Thanks for calling it out. High quality prints is BY FAR more important to me than print speed. I mean, it's not even close. I would choose the slowest printer available, if it produced the best quality results.
Pretty much same here - for personal projects even if I'm printing dozens and dozens of minis I'd happily take months to do it through 3d printing if it gave me quality to rival (or surpass) store-bought models.
@@effefffffffffffffffffffff yeah that's totally fair - I think it just depends on the kind of thing people are printing and what purpose it's to serve. If you're trying to make functional parts then you don't generally need mega tight tolerances or details, it makes sense. And doubly so for anyone trying to mass produce stuff to sell.
@@Night_Hawk_475 In my case, I would love a decent rapid printer to 3d print temporary dental crowns. Something that could knock out a 15mm tall print in a matter of a few minutes would be a game changer for me.
Saturn IV Ultra. I know it's not plug and play but it's virtually plug-and-play. I'm a new hobbyist and this was a very easy introduction to the hobby. Worth every penny
I have had to help doezens of people who thought that but had issues with the plate that are super hard to improve (can't be fixed). The only thing nearing plug and play are the reflex
@@Gobi-Wan really you either have no clue or you have not looked at any videos about resin printers they are so easy to use turn on calibrate resin print simple
If you can’t get it to print 9/10 you’re doing something wrong and not realizing it. With the S4U I’m able to print industrial quality functional solid parts weighing up to 1kg with no supports printing directly from the build plate in under 3 hours per print. There’s so many variables that are not the printer that lead to fails.
Bought Saturn 4 ultra one week ago and already used 2kg of resin. I just assembled it, plugged and started printing. Had to experiment a bit with exposure time and that is all I've done. Absolutely love this machine. Easy to use and print quality is good.
I’m picking up the Saturn 4 ultra. It’s on sale for $400. Seems to be the best value to quality combo. Between your videos and others is what got me there.
It's been on "sale" for that price since it released lol. Eternal sale isn't a sale. I don't know why every single 3d printer does this fake FOMO sale crap.
Recently got a Saturn 4 Ultra and i'm still printing everything in the world because of how awesome the prints come out. I have 2 Qidi FDM printers and absolutely love them ( Q1 Pro and Plus 4) but small models just aren't great on them. I was terrified of resin but lord, I'm glad i made the jump. The worst part is learning how to correctly support models, which i can say i still suck at doing but i'm learning!
Hey, I have a small question, if you put two painted models, one from GW and the other from the printer, what would it look like in terms of quality? (Saturn 4 ultra)
"Its a great printer... but..." this is the quintessential line to prepare a person when they are getting their first resin printer because it applies to all of them.
I bought an Anycubic Photon Mono M5S Pro as my first printer. I just recently purchased it One because of a great holiday sale that put it well within my budget. Two, it was a "14K" printer, keeping me from having to upgrade for quite a while. Three, the self leveling option was very attractive to a noob like me. Four, word of mouth, I hadn't really heard to much negatives about it. After running a few print runs it is very beginner friendly, which for me was a massive bonus
I picked up the Phrozen Mighty Revo at launch and have been super happy. I was brand new and had some learning, but figuring out how to support, there is almost no post production. I would agree that the heater is basically useless and I live in a cold climate in winter, hot in summer. Even in the cold it has still printed well. I cannot say that I am as pleased with their curing station. It works great but within 6 months the motor has started making loud noises and i have to start and stop it to get it to be normal. Since they are in Taiwan and I am in US, anything i order has about a $30 shipping cost. Although the resin is available on Amazon. Great printer for the quality, even with the price point, if you can splurge on it, its a newbies dream printer IMO.
I bought a printer finally 2 days ago and I picked up a Saturn 4 Ultra as the HeyGears was sadly out of my league thanks to your earlier reviews so thanks 😊
@@FauxHammer Ohhh, I was Just able to pick up the reflex printer now. My sister-in-law gave me $2,000 for Christmas so I was able to at least get the printer and I picked up an extra screen as well as some resin. I'll just have to wait two or three months to get a cheap curing station cuz I'm sadly on a fixed income of a thousand bucks a month😌 On the bright side I'm on my way to being able to print eventually. And yes, I used your coupon and link 😁
So I just bought the Saturn 4 Ultra and this being my 6th printer let me tell you it is BY FAR my FAVORITE as it is the closest thing to "Idiot-Proof" Even my gf can use it LOL ! As for the software I started with the Chitubox Pro 3 month that they give you for free and was so-so happy with it until I tried a trial version of Lychee Slicer Pro then I realized there was no going back to Chitubox. Biggest factor was the supports ! In Chitubox you CANNOT use Zero Penetration whilst in Lychee you can (It is the Default setting). This made a HUGE difference in my prints-I mean HUGE. So my workflow now is to use Lychee Slicer Pro for it's AUTO supports and then I slice it into .CTB format and print it in chitubox (Non-Pro-FREE version) And VOILA ! Awesome prints as easy as Pie !!! He he he me sooo smart LOL
Really interesting. As I am getting much better at doing supports and thinking now of the Saturn 4 Ultra as a necessity this thing with CTB and Lychee could be a game changer. Thanks. If yucan give more details please do.
I use exFAT formatted 64GB flash drives with my Elegoo Saturns with no problem. Even on my 2 yr old Saturn 2. Format the flash drive using Rufus (non-bootable + MBR options) and it will resolve all the formatting issues other methods don't which often lead to print failures. (I still bought the Reflex RS and after a bumpy start, really do love them, so thanks for introducing them to me).
Very great and comprehensive video. When I thought I was done with Anycubic, it seems like they have outdone themselves. It's just scary though getting new printers, knowing that new models with many more features will be released within the next couple of months, maybe 4-6 at most. Chasing the last technology is always a never-ending game. Thanks for keeping up with the videos!
I love my Anycubic M7 Pro. Because I don't need to change resin, I always use their ABS Like pro 2. And the heating works so fast, that the resin is heated within 15 minutes. I did order a 2nd vat recently because they are very cheap with Black Friday. So I can put an NFEP on my old vat and compare the differrence between prints. Right now the ACF film does provide fine prints for me.
I just picked up a saturn 3 ultra for $396 AUD ($257 USD or £203 GBP) with black friday sale and discount code. Wifi, 10 inches, sharp prints, premium metal design and rubber feet and no annoying build plate design like the 4 series. I prefer it to this year's models and for such a discount could not say no.
Di you ever get the wifi to work? Mine will show irs online and on my network but Chitubox, Lychee or even Tango. All have fail to connect to printer errors even though they see the printer
I bought very recently Saturn 3 and it's great. Not on Black Friday price difference between S3 and S3U is very small, so I understand your choice. I do not understand why neither of these 2 printers is mentioned here in this vide if Elegoo Jupiter SE is. Only printers from last 12 months were captured?
I have an s3u and I tested the uv uniformity to find it down at 32%!!! (8.5x worse than the 92% advertised) if I ignore the sides and treat it like a 7 inch printer then it's 60% I showed elegoo and their response was that the chitu sensor wasn't good enough and I should use one that costs more than the printer which is bs because while the chitu uv sensor isn't the best it's not responsible for this much of an error. I then showed them prints where the brightest spot can cure a 1mm x 2px feature while the darkest can only do 1mmx 4px so half the size, clearly not 92% uniform so they said they were referring it to RND and it's been weeks with no response. Combining that crap with the new awful plates and more, I just can't recommend anything more than to avoid elegoo printers in general (I like the 8k space grey resin though, cheapest high pigment resin by far)
I just upgraded from the Mars 3 Pro, as my beginner printer, to the Saturn 4 Ultra and I’m blown away by the speed and quality.. a few niggles but nothing major.. love it! Used up 5 of the 10ltrs of ABS it came with already!
So up front think I would be described as a Anycubic Fanboy - started with the original Photon, then moved up to the Mono X 4k, finally getting a M3 Max. Now I get the resolution debate (always have) and my printers are all roughly the same pixel size. This year it was time for an upgrade, and I'll primarily blame yourself (there were quite a few others involved) but I broke with the faith and bought a Saturn 4 Ultra, and to be honest I'm blown away with it, especially the network send printing function within Chitubox. The speed and print quality is in another league, now I'm using the same resin with similar-ish cure times, the difference being the tray mechanism of the Sat 4 ultra. I'd have loved to be able to justify the Heygears printers, the build plates look great especially compared to the Sat 4's, but for the price I could get 2 or 3 Sat 4 ultra's. Anycubic for me had me hanging in anticipation on the news of a new Max printer, unfortunately the only real gain I'd get with the M7 Max over my M3 Max is a heated vat, and I've already added a band heater to the M3 Max. What I wanted (and would have paid for) was an improvement in pixel size or bed size. Enjoy your holiday and look forward to the nex installment of Fauxhammer world
Pulled the trigger on the Heygears Reflex RS this morning, not a fan of the closed eco system, but and Big BUT if it means taking the hassle out of dialing in resin, less failed prints, consistent results, then that is trade off I'm willing to accept. Already have 2 GKTWO and I love them, and was gonna go with the GK3 Ultra until I saw yours and others YT videos on the Heygears. Thanks always for your honest assessments.
Why on Earth did this need to show up in my recommended literally minutes after I bought the M7? I mean, having watched this, I think I would've made the same choice anyway so that's reassuring. Thanks for another great video!
Im gonna grab one of the GK2 today with your code. The price the build volume the quality and the heater. would really like auto fill, camera monitoring/phone notifications with a light but that'll be the next time i get a resin printer. P.S. first resin printer wish me luck and happy holiday
Great video, and it's has been a crazy/amazing year. I'm only in year two of this rabbit hole and it seemed like just yesterday everyone was clammering for the industry to get away from the resolution battle and start giving us more features...wow...have they. For me, first it was the Photon Mono 4K, then this year the GK3 Ultra. This winter it will be a mid-size, just to complete the collection. I was thinking about just creating a GK branded shop, but the GK3 has been an ongoing project in tying to get it to produce results, meanwhile, that little Mono 4K is an unrelenting workhorse. This have me considering going back to Anycubic and that M7 looks to be everything I wanted the M7 Pro to be. I'm not buying until December, so I still have time for the GK3 to impress me. I will say that it's build quality makes the Mono feel like an Easy Bake Oven. :)
Uniformation GKT2 was my choice, after ALL the review videos and comparisons i have seen i just thought it was perfect for me, not too expensive, and great quality and features! I have an Anycubic Ultra, and i just found it is too small for the things i wanna print.. It has been working fine, but i have had to change the settings a lot and stuff to make it come out good. I would just like to have a bigger printer, GKT2 are within my budget, i can lay double that but then i would have absolutely no budget left, I'm looking to print minies, busts and maybe cosplay pieces. I live in Scandinavia so it get cold, but i am also printing inside my home, thus also the reason i cant have a machine much bigger then the GKT2.. Now, i will have to wait for the new printer they have to be released before I'm making any purchases! I can also see the offer is not yet implemented on their website for the GKT2 haha 😅
@@FauxHammer It's the perennial problem in tech of course. There's always something new coming. But when it's juuuust about to be announced, it's paralyzing. That's probably how it ought to be though ;)
Mars 5 Ultra here - It was a matter of price, size, and the speed - I test print/prototype all my miniatures, so having extra speed is a good thing for me.
hello, congratulations on the video, a summary was needed in the chaos of 3D printers. However, I make a note on the concept of the dimensions of the printers that you expressed. Generally, printers are around 10" and it is a good size mainly for miniatures or at most for human models or similar in scales from 1/9 -1/10 and up. I say this simply to take into account the printing times. We know very well that if we want to avoid hours of sanding and post-production, the models must be vertical, so if we consider a human model or similar in 1/6 scale which tends to be the most used, also for reasons of practicality in painting the details. We will find a 10" plate to be effectively "monstrously" small for all the components of a model, especially with the base included. This means that on a 10" LCD with a plate of about 218*222*XXX for a complete 1/6 scale model we have to think about 3/4 total prints, with an average of 6 hours per print we have approximately arrived at 24 hours of total printing, which is really a huge time in my humble opinion. For this reason, I believe, that a 12/13" printer can help to halve the printing time, since we will find ourselves with only a maximum of 2 prints of 6 hours, if not even a single print with small bases. Of course a Gk3 or an M7 max for miniature prints makes little sense, unless you have to print an entire collection of miniatures including those of your neighbor.... In conclusion I don't think that a 12/13" printer is mainly suitable for large-scale printing, on the contrary, I would prefer it to a 10" to optimize printing times, if manufacturers invested in NOT losing quality with larger LCDs it would be appreciated. Bigger is Better ;) by @Artein3d_
My fiancée and I got the Saturn 4 Ultra in September and we have been absolutely loving it. If the house burned down tomorrow and the printer was incinerated, I would get another without hesitation. I totally get the gripes about the build plate, especially the retaining resin thing. But damn it's a small price to pay for me! Thank you for the video, great to see all the other options out there in a single video.
I've been looking at the GK2 for my first printer, everything I've watched makes it feel like it would be the best one to get but with something new on the horizon and from what I saw in the chat about its support going away in the somewhat near future, makes me want to wait to see what they have next and then go from there.
Just got a MARS4 for printing my jewelry designs to cast. I got it dialed in today and successfully printed two pendants. But in the future it might be small for cuts.
Got my anycubic Mono 4 last week, almost 50 hours print and only got twice failed and that because my file was corrupt i guess. Easy to use, Overall good print for beginer like me.
I picked up a Mars 5 Ultra maybe 2 months ago as my first resin printer as it fit the budget and need - little bit of a rocky start, but I got my head around it and am now enjoying it for all my needs (so far)
Informative video as always. I went with the Heygears Reflex RS, it just seemed better built than most. I don’t have endless hours to tweak resin settings I just want to print .
I print jewellery with bluecast x1v2 resin. The release liner that comes with Saturn 4 ultra has to be changed to 0.127mm The factory 0.150 is too stiff and detail is lost and majority of the time, failed prints. Change the fep and sand the plate and I’ve not had a failure since.
Can you point me in the right direction on how to go about doing this? I'm wanting to print jewelry prototypes & molds, too.. for sand casting and first of all, I can't decide between the Mars Ultra 5 and the Saturn Ultra 4. I was thinking Mars will allow for better small build detail but now I see your comment & you say it's possible to use Saturn 4 Ultra for jewelry if you make these revisions. Can you tell me where or how I can accomplish this same thing as you? Thanks so much! ❤❤❤❤❤
@ hi, to be absolutely honest, I don’t use elegoo anymore. Especially these new models with tilt release. I get successful prints but I just finer like them anymore. I’ve gone to phrozon now. Mighty revo. I still have to change the fep to a finer grade to the one I’ve mentioned. But it’s far better quality built machine than elegoo. Elegoo good for cheap parts. Have you seen how to change the screen on the new elegoo printers?
I've been doing research on getting my first printer and I was planning on getting the Mars 5 Ultra for seeming ease of use, quality and nice features, but I'm pretty sure this video and the comments just upsold me to get the Saturn 4 Ultra instead.
Looks like the best option for me would be the Mono 7.... but I have 2 Anycubic machines already and I told myself I was never going to buy another one due to the build quality issues I've had with these, lol.
Have been looking into 3D resin printing to get in to Trench Crusade. Thanks to your video I ended up going for the mars 5 ultra. I think for a newbie it seems the most straightforward from box to good prints
I bought a mars 5 ultra as my first resin printer, and in general I really like it. The multi-layered build plate doesn't really bother me; I printed a 45° build plate holder on my FDM printer that helps the vast majority of the resin drip off (use the drip tray if you have tall models on the plate). The quality is fantastic and the machine features in general are great. I do now wish I had bought a Saturn 4 ultra. I almost did, but it's bigger than the spot I wanted to put my resin printing setup (printer + wash/cure with venting and a tent), whereas the mars just fits. After going through a few kg of resin, a bigger build plate is looking nice enough for me to think about figuring out a new setup.
I chose the Saturn 4 ultra, from every review and video I’ve seen it’s one of the most beginner friendly. My only gripe would have to be it doesn’t have a built in heater(I get it on Christmas I can’t wait to get started)
I’ve got a Mars 3 Pro I got in Black Friday 2023. It still feels like it does what I need? I haven’t needed spare parts and it was crazy cheap. People are impressed by the final models once they’re painted. Is there a good reason I should upgrade? I guess more plate space?
I love anycubic. I had a M3 Max and it was perfect but very slow. Got the M7 Max and can´t wait to start printing with that. I mainly print huge Models because why not right? And its just perfect and it doesn´t cost a arm and a leg and is just good enough in details.
I have an Apex X1 and its great. Yeah, the support is the worst but the product itself works great. I print 1/4 scale figures and the detail is amazing.
Good video and thanks to that I managed to finally get my self from neck and I ordered my first printer, I went to Saturn 4 Ultra bundle and it was tight fight against GKtwo but 200€ is 200€.😅
Never used resin printers before. Decided to get it for aliexpress sale. Watched a lot of reviews. Everything is good in printing for this generation, print speed is doesnt matter for home to me. Choosing anycubic photon m7. M7 pro have heating bath add-on that makes me horrible as new in this. Mono 4 ultra is cheaper for only $30, so 10" is more reasonable. Elegoo is much pricy, and their build plate pushing me out as novice. Got m7 for $300 with all discounts, waiting for delivery. P.S Thanx for reviews
Looks like the Saturn 4 Ultra for me. Been Umm'ing and Arr'ing the last few weeks and I think I've finally settled. Just debating waiting until black Friday to see if there's a slightly cheaper price incoming. Great video, thank you.
@chickensammichz3170 Yeah I see it's been slightly discounted this month, just knowing my luck I'll pull the trigger and on actual black Friday it'll be way cheaper 😁
Does somebody own Reflex RS. Can you get the same quality print with 3rd party resins as with heygears resin? If not than I think its better to pick up like three Saturns 4 Ultra instead
@@88RunnerBlade I can only talk about the PARP10 as it;s the one I'm currently using, it's not brittle and can print really nice details, and for the price, is a good resin to use with the machine. I haven't tested the High Quality resin like PAP10, it's quite expensive and only got one bottle that I'm keeping for ultra fine detail printing, so can't compare to other high detail resins yet, but will do some comparison when I get to it.
@@hylgariss Dont quite understand what are you trying to say. You mean the prints that you get with PARP10 are of the same quality that you get with 3rd party resins?
@@88RunnerBlade Your question is if the Heygears resin is better in term of print quality, and my answer is no. As long as you use a third party resin that's using the same exposure time as parp10, you'll have exactly the same amount of details. What changes is how brittle / sturdy the resin are, and like I said PARP10 is quite nice and tough, not too brittle. I guess a resin like conjure sculpt grey or Siraya Tech Fast ABS-Like would be similar in feel / quality but cheaper to buy.
Do you still feel good about the GKTwo at the clearance price? I used your discount code for it over the weekend. It will be my first 3D resin printer. Thanks in advance.
I have had a saturn 4 for some time and printed over 1500 28mm miniatures on it. No great problems, the build plate and auto levelling works fine. Not sure I understand why you say the auto levelling doesn't work?
I’m not saying it doesn’t work. It’s the nomenclature of “autoleveling” which is completely incorrect and many people have reported issues out of the box. So in respect of them. It’s worth mentioning.
Finally bought myself a 3D resin printer. It's the Saturn 4 Ultra. So far, it's good and you can print out of the box with just a few setup. A lot of fails though due to me being a newbie in preparing the 3D files. Any suggestion for the correct exposure setting for clear resins? I couldn't find a definitive answer online and even here in RUclips.
Thanks for the videos! I'm looking for a resin printer recommendation for printing quality minis and environment pieces for my Loot Studios subscription. I already have a Bambu A1 for my larger terrain pieces. I'm looking for a resin printer for quality looking minis, terrain, and environment pieces for gaming. Not really worried on prices, mostly just best quality. Thanks for any help!
heys, so, honestly most of the 10" printers now are capable of the best quality. The ANycubic ones need the ACF swapping out, but once done, they are great. For loot, i;d definately recomend 10" as their larger sculpts and 75mm scale models are made with that printer size in mind. So, i;d pick one of those based on the features that appeal to you, hope that helps
@@FauxHammer Helps a lot! Thanks! Trying to decide between the Anycubic Mono M7 and the Elegoo Saturn 4 Ultra. Any preferences between those two? Thanks again!
Your videos have been a serious help in choosing a first printer, but I’m at an impasse. I can only get a small printer due to space and my budget is about $250 I’m torn between the mono 4 and an older Mars 4/Ultra. I’m only looking to print bases and bits for 40k and want to get something smooth with AA. Any recommendations would be incredible.
Hey I was wondering if anyone had recommendations for a first time buyer on 3D printers. I live in the PNW and will be setting up my space in the garage which averages 40°F in the winter. I was thinking about getting the GKtwo cause it's highly regarded and has a heated vat. Also your video pitting it against the saturn allowed me to see how nice the build quality was in comparison. Just leaving a comment to ask what printer and curing station you or anyone else would recommend being a first timer and having the workspace above. Thanks.
I went with the UniFormation GK2 and got a smoking deal on a refurb bundle back in July this year. I am super happy with it! I had the user screen crap out on me and they are in the process of replacing it. and the cover hinge broke cause I am a ogre! But they replaced it as well. So to me customer service is most awesome! and the printer works well. This is my first resin printer and I have learned soooo much from your channel! So thank you for all you do!
Heyyy! Been binge watching all your videos in search for the best printer upgrade for me. I’m a dentist and have been working with a Photon S for the past 5 years. It suits me well in terms of overall quality but I wish to go a step further and look for better detailed prints. I mainly use the printer for mockups and implant surgical guides, in most cases it’s 2 or 3 piece/print, so the printer bed size wouldn’t be such a dealbreaker. Print speeds do matter sometimes since it does make a difference when print fails overnight and I need to rush results. I’d say print quality matters, but not as much in a real-world scenario since the photon S has been just fine. My main options for upgrade would be the Photon D2, Mono M4 Ultra or Mono M7 Pro. Which would you recommend most? I see that the M7 Pro is your fav for 2024, it would provide a bigger printer bed with premium features that the D2 might lack, but this last one also delivers sharper details with maybe faster prints and a simpler experience, right? The Mono M4 Ultra could be a cheaper option in between those two, if I’m correct? Please give me some light to this 🥹🙃
Thanks Ross for your Insights. I'll go ahead and pick up a Saturn Ultra 4. It's the perfect size and I'm intrigued by the tilting mechanism. I went 3 thru anycubic so far and I just had one year ,so and so, experience with elegoo. The 8k it's great value but the ball joint have been a nightmare to use. So I feel like I wanna give elegoo another shot. Also I print often, but I always give an hour or so after printing to drip the resin back into the vat. So I believe that could offset the drawbacks of that plate. I hope so. Also that rerf test for trying different resins feels pretty sweet. Using your link anyways 👌
Hi Ross, I am blessed to be able to purchase the GK3 ultra whole eco system, for my first printer, and very glad people like you are here to help understand this type of products. Do you know of any videos to help me setup the right setting to get the best prints out of the GK3? Thanks.
At the moment I have a Saturn 3 12k. I used to start my side hustle with a small Anycubic Photon S. But I kept getting orders for larger and larger statues / figures of gaming / pop culture characters. And I had to charge premium as my printer was tiny, meaning I had to cut up the models, and after cleanup - I had to pin them together, gap fill for ages, etc. My largest model was about 30cm high and about 40cm wide on the Photon and just gap filling took me more than 12h. (It was Malenia by Z Kino but I had to scale her up to match the dimensions the client wanted. Each wing was printed in 4 parts and only 2 fit on the print bed at one time) Around that time I said enough is enough and migrated to the Saturn 3. It saved a lot of work time as many things can be printed as one piece now. I am looking at new printers to keep in the loop - but so far, there "is not" really a need for me to switch. It is more than enough for my current use, albeit, it would be nice to have something like the UltraCraft Reflex or the heygears ones. Since the clients usually want either differently scaled minis, or some "special" ones, I keep supporting most of my works. And often times pre supports are not satisfactory. So anything that could hasten my work in this regard would be appreciated.
By the way to reflect on the video a bit. I value quality over print time for sure :) Whatever time saving these machines offer - it does not matter. I am not printing 24/7, even if I am batch printing for a bigger project I am "not around" the printer non-stop to be able to switch to the next print. And regarding the AA - I never used it :D I tried it once and the supports flat on fused with the model making the clean-up 10x more time consuming as I had to fill all the tiny gaps, then sand it back. I feel like most layer lines just disappear as soon as I apply 1-2 coats of primer... I am actually unable to see any layer lines - even with magnifying glasses I use for painting...
Regarding the screen replacement - I had to do it on mine. Due to a software bug I had cases where the cooling was randomly not running. It was solved by a firmware update directly from elegoo and not available no their site. My screen got "burnt" on one side due to me not noticing the fans not running so they sent a free screen. But och my god that replacement procedure is atrocious. I think it took me like 1.5-2h? I needed a heat gun, alcohol to remove the glue, etc. It is just atrocious to do that.
First printer i bought was Phrozen sonic 8k mini. I was so impressed that one year later I ordered the phrozen mighty 8k. Just 520 euros on black friday deals on Amazon.
I’m stuck on the gktwo , Saturn 4 ultra & the phrozen sonic mini 8k s , what has the best quality on prints? Idc the speed. I just need a response for this Black Friday sale so I can go and make my choice 🥺🥺💪🏽 hoping to hear back soon. THANKSSSS for your long videos I’ve watch all but hard to tell your choice as to what’s better etc in quality
If I gave you all 3 of these printers for a week and you printed as many models as you could on each of them… and after that week l, I printed a model 3 times, once in each printer. and asked you to tell me which print was from which printer, Based on print quality…. I doubt you would tell them apart. I say look at the extra features around the printers like heaters if you need ten. Extraction ports WiFi and webcams. Decide which features you want and if you’re willing to pay that for it. Get the one that ticks the most boxes for you.
Nice informative video, although as a person who is just looking into resin printers for the first time, I still have no clue of which would be best for me. I'm wanting to buy a resin printer now because starting next month in the U.S. getting products made in other countries is going to get harder and more expensive. I am hoping to open a makers space within the next few months and this printer will primarily be dedicated to that. Things in the mid range are in my budget, M7 or Saturn 4 maybe, but it looks as though I need to do a lot more research to figure out what I need. If anything new has recently been released in this range please let me know. I'll look through your channel to see if I can find more information. Thanks for the hard work and great reviews.
Used your link to pick up the Saturn 4 Ultra. Really wanted the S4 couse of price and green hood. Bit other reviewers as well really tecommend the ultra.
Nice vidéo! You narrowed my choice between the elegoo saturn 4 ultra and phrozen mini 8k s. I wish this last one had a medium size version. I am looking to get starting in printing after 6 months of lootstudio sub! Also the Elegoo saturn 3 looks like a good deal now without much draw back.
Saturn 4 Ultra. Amazing machine, high quality, fast prints from day one. As an inexperienced user, I was able to print industrial quality looking objects right from the start.
I'm definitely thinking of going with the S4U. I was watching Battle Brother Sam's video and apparently someone took the time to design a printable handle for the new Saturn machines and some kind of better bib for protecting the internals. I know it's not the best printer, but as someone who's looking to taking the first step into 3D Printing it seems like a great all around option
Mate it is a good all round option. I think it’s awesome. It’s not perfect. But as I said here. Nothing is. You need to make some compromise. But it sounds like you found a path you can take to get around this one’s drawbacks . You’ve accepted your compromise. Buy it and love it!!! Also, who is this Sam guy? Sounds Irish 🇮🇪 ☘️
just looking around trying to find a nnice one that will work in my apartment thinking about the elegoo saturn 4 ultra love your vids man you actuily helps me really want to get into resin printing more
So as someone not just doing minis, but doing industrial prototyping and positives for industrial parts casting: what's your take? We're looking at the Halot Mage Pro, since we're mostly a creality shop, but firmware RERF on the anycubic printers is attractive. Then we hear a bunch of stuff about elegoo. Right now we have a trio of first-gen Photons in the lab and they work, but they're ancient, and we're running out of spares for them.
So I'm in the market and the uniformation Gk2 really is catching my eye and I heard many great reviews for it I'm newish into Warhammer and my brother is now learning and wanting to also be a DM for DND and IV wanted nothing more than. A resin printer to make him custom minis to collect and play with bcs it's been a dream for him to play. I just wanted to know if that would be a good option from an expert rather than reviews I never had any ambitions other than miniatures.
I'm new to 3d printing and am looking for a budget friendly printer. Looking to spend around $200-$300. I'm wanting one to print miniatures and other things for Dnd. Don't need a whole lot of bells and whistles, just something that can get the job done for relatively cheap (with decent quality).
I am completely new to 3D printing and have informed myself by watching a variety of printer reviews. Your videos have been most helpful for me to make my decision to buy the uniformation GK2 printer. I am very happy with the machine. It is simple to set up and produced very good results from the beginning. I picked the GK2 because it was supposed to have good print quality (which is true) and comes with an internal heating and a build plate that is easy to handle and to clean. The final decision was between the GK2 and the Heygear Reflex RS. I decided against the Heygear Reflex RS because of its proprietary eco-system. Obviously you can use resins from other manufacturers, but these videos were not out by the time I made my decision. I dislike to be completely dependent on one manufacturer. This leads me to one question: If the UV light source of the printer has to be replaced from time to time, do you have any insights, for how many years manufacturers offer replacement parts, after the printer has been discontinued? P.S. Your german prononciation is fine. Keep on going!
The heated resin vats pitfall is 2 things, 1st it shortens the lifespan of the screen and 2nd is hotspots of resin overblooming causing a screen break on powerful screens
I bought 2 a Mars 5 Ultra for the super ease of use, andspeed and to get into resin printing. I also bought a Saturn 3 Ultra. I got it at a good price and for the size. Also i really like the filter that comes with it. BUT i am having a bit of buyer remorse because the wifi will not work for anything. Not with any slicers at all and there doesnt seem to be any fix for it
I have so many questions...but I'll try and make this short. I have never 3D printed anything, my main hobby is making model cars 1/24 to 1/12 scale. I'm seeing lots of great upscale parts that need to be printed. is this something I should look into or should I run away fast Ha Ha...this is black Friday week so I was thinking of picking up a printer but not sure what I should be looking at...any help would be appreciated
I need advice. I cancelled my Uniformation GK3 Ultra after a lot of contemplation. It has everything I wanted in a printer. I would purchase the Heygears RS but the build plate is too small. What is important to me is mechanical accuracy, ability to use engineering resins, and ease of cleaning. I rarely print miniatures. Budget is no more than $3k. I have a Saturn 3 Ultra but the screen went out a couple of months ago and Elegoo has been out of stock since then and not communication on when they will get another one. Thanks, and I love the channel and your humor.
Thanks for calling it out. High quality prints is BY FAR more important to me than print speed. I mean, it's not even close. I would choose the slowest printer available, if it produced the best quality results.
Pretty much same here - for personal projects even if I'm printing dozens and dozens of minis I'd happily take months to do it through 3d printing if it gave me quality to rival (or surpass) store-bought models.
On the other hand, I would far and away take speed as my #1 priority.
@@effefffffffffffffffffffff yeah that's totally fair - I think it just depends on the kind of thing people are printing and what purpose it's to serve. If you're trying to make functional parts then you don't generally need mega tight tolerances or details, it makes sense. And doubly so for anyone trying to mass produce stuff to sell.
@@Night_Hawk_475 In my case, I would love a decent rapid printer to 3d print temporary dental crowns. Something that could knock out a 15mm tall print in a matter of a few minutes would be a game changer for me.
@@effefffffffffffffffffffff At the cost of quality? To each their own, I guess.
Saturn IV Ultra. I know it's not plug and play but it's virtually plug-and-play. I'm a new hobbyist and this was a very easy introduction to the hobby. Worth every penny
I have had to help doezens of people who thought that but had issues with the plate that are super hard to improve (can't be fixed). The only thing nearing plug and play are the reflex
Agreed, I love it. Great machine
Mine hasn’t been easy . I still can’t print
@@Gobi-Wan really you either have no clue or you have not looked at any videos about resin printers they are so easy to use turn on calibrate resin print simple
If you can’t get it to print 9/10 you’re doing something wrong and not realizing it. With the S4U I’m able to print industrial quality functional solid parts weighing up to 1kg with no supports printing directly from the build plate in under 3 hours per print. There’s so many variables that are not the printer that lead to fails.
Bought Saturn 4 ultra one week ago and already used 2kg of resin.
I just assembled it, plugged and started printing. Had to experiment a bit with exposure time and that is all I've done.
Absolutely love this machine. Easy to use and print quality is good.
Did you have to do all the firmware update stuff?
Did you have to do all the firmware update stuff before printing?
I’m picking up the Saturn 4 ultra. It’s on sale for $400. Seems to be the best value to quality combo. Between your videos and others is what got me there.
It's been on "sale" for that price since it released lol. Eternal sale isn't a sale. I don't know why every single 3d printer does this fake FOMO sale crap.
Had to return myn insane z crushing due to spring compression
GKTwo. My first printer. Best decision ever. Printing is enjoyable
GK and Heygears are the two companies that I find myself looking at and saying hmm...
Recently got a Saturn 4 Ultra and i'm still printing everything in the world because of how awesome the prints come out. I have 2 Qidi FDM printers and absolutely love them ( Q1 Pro and Plus 4) but small models just aren't great on them. I was terrified of resin but lord, I'm glad i made the jump. The worst part is learning how to correctly support models, which i can say i still suck at doing but i'm learning!
Hey, I have a small question, if you put two painted models, one from GW and the other from the printer, what would it look like in terms of quality? (Saturn 4 ultra)
"Its a great printer... but..." this is the quintessential line to prepare a person when they are getting their first resin printer because it applies to all of them.
I bought an Anycubic Photon Mono M5S Pro as my first printer. I just recently purchased it One because of a great holiday sale that put it well within my budget. Two, it was a "14K" printer, keeping me from having to upgrade for quite a while. Three, the self leveling option was very attractive to a noob like me. Four, word of mouth, I hadn't really heard to much negatives about it. After running a few print runs it is very beginner friendly, which for me was a massive bonus
I picked up the Phrozen Mighty Revo at launch and have been super happy. I was brand new and had some learning, but figuring out how to support, there is almost no post production. I would agree that the heater is basically useless and I live in a cold climate in winter, hot in summer. Even in the cold it has still printed well.
I cannot say that I am as pleased with their curing station. It works great but within 6 months the motor has started making loud noises and i have to start and stop it to get it to be normal. Since they are in Taiwan and I am in US, anything i order has about a $30 shipping cost. Although the resin is available on Amazon. Great printer for the quality, even with the price point, if you can splurge on it, its a newbies dream printer IMO.
I bought a printer finally 2 days ago and I picked up a Saturn 4 Ultra as the HeyGears was sadly out of my league thanks to your earlier reviews so thanks 😊
Thank you so much for your support, this is incredible. And yeah as I’ve said before and again here! Solid printer!!!!
@@FauxHammer Ohhh, I was Just able to pick up the reflex printer now. My sister-in-law gave me $2,000 for Christmas so I was able to at least get the printer and I picked up an extra screen as well as some resin. I'll just have to wait two or three months to get a cheap curing station cuz I'm sadly on a fixed income of a thousand bucks a month😌 On the bright side I'm on my way to being able to print eventually. And yes, I used your coupon and link 😁
@@LeftHandEats I'll take that under consideration 😜
Love "The cake is a lie" comment. Just getting started on looking into 3d printing. This was extremely helpful.
So I just bought the Saturn 4 Ultra and this being my 6th printer let me tell you it is BY FAR my FAVORITE as it is the closest thing to "Idiot-Proof" Even my gf can use it LOL ! As for the software I started with the Chitubox Pro 3 month that they give you for free and was so-so happy with it until I tried a trial version of Lychee Slicer Pro then I realized there was no going back to Chitubox. Biggest factor was the supports ! In Chitubox you CANNOT use Zero Penetration whilst in Lychee you can (It is the Default setting). This made a HUGE difference in my prints-I mean HUGE. So my workflow now is to use Lychee Slicer Pro for it's AUTO supports and then I slice it into .CTB format and print it in chitubox (Non-Pro-FREE version) And VOILA ! Awesome prints as easy as Pie !!! He he he me sooo smart LOL
Really interesting. As I am getting much better at doing supports and thinking now of the Saturn 4 Ultra as a necessity this thing with CTB and Lychee could be a game changer. Thanks. If yucan give more details please do.
👍💓!!
I use exFAT formatted 64GB flash drives with my Elegoo Saturns with no problem. Even on my 2 yr old Saturn 2. Format the flash drive using Rufus (non-bootable + MBR options) and it will resolve all the formatting issues other methods don't which often lead to print failures.
(I still bought the Reflex RS and after a bumpy start, really do love them, so thanks for introducing them to me).
I’ve never used Rufus l, only windows format tool I shall try, thanks for the tip
Very great and comprehensive video. When I thought I was done with Anycubic, it seems like they have outdone themselves.
It's just scary though getting new printers, knowing that new models with many more features will be released within the next couple of months, maybe 4-6 at most. Chasing the last technology is always a never-ending game.
Thanks for keeping up with the videos!
I love my Anycubic M7 Pro. Because I don't need to change resin, I always use their ABS Like pro 2. And the heating works so fast, that the resin is heated within 15 minutes. I did order a 2nd vat recently because they are very cheap with Black Friday. So I can put an NFEP on my old vat and compare the differrence between prints. Right now the ACF film does provide fine prints for me.
I just picked up a saturn 3 ultra for $396 AUD ($257 USD or £203 GBP) with black friday sale and discount code.
Wifi, 10 inches, sharp prints, premium metal design and rubber feet and no annoying build plate design like the 4 series. I prefer it to this year's models and for such a discount could not say no.
Di you ever get the wifi to work? Mine will show irs online and on my network but Chitubox, Lychee or even Tango. All have fail to connect to printer errors even though they see the printer
I bought very recently Saturn 3 and it's great. Not on Black Friday price difference between S3 and S3U is very small, so I understand your choice.
I do not understand why neither of these 2 printers is mentioned here in this vide if Elegoo Jupiter SE is. Only printers from last 12 months were captured?
I have an s3u and I tested the uv uniformity to find it down at 32%!!! (8.5x worse than the 92% advertised) if I ignore the sides and treat it like a 7 inch printer then it's 60%
I showed elegoo and their response was that the chitu sensor wasn't good enough and I should use one that costs more than the printer which is bs because while the chitu uv sensor isn't the best it's not responsible for this much of an error. I then showed them prints where the brightest spot can cure a 1mm x 2px feature while the darkest can only do 1mmx 4px so half the size, clearly not 92% uniform so they said they were referring it to RND and it's been weeks with no response. Combining that crap with the new awful plates and more, I just can't recommend anything more than to avoid elegoo printers in general (I like the 8k space grey resin though, cheapest high pigment resin by far)
@anthonylong5870 I have just ordered but once it arrives and I do a couple of prints I will let you know.
I just bought a GKTwo a few days ago, so perfectly timed video 🤣
But still, thanks for all the work you put into this, it shows!
Got the Saturn 4 Ultra 2 Days ago and I've been loving it so far. Also it looks so futuristic!
I will be purchasing my first Resin printer in the next 30 days, watching this with great interest
I just upgraded from the Mars 3 Pro, as my beginner printer, to the Saturn 4 Ultra and I’m blown away by the speed and quality.. a few niggles but nothing major.. love it! Used up 5 of the 10ltrs of ABS it came with already!
So up front think I would be described as a Anycubic Fanboy - started with the original Photon, then moved up to the Mono X 4k, finally getting a M3 Max. Now I get the resolution debate (always have) and my printers are all roughly the same pixel size. This year it was time for an upgrade, and I'll primarily blame yourself (there were quite a few others involved) but I broke with the faith and bought a Saturn 4 Ultra, and to be honest I'm blown away with it, especially the network send printing function within Chitubox. The speed and print quality is in another league, now I'm using the same resin with similar-ish cure times, the difference being the tray mechanism of the Sat 4 ultra. I'd have loved to be able to justify the Heygears printers, the build plates look great especially compared to the Sat 4's, but for the price I could get 2 or 3 Sat 4 ultra's. Anycubic for me had me hanging in anticipation on the news of a new Max printer, unfortunately the only real gain I'd get with the M7 Max over my M3 Max is a heated vat, and I've already added a band heater to the M3 Max. What I wanted (and would have paid for) was an improvement in pixel size or bed size. Enjoy your holiday and look forward to the nex installment of Fauxhammer world
Pulled the trigger on the Heygears Reflex RS this morning, not a fan of the closed eco system, but and Big BUT if it means taking the hassle out of dialing in resin, less failed prints, consistent results, then that is trade off I'm willing to accept. Already have 2 GKTWO and I love them, and was gonna go with the GK3 Ultra until I saw yours and others YT videos on the Heygears. Thanks always for your honest assessments.
Love your insight and willingness to share candid advice.
I just purchased my 2nd saturn 4, not the ultra. Great printer, user-friendly, and produces fantastic prints!
Why on Earth did this need to show up in my recommended literally minutes after I bought the M7?
I mean, having watched this, I think I would've made the same choice anyway so that's reassuring. Thanks for another great video!
Greatly appreciate all of the videos! I ended up grabbing the Saturn 4 Ultra based on your videos (and used your link!)
Got myself the saturn 3 ultra on sales. Struggled a bit at the beginning, making a bit of a mess. All dialed in now and I am really happy so far.
Nice. Hole you’re loving it!
I bought a GK3 with your affiliate link 30 minutes after you released your first vid on it. Been absolutely loving it so far
Glad you enjoy it!
Im gonna grab one of the GK2 today with your code. The price the build volume the quality and the heater. would really like auto fill, camera monitoring/phone notifications with a light but that'll be the next time i get a resin printer. P.S. first resin printer wish me luck and happy holiday
Been running a Mars 3 for years and I have no notes. It's the perfect printer as far as I can tell.
Great video, and it's has been a crazy/amazing year. I'm only in year two of this rabbit hole and it seemed like just yesterday everyone was clammering for the industry to get away from the resolution battle and start giving us more features...wow...have they.
For me, first it was the Photon Mono 4K, then this year the GK3 Ultra. This winter it will be a mid-size, just to complete the collection. I was thinking about just creating a GK branded shop, but the GK3 has been an ongoing project in tying to get it to produce results, meanwhile, that little Mono 4K is an unrelenting workhorse. This have me considering going back to Anycubic and that M7 looks to be everything I wanted the M7 Pro to be. I'm not buying until December, so I still have time for the GK3 to impress me. I will say that it's build quality makes the Mono feel like an Easy Bake Oven. :)
Uniformation GKT2 was my choice, after ALL the review videos and comparisons i have seen i just thought it was perfect for me, not too expensive, and great quality and features!
I have an Anycubic Ultra, and i just found it is too small for the things i wanna print.. It has been working fine, but i have had to change the settings a lot and stuff to make it come out good.
I would just like to have a bigger printer, GKT2 are within my budget, i can lay double that but then i would have absolutely no budget left, I'm looking to print minies, busts and maybe cosplay pieces. I live in Scandinavia so it get cold, but i am also printing inside my home, thus also the reason i cant have a machine much bigger then the GKT2..
Now, i will have to wait for the new printer they have to be released before I'm making any purchases! I can also see the offer is not yet implemented on their website for the GKT2 haha
😅
Thanks, Ross! I WAS about to pull the trigger on the GKTwo... but Now I'm going to have to wait to see these new ones.
When I grew up, my parents always used to tell me to eat my food before it got cold. My parents were smart people.
There will always be a "new one" - just buy it.
@@FauxHammer It's the perennial problem in tech of course. There's always something new coming. But when it's juuuust about to be announced, it's paralyzing. That's probably how it ought to be though ;)
Mars 5 Ultra here - It was a matter of price, size, and the speed - I test print/prototype all my miniatures, so having extra speed is a good thing for me.
hello, congratulations on the video, a summary was needed in the chaos of 3D printers. However, I make a note on the concept of the dimensions of the printers that you expressed. Generally, printers are around 10" and it is a good size mainly for miniatures or at most for human models or similar in scales from 1/9 -1/10 and up. I say this simply to take into account the printing times. We know very well that if we want to avoid hours of sanding and post-production, the models must be vertical, so if we consider a human model or similar in 1/6 scale which tends to be the most used, also for reasons of practicality in painting the details. We will find a 10" plate to be effectively "monstrously" small for all the components of a model, especially with the base included. This means that on a 10" LCD with a plate of about 218*222*XXX for a complete 1/6 scale model we have to think about 3/4 total prints, with an average of 6 hours per print we have approximately arrived at 24 hours of total printing, which is really a huge time in my humble opinion. For this reason, I believe, that a 12/13" printer can help to halve the printing time, since we will find ourselves with only a maximum of 2 prints of 6 hours, if not even a single print with small bases. Of course a Gk3 or an M7 max for miniature prints makes little sense, unless you have to print an entire collection of miniatures including those of your neighbor.... In conclusion I don't think that a 12/13" printer is mainly suitable for large-scale printing, on the contrary, I would prefer it to a 10" to optimize printing times, if manufacturers invested in NOT losing quality with larger LCDs it would be appreciated. Bigger is Better ;) by @Artein3d_
Great work, as always. Your videos are definitely a go-to for me to get some perspective.
THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH FOR SUCH A INFORMATIVE VIDEO !!!!!!!!!
My fiancée and I got the Saturn 4 Ultra in September and we have been absolutely loving it. If the house burned down tomorrow and the printer was incinerated, I would get another without hesitation. I totally get the gripes about the build plate, especially the retaining resin thing. But damn it's a small price to pay for me! Thank you for the video, great to see all the other options out there in a single video.
I've been looking at the GK2 for my first printer, everything I've watched makes it feel like it would be the best one to get but with something new on the horizon and from what I saw in the chat about its support going away in the somewhat near future, makes me want to wait to see what they have next and then go from there.
Same thoughts here. I was ready to buy the gk2 system but now gk3 is coming out but the lack of support and parts for gk2 has me apprehensive.
Just got a MARS4 for printing my jewelry designs to cast. I got it dialed in today and successfully printed two pendants. But in the future it might be small for cuts.
Got my anycubic Mono 4 last week, almost 50 hours print and only got twice failed and that because my file was corrupt i guess. Easy to use, Overall good print for beginer like me.
I picked up a Mars 5 Ultra maybe 2 months ago as my first resin printer as it fit the budget and need - little bit of a rocky start, but I got my head around it and am now enjoying it for all my needs (so far)
Thank you again for another solid review Ross.
Very well done, One of your best videos
Informative video as always. I went with the Heygears Reflex RS, it just seemed better built than most. I don’t have endless hours to tweak resin settings I just want to print .
I print jewellery with bluecast x1v2 resin. The release liner that comes with Saturn 4 ultra has to be changed to 0.127mm
The factory 0.150 is too stiff and detail is lost and majority of the time, failed prints.
Change the fep and sand the plate and I’ve not had a failure since.
Can you point me in the right direction on how to go about doing this? I'm wanting to print jewelry prototypes & molds, too.. for sand casting and first of all, I can't decide between the Mars Ultra 5 and the Saturn Ultra 4. I was thinking Mars will allow for better small build detail but now I see your comment & you say it's possible to use Saturn 4 Ultra for jewelry if you make these revisions. Can you tell me where or how I can accomplish this same thing as you? Thanks so much! ❤❤❤❤❤
@ hi, to be absolutely honest, I don’t use elegoo anymore. Especially these new models with tilt release. I get successful prints but I just finer like them anymore. I’ve gone to phrozon now. Mighty revo.
I still have to change the fep to a finer grade to the one I’ve mentioned. But it’s far better quality built machine than elegoo. Elegoo good for cheap parts. Have you seen how to change the screen on the new elegoo printers?
I've been doing research on getting my first printer and I was planning on getting the Mars 5 Ultra for seeming ease of use, quality and nice features, but I'm pretty sure this video and the comments just upsold me to get the Saturn 4 Ultra instead.
Looks like the best option for me would be the Mono 7.... but I have 2 Anycubic machines already and I told myself I was never going to buy another one due to the build quality issues I've had with these, lol.
Have been looking into 3D resin printing to get in to Trench Crusade. Thanks to your video I ended up going for the mars 5 ultra. I think for a newbie it seems the most straightforward from box to good prints
So whats the best printer for small, heroquest sized miniatures? Im confused😅
Which is the best printer for jewelry work
I bought a mars 5 ultra as my first resin printer, and in general I really like it. The multi-layered build plate doesn't really bother me; I printed a 45° build plate holder on my FDM printer that helps the vast majority of the resin drip off (use the drip tray if you have tall models on the plate). The quality is fantastic and the machine features in general are great.
I do now wish I had bought a Saturn 4 ultra. I almost did, but it's bigger than the spot I wanted to put my resin printing setup (printer + wash/cure with venting and a tent), whereas the mars just fits. After going through a few kg of resin, a bigger build plate is looking nice enough for me to think about figuring out a new setup.
Personally I do not care about phone apps or cameras. Chitumanager on my PC is fine.
I chose the Saturn 4 ultra, from every review and video I’ve seen it’s one of the most beginner friendly. My only gripe would have to be it doesn’t have a built in heater(I get it on Christmas I can’t wait to get started)
I’ve got a Mars 3 Pro I got in Black Friday 2023. It still feels like it does what I need? I haven’t needed spare parts and it was crazy cheap. People are impressed by the final models once they’re painted. Is there a good reason I should upgrade? I guess more plate space?
Which printer best to prints jewellery designes ?
Yes, please tell ??? Thanks!
I love anycubic.
I had a M3 Max and it was perfect but very slow.
Got the M7 Max and can´t wait to start printing with that.
I mainly print huge Models because why not right?
And its just perfect and it doesn´t cost a arm and a leg and is just good enough in details.
I have an Apex X1 and its great. Yeah, the support is the worst but the product itself works great. I print 1/4 scale figures and the detail is amazing.
Good video and thanks to that I managed to finally get my self from neck and I ordered my first printer, I went to Saturn 4 Ultra bundle and it was tight fight against GKtwo but 200€ is 200€.😅
I've ordered the GK3 Ultra because i want to do only a few print sessions a month while still pritning a lot of minis.
How do the higher-priced models in your overview compare to the Formlabs models?
Never used resin printers before. Decided to get it for aliexpress sale. Watched a lot of reviews. Everything is good in printing for this generation, print speed is doesnt matter for home to me. Choosing anycubic photon m7. M7 pro have heating bath add-on that makes me horrible as new in this. Mono 4 ultra is cheaper for only $30, so 10" is more reasonable. Elegoo is much pricy, and their build plate pushing me out as novice. Got m7 for $300 with all discounts, waiting for delivery.
P.S Thanx for reviews
Looks like the Saturn 4 Ultra for me. Been Umm'ing and Arr'ing the last few weeks and I think I've finally settled. Just debating waiting until black Friday to see if there's a slightly cheaper price incoming.
Great video, thank you.
Sale already on! Got mine a bit cheaper
@chickensammichz3170 Yeah I see it's been slightly discounted this month, just knowing my luck I'll pull the trigger and on actual black Friday it'll be way cheaper 😁
Does somebody own Reflex RS. Can you get the same quality print with 3rd party resins as with heygears resin? If not than I think its better to pick up like three Saturns 4 Ultra instead
All I've used so far is Sunlu standard resin and it works great. No fails yet
@@hylgariss Yes, I saw it but i think he only comapred 3rd party resins amongst themself. What about 3rd party vs heygears.
@@88RunnerBlade I can only talk about the PARP10 as it;s the one I'm currently using, it's not brittle and can print really nice details, and for the price, is a good resin to use with the machine. I haven't tested the High Quality resin like PAP10, it's quite expensive and only got one bottle that I'm keeping for ultra fine detail printing, so can't compare to other high detail resins yet, but will do some comparison when I get to it.
@@hylgariss Dont quite understand what are you trying to say. You mean the prints that you get with PARP10 are of the same quality that you get with 3rd party resins?
@@88RunnerBlade Your question is if the Heygears resin is better in term of print quality, and my answer is no. As long as you use a third party resin that's using the same exposure time as parp10, you'll have exactly the same amount of details. What changes is how brittle / sturdy the resin are, and like I said PARP10 is quite nice and tough, not too brittle. I guess a resin like conjure sculpt grey or Siraya Tech Fast ABS-Like would be similar in feel / quality but cheaper to buy.
I'm getting the Saturn ultra 4, seems like a good entry level and decent enough build volume for what i plan to do
Do you still feel good about the GKTwo at the clearance price? I used your discount code for it over the weekend. It will be my first 3D resin printer. Thanks in advance.
I have had a saturn 4 for some time and printed over 1500 28mm miniatures on it. No great problems, the build plate and auto levelling works fine. Not sure I understand why you say the auto levelling doesn't work?
I’m not saying it doesn’t work. It’s the nomenclature of “autoleveling” which is completely incorrect and many people have reported issues out of the box. So in respect of them. It’s worth mentioning.
Finally bought myself a 3D resin printer. It's the Saturn 4 Ultra. So far, it's good and you can print out of the box with just a few setup. A lot of fails though due to me being a newbie in preparing the 3D files. Any suggestion for the correct exposure setting for clear resins? I couldn't find a definitive answer online and even here in RUclips.
Thanks for the videos! I'm looking for a resin printer recommendation for printing quality minis and environment pieces for my Loot Studios subscription. I already have a Bambu A1 for my larger terrain pieces. I'm looking for a resin printer for quality looking minis, terrain, and environment pieces for gaming. Not really worried on prices, mostly just best quality. Thanks for any help!
heys, so, honestly most of the 10" printers now are capable of the best quality. The ANycubic ones need the ACF swapping out, but once done, they are great. For loot, i;d definately recomend 10" as their larger sculpts and 75mm scale models are made with that printer size in mind.
So, i;d pick one of those based on the features that appeal to you, hope that helps
@@FauxHammer Helps a lot! Thanks! Trying to decide between the Anycubic Mono M7 and the Elegoo Saturn 4 Ultra. Any preferences between those two? Thanks again!
Your videos have been a serious help in choosing a first printer, but I’m at an impasse. I can only get a small printer due to space and my budget is about $250 I’m torn between the mono 4 and an older Mars 4/Ultra. I’m only looking to print bases and bits for 40k and want to get something smooth with AA. Any recommendations would be incredible.
Hey I was wondering if anyone had recommendations for a first time buyer on 3D printers.
I live in the PNW and will be setting up my space in the garage which averages 40°F in the winter.
I was thinking about getting the GKtwo cause it's highly regarded and has a heated vat. Also your video pitting it against the saturn allowed me to see how nice the build quality was in comparison.
Just leaving a comment to ask what printer and curing station you or anyone else would recommend being a first timer and having the workspace above.
Thanks.
I went with the UniFormation GK2 and got a smoking deal on a refurb bundle back in July this year. I am super happy with it! I had the user screen crap out on me and they are in the process of replacing it. and the cover hinge broke cause I am a ogre! But they replaced it as well. So to me customer service is most awesome! and the printer works well. This is my first resin printer and I have learned soooo much from your channel! So thank you for all you do!
Heyyy! Been binge watching all your videos in search for the best printer upgrade for me. I’m a dentist and have been working with a Photon S for the past 5 years. It suits me well in terms of overall quality but I wish to go a step further and look for better detailed prints. I mainly use the printer for mockups and implant surgical guides, in most cases it’s 2 or 3 piece/print, so the printer bed size wouldn’t be such a dealbreaker. Print speeds do matter sometimes since it does make a difference when print fails overnight and I need to rush results. I’d say print quality matters, but not as much in a real-world scenario since the photon S has been just fine. My main options for upgrade would be the Photon D2, Mono M4 Ultra or Mono M7 Pro. Which would you recommend most? I see that the M7 Pro is your fav for 2024, it would provide a bigger printer bed with premium features that the D2 might lack, but this last one also delivers sharper details with maybe faster prints and a simpler experience, right? The Mono M4 Ultra could be a cheaper option in between those two, if I’m correct?
Please give me some light to this 🥹🙃
Thanks Ross for your Insights.
I'll go ahead and pick up a Saturn Ultra 4. It's the perfect size and I'm intrigued by the tilting mechanism. I went 3 thru anycubic so far and I just had one year ,so and so, experience with elegoo. The 8k it's great value but the ball joint have been a nightmare to use. So I feel like I wanna give elegoo another shot.
Also I print often, but I always give an hour or so after printing to drip the resin back into the vat. So I believe that could offset the drawbacks of that plate. I hope so.
Also that rerf test for trying different resins feels pretty sweet.
Using your link anyways 👌
Great review And comparison 🤘
i get the coments for the rs and heygears but i just got one because i want to print with little hassle, so i can do my main hobby of painting
And that’s totally your call to make!
Just amazing video.
Hi Ross, I am blessed to be able to purchase the GK3 ultra whole eco system, for my first printer, and very glad people like you are here to help understand this type of products. Do you know of any videos to help me setup the right setting to get the best prints out of the GK3? Thanks.
At the moment I have a Saturn 3 12k. I used to start my side hustle with a small Anycubic Photon S. But I kept getting orders for larger and larger statues / figures of gaming / pop culture characters. And I had to charge premium as my printer was tiny, meaning I had to cut up the models, and after cleanup - I had to pin them together, gap fill for ages, etc. My largest model was about 30cm high and about 40cm wide on the Photon and just gap filling took me more than 12h. (It was Malenia by Z Kino but I had to scale her up to match the dimensions the client wanted. Each wing was printed in 4 parts and only 2 fit on the print bed at one time) Around that time I said enough is enough and migrated to the Saturn 3.
It saved a lot of work time as many things can be printed as one piece now.
I am looking at new printers to keep in the loop - but so far, there "is not" really a need for me to switch. It is more than enough for my current use, albeit, it would be nice to have something like the UltraCraft Reflex or the heygears ones.
Since the clients usually want either differently scaled minis, or some "special" ones, I keep supporting most of my works. And often times pre supports are not satisfactory. So anything that could hasten my work in this regard would be appreciated.
By the way to reflect on the video a bit. I value quality over print time for sure :) Whatever time saving these machines offer - it does not matter. I am not printing 24/7, even if I am batch printing for a bigger project I am "not around" the printer non-stop to be able to switch to the next print.
And regarding the AA - I never used it :D I tried it once and the supports flat on fused with the model making the clean-up 10x more time consuming as I had to fill all the tiny gaps, then sand it back.
I feel like most layer lines just disappear as soon as I apply 1-2 coats of primer... I am actually unable to see any layer lines - even with magnifying glasses I use for painting...
Regarding the screen replacement - I had to do it on mine. Due to a software bug I had cases where the cooling was randomly not running. It was solved by a firmware update directly from elegoo and not available no their site. My screen got "burnt" on one side due to me not noticing the fans not running so they sent a free screen.
But och my god that replacement procedure is atrocious. I think it took me like 1.5-2h? I needed a heat gun, alcohol to remove the glue, etc. It is just atrocious to do that.
First printer i bought was Phrozen sonic 8k mini. I was so impressed that one year later I ordered the phrozen mighty 8k. Just 520 euros on black friday deals on Amazon.
Both great printers
I’m stuck on the gktwo , Saturn 4 ultra & the phrozen sonic mini 8k s , what has the best quality on prints? Idc the speed. I just need a response for this Black Friday sale so I can go and make my choice 🥺🥺💪🏽 hoping to hear back soon. THANKSSSS for your long videos I’ve watch all but hard to tell your choice as to what’s better etc in quality
If I gave you all 3 of these printers for a week and you printed as many models as you could on each of them… and after that week l, I printed a model 3 times, once in each printer. and asked you to tell me which print was from which printer, Based on print quality….
I doubt you would tell them apart.
I say look at the extra features around the printers like heaters if you need ten. Extraction ports WiFi and webcams. Decide which features you want and if you’re willing to pay that for it.
Get the one that ticks the most boxes for you.
@ I love the auto leveling , I can care less for the camera.
Nice informative video, although as a person who is just looking into resin printers for the first time, I still have no clue of which would be best for me. I'm wanting to buy a resin printer now because starting next month in the U.S. getting products made in other countries is going to get harder and more expensive.
I am hoping to open a makers space within the next few months and this printer will primarily be dedicated to that. Things in the mid range are in my budget, M7 or Saturn 4 maybe, but it looks as though I need to do a lot more research to figure out what I need.
If anything new has recently been released in this range please let me know. I'll look through your channel to see if I can find more information. Thanks for the hard work and great reviews.
Used your link to pick up the Saturn 4 Ultra. Really wanted the S4 couse of price and green hood. Bit other reviewers as well really tecommend the ultra.
Nice vidéo! You narrowed my choice between the elegoo saturn 4 ultra and phrozen mini 8k s. I wish this last one had a medium size version. I am looking to get starting in printing after 6 months of lootstudio sub! Also the Elegoo saturn 3 looks like a good deal now without much draw back.
Saturn 4 Ultra. Amazing machine, high quality, fast prints from day one. As an inexperienced user, I was able to print industrial quality looking objects right from the start.
I'm definitely thinking of going with the S4U. I was watching Battle Brother Sam's video and apparently someone took the time to design a printable handle for the new Saturn machines and some kind of better bib for protecting the internals. I know it's not the best printer, but as someone who's looking to taking the first step into 3D Printing it seems like a great all around option
Mate it is a good all round option. I think it’s awesome. It’s not perfect. But as I said here. Nothing is. You need to make some compromise.
But it sounds like you found a path you can take to get around this one’s drawbacks . You’ve accepted your compromise.
Buy it and love it!!!
Also, who is this Sam guy? Sounds Irish 🇮🇪 ☘️
just looking around trying to find a nnice one that will work in my apartment thinking about the elegoo saturn 4 ultra love your vids man you actuily helps me really want to get into resin printing more
So as someone not just doing minis, but doing industrial prototyping and positives for industrial parts casting: what's your take? We're looking at the Halot Mage Pro, since we're mostly a creality shop, but firmware RERF on the anycubic printers is attractive. Then we hear a bunch of stuff about elegoo. Right now we have a trio of first-gen Photons in the lab and they work, but they're ancient, and we're running out of spares for them.
Saturn 4 ultra is the machine to beat. Sweet spot between price and features.
So I'm in the market and the uniformation Gk2 really is catching my eye and I heard many great reviews for it I'm newish into Warhammer and my brother is now learning and wanting to also be a DM for DND and IV wanted nothing more than. A resin printer to make him custom minis to collect and play with bcs it's been a dream for him to play. I just wanted to know if that would be a good option from an expert rather than reviews I never had any ambitions other than miniatures.
I'm looking at a resin printer for 1/64 scale wheels and tires and 3d parts for farm toys. So whats a good 3d resin printer for doing prints? Thanks
I'm new to 3d printing and am looking for a budget friendly printer. Looking to spend around $200-$300. I'm wanting one to print miniatures and other things for Dnd. Don't need a whole lot of bells and whistles, just something that can get the job done for relatively cheap (with decent quality).
I am completely new to 3D printing and have informed myself by watching a variety of printer reviews. Your videos have been most helpful for me to make my decision to buy the uniformation GK2 printer. I am very happy with the machine. It is simple to set up and produced very good results from the beginning. I picked the GK2 because it was supposed to have good print quality (which is true) and comes with an internal heating and a build plate that is easy to handle and to clean. The final decision was between the GK2 and the Heygear Reflex RS. I decided against the Heygear Reflex RS because of its proprietary eco-system. Obviously you can use resins from other manufacturers, but these videos were not out by the time I made my decision. I dislike to be completely dependent on one manufacturer.
This leads me to one question: If the UV light source of the printer has to be replaced from time to time, do you have any insights, for how many years manufacturers offer replacement parts, after the printer has been discontinued?
P.S. Your german prononciation is fine. Keep on going!
Thanks for the comparisons. If the Saturn 5 fixes the QL from the 4 and has a heated vat it could be my dream machine.
S4U, from your reviews,and I can machine my own build plates.
The heated resin vats pitfall is 2 things, 1st it shortens the lifespan of the screen and 2nd is hotspots of resin overblooming causing a screen break on powerful screens
I bought 2 a Mars 5 Ultra for the super ease of use, andspeed and to get into resin printing. I also bought a Saturn 3 Ultra. I got it at a good price and for the size. Also i really like the filter that comes with it. BUT i am having a bit of buyer remorse because the wifi will not work for anything. Not with any slicers at all and there doesnt seem to be any fix for it
I have so many questions...but I'll try and make this short. I have never 3D printed anything, my main hobby is making model cars 1/24 to 1/12 scale. I'm seeing lots of great upscale parts that need to be printed. is this something I should look into or should I run away fast Ha Ha...this is black Friday week so I was thinking of picking up a printer but not sure what I should be looking at...any help would be appreciated
I think it would be best to go through this playlist and watch what you are getting yourself into
ruclips.net/p/PLngF4BVc8PpGi9_y_kIIl7xIbFPMRMr2H
@@FauxHammer Ross thanks for link and all your hard work, I'm learning lots... Cheers from Arizona
@@FauxHammer Wow! that is a lot of info...so I hope I chose well ordered a Anycubic Photon Mono X 6Ks thanks for the discount code
Great video as always, although I think I should be worried, just as I think of upgrading this video comes out :)
i want to print 40k minis to paint… i don’t care about speed. just detail and minimal sanding. what do yall suggest?
I need advice. I cancelled my Uniformation GK3 Ultra after a lot of contemplation. It has everything I wanted in a printer. I would purchase the Heygears RS but the build plate is too small. What is important to me is mechanical accuracy, ability to use engineering resins, and ease of cleaning. I rarely print miniatures. Budget is no more than $3k. I have a Saturn 3 Ultra but the screen went out a couple of months ago and Elegoo has been out of stock since then and not communication on when they will get another one. Thanks, and I love the channel and your humor.