A colorful cube of a printer, the SainSmart Coreception is pretty distinctive as SainSmart’s only current self-branded FDM 3D printer. Looking closely, it’s pretty clear that the OEM of the Coreception is Creativity 3D, which markets the printer as the Creativity 3D Elf.

CoreXY

The SainSmart Coreception uses CoreXY kinematics. Zipping the print head around in the X- and Y- axes, with the print bed limited to move only through the Z-axis, CoreXY is distinctive in a couple of ways, particularly with no one stepper motor directly responsible for movement in a single axis, and (here done in what is considered the ‘correct’ way) a belt layout that delivers even torque no matter the position of the print head.

Underpinning the high performance from the Coreception being a CoreXY, linear rails for the X- and Y- axes should keep motion tight and reliable.

Large Build Volume

Larger projects should be pretty achievable, thanks to a 300 x 300 x 330 mm build volume. Standard fare for a ‘large’ desktop 3D printer, made better here with a textured glass print bed that should be grippy enough for decent print adhesion. If not, flip the glass, and you’ll likely have a more predictable time of it.

Extruder

A Titan-style extruder handles the pushing and pulling of filament mounted directly to the print head. Curiously for a direct drive setup like this, there’s a noticeable air gap between the extruder and the hot end, bridged here by a short length of PTFE tubing. There is, seemingly, a constrained filament path, so tricky noodly flexi filaments should be easy enough to handle.

Electronics

As best we can tell, without going hands on for ourselves, the SainSmart Coreception ships with some flavor of Makerbase’s MKS Robin Nano as its (32-bit) mainboard, equipped with TMC2208 stepper motor drivers and running Marlin 2.0. This should equate to silent operation, and, being a 32-bit board, should also give some processing headroom for improvements and addons without overburdening the board.

Drawing 24V, the hot end and heated bed should get up to their respective 260 and 100 degrees Celsius temperatures in no time.

Cables for the hot end and extruder connect to the mainboard via a single VGA-style connector, which is both unusual and actually pretty appealing in terms of tidiness. Diagnosing issues might become needlessly complicated, though, with the added hassle of checking if a problem lies with the hot end or extruder components, the cables they run to – we assume – some kind of breakout board, or the cable between the print head and mainboard.

Print Recovery

Prints can resume following an unexpected power outage. It’s a feature we seldom encounter but can fully appreciate the value of if you happen to live in an area with unstable power infrastructure.

Similar print-saving solace can be found in the frame-mounted filament sensor, which will pause the print job when the end of a spool or shorn tip passes through and triggers the microswitch inside.

We’ve seen commentary online questioning the filament sensor’s placement, which allegedly puts undue tension on the filament, with the consequence of under extrusion.

RGB LEDs

SainSmart jazzes the Coreception up with a garland of remote controllable RGB LEDs, which, against someone’s better judgment, clearly, can be set to strobe. Alternatively, you can just set your color of choice, brightness, and let that set the mood for your making.