We've seen plenty of compact sized 3D printers over the past few years from a few different companies, but many of which weren't ever designed to last very long either. These nearly pocket-sized tools of creation have been a cost effective way for newcomers to 3D printing to test-the-waters of 3D printing before just going out and spending almost $1000 or more. The Createbot Super Mini is a tiny powerhouse with a build volume of 85 x 90 x 94mm.

   MakerTree 3D always keeps their eyes peeled for any new noteworthy 3D printing systems worth mentioning, and today it's the Createbot Super Mini 3D printer. These little things are just awesome! As far as compact-sized printers go, we've seen and worked on M3D printers, the Freaks3D printers, as well as a list of other reprap creations within the compact 3D printer realm, but we've not yet seen anything else like these.

   First off, these small Super Mini 3D printers from Createbot are made from sheet metal which is incredible to say the least. It gives the Super Mini some weight so that it feels like an actual tool, but without being heavy by any means at only 6.5lbs. The Createbot Super Mini is also available in Black, White, Blue, Green, and Purple to fit nearly any personality or environment you may want to get one for.

   We were also pleased to see that Createbot didn't just use some tiny unsubstantial electric motors, (I mean it is a tiny printer anyhow right?) but they actually still have a Nema17 pushing the filament on a direct drive extruder and Nema11 motors running X, Y and Z axis. Additionally, the Super Mini is equipped with smooth rods and linear bearings for the Y axis and a tiny linear rail for the X axis carriage to ride on. 

   Now, where the Createbot Super Mini steps out front of all of the other compact sized 3D printers, is with regards to connectivity and stand-alone printing capability. The Super Mini comes with a full sized SD card slot (yep, no mini or microSD cards to fuss with here) as well as a USB tethered connectivity option. Lastly, where most other compacts fall short is that they must be USB tethered because they don't have a control interface built into the printer. The Createbot has included an LCD with control knob on the Super Mini to allow users to load files, and control the printer in stand-alone mode without having to be tethered to a computer via a USB cable.

   The Super Mini does come with the Createbot slicer software which is their own branded Cura that has each of the Createbot printers preconfigured to select from a list. Since the firmware is Marlin based, this leaves the Createbot Super Mini open to use the other accessoriers such as a MatterControl T10, or even other slicer software such as Simplify3D to generate .gcode and to control the printer with.

   In conclusion, the Createbot Super Mini is a robust compact-sized printer, that appears as though it will continue printing while most of the other compact 3D printers at the same price point will have long fallen apart. With our first few demo prints on the Super Mini, I'm incredibly impressed, with no calibration ever required, heated and loaded filament quickly, and printed with the Createbot flavor of Cura software without any setting refinements. The 3D Benchy came out wonderfully and was better than I had expected for such a small and budget minded system.

   Check out the Super Mini, as well as the rest of the Createbot 3D printer line at:

www.MakerTree3D.com