Do you have a Creality K1 3D printer and want to print in multiple colors without any additional hardware? If so, you are in the right place. In this blog post, I will show you how to print in multiple colors with Creality K1 using the pause function and the color change process. You will learn how to edit the G-code file of your model and insert a PAUSE command at the layer where you want to change the filament color. You will also learn how to remove the old filament and insert the new one, and resume the print. You will be able to create colorful and attractive prints with a single extruder 3D printer.
Printing in multiple colors with Creality K1 is a very interesting and useful technique that allows you to add some personality and creativity to your prints. You can print models that have different parts or features that can be printed in different colors, such as logos, text, patterns, or details. You can also print models that are inspired by your favorite movies and characters, such as Star Wars, Harry Potter, or Batman. You can print them in any color or material that you like, or you can paint them after printing. You can also mix and match them with other ornaments that you have or buy.
To illustrate this technique, I will showcase my print of my design of R2D2 Christmas Tree Ornament that you can find on my profile of Thangs here https://thangs.com/designer/frikarte3D . I used this color change configuration at 0.2mm layer height: 0 to layer 13 (0 to 2.6 mm) = White 14 to 15 (2.8 to 3.0 mm) = Black 16 to 17 (3.2 to 3.4 mm) = Gray 18 to 19 (3.6 to 3.8 mm) = Blue 20 to 21 (4 to 4.2 mm) = Red. The result was a nice and colorful ornament that looks amazing on the tree.
Are you ready to print in multiple colors with Creality K1? Let’s get started!
Step 1: Slice your 3D model in any slicer that you want
The first step is to slice your 3D model in any slicer that you want. You can use Creality Print, Cura, PrusaSlicer, or any other slicer that you are familiar with. Make sure to adjust the print settings according to your preferences and the model’s requirements. For example, you can set the layer height, the infill, the speed, the temperature, the retraction, and so on.
For this example, I sliced the R2D2 Christmas Tree Ornament model in Creality Print. I used the following default printing settings:
- Layer height: 0.2 mm
- Infill: 10%
- Speed: 300 mm/s
- Temperature: 230°C for the nozzle and 45°C for the bed
- Retraction: 0.5 mm at 40 mm/s
- Skirt: 2 lines at 3 mm distance
You can see the preview of the sliced model in the screenshot below:
Step 2: Save the G-code file of your model in a local folder of your computer
The second step is to save the G-code file of your model in a local folder of your computer. Do not send the file to the printer or start the print yet. You need to edit the file first.
The G-code file is a file that contains the instructions that tell the printer what to do. It has a lot of lines of code that specify the coordinates, the movements, the temperatures, and so on. You can see an example of a G-code file in the screenshot below:
To save the G-code file of your model, you can use the Save or Export option in your slicer. For example, in Creality Print, you can click on the Export to local at the bottom right corner and choose a folder where you want to save the file. You can also give a name to the file, such as “R2D2_ornament.gcode”.
Step 3: Open the G-code file with a text editor and insert a PAUSE command at the layer where you want to change the filament color
The third step is to open the G-code file with a text editor and insert a PAUSE command at the layer where you want to change the filament color. This will make the printer stop before printing that layer and wait for your input. Then you can remove the old filament and insert the new one, and resume the print.
To open the G-code file with a text editor, you can use Notepad from Windows, Notepad++, or any other text editor that you like. You can right-click on the file and choose Open with and select the text editor that you want to use.
To insert a PAUSE command at the layer where you want to change the filament color, you need to look for the layer number in the G-code file. You can do this by scrolling down until you find the start of that layer, or by using the search function of your text editor and typing “;LAYER:(number of layer)”. For example, if you want to change the color at layer 18, you can search for “;LAYER:18”. Note that the layer numbers in the G-code file start from 0, while in the slicer they start from 1. So, if you want to change the color at layer 18 in the slicer, you need to look for layer 17 in the G-code file.
When you find the layer where you want to change the color, you need to add a PAUSE command in the next line after the layer start. You can do this by typing “PAUSE” in a new line. This will tell the printer to stop before printing that layer and wait for your input. If you want to change the color at more than one layer, you can repeat this step for each layer where you want to change the color. Make sure to save the file after editing it.
For this example, I wanted to change the color at layers 14, 16, 18, and 20 in the slicer, which correspond to layers 13, 15, 17, and 19 in the G-code file. I searched for these layers and inserted a PAUSE command in the next line after each layer start. You can see how I edited the file in the screenshot below:
Step 4: Send the G-code file to the printer and start the print
The fourth step is to send the G-code file to the printer and start the print. You can do this by using a USB drive or by importing the file to the printer from Creality Print.
To send the file using a USB drive, just copy the file into the drive, plug into the printer, look for the file using the screen and click on the Print button to start the print.
To import the file from Creality Print, you need to go to Devices -> Creality K1 -> Details button and where it says +Import. You can then select the file from your computer and click on Open. The file will be uploaded to the printer and you can see it on the screen. You can then click on the Print button to start the print.
You can also monitor the print from Creality Print or from the printer’s screen. You can see the progress, the temperature, the speed, and the time of the print. You can also pause, resume, or cancel the print at any time.
Step 5: When the printer reaches the layer where you have inserted the PAUSE command, it will stop and beep. You can then change the filament color
The fifth step is to change the filament color when the printer reaches the layer where you have inserted the PAUSE command. The printer will stop and beep, and you will see a message on the screen that says “Paused for user”. This means that you can change the filament color now.
To change the filament color, you can do it manually or using the Retract and Extrude functions on the printer’s screen. To do it manually, you need to unlock the extruder gear by pressing the lever on the side of the extruder and pull out the filament. Then you need to heat up the nozzle to the printing temperature, which is usually around 200°C for PLA, by using the Preheat function on the screen. When the nozzle is hot, you can push the new filament through the extruder until you see the new color coming out of the nozzle. Make sure to lock the extruder gear again after inserting the new filament.
To do it using the Retract and Extrude functions, you need to go to the Tune menu on the screen and select Retract. This will make the printer retract the filament automatically. Then you can pull out the filament and insert the new one. Then you need to select Extrude and make the printer extrude the new filament until you see the new color coming out of the nozzle. You can see my R2D2 print waiting for next color change, seems to be a black and white photo but it isn't:
Step 6: Resume the print and repeat the process until the model is done and has all the colors
The sixth and final step is to resume the print and repeat the process until the model is done and has all the colors. You can do this by pressing the Resume button on the screen. The printer will continue printing from where it stopped with the new filament color. You can repeat this process as many times as you want, depending on how many colors you want to use.
For this example, I repeated the process four times, changing the filament color from white to black, from black to gray, from gray to blue, and from blue to red. The printer printed each layer with the corresponding color and finished the print. The result was a nice and colorful R2D2 Christmas Tree Ornament that looks amazing on the tree. You can see the final print in the picture below:
I also printed my design of the C3PO Christmas Tree Ornament using this method and the result is very good.
Conclusion
These are the steps that you need to follow to print in multiple colors with Creality K1 using the pause function and the color change process. You can use this technique to print any model that you want in multiple colors, as long as you can edit the G-code file and insert a PAUSE command at the layer where you want to change the color. You can also use different slicers, text editors, and filaments to achieve the best results.
Printing in multiple colors with Creality K1 is a very interesting and useful technique that allows you to create colorful and attractive prints with a single extruder 3D printer. You can print models that have different parts or features that can be printed in different colors, such as logos, text, patterns, or details. You can also print models that are inspired by your favorite movies and characters, such as Star Wars, Harry Potter, or Batman. You can print them in any color or material that you like, or you can paint them after printing. You can also mix and match them with other ornaments that you have or buy.
I hope you enjoyed this blog post and learned something new. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please let me know in the comments section below. I would love to hear from you. If you want to see more of my 3D design and printing projects, you can visit my blog at Frikarte 3D. There you will find my creations inspired by movies, comics, games, and more. You will also find videos of YouTube where I show my creation processes, my 3D prints, my tutorials of modification or improvement of 3D printers, and much more.
Thank you for reading this post and I hope you try this technique and print in multiple colors with Creality K1. feel free to leave a comment below or contact me on my Instagram profile: Frikarte3D I’m sure you will have a lot of fun and create amazing prints. Happy printing! 😊
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