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Worth getting an Anycubic Mono SE over a Mono?  [RSS] Share on facebook Share on Twitter Submit to Reddit
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Made in au
Grizzled Space Wolves Great Wolf





I'm thinking of grabbing an Anycubic Photon Mono, but was wondering if it's worth the extra to get an SE?

The main things I noticed was that the SE has a filtered exhaust (I'll put it in another room, but I have a lot of chemical sensitivities so even in another room I'm worried fumes will be a problem), dual rail Z-axis, and it's mostly made from metal vs plastic on the mono.

As someone who's never tried a resin printer before, are those things worth an extra $100AUD (~$70US) for the Mono SE over the standard Mono?


I am aware it's also slightly faster printing, which is a nice to have but not that important, I won't be printing on a commercial scale, and also wifi (which given I don't use wifi on my PC's is probably wasted on me).


Plan on grabbing the Wash and Cure station at the same time (partly because of the aforementioned chemical sensitivities, I just want to be able to quickly dump them in wash and cure bucket, seal the lid and walk away while it cleans), a couple of litres of standard grey resin and a few replacement FEPs. I've also heard it's a good idea to get an ipad screen protector since they use a plastic screen which is easily damaged?

Cheers!

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2021/12/04 08:35:22


 
   
Made in gb
Leader of the Sept







I have the mono, but not the SE, so I can’t do a comparison but here are some of my thoughts on using the basic unit.

If you are sensitive to chemicals the filter unit may be the best USP. I have gradually been ramping up my vapour protection to the point of getting a grow tent to sit the printer in. The extra cost of the SE is likely to be worth it from that point of view alone. Also keeping soiled cleaning materials in the highly vented garage to keep the fumes away.

I can recommend goggles as well, as even just having the models out to post process and rinse led to the skin around my eyes feeling itchy amd dry.

I have had great and consistent results from the basic unit with plastic construction, and haven’t had any z axis wobble problems. However I think that is a very subjective thing so i wouldn’t necessarily draw any conclusions from my experience alone.

Get a pair of flex plates
https://www.3djake.uk/3djake/resin-flexplate-system

Makes turning around builds super easy, and the flat flex plat is so much easier to scrape stuff off if needed compared to the weirdly shaped build thing. Just make sure you follow the instructions about the spacer for the build plate zero sensor.

Regarding the wifi capability, I would actually recommend making it work. It’s just a bit of a faff having to transport usb sticks around. Much easier just to cross load through space magic waves

One warning though is that I’m still not sure if the Mono has any anti-aliasing support. It is supposed to, but I’ve never been able to make it work. Comparing my results with Albertorious on this site indicates that his Elegoo units seem to do that better. Just a thought if you are not totally wedded to the Mono

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2021/12/04 12:15:58


Please excuse any spelling errors. I use a tablet frequently and software keyboards are a pain!

Terranwing - w3;d1;l1
51st Dunedinw2;d0;l0
Cadre Coronal Afterglow w1;d0;l0 
   
Made in gb
Yu Jing Martial Arts Ninja




North Wales

I had the same dilemma. Went for the SE. These are the reasons:

Quality of print? Probably little difference. Although having dual z-rails apparently helps reduce the z-banding effect that you can get, I have no idea how significant it is.

Speed? Apparently it's a stronger light source, which means that the curing time per layer is a little less. Sounded good in theory, but I've got my lift height and speed set to super-duper-cautious, so the actual curing time isn't a big factor in the overall print time.

Fumes? I'm amazingly insensitive to chemicals, but rather sensitive to complaints about my hobbies producing bad smells. I needed filters!

Design and build quality? I much prefer the metal construction and hinged door of the SE - not a fan of the yellow plastic bucket aesthetic, myself.

Wi-fi? Don't worry about it, it's a red herring. You can't use it to print with, it's just for monitoring how far along you are on the current print on your phone. In order to actually get the thing to print, the files are going into the printer via the USB port; either a cable to your PC or ideally the USB stick that they helpfully provide with the printer (as long as it isn't a duff one!)

So, I got the SE and a wash and cure station. If money was an issue, and getting the SE was going to stop me getting the curing station, then getting the Mono and the curing station would have been the smart move. That curing station is one of the greatest inventions of the 21st century.
   
Made in au
Grizzled Space Wolves Great Wolf





Thanks for the comments. I ended up going with the SE, we'll see how it goes!

I didn't end up buying any resin because I couldn't apply 2 discount codes at once (anycubic currently has a 3 for 2 discount code for resin).

Any recommendations on resin to start out with? Was thinking of going for the Anycubic Plant based one, because I figure it might be less stinky and they have it on sale currently ($82USD for 3x 1 litre bottles).

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2021/12/04 14:53:39


 
   
Made in gb
Leader of the Sept







I use water washable stuff just to to ease logistics for cleaning. I don’t know how well that works with the wash station though.

Please excuse any spelling errors. I use a tablet frequently and software keyboards are a pain!

Terranwing - w3;d1;l1
51st Dunedinw2;d0;l0
Cadre Coronal Afterglow w1;d0;l0 
   
Made in gb
Yu Jing Martial Arts Ninja




North Wales

I've used Elegoo water washable since my first day and it seems cool.

Works fine with the wash and cure, but does get a thin film of resin crudding up the bucket over time. This probably wouldn't be an issue if I wasn't as lazy as I am and was a bit more diligent about cleaning it.

The cost and logistics of water vs. IPA has meant that I haven't even looked at the regular stuff.
   
Made in gb
Decrepit Dakkanaut




UK

Wash and Cure stations just have a bucket with a small fan in the bottom that spins up the water for agitation - its the agitation that does a lot of the work cleaning. The bonus is that you can also just turn them on and leave them going for 10 mins or however long and not have to stand there shaking a pickle-container for ages instead.

So water or IPA will work just fine in them


The downsides to water washable resins are:

1) The water comes into contact with wet and uncured resin and thus has to be treated as contaminated. Which means when it comes to disposal you do NOT put it down the sink.
Water (or IPA) must be left to evaporate off and any reside exposed (leaving the container in the sun works well for both). Only exposed and thus cured resin is safe for disposal.

IPA thus has the bonus that it will evaporate off much faster than water.

2) Water Washable resins are much more likely to warp/tear with regard to hollowed models (or any similar structure). This they can require slightly different than standard supporting to ensure that they print cleanly. Since this most often shows during hollowing, oyu can put more supports inside the hollowed area to avoid support damage to the outer surfaces.



A Blog in Miniature

3D Printing, hobbying and model fun! 
   
Made in es
Inspiring SDF-1 Bridge Officer






 Flinty wrote:
I use water washable stuff just to to ease logistics for cleaning. I don’t know how well that works with the wash station though.


Not very, particularly in comparison with an ultrasound cleaner. They work much better with alcohol.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2021/12/04 21:04:12


 
   
Made in au
Grizzled Space Wolves Great Wolf





I had been cautious to go for water washable because some comments I read online somewhere said that it seemed more brittle and also seemed to degrade more over time (maybe because it is able to soak up moisture somewhat after it's cured?).
   
Made in us
Courageous Questing Knight





Texas

I have also found the water washable resins very susceptible to moisture damage, like leaving too long in the soak can destroy/deform them. One giant I had was thin and brittle so I squirted some white glue inside as I thought this would dry and stiffen him up. Well, the wet glue just seemed to melt the resin and it was fully cured resin.

Under normal use, I am sure it is just fine, but now that IPA is super easy and cheap to get again, I went back to the normal resins as the IPA seems to clean and dry so much easier and faster.

My Novella Collection is available on Amazon - Action/Fantasy/Sci-Fi - https://www.amazon.com/Three-Roads-Dreamt-Michael-Leonard/dp/1505716993/

 
   
 
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