3D Printing Creality Sonic Pad

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cwbullet

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I recently upgraded my Ender3 to Klipper firmware through the Creality Sonic Pad. I have read about Klipper for years and decided to take the plunge when I saw the Sonic Pad on sale for $120. The benefits of using Klipper are well-documented on Reddit and various other tech forums and blogs.

What is Klipper? It is a the process of working with a Raspberry Pi or another general purpose computer and installing the firmware that improves the speed through input shaping. Input shaping is an open-loop control technique for reducing vibrations in computer-controlled machines. I know it can be intimidating for some it replace the firmware, but if I can do it, anyone can.

Back to the Sonic Pad, the Creality Sonic Pad is a tablet that had a general purpose computer and screen that promises to make using Klipper much easier. Klipper can be used with and without Octoprint and it does not require the Sonic Pad, but reportedly, the Sonic Pad makes it easier.

Pros:
  • Durable product that is well designed
  • Provides good results at high print speeds
  • 18 preset printers that work with it out of the box
  • Touch screen that is easy to use
  • Built-in Wi-Fi and Ethernet
  • Plenty of ports
  • Easy to setup and use for remote print monitoring and time-lapses
Cons:
  • Crappy Documentation
  • Additional printers (outside the 18) require some firmware knowledge
  • The calibration prints are not the best
I set this up in about 6 hours. It took a little tinkering, but it worked. It took me about another week to do some test and calibration prints to get the setting perfect for my Ender-3. Minimal hair pulling required.

My Ender-3 is not stock. I have a glass plate, auto-leveling, and Dual Z motors. I could have used a stock preset if I did not have these additions.

The firmware offers many features that can improve the printing result. The Sonic Pad is also pre-configured for many Creality 3D printers, making it a good choice for anyone with a compatible printer. It is not exceptional difficult to configure it for a non-Creality or modified printer but it does take some patience.


The bottom line: It works well. So, does it live up to the hype? Yes. After 2 weeks of printing, I can print three as fast as a stock Ender-3. I have printed as fast as 6 times and I get marginal quality at that level. It makes the printing experience very convenient and faster. I am very happy with the purchase.

How does it compare to my Prusa? It is faster (1.5x or so) and the quality is similar. Time will tell if the reliability lasts. My Ender is several years old and is responsible for hours, weeks, and months of heartache and foul words, so it will take a lot of time to heal those wounds. Maybe I bought a lemon, but the last two weeks have shown me it can print with the right mods and firmware.
 
I just finished printing an item that took 10 Hours and 45 Minutes on my Ender-3. I still use a 0.4mm nozzle and added only the Sonic Pad. It reduced the print time to 4 Hours and 22 Minutes.
 
I now own the Creality Sonic Pad, FLSUN version, and BIQU's version. All three work. If you own a Creality, buy their version.
 
Yeah, it'll be interesting to see how the faster printing works out in practice. It's clearly a huge boon for prototyping (my BambuLabs printer is about 8x faster than my Ultimaker and MarkForged). The question in my mind is part strength. CNC Kitchen had a post on that and suggested reducing the max flow rate, but that's gonna slow things down again.

The good news is that I think the higher-end printers will upgrade their speed (without reducing strength), because input shaping is a game-changer.

 
JohnCoker said:
Yeah, it'll be interesting to see how the faster printing works out in practice. It's clearly a huge boon for prototyping (my BambuLabs printer is about 8x faster than my Ultimaker and MarkForged). The question in my mind is part strength. CNC Kitchen had a post on that and suggested reducing the max flow rate, but that's gonna slow things down again.

The good news is that I think the higher-end printers will upgrade their speed (without reducing strength), because input shaping is a game-changer.

Click to expand...


That has been well discussed and I have seen it on my Mk3s if I print at 150% speed. I have long suspected with would be an issue on my X1 and PIP. I rarely print at the highest rate of speed because of that concern.

On my Prusa, I use CHT nozzle.
 
Last edited:
cwbullet said:
I recently upgraded my Ender3 to Klipper firmware through the Creality Sonic Pad. I have read about Klipper for years and decided to take the plunge when I saw the Sonic Pad on sale for $120. The benefits of using Klipper are well-documented on Reddit and various other tech forums and blogs.

What is Klipper? It is a the process of working with a Raspberry Pi or another general purpose computer and installing the firmware that improves the speed through input shaping. Input shaping is an open-loop control technique for reducing vibrations in computer-controlled machines. I know it can be intimidating for some it replace the firmware, but if I can do it, anyone can.

Back to the Sonic Pad, the Creality Sonic Pad is a tablet that had a general purpose computer and screen that promises to make using Klipper much easier. Klipper can be used with and without Octoprint and it does not require the Sonic Pad, but reportedly, the Sonic Pad makes it easier.

Pros:
  • Durable product that is well designed
  • Provides good results at high print speeds
  • 18 preset printers that work with it out of the box
  • Touch screen that is easy to use
  • Built-in Wi-Fi and Ethernet
  • Plenty of ports
  • Easy to setup and use for remote print monitoring and time-lapses
Cons:
  • Crappy Documentation
  • Additional printers (outside the 18) require some firmware knowledge
  • The calibration prints are not the best
I set this up in about 6 hours. It took a little tinkering, but it worked. It took me about another week to do some test and calibration prints to get the setting perfect for my Ender-3. Minimal hair pulling required.

My Ender-3 is not stock. I have a glass plate, auto-leveling, and Dual Z motors. I could have used a stock preset if I did not have these additions.

The firmware offers many features that can improve the printing result. The Sonic Pad is also pre-configured for many Creality 3D printers, making it a good choice for anyone with a compatible printer. It is not exceptional difficult to configure it for a non-Creality or modified printer but it does take some patience.


The bottom line: It works well. So, does it live up to the hype? Yes. After 2 weeks of printing, I can print three as fast as a stock Ender-3. I have printed as fast as 6 times and I get marginal quality at that level. It makes the printing experience very convenient and faster. I am very happy with the purchase.

How does it compare to my Prusa? It is faster (1.5x or so) and the quality is similar. Time will tell if the reliability lasts. My Ender is several years old and is responsible for hours, weeks, and months of heartache and foul words, so it will take a lot of time to heal those wounds. Maybe I bought a lemon, but the last two weeks have shown me it can print with the right mods and firmware.
Click to expand...
I too had quite some choice words for the sonic pad and printer set-up, but the guys at Comgrow, Creality UK, Were fantastic and between us we found a simple solution to adding the Ender 3 Neo to the sonic pad.

You just follow through the set-up process until you get to the printer model choices.
Select the Ender 3 Pro either with or without CR Touch as necessary.


Let it get to the point where it writes the firmware to an SD card.

Before inserting it into the printer overwrite the .bin file with the correct printer .bin file for the Ender 3 Neo

Insert into printer

And continue with set-up, which is turn printer on, connect sonic pad to printer via usb lead and it should finalise installation and prompt to continue with an automated cycle of checks and tests.

Job done.

Hope this helps somebody
 
I thought about getting a SonicPad when I added and Ender 5-S1 to my Ender 5+, but since I had been using Octoprint on a RaspPi, I just flashed a new 64M memory card and built Klipper on the RaspPi. Works great. It was probably a little more involved to get it working as I've heard that the install with the SonicPad is very easy.
 
conneryc said:
I thought about getting a SonicPad when I added and Ender 5-S1 to my Ender 5+, but since I had been using Octoprint on a RaspPi, I just flashed a new 64M memory card and built Klipper on the RaspPi. Works great. It was probably a little more involved to get it working as I've heard that the install with the SonicPad is very easy.
Click to expand...

It is straightforward.
 
Just started the process last night. Got the new firmware and basic connections set up quite easily. Firmware did an initial update, and despite my printer having an added glass plate, dual z, and auto leveling, there was a Creality pre-set profile that matched my config and main board. Plug-and-play simple so far!

Got the Z offset tuned to my liking (mostly by printing a 1 layer calibration square a few times to get it dialed in perfectly, about 5 minutes a square) and ran a test print using some of the previously sliced things that I have.

Original print with great quality was 75 minutes, Sonic Pad printing with NO advanced tuning set to 200% speed and the quality was just as good....and ran for only 38 minutes! By that time it was time for bed. Letting some of my coworkers inspect the two prints, they can't tell any difference between the two.

So, even if I do nothing else, I've doubled the speed of my printer. With today's tasks, I'm hoping that I can realize the 3X speed gains that many report. My neighbor has completed the tuning on his machine (same as mine) and he's settled for a boost from 50mm/sec to 120mm/sec, so a gain of 2.4. Still significant!

Today's agenda for me is PID tune, Rotational distance tune, Tune input shaping, Tune pressure advance, Tune max acceleration. At that point, all that remains is tuning the profiles in Cura, with a leg up on that by leveraging the suggestions in the normal/fast profiles from Creality.

One question for you Klipper users: Do you tune pressure advance for every filament that you use, or is the first tune 'close enough' for what you do?
 
Last edited:
Banzai88 said:
Just started the process last night. Got the new firmware and basic connections set up quite easily. Firmware did an initial update, and despite my printer having an added glass plate, dual z, and auto leveling, there was a Creality pre-set profile that matched my config and main board. Plug-and-play simple so far!

Got the Z offset tuned to my liking (mostly by printing a 1 layer calibration square a few times to get it dialed in perfectly, about 5 minutes a square) and ran a test print using some of the previously sliced things that I have.

Original print with great quality was 75 minutes, Sonic Pad printing with NO advanced tuning set to 200% speed and the quality was just as good....and ran for only 38 minutes! By that time it was time for bed. Letting some of my coworkers inspect the two prints, they can't tell any difference between the two.

So, even if I do nothing else, I've doubled the speed of my printer. With today's tasks, I'm hoping that I can realize the 3X speed gains that many report. My neighbor has completed the tuning on his machine (same as mine) and he's settled for a boost from 50mm/sec to 120mm/sec, so a gain of 2.4. Still significant!

Today's agenda for me is PID tune, Rotational distance tune, Tune input shaping, Tune pressure advance, Tune max acceleration. At that point, all that remains is tuning the profiles in Cura, with a leg up on that by leveraging the suggestions in the normal/fast profiles from Creality.

One question for you Klipper users: Do you tune pressure advance for every filament that you use, or is the first tune 'close enough' for what you do?
Click to expand...
So far, close enough has worked.
 
Oooh... This is my first time hearing about this. I haven't touched my setup in a long time but I would love a faster print.
I have a Creality CR-10 v2, using Octoprint on a Rasberry Pi 4.
Looks like I have a weekend project in my future.
 
I've got a CR10S-S5 that I migrated to a TH3D EZBoard Lite. They have a Klipper firmware for it, that I suspect would work like the Ender 3 Neo solution above. The TH3D folks are very down on the Sonic Pad - for perceived GPL violations, not the tech. It looks like I could manage adding a Sonic Pad.

Chuck, how does ramping up the speed affect PETG stringing?
 
I'm really just a 'Let someone else figure out the bugs, I just want it to work' brand of 3D print enthusiast.
For me the sonic pad was almost a plug-and-play upgrade. I searched YT and found this guy https://www.youtube.com/@RickyImpey and used his video instructions for step-by-step installation and tuning. Perfect for my depth of knowledge and interest level for the technical aspect of the machine.

Probably the two most technical parts of a straight forward integration are removing the cover to confirm the mark of my main board and making decisions about 'best' on the test prints.
What I like about the videos that I followed is that it's broken down into simple steps, and he links to the relevant Klipper pages and provides the code to enter into the console when doing the test prints, so it's download the model, slice (settings given in the video), upload, send some code commands, print, evaluate, make changes.....DONE!

All told I was done in about 4ish hours, including an initial watch through of the videos.
 
I keep my printer in the closet and do all of my printing through Octoprint from my computer. I'm not sure I need the user controls the Sonic Pad gives me. I'd rather spend that money on upgrading to a direct drive extruder and getting rid of the bowden tube.
It looks like more effort but I might try to get this running with just the Pi4.
 
Banzai88 said:
Good deal. Finished the setup last night, today I'll run some prints at successively faster speeds and see how it all works out.
Click to expand...
Tom, I may have to have you over, ply you with ale and get your help figuring out my Ender 3S Pro. The X axis wants to home to the middle of the deck. It can't autolevel without grinding...
 
PhlAsh said:
Tom, I may have to have you over, ply you with ale and get your help figuring out my Ender 3S Pro. The X axis wants to home to the middle of the deck. It can't autolevel without grinding...
Click to expand...
No trouble. I'm sure we can figure it out.
 
JoeTekcor said:
I keep my printer in the closet and do all of my printing through Octoprint from my computer. I'm not sure I need the user controls the Sonic Pad gives me. I'd rather spend that money on upgrading to a direct drive extruder and getting rid of the bowden tube.
It looks like more effort but I might try to get this running with just the Pi4.
Click to expand...

I think that the Klipper pads are for those not inclined to Pi.

If you like Pi, that's likely the more flexible and appropriate integration solution for what you do.

Verdict is in for my upgrade, 3X speed boost from 50mm/sec to 150mm/sec on Cura profiles with same quality.

Profile needs some tweaks (as expected) but it's now about 98%.

Interesting side note, with Klipper and 150mm/sec print profile, the printer is an order of magnitude quieter than Marlin and 50mm/sec profile!
 
Charles_McG said:
I've got a CR10S-S5 that I migrated to a TH3D EZBoard Lite. They have a Klipper firmware for it, that I suspect would work like the Ender 3 Neo solution above. The TH3D folks are very down on the Sonic Pad - for perceived GPL violations, not the tech. It looks like I could manage adding a Sonic Pad.

Chuck, how does ramping up the speed affect PETG stringing?
Click to expand...

I have only had minor stringing unless the filament is old or wet.
 

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