The fact that you take into consideration language and cultural barrier shows how committed you are the relaying truth in context. You’re not a shill for any company. I applaud you my friend! Thanks for the great content!
Ah you must be a Fauxhammer shill! (If he is giving away any of his large format printers that he has laying around then I will happily shill too) But yeah 100% agree with you @ckling217 I know there was a lot of push back to the heygears reviews but they seemed like fair, balanced reviews to me and as other RUclipsrs have shown you can use any resin in them.
My hinge broke only a month or 2 after buying it. They sent me a new hinge and plate asap! Then my LCD interface screen stopped working, a call and short video showing the problem, new LCD screen sent and I installed it with following a simple video with steps to replace! So far my service / interacting with their support and so far all I can say is its been really good and the printer is working great!
@@KyleLiu-w3sThat's both churlish and childish. One supposes that a stern teacher once said that to you when you were lying in class or making excuses or something, and rather than having learned the lesson they were trying to impart, you simply remembered your hurt feelings and decided it was a good line to use on someone else one day. Too bad you didn't understand either it or the lesson. To help you along, the OP is not hiding anything. He is simply describing a process he went through with a defective purchase. He's concentrating on the positive aspect of his experience (the fact that customer service was helpful and prompt and that he now has a product he's happy with) and being forgiving about the negative aspect of his experience (the fact that a couple of parts broke too early). Hope that helps. Next, you might want to replay the time your teacher used that line on you. Ponder it. Learn the lesson you were SUPPOSED to learn in the first place. Be a better person. And bring less douchery to the internet. There's enough here already.
And you get it. Working as part of an engineering team that was split between the USA-based project team and a Taiwan-based design team I had to think in very direct terms when communicating with the Taiwan team - and these were people that I interfaced with daily. I did get an answer about the 385nm wavelength from another, industrial manufacturer's team - it's all about the resin. 385nm light sources are a) more expensive to manufacture, b) longer lived in industrial applications, and c) provide an even more exact print result with the medical and industrial resins. This then goes to further what you said about the GKThree being the better consumer/hobbyist choice - lower cost and broader consumer resin compatibility.
Once again this is what *I* consider to be a wonderfully pitched video … the understanding that there is an absolute chasm that can be inadvertently created by a language / translation issue is not one to be made light of and I think you took the right path here …
As always, great video on this! Thank you for taking our questions to them and to the CEO nan himself! I agree with you that we do need patience in order to receive a good product instead of receiving a crappy product just for instant gratification. Hopefully, and like you said, they learn from this and make a corse correction in future printers.
Damn you Ross -- That door creaking at 8:10 had me spinning around in my chair in my basement when I am supposed to be home alone. Scared the Fudge out of me !
I started with a Saturn 2. Solid hardware, but I've always gotten a lot of failed prints with it, so much so that I hardly use it any more. Then i got an Anycubic. Great and reliable prints. Then about plate #25, the verticle screw functionality died with a grinding noise. I decided to skip the latest from these two brands and picked up an "old" GKtwo this month. Black friday sale brought the price down to about $500. Im only a few prints in and 100% success so far. No plate leveling. I didn't even run calibration prints. Just picked a popular option in Lychee. Crossing my fingers, it stays good.
Kudos to you for your explanation of the language barrier. I've been in places where almost nobody spoke English, and the professional translators got me into more trouble than my own poor language
@@ronaldbell7429 … we English speakers are generally incredibly lazy when it comes to our ability to communicate outside of our language and it’s often perceived that ‘foreigners’ are really bad at communicating with us but it’s us that are at fault, we generally don’t have a decent grasp of any other languages and often the people who natively speak Asian languages have a grasp of English that - given it’s a second language - is simply phenomenal, they just generally don’t get the nuances and subtleties that we take for granted. As stated at the end of the video, if they can get some people on the team that know the products and can speak confidently then that’s great - it should make life easier for them too. Top marks to them for effort!
Agreed, I had one commenter say "they are lieing with their first breath" becasue the guy who called himself Bruce, is not called Bruce. I'm not having a go at the commenter as the comment comes from the same innocent ignorance I once had. But the reason many chinese people change their names for us, is becasue when we try to proinounce them. Even a slight inflection or intonation in a sound can completely change the word, nevermind it's meaning. It's why they laughed at me when I tried to do it. They do it for our convenience, but are still frequently looked down on as though they are doing it to be intentionally misleading. I love the part of this role that helps me break down cultural barriers. We English Speakers (and I wholeheartedly include myself in this) are somewhat arrogant in the way we come across to other people.
@@FauxHammer - I do tech support for a high-end HiFi manufacturer and lots of our customers are in China / Asia / Japan and yes, it's very rare that someone contacts me using their real name. Assuming a "western" name is something that they do as a matter of course and the owner of our Chinese distributors is a very lovely "Eddie". People still associate "Made in China" with poor quality ... I can assure you from my own experiences that chinese manufacturers are *INCREDIBLY* good at designing down to a price if that's what you want them to do (if you're using a Chinese manufacturer to make your goods) but if you want them to build to a quality rather than a price then they can do so spectacularly well, it's just that they are so used to being approached to manufacture things as cheaply as possible that that is their default position. My previous employer used to get a couple of their lowest end models made in China and it was quite an experience to get them to do what we asked (they would try to save us money and recommended lots of ways to make the kit more cheaply) but the reality was that the Chinese made kit, percentage wise, had an overall *MUCH* lower failure rate than the kit that was made in the UK and they were able to predict quite accurately what their expected failure rate would be. I'm incredibly impressed by what Chinese manufacturing *CAN* do if you give them the right direction...
@@FauxHammer I've seen that kind of westernized name a lot especially in Asians. "Namja" becomes "Nancy" and sometimes it just seems arbitrary the one they choose. It's never occurred to me that it was an attempt at deception. That's just someone trying to pretend to be "wise and worldly" when actually they're just the opposite, naive and lacking the simplest experience. On the other hand, I assure you that it's not entirely a one-way problem. Westerners are far more likely to self-criticize than many other cultures I have experience with. Internet trolls excepted of course.
@@philharris9631 Yes and no. Speaking as someone who has been in foreign lands with only intermediate skills in the native language, and often without the aid of a translator, you're taking a provincial view. English speakers are not the only people to forget that the foreigner struggling with their language isn't deliberate in his gaffes. I've gotten into some surprisingly hot situations, where I was often the only person making any effort to figure out why people were getting pissed off at what seemed a benign statement on my part. My experiences are mainly Europe and Eastern Europe, but go to Japan or China and see how fast you get into trouble not by failing to navigate what is generally a far more labyrinthine maze of social customs. (And we won't even talk about Parisians, who will often misunderstand an English speaker on purpose, especially when they're trying to speak French.)
I honestly hadn't heard about any of these issues; sounds like pretty typical teething problems for a small company, and yeah, enthusiasts have a tendency to turn molehills into mountains. Glad to hear they're committed to fixing these problems.
I brought my GK2 about two months ago, just before they were discontinued. I brought it because it had a proven track record and I love mines. Hopefully with some time Uniformation will make it right and the GK3 and Pro will be great machines like the GK2. Their mistake was rushing to put out a product that hadn't been tested or shaken down properly. But hopefully with the feedback they are getting, they will improve the machines.
The worst thing with Chinese companies is they do not understand pure purpose of the things they are building/making/creating. They just can’t think outside the item or process.
I talked to one of them by E-mail. Fast response, very helpful. I'm glad they are fixing many of the design issues, such as a stronger outer box, better packing, improved buildplate, stronger material for the hinge and hopefully being able to close the lid when placing it for dripping. I also like to point out that they told me there is no official distributor nor inventory wear house in North America and that the free shipping is ONLY for the US. This is terrible for any other country, because they are sending a huge heavy machine from China that almost dobles the price tag due to Shipping and they don't have the GK3 Ultra in Amazon either. So yeah, they really need to step up their shipping efforts to other countries, not just the US. Having said that... I do plan on buying one but only after I see they have fixed the previous design issues and cut the shipping cost.
Feel like what the GK2 had going for it was comparable print quality and volume combined with great quality of life design decisions that made it tempting. The GK3 slightly downsizing the build volume and not keeping pace with other printers without lowering the price creates the feeling in me of “I’m not paying almost twice as much for a smaller slower less detailed printer even if it’s easier to replace the screen”
Thank you for doing this video. I may not be a long time 3D printer, but I’m certainly here to stay and the GK3 Ultra was my first large scale purchased printer. In short: Mark me as somewhat disappointed, but hopeful. The z-offset and build plate seemed to be my main issues, and as you mentioned in the video, Uniformation has been extremely responsive. If they had been on par with other companies that I have tried to work with, it would have been a very bad experience. I do believe that they continue to work to resolve issues and with a new build plate I’m mostly up and running. I still am having some issues with printing a large scale of smaller items (especially in getting the right level of detail) so I think there is still something to tweak somewhere, but I’m hopeful that it will get figured out. It might be something I’ve done wrong. I’ll be buying a 10-ish inch printer in February and despite all the issues, the other GK3 is not off the table. The company has more than proved that it cares, not it’s just about making it right for everyone.
Based on the experience with Epax as well, "We're trying to build acrylic covers at scale for larger printers" appears to be a major hurdle to overcome.
I pre ordered the GK3 on Black Friday! I was torn back and forth between the M7 and the GK3. Since the print quality will not differ too much between these two I eventually went with the GK3 because of the heating.
To be fair the only company that has a tilting vat has a lot of 1st technology issues with it. I'm glad they stayed away from that and an auto-leveling feature.
Another great video and excellent talking points. In my opinion you are spot on with the comment for this situation, what matters is their response. Shit happens, how they fix these issues and communicate what they doing is important. Also spot on about the language and culture barriers. I have traveled through out Middle East and Central Asia and once I stopped thinking like a Western, then and only then did the communication issues decreased and I had a better understanding what was trying to be communicated
My initial thoughts about the GK3 when I saw your review was that part of the issue may well be the company struggling to design a product that can be produced at larger scale than the GK2. Selecting and sourcing parts and designing the machine to be built/shipped/services/etc is not easy. Is it disappointing that the GK3 is like this? Yes, but mistakes happen. To me the thing to look at is how they respond, both with the modifications before the release and with what their next products look like.
Great video! I'm sure they will rise up, they look to be a good company that did a mistake delivering too fast and I think they learn from that. I would still support that brand, they innovate and making quality products (albeit their rushed new product)
To your point about not being able to design a better machine yourself, I counter with something I heard once: "You don't have to know how the twinkie factory works to know when you got a bad twinkie". On the other hand you're absolutely right that people need to chill. Not every product release needs to be a smashing success or a monumental generational leap.
I'm not sure I would say "The Rise and Fall", maybe "The Rise and Plateau of Uniformation". They didn't really fail, they just didn't progress too well, kinda flattened out their feature curve on the GK3's, mostly.
Sorry. It’s a placeholder for my thumbnail which is. The rise and fall of. Once the thumbnail is done. The title will be something like “and how they can come back”
They fall hard on their faces with the GK3Ultra. Lot of unhappy customers who are returning the unit or cancelling their pre-orders; reading their Facebook group. Each day a new problem is surfacing along with new users being unhappy.
I have been happy with my GK2. Information should keep improving their product line without compromising quality. If I want an ok printer I am spoiled for choice, it would be a shame if Information continues down that road.
I hope so, they are finally shipping my GK3 Ultra soon ..or they just said so to prevent me from cancelling my preorder a little longer. We'll see how it goes. I have read a few not so enthusiastic reviews from the people who didnt receive a damaged unit so i'm definitely a little worried... I've owned 5 3d printers, starting with a Form 1.5 and sofar the only one that has been out of the box great and long term reliable was my Saturn 2. You have to be a little crazy to be in this hobby i guess.
I will definitely be buying an Ultra, when I know for sure they've ironed out the issues.. I've got a few products in mind that would scale up nicely from the GKtwos I have (which I'm very, very happy with👌) - shame they rushed the GK3..
@FauxHammer Quick question: Slicing software for resin printers, do you have a preference? I am in the dark with this because I haven never had a resin printer before. Uniformation just emailed me and asked me to choose between Lychee vs Chitubox. Reviews seem to lean towards Lychee. Just seeing if you had an opinion on one vs the other. I will be doing a mix of small and large prints, not just focusing on miniatures but will be doing those too. Just figured I would ask, or if you made a video that I didn't see, just point me to it and I'll shutup =)
It's a weird one... I tend to use whatever software comes with the printer. I get these machines very early access, and typically (becasue historically Chitusystems also make the control boards inside many printers) Chitubox has been the most reliable. Lychee comparably kinda drag their heels when it comes to adding printer compatability to their lineup. and in my experience in the early days, I had so many unexplainable issues occur which disappeared when i use Chitubox to Slice. But, Lychee has the better workflow. by far. and the supporting is much easier. I actually have a video which shows the proicess i still use today. which is. If i need to hollow, i do this in chitubox then export the file as an stl (because you can;t export a hollowed model in Lychee) I put that STL in lychee and support it, then export that as an STL I then slice the model in Chitubox if it;s an anycubic printer, thge only difference i make is that i use anycubic workshop in the last step I have no particular preference as I use what is goinna give me the fewest potentiall issues depending on the job.
Hello there, I am going to upgrade my resin printer, I have a creality LD 002R. I'm looking at mars 5 ultra and anycubic M5s pro. Like that anycubic have heater and purifier with it.
I think Uniformation has literally shot themselves in the foot here. As a first time ‘resin’ 3d print buyer, and after watching (reading) a load of reviews from FauxHammer (Awesome vids BTW!!) and others. They seem to have ignored what was maybe the overall draw from the GK2. At least for me. Great prints, easy to use, and the bigger 10.3” build plate (+ heated Vat). Compared to that the GK3 seems like a bit of a downgrade at a higher price? Which brings Uniformation into a bit of an awkward place. As I'd rather wait for a GK4 (A GK2 restock) or get an alternative product. Yet if they do bring out a GK4 unit in the interim addressing said issues. GK3 & GK3Pro owners could suffer extreme buyer's remorse. Souring consumer relations even further. For now buying into the GK3 ecosystem seems a huge gamble.
So I feel like the Unifornation was always overhyped. I'm sure they are good enough printers. But I always saw them as one choice in many not the standout. That being said. I don't mind the smaller build volume. I understand why people think it's important but I really don't. and build issues happen. I don't even mind the power button being on the back. I kind of just leave mine turned on all the time so one time reach around the side or back isn't a problem. Overall. The fact that they are shipping replacements is good enough for me.
I was so upset when I got my second GKtwo and the GKthree came out about 3 weeks later. But from the sounds of things the GKtwo was a good choice. Can wait to see what they have in store for the future though 🎉🎉🎉
its kidna disapoting they dident add some of the features from gk3 to the gk3 ultra. The ultra just feels like a bigger gktwo. I went ahead and got the ultra (becuse heygears did not ship to denmark until today lol).. but im plauged by some off the same problems.. im having a hard time to dial it in aswell, my creality unit was easier.. And today they released their multi exposure test, but its just a file, its not built in to the unit at all... (like the saturn4).. mine did arrive without damage to the lid, but im having a offset they dont want to fix. and i got a feeling there is a problem with their uv.. its underpowered?
Many Chinese vendors face language and cultural obstacles. This is especially true for companies that are new to the space. I never thought that most of these companies are trying to hide things. Many are having logistical challenges as growth occurs that is not controlled well which hurts the brand. As a westerner, I have a certain level of expectation especially when it comes to delivery. These companies are not quite there yet, but I think they’ll figure it out.
I have had lots of dealings with machine tools from Asia, it's given me a flinch. I didn't realize that they are Taiwan based, that's another story, it'll be okay.
I love uniformation. But unless they scrap the 3 line and completely redo it, these changes with release film, power button placement etc just aren't enough for me. They did nothing to make me want to upgrade from my gktwo printers. And now that I have my reflex rs and I'm loving it, I don't see me even getting a gk3 once I can no longer get parts for my gktwo.
I wouldn't call it fall in real sense of the word. The graph of "rising" was so steep that the line needed to have a break to a little bit more horizontal line. What I am afraid of is what I have been seeing for the last 10 years in so many things. And that is investment of venture capital in small companies where they start to be the "bosses". And they are full of managers (lowest form of live organisms on earth). They know nothing, just want that everything needs to be on some made-up timeline. And that is where everyone needs to work faster so that they can payout themselves bonuses for "good financial results".
Ah the whole hook line and sinker, over deliver in the beginning and then take a few steps back after you've hooked them, and This is why you never stay brand loyal if there's a better machine for a better price who cares what color it is or what name is plastered on it......... Unless you prefer a specific user interface or operating system
I was really excited about pre-ordering the GK3 Ultra for my new small business, but after all the bad experiences others have had and the fact that mentioned they may not support make spare parts for the GK2 for more than another year... Man, it just seemed like a too big of a risk and I had to back out and cancel. Such a disappointment.
You made the right choice...trash company. Bought the GKtwo and if they really stop making parts in 1 year this is the biggest fucking paperweight ever...regret it
They have stated another 2-3 years. But even if it was just another year, they have supported the gktwo and provided service for it longer than just about any other consumer resin printer company. Certainly not a shit compt.
Love you and your videos however I do have two issues The first is the use of the word “shill” I feel you are overusing it the more you mention it the more the hater’s will continue The other is your not these companies public relations manager. If Uniformation rushed out the machines that’s on them to get their message out. With the damaged equipment in transport you made a great observation with delivery drivers the GK3 ultra is a pallet size item they should of known that instead they tried to slim the packaging down to a minimum and failed.
What I'm most triggered by is the fact (and you said it in the video) that gk3 is an update to gk2. Ok, fine but why the hell DOESN'T the ULTRA have the lens and COB(I get the COB can be problematic for the screen and the lens need space in the chassis, but c'mon....). This issue is not mentioned even once and acknowledged. For the price this thing costs I expected better screen with the above two ...... There are even reported problems with the UV Uniformity on the GK3 Ultra as there are big variations ....
Yeah, When the Ultra came out, I said this. Every other printer uses COB now becaus eof teh sharpnes benefits, but they chose a Matrix array still. I think this is literally the cas eof they Designed the Gk Ultra first, and then decided to put the numbre 3 on it afterwards to include it in the new generation of printers. But 2 ultra would have made more sense. when it feels more like a "GK2.5 Max"... very bad wording on their part. but they are a company who writes "Enjoyable Creation, Better Experience" on their branding as a tagline. No matter how many times I've told them that this sounds dumb. TLDR, disappointing. And all it will take is for another brand to release this 16k panel on a printer with COB. Even the Mono M7 Max with antiailising can do some solid printes (not quite as detailed as this), has a heater and comes in a much lower price point.
Yeah, I tried pronouncing his actual name and I'll stick with Bruce. Which he has offered for our convenience. I understand what you are saying, but also udnerstand why it is done this way too. It's respectful. Especially when slight changes and tone and intonation, can change the noise we make from a person's name into an unintentional insult.
Every single 3d printer ive received has packaging so good it would take a tank running over it to damage the product inside how can these dudes get it so bad, im airing on the side of cheap quality products been used more than packing issues.
The fact that you take into consideration language and cultural barrier shows how committed you are the relaying truth in context. You’re not a shill for any company. I applaud you my friend! Thanks for the great content!
Why do people think you're a shill for any company? I feel that you're always thorough and fair in all of your reviews. Keep up the great work!
Ah you must be a Fauxhammer shill! (If he is giving away any of his large format printers that he has laying around then I will happily shill too)
But yeah 100% agree with you @ckling217 I know there was a lot of push back to the heygears reviews but they seemed like fair, balanced reviews to me and as other RUclipsrs have shown you can use any resin in them.
My hinge broke only a month or 2 after buying it. They sent me a new hinge and plate asap! Then my LCD interface screen stopped working, a call and short video showing the problem, new LCD screen sent and I installed it with following a simple video with steps to replace! So far my service / interacting with their support and so far all I can say is its been really good and the printer is working great!
The more you explain, the more you hide
@@KyleLiu-w3sThat's both churlish and childish. One supposes that a stern teacher once said that to you when you were lying in class or making excuses or something, and rather than having learned the lesson they were trying to impart, you simply remembered your hurt feelings and decided it was a good line to use on someone else one day. Too bad you didn't understand either it or the lesson.
To help you along, the OP is not hiding anything. He is simply describing a process he went through with a defective purchase. He's concentrating on the positive aspect of his experience (the fact that customer service was helpful and prompt and that he now has a product he's happy with) and being forgiving about the negative aspect of his experience (the fact that a couple of parts broke too early).
Hope that helps. Next, you might want to replay the time your teacher used that line on you. Ponder it. Learn the lesson you were SUPPOSED to learn in the first place. Be a better person. And bring less douchery to the internet. There's enough here already.
And you get it. Working as part of an engineering team that was split between the USA-based project team and a Taiwan-based design team I had to think in very direct terms when communicating with the Taiwan team - and these were people that I interfaced with daily.
I did get an answer about the 385nm wavelength from another, industrial manufacturer's team - it's all about the resin. 385nm light sources are a) more expensive to manufacture, b) longer lived in industrial applications, and c) provide an even more exact print result with the medical and industrial resins. This then goes to further what you said about the GKThree being the better consumer/hobbyist choice - lower cost and broader consumer resin compatibility.
my cracked printer is in the video hahaha i made it finally in life! i want to thank my mrs for putting up with my printing addiction
On a serious note i do want to make my own opinions on my experience so far with gk2 and gk3 ultra with my positives and negatives all in one video
I think there is a rush to be "first to market" when it's far more important to do it right. Doesn't matter if you are first if it's done poorly.
I adore my GKtwo and I'm very glad I got it, though I am looking forward to a GKfour hopefully being a worthy successor when its properly ready.
Fauxhammer is the best! I appreciate your honest and candor. Because of you I own the GK Two and the A1 Mini.
Having lived in China, I couldn't agree with you more when it comes to communication. You handled this very respectfully. Good on you 👏
Thank you, that was my intention.
Once again this is what *I* consider to be a wonderfully pitched video … the understanding that there is an absolute chasm that can be inadvertently created by a language / translation issue is not one to be made light of and I think you took the right path here …
As always, great video on this! Thank you for taking our questions to them and to the CEO nan himself!
I agree with you that we do need patience in order to receive a good product instead of receiving a crappy product just for instant gratification. Hopefully, and like you said, they learn from this and make a corse correction in future printers.
I Just got the GKTwo on the clearance. I love it. I wish it had the easy calibration of an Anycubic.
Damn you Ross -- That door creaking at 8:10 had me spinning around in my chair in my basement when I am supposed to be home alone. Scared the Fudge out of me !
I started with a Saturn 2. Solid hardware, but I've always gotten a lot of failed prints with it, so much so that I hardly use it any more. Then i got an Anycubic. Great and reliable prints. Then about plate #25, the verticle screw functionality died with a grinding noise. I decided to skip the latest from these two brands and picked up an "old" GKtwo this month. Black friday sale brought the price down to about $500. Im only a few prints in and 100% success so far. No plate leveling. I didn't even run calibration prints. Just picked a popular option in Lychee. Crossing my fingers, it stays good.
Jammy bastard! They're sold out here. Congrats!
Kudos to you for your explanation of the language barrier. I've been in places where almost nobody spoke English, and the professional translators got me into more trouble than my own poor language
@@ronaldbell7429 … we English speakers are generally incredibly lazy when it comes to our ability to communicate outside of our language and it’s often perceived that ‘foreigners’ are really bad at communicating with us but it’s us that are at fault, we generally don’t have a decent grasp of any other languages and often the people who natively speak Asian languages have a grasp of English that - given it’s a second language - is simply phenomenal, they just generally don’t get the nuances and subtleties that we take for granted.
As stated at the end of the video, if they can get some people on the team that know the products and can speak confidently then that’s great - it should make life easier for them too.
Top marks to them for effort!
Agreed, I had one commenter say "they are lieing with their first breath" becasue the guy who called himself Bruce, is not called Bruce.
I'm not having a go at the commenter as the comment comes from the same innocent ignorance I once had.
But the reason many chinese people change their names for us, is becasue when we try to proinounce them. Even a slight inflection or intonation in a sound can completely change the word, nevermind it's meaning.
It's why they laughed at me when I tried to do it.
They do it for our convenience, but are still frequently looked down on as though they are doing it to be intentionally misleading.
I love the part of this role that helps me break down cultural barriers. We English Speakers (and I wholeheartedly include myself in this) are somewhat arrogant in the way we come across to other people.
@@FauxHammer - I do tech support for a high-end HiFi manufacturer and lots of our customers are in China / Asia / Japan and yes, it's very rare that someone contacts me using their real name. Assuming a "western" name is something that they do as a matter of course and the owner of our Chinese distributors is a very lovely "Eddie".
People still associate "Made in China" with poor quality ... I can assure you from my own experiences that chinese manufacturers are *INCREDIBLY* good at designing down to a price if that's what you want them to do (if you're using a Chinese manufacturer to make your goods) but if you want them to build to a quality rather than a price then they can do so spectacularly well, it's just that they are so used to being approached to manufacture things as cheaply as possible that that is their default position.
My previous employer used to get a couple of their lowest end models made in China and it was quite an experience to get them to do what we asked (they would try to save us money and recommended lots of ways to make the kit more cheaply) but the reality was that the Chinese made kit, percentage wise, had an overall *MUCH* lower failure rate than the kit that was made in the UK and they were able to predict quite accurately what their expected failure rate would be.
I'm incredibly impressed by what Chinese manufacturing *CAN* do if you give them the right direction...
@@FauxHammer I've seen that kind of westernized name a lot especially in Asians. "Namja" becomes "Nancy" and sometimes it just seems arbitrary the one they choose. It's never occurred to me that it was an attempt at deception. That's just someone trying to pretend to be "wise and worldly" when actually they're just the opposite, naive and lacking the simplest experience.
On the other hand, I assure you that it's not entirely a one-way problem. Westerners are far more likely to self-criticize than many other cultures I have experience with. Internet trolls excepted of course.
@@philharris9631 Yes and no. Speaking as someone who has been in foreign lands with only intermediate skills in the native language, and often without the aid of a translator, you're taking a provincial view. English speakers are not the only people to forget that the foreigner struggling with their language isn't deliberate in his gaffes. I've gotten into some surprisingly hot situations, where I was often the only person making any effort to figure out why people were getting pissed off at what seemed a benign statement on my part. My experiences are mainly Europe and Eastern Europe, but go to Japan or China and see how fast you get into trouble not by failing to navigate what is generally a far more labyrinthine maze of social customs. (And we won't even talk about Parisians, who will often misunderstand an English speaker on purpose, especially when they're trying to speak French.)
I honestly hadn't heard about any of these issues; sounds like pretty typical teething problems for a small company, and yeah, enthusiasts have a tendency to turn molehills into mountains. Glad to hear they're committed to fixing these problems.
I brought my GK2 about two months ago, just before they were discontinued. I brought it because it had a proven track record and I love mines. Hopefully with some time Uniformation will make it right and the GK3 and Pro will be great machines like the GK2. Their mistake was rushing to put out a product that hadn't been tested or shaken down properly. But hopefully with the feedback they are getting, they will improve the machines.
The worst thing with Chinese companies is they do not understand pure purpose of the things they are building/making/creating. They just can’t think outside the item or process.
Great video. Much appreciated.
I am hyped to buy a GK3 or GK3 Pro , hope they get back on the rails soon ...
I talked to one of them by E-mail. Fast response, very helpful. I'm glad they are fixing many of the design issues, such as a stronger outer box, better packing, improved buildplate, stronger material for the hinge and hopefully being able to close the lid when placing it for dripping.
I also like to point out that they told me there is no official distributor nor inventory wear house in North America and that the free shipping is ONLY for the US. This is terrible for any other country, because they are sending a huge heavy machine from China that almost dobles the price tag due to Shipping and they don't have the GK3 Ultra in Amazon either. So yeah, they really need to step up their shipping efforts to other countries, not just the US.
Having said that... I do plan on buying one but only after I see they have fixed the previous design issues and cut the shipping cost.
It is called The Emperor's New Clothes.🎉
Feel like what the GK2 had going for it was comparable print quality and volume combined with great quality of life design decisions that made it tempting. The GK3 slightly downsizing the build volume and not keeping pace with other printers without lowering the price creates the feeling in me of “I’m not paying almost twice as much for a smaller slower less detailed printer even if it’s easier to replace the screen”
Thank you for doing this video. I may not be a long time 3D printer, but I’m certainly here to stay and the GK3 Ultra was my first large scale purchased printer.
In short: Mark me as somewhat disappointed, but hopeful.
The z-offset and build plate seemed to be my main issues, and as you mentioned in the video, Uniformation has been extremely responsive. If they had been on par with other companies that I have tried to work with, it would have been a very bad experience. I do believe that they continue to work to resolve issues and with a new build plate I’m mostly up and running. I still am having some issues with printing a large scale of smaller items (especially in getting the right level of detail) so I think there is still something to tweak somewhere, but I’m hopeful that it will get figured out. It might be something I’ve done wrong.
I’ll be buying a 10-ish inch printer in February and despite all the issues, the other GK3 is not off the table. The company has more than proved that it cares, not it’s just about making it right for everyone.
Based on the experience with Epax as well, "We're trying to build acrylic covers at scale for larger printers" appears to be a major hurdle to overcome.
I pre ordered the GK3 on Black Friday! I was torn back and forth between the M7 and the GK3. Since the print quality will not differ too much between these two I eventually went with the GK3 because of the heating.
A fair well balanced video..very good Ross
thank you
will still support them because I know they will get it right!!
If they had a tilting/peeling vat, I would be all over this machine. I can’t believe this isn’t an option yet for this brand.
To be fair the only company that has a tilting vat has a lot of 1st technology issues with it. I'm glad they stayed away from that and an auto-leveling feature.
@ I have two of them with a tilting vats. No issues here. They are great. Which issues are you referring to?
My S4 Ultra is still going strong! It simply can't be beat especially for the price. Well, maybe by the Saturn 5 Ultra lol.
Saturn 2 still running strong.
Thanks for the reviev
Happy I canceled my UK3 Ultra...
I bet that interview was going swimmingly until YourDad jumped up on the counter! Go video. I have my GK2 and love the thing!
They rushed it and now are feeling the effects of it.
Another great video and excellent talking points. In my opinion you are spot on with the comment for this situation, what matters is their response. Shit happens, how they fix these issues and communicate what they doing is important. Also spot on about the language and culture barriers. I have traveled through out Middle East and Central Asia and once I stopped thinking like a Western, then and only then did the communication issues decreased and I had a better understanding what was trying to be communicated
I just wish they would make their X13 resin available again - it was my favorite!!
Hahaha nice featuring
My initial thoughts about the GK3 when I saw your review was that part of the issue may well be the company struggling to design a product that can be produced at larger scale than the GK2. Selecting and sourcing parts and designing the machine to be built/shipped/services/etc is not easy. Is it disappointing that the GK3 is like this? Yes, but mistakes happen. To me the thing to look at is how they respond, both with the modifications before the release and with what their next products look like.
Great video! I'm sure they will rise up, they look to be a good company that did a mistake delivering too fast and I think they learn from that. I would still support that brand, they innovate and making quality products (albeit their rushed new product)
To your point about not being able to design a better machine yourself, I counter with something I heard once: "You don't have to know how the twinkie factory works to know when you got a bad twinkie". On the other hand you're absolutely right that people need to chill. Not every product release needs to be a smashing success or a monumental generational leap.
fauxhammer learning mandarin for 2025 would be mental
I'm not sure I would say "The Rise and Fall", maybe "The Rise and Plateau of Uniformation". They didn't really fail, they just didn't progress too well, kinda flattened out their feature curve on the GK3's, mostly.
Sorry. It’s a placeholder for my thumbnail which is. The rise and fall of. Once the thumbnail is done. The title will be something like “and how they can come back”
The large format entry makes sense, the standard 3 isnt really justified.
They fall hard on their faces with the GK3Ultra. Lot of unhappy customers who are returning the unit or cancelling their pre-orders; reading their Facebook group. Each day a new problem is surfacing along with new users being unhappy.
No consumer printer should cost this much money
I have been happy with my GK2. Information should keep improving their product line without compromising quality. If I want an ok printer I am spoiled for choice, it would be a shame if Information continues down that road.
Great vid and shout out to Brent!
I hope so, they are finally shipping my GK3 Ultra soon ..or they just said so to prevent me from cancelling my preorder a little longer. We'll see how it goes. I have read a few not so enthusiastic reviews from the people who didnt receive a damaged unit so i'm definitely a little worried...
I've owned 5 3d printers, starting with a Form 1.5 and sofar the only one that has been out of the box great and long term reliable was my Saturn 2. You have to be a little crazy to be in this hobby i guess.
I will definitely be buying an Ultra, when I know for sure they've ironed out the issues.. I've got a few products in mind that would scale up nicely from the GKtwos I have (which I'm very, very happy with👌) - shame they rushed the GK3..
Considering how many problems it has it may even be worthwhile for Uniformation to scrap that product line and focus on the GK3/Pro.
A full range exposure test like Elegoo and anycubic has to be able to tune resins on all there printers would be a start.
Still yet for my gk3 ultra to be shipped. Ordered day 1....
This is why they should have focused on one printer launch not 3.
@FauxHammer Quick question: Slicing software for resin printers, do you have a preference? I am in the dark with this because I haven never had a resin printer before. Uniformation just emailed me and asked me to choose between Lychee vs Chitubox. Reviews seem to lean towards Lychee. Just seeing if you had an opinion on one vs the other. I will be doing a mix of small and large prints, not just focusing on miniatures but will be doing those too. Just figured I would ask, or if you made a video that I didn't see, just point me to it and I'll shutup =)
It's a weird one...
I tend to use whatever software comes with the printer. I get these machines very early access, and typically (becasue historically Chitusystems also make the control boards inside many printers) Chitubox has been the most reliable.
Lychee comparably kinda drag their heels when it comes to adding printer compatability to their lineup. and in my experience in the early days, I had so many unexplainable issues occur which disappeared when i use Chitubox to Slice.
But, Lychee has the better workflow. by far. and the supporting is much easier. I actually have a video which shows the proicess i still use today.
which is.
If i need to hollow, i do this in chitubox then export the file as an stl (because you can;t export a hollowed model in Lychee)
I put that STL in lychee and support it, then export that as an STL
I then slice the model in Chitubox
if it;s an anycubic printer, thge only difference i make is that i use anycubic workshop in the last step
I have no particular preference as I use what is goinna give me the fewest potentiall issues depending on the job.
@@FauxHammer Makes sense. I'll plan to have both lol. Thank you, sir!
Hello there, I am going to upgrade my resin printer, I have a creality LD 002R. I'm looking at mars 5 ultra and anycubic M5s pro. Like that anycubic have heater and purifier with it.
I think Uniformation has literally shot themselves in the foot here.
As a first time ‘resin’ 3d print buyer, and after watching (reading) a load of reviews from FauxHammer (Awesome vids BTW!!) and others. They seem to have ignored what was maybe the overall draw from the GK2. At least for me. Great prints, easy to use, and the bigger 10.3” build plate (+ heated Vat). Compared to that the GK3 seems like a bit of a downgrade at a higher price?
Which brings Uniformation into a bit of an awkward place. As I'd rather wait for a GK4 (A GK2 restock) or get an alternative product. Yet if they do bring out a GK4 unit in the interim addressing said issues. GK3 & GK3Pro owners could suffer extreme buyer's remorse. Souring consumer relations even further. For now buying into the GK3 ecosystem seems a huge gamble.
So I feel like the Unifornation was always overhyped. I'm sure they are good enough printers. But I always saw them as one choice in many not the standout. That being said. I don't mind the smaller build volume. I understand why people think it's important but I really don't. and build issues happen. I don't even mind the power button being on the back. I kind of just leave mine turned on all the time so one time reach around the side or back isn't a problem. Overall. The fact that they are shipping replacements is good enough for me.
I was so upset when I got my second GKtwo and the GKthree came out about 3 weeks later. But from the sounds of things the GKtwo was a good choice. Can wait to see what they have in store for the future though 🎉🎉🎉
its kidna disapoting they dident add some of the features from gk3 to the gk3 ultra. The ultra just feels like a bigger gktwo. I went ahead and got the ultra (becuse heygears did not ship to denmark until today lol).. but im plauged by some off the same problems.. im having a hard time to dial it in aswell, my creality unit was easier.. And today they released their multi exposure test, but its just a file, its not built in to the unit at all... (like the saturn4).. mine did arrive without damage to the lid, but im having a offset they dont want to fix. and i got a feeling there is a problem with their uv.. its underpowered?
Many Chinese vendors face language and cultural obstacles. This is especially true for companies that are new to the space. I never thought that most of these companies are trying to hide things. Many are having logistical challenges as growth occurs that is not controlled well which hurts the brand. As a westerner, I have a certain level of expectation especially when it comes to delivery. These companies are not quite there yet, but I think they’ll figure it out.
I have had lots of dealings with machine tools from Asia, it's given me a flinch. I didn't realize that they are Taiwan based, that's another story, it'll be okay.
Did they say anything on why they didn't include pressure sensor technology?
Did I catch a Dead Space reference?!
I love uniformation. But unless they scrap the 3 line and completely redo it, these changes with release film, power button placement etc just aren't enough for me. They did nothing to make me want to upgrade from my gktwo printers. And now that I have my reflex rs and I'm loving it, I don't see me even getting a gk3 once I can no longer get parts for my gktwo.
I wouldn't call it fall in real sense of the word. The graph of "rising" was so steep that the line needed to have a break to a little bit more horizontal line. What I am afraid of is what I have been seeing for the last 10 years in so many things. And that is investment of venture capital in small companies where they start to be the "bosses". And they are full of managers (lowest form of live organisms on earth). They know nothing, just want that everything needs to be on some made-up timeline. And that is where everyone needs to work faster so that they can payout themselves bonuses for "good financial results".
An English speaking spox would do them a lot of good especially with the incoming trade issues and tariffs.
Ah the whole hook line and sinker, over deliver in the beginning and then take a few steps back after you've hooked them, and This is why you never stay brand loyal if there's a better machine for a better price who cares what color it is or what name is plastered on it......... Unless you prefer a specific user interface or operating system
Struggling to see the benefit of the GK3pro over the GKtwo. To me overall, it’s just reduced build volume.
I was really excited about pre-ordering the GK3 Ultra for my new small business, but after all the bad experiences others have had and the fact that mentioned they may not support make spare parts for the GK2 for more than another year... Man, it just seemed like a too big of a risk and I had to back out and cancel. Such a disappointment.
They have publicly stated 2-3 years for the Gk2 parts support
You made the right choice...trash company. Bought the GKtwo and if they really stop making parts in 1 year this is the biggest fucking paperweight ever...regret it
They have stated another 2-3 years. But even if it was just another year, they have supported the gktwo and provided service for it longer than just about any other consumer resin printer company. Certainly not a shit compt.
@@abaddon7971 You can still get GKone parts. This is BS and was publicly addressed weeks ago already.
Love you and your videos however I do have two issues The first is the use of the word “shill” I feel you are overusing it the more you mention it the more the hater’s will continue The other is your not these companies public relations manager. If Uniformation rushed out the machines that’s on them to get their message out. With the damaged equipment in transport you made a great observation with delivery drivers the GK3 ultra is a pallet size item they should of known that instead they tried to slim the packaging down to a minimum and failed.
Get off the furniture
Is something they say to me sometimes.
What I'm most triggered by is the fact (and you said it in the video) that gk3 is an update to gk2. Ok, fine but why the hell DOESN'T the ULTRA have the lens and COB(I get the COB can be problematic for the screen and the lens need space in the chassis, but c'mon....). This issue is not mentioned even once and acknowledged. For the price this thing costs I expected better screen with the above two ...... There are even reported problems with the UV Uniformity on the GK3 Ultra as there are big variations ....
Yeah, When the Ultra came out, I said this. Every other printer uses COB now becaus eof teh sharpnes benefits, but they chose a Matrix array still.
I think this is literally the cas eof they Designed the Gk Ultra first, and then decided to put the numbre 3 on it afterwards to include it in the new generation of printers.
But 2 ultra would have made more sense. when it feels more like a "GK2.5 Max"... very bad wording on their part. but they are a company who writes "Enjoyable Creation, Better Experience" on their branding as a tagline. No matter how many times I've told them that this sounds dumb.
TLDR, disappointing. And all it will take is for another brand to release this 16k panel on a printer with COB.
Even the Mono M7 Max with antiailising can do some solid printes (not quite as detailed as this), has a heater and comes in a much lower price point.
I think a lot of the smaller guys in the industry bite of more than they can chew. Why re design so much of the printer every year?
For sure the lack of communication was the biggest issue with the GK3 Pro release. But I still think it’s a great machine that has a lot of potential
The only problem i can see is his name definately is not bruce. So they've lied right out of the gate!
Yeah, I tried pronouncing his actual name and I'll stick with Bruce. Which he has offered for our convenience. I understand what you are saying, but also udnerstand why it is done this way too. It's respectful. Especially when slight changes and tone and intonation, can change the noise we make from a person's name into an unintentional insult.
Every single 3d printer ive received has packaging so good it would take a tank running over it to damage the product inside how can these dudes get it so bad, im airing on the side of cheap quality products been used more than packing issues.