Ender 5 Plus: Superseded by the 400 mm Ender-5 Max
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The Ender-5 Plus was Creality’s affordable large cube-frame printer and it is still listed, but the current answer in that slot is the Ender-5 Max: 400 x 400 x 400 mm, up to 700 mm/s and 20,000 mm/s2, a 300 degC nozzle, a 100 degC bed and a 64-point mesh. The Plus belongs to the manual, slower generation. Buy it used and cheap, or buy the Max new.
Large-format printing used to mean accepting an old design, because nobody made a fast big machine at a sensible price. The Ender-5 Plus was one of the sensible options in that era. That era is over.
Where to buy
Where the Plus stands
Creality still lists the Ender-5 Plus, but its page no longer renders the modern specification table, so we are not going to publish figures we cannot verify against the manufacturer. What is clear from the range is its position: previous-generation electronics, manual workflow, and speeds from before the current jump.
On a large machine that generational gap hurts more than on a small one, because print times scale with volume. A part that takes twelve hours on a current large-format printer can take considerably longer on a machine limited to older acceleration figures, and large prints are exactly where you feel it.
The current large Ender
| Spec | Ender-5 Max |
|---|---|
| Build volume | 400 x 400 x 400 mm |
| Max speed / acceleration | Up to 700 mm/s / up to 20,000 mm/s2 |
| Max nozzle / bed temp | 300 degC / 100 degC |
| Levelling | 64-point auto mesh |
| Plate | Epoxy flexible build plate |
| Size / weight | 649 x 721 x 850 mm, up to 25.9 kg |
| Power | 1250 W |
A 64-point mesh matters enormously at 400 mm square, because no bed that size is flat. And 300 degC with a 100 degC bed covers PLA, PETG and ABS on paper, though as an open machine ABS remains difficult without a chamber.
Other large options worth comparing
If you are shopping by volume rather than brand, the field is wider than it used to be. The Anycubic Kobra 3 Max gives 420 x 420 x 500 mm, 88 litres, at up to 600 mm/s with a bed that heats in 125 seconds. The Elegoo OrangeStorm Giga is in another category at 800 x 800 x 1000 mm and 104 kg. The Creality K2 Plus offers 350 x 350 x 350 mm but enclosed with a 60 degC chamber and a 350 degC nozzle, which is the choice if materials matter more than raw size.
Our large-format guide and biggest printers page compare those properly, and Ender-5 Max notes cover the Creality option in detail.
Buying a Plus used
Check the build surface, the belts and the hotend, ask about firmware, and price it against a current machine. Parts for Creality frames are cheap and widely available, which is the genuine advantage of buying into this ecosystem second-hand. Just be clear that you are buying a project, not a shortcut to large prints.
Frequently asked questions
How big is the Ender-5 Plus? It was Creality’s large cube-frame model; the current large Ender is the Ender-5 Max at 400 x 400 x 400 mm.
Is it still sold? Creality still lists it, without a modern spec table.
What is the best cheap large printer now? Compare the Ender-5 Max, the Anycubic Kobra 3 Max at 420 x 420 x 500 mm, and the enclosed Creality K2 Plus at 350 mm cubed.
Can it print ABS? Open frame, no chamber, so not reliably.
LayerWalker
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