 S1 Issues

1. Not that budget friendly any more

For a beginner or as an entry level 3D printer, the Creality Ender 3 S1 sells at 399$, which is more expensive than most entry level 3D printer with same decent printing qualities. For example, the Kingroon KP3S costs only 179$ but offers even better configuration. Simply to say, the price of a Ender 3 S1 is not that budget friendly any more to most 3D printing markers.

2. Poor illustrated instruction manual

Another problem we found is the manual provided by Creality for Ender 3 S1. Some parts are poorly illustrated and difficult to understand, and we have to find out the right answer on our own.

3. Fan duct blocks the front view of the printing process

The oblique installed cooling fan blocks the front view of the printing process, which is quite unfriendly for you to observe and detect if anything goes wrong while printing.

4. Cable at the back of the bed has a long rubber guard makes it inconvenient to clean the bed

The long rubber guard for the power cable of the printer bed can be quite annoying when you want to wipe and clean the printer bed.

5. Beeping sound for the screen can't be muted.

Another annoying thing you can find is the beeping sound for the screen. But it seems there is no option to mute it. That's really weird!

6. Sometimes it only preheat the bed

Sometimes when you start a print, the Ender 3 S1 only preheats the bed, leaving the nozzle unheated. But when you select "Preheat PLA" on the screen, the printer will preheat both the nozzle and the bed. It's difficult to understand why this happens.

Conclusion

Finally, we come to the conclusion. Both the Ender 3 S1 and the S1 Pro are quite friendly to beginners for their quick assembly and easy operation with auto bed leveling function, and also good choices for experienced users want more advanced performance to print reliably with great precision.

If you have less budget and do not need those advanced features on a Ender 3 S1 Pro, the Ender 3 S1 is adequate and a better choice for you. And if you don't care the price and want to experience more advanced configuration and print high temp filament like nylon and carbon fiber, the more advanced Ender 3 S1 Pro is a plus for you.