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I've had an FDM for a while now, and it does great work on making things like terrain and larger items, the nature of the process and the lack of z resolution means there is no way I can feasibly produce minis that I'd be happy with.

So naturally my thoughts began to turn towards a DLP machine.

Perhaps as little as a year ago, the inevitable end point of this thinking would have been "get a Photon" but not only are there now some very good alternatives to the Photon on the market, many models have also received design updates (or will be soon) that are on sale alongside their predecessors, which then prompts further consideration as to the value of those upgrades versus the inevitable difference in price.

I'm creating a thread in order to garner thoughts and feedback as to the various (often near identical) alternatives and hopefully help any future people who find themselves with the same dilemma.

So my shortlist currently reads

Anycubic Photon
+ often on sale for the lowest price, success means large community online for troubleshooting
- slightly smaller build plate than immediate competition, internal components can be inconsistent meaning it isn't always clear what advice to follow, personally had a lukewarm experience with Anycubic.

Photon S
as above, except you can be sure what motherboard youv've got, I'm not sure the improved light array and double rail offers enough of a difference to warrant being the most expensive on my shortlist.

Elegoo Mars
+ equal largest build plate (only small difference from Photon, but can make the difference between a one and done print or multiple jobs, or allow a few more models to squeeze on to the plate) generally very highly reviewed and rated.
- Elegoo seem to sell exclusively through Amazon in the UK, which makes a bargain hard to track down, and at RRP it can be almost £50 more than the Photon can drop to.

Mars Pro
A few quality of life improvements would make it a no brainer over the Mars, except nobody seems to be selling it and I can't find an accurate GBP price, making it hard to decide whether it is worth waiting for.

Creality LD002
+ Creality are a solid name in hobby 3D printing, the build plate is perforated which is supposed to reduce suction and limit some print failures, same build volume as Mars. Well reviewed.
- Not as popular as the others, might make support harder to come by if problems, also fewer outlets sell it, making the price similar to the Mars

Orange Longer 30
Basically the same spec as all the others, but can't find any financial or functional method to choose it over any of the others, hoping someone might have some insight.

Anybody who has any experience or thoughts that can help me break the deadlock please feel free to comment!

All the big companies including Elegoo and Anycubic have or are just about to drop large, monochrome, ultra fast, ultra high res printers. Wait a bit.

I have bot a Photon and a Mars, and those are functionally equal. The Photon has a bigger community and the Mars is cheaper, but both will give you more or less the same quality.

I've heard good things of the Photon S, but also that it's not really worth it if you already have a regular one.

Mars Pro is a very decent improvement, from what I hear, but as you say it's kind of hard to get.

Personally, and depending on your case use, I'd add the soon to be released (6/6/20) Elegoo Saturn to the pile: Monochrome 8.9'' 4k screen, much more potent Leds with better distribution (they say each layer will print at 1/4 the time) for $400? Yes, please.

 lord_blackfang wrote:
All the big companies including Elegoo and Anycubic have or are just about to drop large, monochrome, ultra fast, ultra high res printers. Wait a bit.

Can't justify the extra cash, thought I'd struck lucky with the Saturn until the $150 shipping cost loomed into view.

I have made some prints on my friends elegoo mars. If you are interestet i can take some pictures. I also want to buy one but can't really dicide which one i should take. If there is a new generation comming i should probably wait.

What about the Epax x1? Always struck me as a more sturdily built kit and has its magic not-FEP film thingy.

.

Flinty wrote:What about the Epax x1? Always struck me as a more sturdily built kit and has its magic not-FEP film thingy.

I think perhaps things have moved on since its release. Sturdy construction is always desirable, but theres nothing like the violence of motion with a DLP printer that you get with an FDM one. The price just doesn't seem to have tracked down with the emergence of competitors. If i was going to spend the money the X1 sells for, id simply have ordered an Elegoo Saturn, and functionally equivalent machines save enough cash to make a few replacement FEP sheets or some wasted resin because of failures still make economic sense.

JBSchroeds wrote:It's not in the same class as what you're looking into, but I've got a Peopoly Phenom in the mail right now and I can give my impressions when it comes in.

Go for it, more information is good, even if not immediately relevant.

I'm interesting in keeping my eye on this, because I just got a Prusa i3, but I'd like to get a resin printer next year, most probably.

 Azreal13 wrote:

 lord_blackfang wrote:
All the big companies including Elegoo and Anycubic have or are just about to drop large, monochrome, ultra fast, ultra high res printers. Wait a bit.

Can't justify the extra cash, thought I'd struck lucky with the Saturn until the $150 shipping cost loomed into view.

Wait until they're for sale on Amazon instead of just direct from manufacturer. Prime shipping is a wonderful thing.

Yes, but then the selling price will be higher. Whichever way you paint it the price is likely going to be higher than I'm willing to pay, plus theres a possibility that the machine will be bigger than the space I'm allowing for it.

I'm not writing it off, retail pricing is still pretty hazy, but when I've already got an FDM machine the extra volume loses some of its value.

I have had my Elegoo Mars for about 9 months and have probably made over 500 print runs on it. It is a workhorse and very easy to operate. I will say the slicer ChiTuBox is a really good slicer, so that can also be an item to compare: what slicing software is included and what are the reviews?

As far as maintenance, the FEP film can be gotten fairly cheap and I have probably had to change the film about 3 x's in all those runs, so not too bad. I probably level it only when changing resin color, so very few times since I got it.

 Albertorius wrote:

I've heard good things of the Photon S, but also that it's not really worth it if you already have a regular one..

Yeah, all of the reviews I read before settling on the regular Photon said that the S wasn't different enough to warrant the extra cost.

I have a Photon downstairs for work, thanks to the boss - I was less than impressed with their customer service, as they advertised a nice, low price, accepted the sale and took the money, and then 5 days later sent me a message saying that the price had been a mistake and wouldn't ship it until I paid them another $50... but the machine itself is great, although I'm still tinkering for the best settings.

Anycubic does seem to be a bit shaky on the aftersales.

I had a fault with my I3 Mega, was only 11 months old so still in warranty.

They were brilliant in terms of helping identify the fault, but once the fault was identified, that part miraculously had only a 6 month warranty.

Their solution was i order one from Amazon, and then contact them for a princely 5% discount as a refund.

I ordered the replacement, i didnt bother with the 5% claim on a £30 part. I honestly would have been less irritated if they hadn't offered me any sort of a discount.

Giving me serious pause about getting anything more Anycubic though.

Then go for the Mars or Mars Pro. It's generally cheaper and at least as good. I have absolutely no complaints about mine

I had an excellent experience with the Elegoo customer service. I bought mine via Amazon, but they still sent me a new UV screen board when mine went bad after a month or so, no hassle.

It looks like stock of the Mars Pro should be reaching the UK by the end of the month, so I think that's what I'm going to go for.

I'd still encourage people to keep posting their experiences to help any that might find the thread in the same situation though.

 Azreal13 wrote:
It looks like stock of the Mars Pro should be reaching the UK by the end of the month, so I think that's what I'm going to go for.

I'd still encourage people to keep posting their experiences to help any that might find the thread in the same situation though.

Well, I'm back at home for the weekend, so I've fired up the printers. I've done this with the Elegoo Mars using water washable ash grey resin, at 0.02 microns per layer:



They look amazing; whoever said that you couldn't tell the armor mark at that size, well...

How do you find the water washable compared to regular stuff?

I've heard of it, but must admit I kinda dismissed it as either going to be too expensive or some other compromise without digging too deep.

 Azreal13 wrote:
How do you find the water washable compared to regular stuff?

I've heard of it, but must admit I kinda dismissed it as either going to be too expensive or some other compromise without digging too deep.

Honestly? Really, really happy with it, as long as you understand that "water washable" doesn't mean "harmless".

The resin itself has basically the same properties that Elegoo's "ABS-like" resin has, so it works very well in general. And after printing, I simply fill the ultrasonic cleaner with water dunk the minis and clean them, and that's it. No IPA, no alcohol, no Simple Green no nothing.

Thing is, the reason why it is "water wadhable" is because its components are... well, thinner. Which means that it's as toxic as any other resin, but it will be absorbed better by the skin, so always use gloves. Always.

Also, don't simply plonk the cleaning water down the sink! Put however much water you use on a clear container and leave it under the sun or under any UV light, so that the resin inside cures. Then you can do whatever, as it will be inert. But better if you take it to a "clean point", those recycling stations some cities have.

As for price? Well, buying from Amazon, 1 liter of regular Elegoo resin costs me 45 euros, and the same liter of water washable costs 50, so... I'm game.