Creality LD-002R Review – The Complete Package

The Creality LD-002R resin printer is a popular option for a lot of people looking for a resin 3D printer for beginners. While it’s not the fastest or quietest resin printer on the market, it offers the complete package to get you started.
If I got your interest, continue reading my review of the Creality LD-002R resin printer and decide if it’s worth your time.

Creality LD-002R Packaging

Let’s start with the packaging for the LD-002R printer from Creality (oh boy, what a name!). It comes in a regular cardboard box with good insulation to make sure the contents arrive safely.

Rich accessory bundle

Compared to other printers, the Creality LD-002R comes with a lot more accessories to get you started. You get the following:
2x protection gloves
2x face mask
2x resin filters
1x user manual
1x spare FEP film
1x plastic spatula for cleaning the vat
1x brush for cleaning the print
1x metal spatula for removing the print
1x 16GB USB drive (with troubleshooting guide, slicer software and a helpful video for starting)

I’m really happy to see a spare FEP film included with the LD-002R. It’s not an expensive item to add in the package and considering this is a consumable it’s a great addition and more companies should do that. The whole accessory pack is great for a beginner.

I also recommend ordering one when you place the order for the printer. It’s better to have one at hand when needed instead of waiting for a replacement.

First Setup

It’s really nice to see that Creality has thought of doing a first setup video for beginners. You can follow the steps from the video below. The same video is available on the USB drive which comes with the printer.

Creality LD-002R specifications

Specifications list

Model:	LD-002R
Printing technology:	LCD
Print size:	11*65*160 mm
Machine size	221*221*403 mm
Print speed:	20-30 mm/h
Nominal voltage:	100-240V
Output voltage:	12V
Layer height:	0.01-0.05 mm
XY axis precision:	0.075 mm
Language:	Chinese/English
Print method:	USB
File format:	STL/CTB
Machine weight:	7KG
Package weight:	8.7 kg
Nominal power:	72 W

Great design

The Creality LD-002 is a good looking resin 3D printer and it’s design somewhat resembles the Prusa SL1. It has a thick orange cover which protects the resin from UV light and I must say it’s the best quality cover from all the resin printers I tested.

LD-002R has a 3.5 inch touch screen placed in the front of the machine and the On/Off button.
On the right side the side panel is ventilated to allow a better airflow to the inside of the printer.
The back of the printer has more ventilation, and the power socket.
The left side of the printer has the USB slot for printing and a removable ventilated cover.

Noisy fan

The bottom of the Creality LD-002R has a cooling fan which turns on when you start a print.
Unfortunately, the fan is not that quiet and it makes the whole printer much louder than it needs to be.

The stepper motor driver is a lot more silent compared to the Sonic Mini or the Photon Zero I reviewed a while back, but that’s nulled out by the inclusion of such a loud fan. This was a missed opportunity for Creality to use a bigger fan with a lower RPM. Maybe in their next resin printer?

Aluminum vat with fill lines

Another welcome addition to the LD-002R is a metal vat. Compared to the Sonic Mini which was originally shipped with a plastic VAT, Creality does this right from the start.

Unfortunately, it uses a custom mounting solution and it’s not compatible with aftermarket vats for now but I am sure alternatives will come up soon.

The fill lines also help when adding resin. You can easily estimate the amount of resin left in the tank with the help of those lines.

Tapered build plate

The build plate is also great. It’s tapered and does not allow for resin to pool on the top of the build plate. The bottom is flat and it also has a small texture to help with adhesion.

The build plate fits a model of 120 x 65 mm on the X and Y axis which is decent for a beginner resin printer.

Optical endstop (with some issues)

Creality LD-002R uses an optical endstop with a metal flag to detect the minimum position on the Z axis. Unfortunately, my metallic flag was not sitting right on the machine and it was moving. The screws used are probably a different dimension.
I easily fixed this by using 2x M3 10mm screws to place the flag back on the printer and secure it.

Make sure you double check this when you first get your printer because it’s imperative to have a good detection of the minimum position in order to get good adhesion and consistent results.

Regular 2K screen

The screen used on the Creality LD-002R has a resolution of 2560×1440 pixels which is similar to the Elegoo Mars. More so, the screen is probably the same screen used on the Mars because I’ve seen users buying Elegoo Mars replacement screens and using them with success.

In addition to the high resolution screen, you can also use anti-aliasing (setting available in the slicer) which will smooth out the external walls of your resin prints.

Unfortunately, the screen is not monochrome (like the Sonic Mini). It has a shorter lifespan and this means you will probably need to replace it after a few hundred hours of use.
Compared to the Sonic Mini monochrome screen which can go up to 2000 hours of use, this is a bit low.

Besides the lower life span, the regular LCD takes longer to cure layers. For the LD-002R you need to use 6 to 8 seconds for each layer which is a lot more compared to a monochrome screen which can cure layers in around 2-3 seconds.

But make no mistake, most of the SLA printers use regular LCD screens and hopefully there will be a LD-002R monochrome LCD upgrade available.

In case you need to replace the screen, you can do that for around 25$.

Beefier linear rail

Compared to other machines, the Creality LD-002R uses a beefier linear rail which looks like a MGN15. This will ensure the movement is exact on the Z axis and it keeps the plate stable.

Small backlash

Unfortunately, I noticed that the brass nut does not have the best tolerances and it contributes to a small backlash on the Z rod. This translates in really small lines on the prints.

The issue is not that bad, but it can be easily fixed by replacing the current nut with a 2mm POM anti-backlash nut. Easy 1$ fix for better prints. A guide will follow soon.

Useless air purification feature

A selling point which comes up more often in the Creality LD-002R marketing materials is the addition of an “Air purification” feature which promises to remove the nasty odor from resin.

This “feature” consists of a fan which pulls the air from inside the print section and pushes it trough a carbon filter to the bottom of the printer.

In theory, this air purification setup should remove odor but in my case, it’s pretty much useless and It’s only a source of extra noise. While the fan is not the as loud as the bottom one, it fan pulls the odor from the print section and blows it outside.

I will fix this later on by removing the fan and doing a cover for the remaining hole. This way, the air stays inside and the machine is more silent. I will share the guide on how to do this when it’s ready.

Creality LD-002R upgrades

Drip mount

I remixed the Fulament Angle Drip Mount so it prints easier and I can also use it on other printers. I recommend you print this as soon as possible. It’s much easier to drip all the resin from the model with this mount, so highly recommended addition to the LD-002R.

Vat cover

I also printed this vat cover from Thingiverse. It’s great when you keep your resin unused in your vat for a longer time. This keeps the odor inside and and also keeps dust away.

Test prints on the Creality LD-002R

Minotaur bust

My first print on the Creality LD-002R was the Minotaur bust from MyMiniFactory. It printed in almost 10 hours. The print came out great and I can’t say there’s something wrong with it.
The printing details for this model:

• Material: Phrozen Aqua Green Resin
• Layer Height: 0.05mm
• Hollowed: Yes
• Supports: Yes

Medieval castle

The Medieval Castle from Thingiverse was my second print. I chose the larger version which was an exact fit on the build plate. It printed well but there are some faint layer lines on the walls caused by the mentioned small backlash.
Besides that, there is some white stuff that came up during curing
The printing details for this model:

• Material: Anycubic Grey Resin
• Layer Height: 0.05mm
• Hollowed: No
• Supports: No

Orc Barbarian

My 3rd print was the Orc Barbarian from Thingiverse. I scaled it up to the maximum size that could fit on the build plate and it was printed with the base flat.
As you can see, the “elephant foot” effect is minimal and the print came out great.

• Material: Phrozen Aqua Green Resin
• Layer Height: 0.05mm
• Hollowed: No
• Supports: No

Shenron keyboard keycap

I found an awesome DBZ keycap for my mechanical keyboard. So you can see how it looks in the pictures below.

• Material: SirayaTech BLU (80%) and Tenacious (20%)
• Layer Height: 0.05mm
• Hollowed: No
• Supports: Yes

Direct Drive upgrade for the Ender 5 Plus

The Ender 5 Plus needs the direct drive treatment. So why not print it in resin on the LD-002R ?
It’s not yet ready to install on the printer, but the resin print results are great. I also used a clear coat to make sure I keep the BLU resin transparency.

• Material: SirayaTech BLU (80%) and Tenacious (20%)
• Layer Height: 0.05mm
• Hollowed: No
• Supports: Yes

Conclusions – Is the Creality LD-002R worth buying ?

The Creality LD-002R is a great printer for somebody that’s just starting to print with resin. Mostly because the printer comes with a complete accessory package to get you started and it’s easy to use. Just buy some IPA to clean those prints and you’re good.

Build quality is good (even tough there are some small issues), it’s easy to level, documentation is great and it’s also a popular printer. You can easily get help if you need it trough the Facebook groups. It’s not the fastest printer for the money, it’s a bit noisy and it leaks a lot of resin odor (can be fixed easily). But it’s still a good buy in my opinion.

The main reason you would choose the LD-002R over the Sonic Mini is availability, shipping and volume size on the Z axis. It you are looking to print faster and replace the LCD screen less often, then the Phrozen Sonic Mini is a bit better for that. If you are looking for something cheaper, the Elegoo Mars was around 210$ a few days ago. And it should perform just as well.

During my testing I never had a failed print, the print quality was good and I’m sure beginners will find it just as easy to use.

Where to buy the Creality LD-002R

You can buy the Creality LD-002R resin printer from the following websites:

Amazon
Aliexpress
Banggood
Comgrow
Top3DShop

The Creality LD-002R was provided by Banggood for the purpose of this review. While the article includes affiliate links, all opinions are my own.