Glad to see this as I recently took the first step into jewelry purchasing this printer. Thanks for your honest opinion and one of the best with information in this field!
I own 2 of these sm8k printers and i print jewelry wax on them, but there is a HUGE flaw with phrozen printers. A usb port on one of my printers suddenly stopped recognising usb sticks so it is basically dead now despite it still turns on and the uv screen works. Support suggested to buy a replacement logic board but it costs exactly the price of a new mars5ultra in my area, so i switched to elegoo with wi fi functionality. And what is worse is that all the new expensive phrozen models also do not support wi fi so they can brick any moment.
21 день назад
Great review! Thanks! It would be great if you could create a follow up video that shows the crafting of the actual jewels. Do you print a mold then pour liquid metal into it?
We have several project videos showing the whole process and then others deep diving different parts such as burnout or investment choice. Here’s a project video showing the general process as we make a chain ruclips.net/video/SDrZCi2fdL4/видео.html The models are printed covered in a special plaster, burned away and the cavity is filled with metal.
For me, it's all about that xy resoution, and how accurately it can print at that resolution. at 22 mictons,( that's basically 1 thousandth of an inch in american) it's possible to print extremely accuract mechanicallly perfect objects, then cast them to get exactly what you've designed with perfect tolerances. It's a wonder for prototyping, and mass production of mechanical toys that need accuracy :)
The projet 300W Plus prints at QHD Printing Mode Resolution: 2000 x 1800 x 2900 DPI Layer thickness: 8.8 μm UHD Printing Mode Resolution: 1200 x 1200 x 1000 DPI Layer thickness: 25 μm
@@RomanoffInt layer thickness isn't right, any printer, even ones from 5 years ago, can do 10 micron layers or above/below that, standard is 50 micron due to the XY resolution been around 50 microns for a while. Nowadays 20 micron layers would be the correct layer height if you want max resolution. Did you mean xy resolution?
And the price for such a printer is way too much for a small business like mine. Id rather get the phrozen 8k mini. Better bang for my buck. And the difference is so minute
@@Belnivista_edt Get the Mini 8ks, its the newer model, costs lots less, has the same specs and some newer hardware inside too. Don't get the older mini 8k, honestly not worth it. They really should have removed the mini 8k from sale once the 8ks hit the shelves, rather than confusingly keeping selling the older, and more expensive model for more lol
@noviceartisan thanks for the tip. Been thinking that it might be a good thing to invest in the sonic mini. Have a print thats not getting detail through and its frustrating 😒. So before im left with no printer at all....
Unless your printer is DLP, or a closed ecosystem, a lot of resins and printers can be cross compatible. Find a resin that works well for the type of objects that you are printing (rings with lettering, miniatures, filagree, etc). At least 9 resins from our list have been through this machine including some from Bluecast, Power Resins, Phrozen, Apply Lab Work, and others; clearmindcasting.com/pages/resin-ranked-list
Here is our ranked list. Anything above an 8 in both categories (printability and castability) will serve you well. clearmindcasting.com/pages/resin-ranked-list
We are not personally interested in the Anycubic D2 at this time with the approx 52 micron pixel size. The 2000hr projector life is enticing though, vs average LCD screen life. BlueCast did take a look at the D1, and with those results we’re not really sold. If we have an opportunity to speak with Anycubic we will see what we can do.
@@ClearMindJewellery interesting, I thought I recalled a review by VogMan or some other resin casting channel that spoke highly of the D2 Despite the lower pixel density.
The projet 300W Plus prints at QHD Printing Mode Resolution: 2000 x 1800 x 2900 DPI Layer thickness: 8.8 μm UHD Printing Mode Resolution: 1200 x 1200 x 1000 DPI Layer thickness: 25 μm
We’ve had very few castable resins that have straight failed, if used under the right conditions. Would recommend taking a look at our videos on burnout and investment choices then you can pretty much use any resin we’ve reviewed that fits your project and budget.
This printer looks amazing! I'm looking for something with quality print resolution, especially for intricate pieces. However, the 700+ price tag is not ideal. Have you reviewed any other printers with a more affordable price tag and a good resolution?
All exposure settings for all 3 printers used were taken directly from the Bluecast website without need for edits. www.bluecast.info/downloads You can get the XFiligree support document with exposure times here
You really don't need a big printer for jewelry. Even the smallest plate can knock out 5 to 10 rings at a time easily. Unless you print in bulk for other clients, you're fine. And if you're printing as a service for jewelers, you probably need a much better printer anyway - this won't be competitive.
@@vik7368 I’m considering from the perspective of efficiency and productivity. Would it be better to have multiple printers, so you can work on one batch of prints while the other is printing for example. Or if one big printer is better as you can print more batches/different prints at the same time
@Boris Lemke I guess it all depends on what you want to use it for. I work for myself and do mostly custom orders. I have a resin printer that has buildplate the size of a business card, and I can put up to 10 engagement rings on it at a time, and they will print overnight. One ring will print in 1.5 hours on average. I have NEVER filled an entire plate at once. If you use it for yourself, one printer is more than enough. Even if you intend to provide printing as a service, you will be fine with one printer until you get a significant client base. Bit if you do it a service, you will compete with a lot of people who have much better equipment, so in that case I would go for something that either prints in wax, or a higher end resin printer that will run you from 3000 on a lower end to about 10,000 to 20,000.
We buy big printers as we print our trees in place when we have 200-300 piece orders. If you’re not up to that production 1-2 smaller printers that you can rotate through will be sufficient. You don’t need a wax specific printer like a solidscape. We went down that road early on and Bluecast XOne on a high resolution printer will serve you better unless you have the high end casting machine and high karat gold engagement ring orders.
Your slicer will let you know how much resin to use once the object is sliced. Some printers will also let you know how much to fill the vat based on that information. Yes you can reuse resin that is left over if you strain it as they're may be pieces of support material in the resin.
Do you have your print settings you used for these prints? I have the same printer and am trying to do jewelry as well. Would love a good starting place for the settings. Thanks!
If I am looking to make intricate HIndu yantra amulets, what type lf machinery would you recommend? This machine looks about rite to me. But the price is exorbitant!
If you are referring to the 3D Printer, the Phrozen Sonic Mini 8K is a good unit for jewellery 3D printing. It's what we have been recommending for the past few months but I think they are phasing it out in favour of the Phrozen Sonic Mini 8KS (the green lidded version). This printer is actually one of the cheaper units I would recommend for 3D printing jewellery.
I've purchased one I intended to use for metal casting patterns. I have not been able to make it work, the Aqua Gray 8K resin won't adhere to the plate... every print I've attempted has failed. I have repeatedly gone through the Z-Axis alignment process very carefully but no luck. I also tried the WhamBam build plate and got nowhere with it, either. Extremely disappointed with it. It's been a waste of money, time, and effort for me.
That’s very strange, as your using a phrozen resin on a phrozen machine you should be having better luck with the preset setting then we did with our castable resin prints. Dry curious to know your settings etc.
I think it might be more fair to compare the Elegoo Saturn 2 8K to maybe the Phronzen Sonic Mighty 8K. For stand alone prints we will continue using the Sonic Mini, but you're right for larger things like our print in place trees its not enough space (still have our Peopoly Forge for that).
Good day to you, I have just received my new Sonic Mini 8K and I would like to do some print with the Power Resin Dark but..., as always the PowerResin Guys are not really the best in their customers care so... I don't find anyware the precision settings to add to my Chitubox slicer... Do you have any Idea what can I do? Do you try the Power Resin on this printer? Thank you so much and as always grate videos, very good! Cheers!
We've basically stoped using Power Resin as they are top of the market on price and generally mid level for product performance. Bluecast XOne for example is $6 cheaper (depending on reseller) and has better casting results. Sorry we can't offer print setting for their resin on this printer.
It's been a time ago since the resolution of sintering machines went above the possibilities of traditional casting techniques. Why would you need such dense detail on your model if you cannot reproduce it on metal?
The answer will depend on if you want to build a business or if you are looking to do this part time. If you don't have a lot of down time and you need the support and the machine to work immediately for high end jewellery, higher end printers often have that support built into the ecosystem. I know Asiga is like that and, although I haven't experienced it, I've been told B9 is similar. If you are quick to learn and have some start up time a lot of mid level printers will do very similar results, they just don't have all the bells and whistles, or as helpful support, so you have to be able to figure it out.
I'd love to say my SM8K turned out as flawless as yours, but unfortunately it didn't. Z-rod came out stuck, had to loose it manually without any customer support rather than Phrozen webpage saying basically "DIY, can't be that hard". Also, screws are terribly poor quality, 2 of the buildplate and one on the vat got loose on the head at first try, had to buy replacements. Finally, the biggest issue I ffound on this printer: the buildplate is held by more screws in tiny planar holes, where resin or IPA (if you submerge it in a W&C machine) can be stored. This can contaminate your resin, especially if you're changing brands (from standard resin to ST Cast and then to X-One, in my case), so a full cleaning by unscrewing the plate from the top is a must. Not even my Mars 3 have given me these issues, but besides that, both printers are my tools for jewelry; I print on the Mars what doesn't fit on the SM8K or those objects that don't need too much detail.. Haven't needed a Saturn 2 or a Mighty 8K so far for my business.
Well time do be flowing…it’s been 8 months. I mean the SL1 had all the functionality of the mars 5 ultra like 5 yrs ago (just a lesser screen as it was so long ago) so a higher resolution screen with similar features to what we’ve already seen is not that big of a difference.
new to field, if you say so@@ClearMindJewellery . I just focused on "best resolution" :) got first resin printer in order. Shipped under 300€ for this resolution seems quite good deal and mention worthy difference maybe.
As resolution gets better and better there will definitely be a place were resolution stops mattering as much as other features. As most industries, even ours, won't be able to really take full advantage. I think we briefly mentioned this during this video comparing the 2,4, and 8k resolutions.
I love your video's and some are very educating for me. But this one? Best? Brand campaign? Ok, i pass for the rest of the video. It's just a sponsored opinion. But thanks anyway.
![Noob To Max With DRAGON REWORK In Blox Fruits [FULL MOVIE]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/LnBMOinoOvA/mqdefault.jpg)
Glad to see this as I recently took the first step into jewelry purchasing this printer. Thanks for your honest opinion and one of the best with information in this field!
I own 2 of these sm8k printers and i print jewelry wax on them, but there is a HUGE flaw with phrozen printers. A usb port on one of my printers suddenly stopped recognising usb sticks so it is basically dead now despite it still turns on and the uv screen works. Support suggested to buy a replacement logic board but it costs exactly the price of a new mars5ultra in my area, so i switched to elegoo with wi fi functionality. And what is worse is that all the new expensive phrozen models also do not support wi fi so they can brick any moment.
Great review! Thanks! It would be great if you could create a follow up video that shows the crafting of the actual jewels. Do you print a mold then pour liquid metal into it?
We have several project videos showing the whole process and then others deep diving different parts such as burnout or investment choice.
Here’s a project video showing the general process as we make a chain
ruclips.net/video/SDrZCi2fdL4/видео.html
The models are printed covered in a special plaster, burned away and the cavity is filled with metal.
Is it consistent enough to pring fligree of 0.25mm with 100% or even 90% of platform ? Will metal weights of every print will be same ?
For me, it's all about that xy resoution, and how accurately it can print at that resolution. at 22 mictons,( that's basically 1 thousandth of an inch in american) it's possible to print extremely accuract mechanicallly perfect objects, then cast them to get exactly what you've designed with perfect tolerances. It's a wonder for prototyping, and mass production of mechanical toys that need accuracy :)
The projet 300W Plus prints at
QHD Printing Mode
Resolution: 2000 x 1800 x 2900 DPI
Layer thickness: 8.8 μm
UHD Printing Mode
Resolution: 1200 x 1200 x 1000 DPI
Layer thickness: 25 μm
@@RomanoffInt layer thickness isn't right, any printer, even ones from 5 years ago, can do 10 micron layers or above/below that, standard is 50 micron due to the XY resolution been around 50 microns for a while. Nowadays 20 micron layers would be the correct layer height if you want max resolution.
Did you mean xy resolution?
And the price for such a printer is way too much for a small business like mine. Id rather get the phrozen 8k mini. Better bang for my buck. And the difference is so minute
@@Belnivista_edt Get the Mini 8ks, its the newer model, costs lots less, has the same specs and some newer hardware inside too. Don't get the older mini 8k, honestly not worth it. They really should have removed the mini 8k from sale once the 8ks hit the shelves, rather than confusingly keeping selling the older, and more expensive model for more lol
@noviceartisan thanks for the tip. Been thinking that it might be a good thing to invest in the sonic mini. Have a print thats not getting detail through and its frustrating 😒. So before im left with no printer at all....
Amazing video!! What castable resin do you use with this printer?
Unless your printer is DLP, or a closed ecosystem, a lot of resins and printers can be cross compatible. Find a resin that works well for the type of objects that you are printing (rings with lettering, miniatures, filagree, etc).
At least 9 resins from our list have been through this machine including some from Bluecast, Power Resins, Phrozen, Apply Lab Work, and others; clearmindcasting.com/pages/resin-ranked-list
Can you please guide me on which resins are good for casting jewelry?
Here is our ranked list. Anything above an 8 in both categories (printability and castability) will serve you well. clearmindcasting.com/pages/resin-ranked-list
what was the room temperature and settings for print
Have you planned on including a DLP printer in your testing like the Photon D2?
Beat me to it.
We are not personally interested in the Anycubic D2 at this time with the approx 52 micron pixel size.
The 2000hr projector life is enticing though, vs average LCD screen life.
BlueCast did take a look at the D1, and with those results we’re not really sold.
If we have an opportunity to speak with Anycubic we will see what we can do.
@@ClearMindJewellery interesting, I thought I recalled a review by VogMan or some other resin casting channel that spoke highly of the D2 Despite the lower pixel density.
I’d prioritize print resolution first, because having two printers solve speed and also print area but not definition
The projet 300W Plus prints at
QHD Printing Mode
Resolution: 2000 x 1800 x 2900 DPI
Layer thickness: 8.8 μm
UHD Printing Mode
Resolution: 1200 x 1200 x 1000 DPI
Layer thickness: 25 μm
What wax do you use to print that do well in the burn out process?
We’ve had very few castable resins that have straight failed, if used under the right conditions.
Would recommend taking a look at our videos on burnout and investment choices then you can pretty much use any resin we’ve reviewed that fits your project and budget.
This printer looks amazing! I'm looking for something with quality print resolution, especially for intricate pieces. However, the 700+ price tag is not ideal.
Have you reviewed any other printers with a more affordable price tag and a good resolution?
The mini 8KS is around $350 I think we have a review of that unit on our channel as well.
Your video are very helpful, what is the exposure for this resin with sonic mini 8k?
All exposure settings for all 3 printers used were taken directly from the Bluecast website without need for edits. www.bluecast.info/downloads You can get the XFiligree support document with exposure times here
Thank you for all your help, all your videos are very helpful
Would you recommend buying 1 big printer, or have multiple smallers ones? Lets say 1 Mighty 8k vs 2 Mini 8k, especially for jewelry printing.
Thanks!
You really don't need a big printer for jewelry. Even the smallest plate can knock out 5 to 10 rings at a time easily. Unless you print in bulk for other clients, you're fine. And if you're printing as a service for jewelers, you probably need a much better printer anyway - this won't be competitive.
@@vik7368 I’m considering from the perspective of efficiency and productivity.
Would it be better to have multiple printers, so you can work on one batch of prints while the other is printing for example. Or if one big printer is better as you can print more batches/different prints at the same time
@Boris Lemke I guess it all depends on what you want to use it for. I work for myself and do mostly custom orders. I have a resin printer that has buildplate the size of a business card, and I can put up to 10 engagement rings on it at a time, and they will print overnight. One ring will print in 1.5 hours on average. I have NEVER filled an entire plate at once. If you use it for yourself, one printer is more than enough. Even if you intend to provide printing as a service, you will be fine with one printer until you get a significant client base. Bit if you do it a service, you will compete with a lot of people who have much better equipment, so in that case I would go for something that either prints in wax, or a higher end resin printer that will run you from 3000 on a lower end to about 10,000 to 20,000.
We buy big printers as we print our trees in place when we have 200-300 piece orders. If you’re not up to that production 1-2 smaller printers that you can rotate through will be sufficient.
You don’t need a wax specific printer like a solidscape. We went down that road early on and Bluecast XOne on a high resolution printer will serve you better unless you have the high end casting machine and high karat gold engagement ring orders.
How to measure the quantity of the resin required?
If we dump the amount of resin and it took less than dumped resin, can we reuse the left one?
Your slicer will let you know how much resin to use once the object is sliced. Some printers will also let you know how much to fill the vat based on that information.
Yes you can reuse resin that is left over if you strain it as they're may be pieces of support material in the resin.
What Resin should be used with this printer? Some economic resin please. Can you recomend me one from anycubic, elego and phrozen. Thank you!
Castable resin or regular polymer resin?
Do you have your print settings you used for these prints? I have the same printer and am trying to do jewelry as well. Would love a good starting place for the settings. Thanks!
With Bluecast we don't very from the recommended settings as its not needed. www.bluecast.info/downloads
I love your videos, what software do you use to place supports in this video? Could you share the name with us?
As mentioned in the video we are using Lychee due to the fan support functionality.
Print resolution 1st then speed second
If I am looking to make intricate HIndu yantra amulets, what type lf machinery would you recommend? This machine looks about rite to me. But the price is exorbitant!
If you are referring to the 3D Printer, the Phrozen Sonic Mini 8K is a good unit for jewellery 3D printing. It's what we have been recommending for the past few months but I think they are phasing it out in favour of the Phrozen Sonic Mini 8KS (the green lidded version). This printer is actually one of the cheaper units I would recommend for 3D printing jewellery.
Current price on Amazon is $450. The 8k S is about $325 I think.
@@ClearMindJewelleryhello, thankyou for the review. Whats your opinion about the new elegoo saturn 4 ultra vs mini 8ks for jewelry printing?
Where to buy it..link please
Here is the Phrozen Sonic Mini 8KS which is the cheaper version: amzn.to/4eMwO96
Here is the OG Sonic Mni 8K: amzn.to/3Vh66OT
I've purchased one I intended to use for metal casting patterns. I have not been able to make it work, the Aqua Gray 8K resin won't adhere to the plate... every print I've attempted has failed. I have repeatedly gone through the Z-Axis alignment process very carefully but no luck. I also tried the WhamBam build plate and got nowhere with it, either.
Extremely disappointed with it. It's been a waste of money, time, and effort for me.
That’s very strange, as your using a phrozen resin on a phrozen machine you should be having better luck with the preset setting then we did with our castable resin prints.
Dry curious to know your settings etc.
Thank you . I think that elegoo sutern 2 8k have a bigger space to work and very close result to sonic mini 8k
I think it might be more fair to compare the Elegoo Saturn 2 8K to maybe the Phronzen Sonic Mighty 8K.
For stand alone prints we will continue using the Sonic Mini, but you're right for larger things like our print in place trees its not enough space (still have our Peopoly Forge for that).
Good day to you, I have just received my new Sonic Mini 8K and I would like to do some print with the Power Resin Dark but..., as always the PowerResin Guys are not really the best in their customers care so... I don't find anyware the precision settings to add to my Chitubox slicer... Do you have any Idea what can I do? Do you try the Power Resin on this printer? Thank you so much and as always grate videos, very good! Cheers!
We've basically stoped using Power Resin as they are top of the market on price and generally mid level for product performance.
Bluecast XOne for example is $6 cheaper (depending on reseller) and has better casting results.
Sorry we can't offer print setting for their resin on this printer.
It's been a time ago since the resolution of sintering machines went above the possibilities of traditional casting techniques. Why would you need such dense detail on your model if you cannot reproduce it on metal?
What material is good for casting after printing?
Anything over 8 in both castability and printability will serve you well. clearmindcasting.com/pages/resin-ranked-list
Did you apply a primer before the resin?
Nope. Never do.
does anyone think its worth jumping straight into a b9 creations printer or getting a less expensive printer and learning the ropes.
The answer will depend on if you want to build a business or if you are looking to do this part time.
If you don't have a lot of down time and you need the support and the machine to work immediately for high end jewellery, higher end printers often have that support built into the ecosystem. I know Asiga is like that and, although I haven't experienced it, I've been told B9 is similar.
If you are quick to learn and have some start up time a lot of mid level printers will do very similar results, they just don't have all the bells and whistles, or as helpful support, so you have to be able to figure it out.
I'd love to say my SM8K turned out as flawless as yours, but unfortunately it didn't. Z-rod came out stuck, had to loose it manually without any customer support rather than Phrozen webpage saying basically "DIY, can't be that hard". Also, screws are terribly poor quality, 2 of the buildplate and one on the vat got loose on the head at first try, had to buy replacements. Finally, the biggest issue I ffound on this printer: the buildplate is held by more screws in tiny planar holes, where resin or IPA (if you submerge it in a W&C machine) can be stored. This can contaminate your resin, especially if you're changing brands (from standard resin to ST Cast and then to X-One, in my case), so a full cleaning by unscrewing the plate from the top is a must. Not even my Mars 3 have given me these issues, but besides that, both printers are my tools for jewelry; I print on the Mars what doesn't fit on the SM8K or those objects that don't need too much detail.. Haven't needed a Saturn 2 or a Mighty 8K so far for my business.
What’s your business Jose ? What do you print ?
@@hectorgarcia8691 Jewelry
@@josearmentadg that’s what I thought, what 3D printer do you use ? Thanks for your reply 👍
@@hectorgarcia8691 This machine, SM8k & a Mars 3
@@josearmentadg that’s great info, thanks Jose, I’m interested in acquiring one .
Hey bud. You said its $700. I clicked the link and its showing 449? Is that the same one you are reviewing?
Probably meant $700 CDN not USD. As it has been 6 months it may have seen a slight reduction in the CDN price.
so by now, mars 5 ultra with 18 micron is already better in resolution hmm..
Well time do be flowing…it’s been 8 months.
I mean the SL1 had all the functionality of the mars 5 ultra like 5 yrs ago (just a lesser screen as it was so long ago) so a higher resolution screen with similar features to what we’ve already seen is not that big of a difference.
new to field, if you say so@@ClearMindJewellery . I just focused on "best resolution" :) got first resin printer in order. Shipped under 300€ for this resolution seems quite good deal and mention worthy difference maybe.
As resolution gets better and better there will definitely be a place were resolution stops mattering as much as other features. As most industries, even ours, won't be able to really take full advantage. I think we briefly mentioned this during this video comparing the 2,4, and 8k resolutions.
👍💓!!
I love your video's and some are very educating for me. But this one? Best? Brand campaign? Ok, i pass for the rest of the video. It's just a sponsored opinion. But thanks anyway.
Would definitely recommend you watch how we do content and brand deals ruclips.net/video/m_CjwxxAoeo/видео.html
@@ClearMindJewellery I know that. I did that. But even then......there is no best, specially not if it's sponsored.