ANYCUBIC Photon Mono M7 MAX Resin 3D Printer, 13.6’’ 7K Large Resin Printer with COB LighTurbo 3.0, Dynamic Heating, Flip-Open Cover Design, Print Size 11.8” x 11.7” x 6.5”

An excellent way to get into 3D printing
Note: I will not go into a comparison between FDM and Resin 3D printing for this review.Pros:Simple set upIntuitive menuHigh quality printsEntry level friendlyVery high tolerancesConsistentCons:Protection of the LCD screenMishap clean upQuirks:Touch screen controls are slightly offBackground:I am an engineer and I have been designing components to work with 3D printing and 3D printing since 2012. This is my first resin 3D printer after a history with FDM and designing a SLS 3D printer for printing nylon. I originally chose to purchase a 3D printer with the intent to print custom connectors for robotics applications, small components with high tolerances, prototypes, small scale production, and a few figurines.Detailed Review:The setup is very simple with all tools provided and little room for error following simple instructions which when combined with the intuitive menu that gives you a preview of the print makes this an excellent choice for someone getting into 3D printing or switching over to FDM. I was incredibly surprised with the precision of the prints, the amount of details, and the final processed measurements. The quality of the print has actually required me to model more components such as threads, cogs, and gears rather than use someone else’s model due to fitment. (Those models will still work fine for most hobby applications but for precision applications with limited slippage or precise alignment it is better to design to your machine) It is important to note that I find that the cover does an excellent job at keeping the smell of resin out of the room, but it is highly recommended that you keep any open resin in a well ventilated area and use an appropriate mask if you will be around it for a long period of time such as a cull cleaning of the vat. I have been printing non-stop to test if the performance degrades and have found no issues as long as I ensure that the build plate is clean and there isn’t anything stuck to the FEP.An inspection of the device (from an engineering perspective) revealed a potential issue with how the LCD screen protected. The LCD itself appears to be protected by a layer of glass that is recessed from the aluminum plate. While this protects from being scraped by the vat, it could cause some issues cleaning if resin were to end up on the glass or surrounding aluminum. Glancing at other printers in the price range, it appears that all of the competition will have the same potential issue if Resin is spilled. As long as you are careful with the vat and research and test if you decide to replace the FEP, you shouldn’t run into any issues. One quirk I have noticed is that the touch screen controls appear to be slightly out of calibration making it easier to fat thumb things. I don’t know if that quirk is on all units or just mine but it is still easy to use and a stylus with a smaller effective area than your finger is fool proof (I still use my finger).Conclusion:Overall I am incredibly happy with this unit and would recommend that anyone looking into getting into 3D printing especially that of figurines.Potential users:As with all precision devices and machines, you should always research before attempting something new and maintain your machine. So get out there and find forums and youtube videos on how to get the best prints and take care of the printer.For the fellow engineers:Your selection of resin is very important for the durability of your parts. Print in place objects such as bearings are very difficult to cure as they typically have high tolerances in enclosed places where it is difficult for you to get UV light to do a full cure.

Suprisingly great printer
I’ve been 3D printing for over 5 years and printing with another companies resin printer for the past 18 months. I was spoiled by its ease of use, but it was also expensive to operate so I didn’t use it as often as I would have liked. Curiosity finally got the better of me and I picked up this Anycubic Photon Mono just to see what these little LCD printers are really capable of and I can safely say I’m blown away by the print quality. Once you have a process that works, its very easy to use. Just expect a learning curve.When I was waiting for the printer to arrive I submersed myself in all the YouTube videos on the subject that I could find. Turns out this was a good thing AND a bad thing. Based on all this new found “knowledge” and thinking I knew better, I forged my own path for my first print and sadly it was an utter failure. Based on the videos I had watched I started ordering resin trays and FEP film but due to my inexperience, I ordered all the wrong things. Long story short after a comedy of errors and a half dozen failed prints I finally hit upon a winning formula that I’ve been able to readily duplicate across half a dozen successful prints now.The printer gives you most everything you’ll need to start printing right away. Everything except the resin, and depending on the type you get you may also need isopropyl alcohol to clean the print which for some reason is still hard to come by. I bought the Anycubic Craftsman resin and have been super happy with the quality.Some of the things I learned during my first couple weeks—-When you have a failed print, make sure to clean out the resin tray otherwise the next print will be adversely affected–Some of the resins are extremely bad smelling, some protection is recommended–You will eventually have to replace the FEP film, however the most popular videos on YouTube show a product and process that is out of date.–There is definitely a learning curve you can only get past by experience. All the video watching in the world can’t prepare you for every little hiccup, especially when so many videos contradict those of other channels.So like everything there are pros and cons, so from my perspective, here are mine–PROS–Printer is super easy to use and setup once you know the process–Very inexpensive to operate relative to high end solutions–High quality print results that surpasses expectation–Comparatively fast, prints an entire layer in one go, taking just a couple seconds of exposureCONS–Initial learning curve, you need to understand burn-in layers, exposure times and lift speed and half a dozen other settings, yet none of these options are really clearly explained, nor is it covered how they affect the final result.–It can take a couple hours before you can see if there’s anything on the build plate, I wish there was a way to know earlier if a print failed.–There are so many options for resins available, yet there is very little data on what settings you need for a particular printer/resin combo so some educated/guessing will be necessary.All in all, I’m super happy I took the chance on this printer, as I’ve done so much printing, trying different things now that I would never have considered with my other printer mostly due to speed and cost. I’m sure next I’ll be looking to upgrade to its big brother.

The printer is fantastic, however I’m not too impressed with some of the changes made to Photon Workshop

Excelente