3D Printing InfoPrinter comparison
Creality K2 Pro vs Rat Rig V-Core 4
Compare hardware, build volume, printing specifications, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
Open these two in the interactive comparisonMore Creality K2 Pro comparisonsMore Rat Rig V-Core 4 comparisons
| Property | Creality K2 ProCOREXY | Rat Rig V-Core 4COREXY |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Brand | Creality | Rat Rig |
| Class | COREXY | COREXY |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Manufacturer & exact marketed model name (verify the exact product identity first) | Creality K2 Pro[1] | Rat Rig V-Core 4, sold in the US as "RatRig V-Core 4 3D Printer Kit"[2] |
| Street price (USD; dated snapshot per entry) | $599.00 and $799.00 are the two variant prices listed on the Creality US store K2 Pro Combo page, Aug 2026 - the combo includes a CFS unit, so neither figure is a bare-printer price[3] | $2,319.99 at Fabreeko for the fully-specified US kit (price includes shipping and duty in the continental USA), Batch 4, checked Aug 2026. 300 mm ABS-parts variant in stock, 400 mm down to one unit. Rat Rig's own base kit is priced separately in EUR[2][4] |
| Variants & sibling models — and how to tell them apart (spec-contamination risk) | Between the K2 (260 mm cube, no chamber heating, 100 C bed, 8 GB) and the K2 Plus (350 mm cube, 350 C nozzle, 120 C bed, 30000 mm/s2, dual filters, auto belt tensioning, 1080p camera, dual-band Wi-Fi). The K2 Pro shares the K2's 300 C nozzle and 70 W hotend but gets the chamber heater, RFID reader, Ethernet and 32 GB storage[1] | Three sizes (300, 400, 500 mm cubes) and three motion configurations: Standard CoreXY, Hybrid CoreXY (+$149.99, adds two motors to Y), and IDEX with two independent toolheads (+$450.00). Superseded by the V-Core 4.1. Raspberry Pi and enclosure panels are not included[2][4] |
| Market position: superseded? successor announced? | Not documented | Superseded by the V-Core 4.1, which adds a steel X gantry, a full-metal toolhead, improved part cooling, 8 mm beds on the 400 and 500 sizes and pre-made cables. Rat Rig sells a 4.1 upgrade kit for existing V-Core 4 owners[4] |
| Physical & Frame | ||
| Build volume X×Y×Z (mm) — advertised vs actually usable | 300 x 300 x 300 mm[1] | 300 x 300 x 300, 400 x 400 x 400 or 500 x 500 x 500 mm. Sortable value is the 300 mm kit[2][4] |
| Machine footprint (mm) & clearance needed (cable/spool overhang) | 445 x 477 x 573 mm[1] | Not documented |
| Net weight (kg) | 23.7 kg[1] | Not documented |
| Frame construction & material | Not documented | 30-series aluminium extrusion with printed ABS structural parts[2][4] |
| Enclosure: open / enclosed; panel material; door/lid | Enclosed with chamber temperature control up to 60 C; one air filter[1] | Open by default; enclosure panels sold separately[2] |
| Passive chamber temperature reached (if enclosed; measured values preferred) | 60 C max chamber temperature (manufacturer figure)[1] | Not documented |
| Kinematics & Motion Hardware | ||
| Kinematics (bedslinger i3 / CoreXY / other) | CoreXY - Creality groups the K2 series with its CoreXY flagships and quotes 600 mm/s with step-servo motors on the X and Y axes[1] | CoreXY, or Hybrid CoreXY, or Hybrid CoreXY IDEX depending on the configuration ordered[2] |
| Belts (type, width, e.g. Gates?) | Manual belt tensioning[1] | Not documented |
| Stepper motors (frame size, step angle, brand if known) | Step-servo motors on the X and Y axes and the extruder[1] | Not documented |
| Stepper drivers (exact model e.g. TMC2209; UART/SPI; sensorless homing?) | Not documented | TMC2209[2] |
| Speed & Acceleration | ||
| Max print speed (claimed, mm/s) | 600 mm/s max printing speed (manufacturer claim)[1] | Not documented |
| Max acceleration (claimed, mm/s²) | 20000 mm/s2 max acceleration (manufacturer claim)[1] | Not documented |
| Extruder | ||
| Type (direct drive / bowden) & design name | Not documented | LDO Orbiter 2.0 direct-drive extruder[2] |
| Hotend & Nozzle | ||
| Hotend design (proprietary/standard; quick-swap mechanism?) | Not documented | Phaetus Rapido 2.0 UHF[2] |
| Max nozzle temp claimed AND firmware max temp limit (both values) | 300 C claimed max nozzle temperature[1] | Not documented |
| Heater cartridge power (W) | 70 W rated hotend power[1] | Not documented |
| Heated Bed & Surface | ||
| Max bed temp claimed AND firmware limit | 110 C max heatbed temperature[1] | Not documented |
| Bed surface (material, texture, coating), single/double-sided | Not documented | Keenovo silicone bed heater[2] |
| Leveling & Z-Offset | ||
| Auto bed leveling: probe technology (inductive / strain gauge / load cell / touch probe) | Smart auto levelling, plus automatic flow-rate calibration using a nozzle AI camera[1] | Beacon eddy-current probe[2] |
| Cooling & Air Handling | ||
| Part-cooling fan(s): count, size, ducting design | One auxiliary cooling fan and one air filter[1] | Nidec 4028 part-cooling fan[2] |
| Electronics & Power | ||
| Mainboard model & MCU (exact chip markings if teardowns exist) | Not documented | BigTreeTech Octopus[2] |
| Firmware & Openness | ||
| Firmware base & current version (Klipper fork / Marlin fork / proprietary) | Creality OS, a Klipper derivative. Creality publishes the K2 firmware source as CrealityOfficial/K2_Series_Klipper on GitHub under GPL-3.0, last pushed March 2026[5][6][1] | RatOS, Rat Rig's Klipper distribution[4] |
| Connectivity, UI & Camera | ||
| Display: size, type, touch? | 4-inch touchscreen[1] | Not documented |
| On-device UI capabilities (model preview, per-object controls, etc.) | Touch UI with alarm sounds and a built-in RFID reader for automatic filament identification (needs Creality RFID filament)[1] | Not documented |
| WiFi (band/standard), Ethernet, USB ports, SD/flash-drive | Wi-Fi 2.4 GHz, RJ45 Ethernet, USB drive and a Creality 485 port; 32 GB eMMC[1] | Not documented |
| Camera: built-in / optional? Resolution & framerate (verify — marketing often omits real fps) | One chamber camera at 720p 30 fps, plus a separate nozzle AI camera used for flow calibration[1] | Not documented |
| Calibration Routines & QoL | ||
| Assembly level & time from unbox to first print | Not documented | Self-assembly kit; Raspberry Pi and enclosure panels sourced separately[2] |
| Materials Support | ||
| Officially supported filament list | PLA, PETG, PET, ABS, ASA, PLA-CF, PA-CF, PPA-CF[1] | Not documented |
| Safety | ||
| Thermal runaway protection (verify in firmware source if at all possible) | Not verified directly. Creality publishes the K2-series firmware as CrealityOfficial/K2_Series_Klipper (GPL-3.0); upstream Klipper ships the verify_heater thermal-runaway check, but whether the stock configuration enables it was not checked here[5][6] | Not documented |
| Reliability, Support & Ecosystem | ||
| Warranty length & support reputation (evidence, not vibes) | Creality's US store states "Up to 12-Month Warranty", a 14-day return and refund window and "Lifetime Customer Support" on its printer product pages. The "up to" wording means the term is not uniform across parts[7] | Not documented |
Manufacturer claims, independent measurements, packages and test conditions retain their source wording. FDM linear speed and resin vertical speed use different units and are not directly comparable. Unknown values are marked “Not documented”. Prices and source dates remain historical snapshots; check the linked guide for product details. Differences highlight text, not a universal winner.
Sources for this comparison
- Creality K2 series product page, including the Compare K2 Series table (K2 / K2 Pro / K2 Plus) creality.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- RatRig V-Core 4 kit (US distributor listing) fabreeko.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Creality US store - K2 Pro Combo 3D Printer product page (live prices for the variants) store.creality.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Rat Rig V-Core 4.1 product page ratrig.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- GitHub API - CrealityOfficial/K2_Series_Klipper repository metadata (GPL-3.0, last push Mar 2026) api.github.com · 2026-08 · doc
- GitHub - CrealityOfficial organisation repositories (per-model firmware sources) github.com · 2026-08 · doc
- Creality US store - K1 3D Printer product page (live price, warranty and returns banner) store.creality.com · 2026-08 · vendor