1 Topic by pirvan (edited by pirvan 2021-01-21 03:33:35)

  • pirvan
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Topic: Anycubic Mono X

So a finally made the decision to sell my Formlabs Form 1+ and get the new Anycubic Photon Mono X. 

Since I already have the original Photon, and have been very please with it, I had been waiting for the new printer, and for the software to cacth up with each other.  I'm a fan of ChiTu Box, and up until just 2 weeks ago, the only software option was the Photon Workshop, which is OK, but not the same as ChiTu.

Now with the release of v.1.8.0 Beta, the Mono X is finally supported by Chitu, so I pulled the trigger and bout one.  I got mine through 3D Printers Online Store since they were offering free shipping.  I placed the order on 1/13, and it was delivered today.  Very good service.

I have yet to print anything with it, but here are my first impressions so far:

This thing is huge and heavy.  My bathroom scale says its 25lbs.  It's very nicely built, it has dual linear rail carriages and a multi start lead screw.  The lead screw movements are very smooth and very quiet. The top surface of the printer is machined aluminum. 

http://www.soliforum.com/misc.php?action=pun_attachment&item=11433

The build platform is large, solid aluminum and has 4 screws for leveling adjustments.  The vat is all aluminum, has some type of protruding bumpers at the bottom that notch into 2 holes in the top surface to locate the vat over the screen.  It's held in place with 2 thumb screws.  Under the vat is the 9" LCD panel.  More on that below.

The main body of the printer has a 3.5" color LCD on the front for controlling the printer, a USB port on the right side as well as a power switch and DC in port.  Power is supplied via a 24V @ 6A PSU.  This printer can be used by putting the sliced model on the USB thumb drive and printing from there, but it also has WiFi connectivity, and the model can be uploaded directly from the computer.  Personally I prefer the USB method.

Last but not least the cover over this beast a a heavy removable lid made from 3/16" thick yellow plexiglass, 14" tall.  I would have preferred a hinged lid, bit this is not objectionable either.

Other than the obvious difference in print volume 120 x 68 x 150mm (Photon) vs. 192 x 120 x 245mm (Mono X), the one major difference is the new LCD technology.

A new generation of MSLA printers started cropping up last year that use a monochrome LCD panel.  This is such a printer.  The 2 major advantages of this new type of LCD are the extended life span, and the faster print times.

The 4K monochrome LCD has no color filters, an improved polarizer and faster transmission, which let it pass more of the UV light than the RGB color panels do.  That translates directly into faster print times.  Below are screen shots of the same model sliced for both the Photon and the Mono X.  Take a look at the print time difference:

Photon: 7hrs. 10min.

http://www.soliforum.com/misc.php?action=pun_attachment&item=11430

Mono X:  2hrs. 48min.

http://www.soliforum.com/misc.php?action=pun_attachment&item=11431

So now to the only negative.  The package the printer came in was very well made and supported the printer fine, but after I took everything out, I noticed some pretty pronounced scratches on the bottom side of the FEP film.  I'm sure it will print OK in that area, but the quality of the print may suffer a bit there, and show some artifacting.  I started a support ticket and we'll see how they respond.

Well, that's it for now.

PS.  Here is a photo of the build platforms showing the difference between the photon and the Mono X.

http://www.soliforum.com/misc.php?action=pun_attachment&item=11432

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Build platforms.jpg 3.56 mb, file has never been downloaded. 

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Photon slice.jpg 174.26 kb, file has never been downloaded. 

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To print or, 3D print, that is the question...
SD3 printer w/too many mods,  Printrbot Simple Maker Ed.,  FormLabs Form 1+
AnyCubic Photon, Shining 3D EinScan-S & Atlas 3D scanners...
...and too much time on my hands.

2 Reply by pirvan

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Re: Anycubic Mono X

New Update.

Last night I decided to go ahead and try printing something while I wait for a FEP film replacement.   I filled the vat with some Anycubic Gray that is 6 months past the expiration date.  I also deliberately put a model right in the spot where the scratches were on the film, hit print and went to bed.

The print was successful, and this morning I was greeted by these 4 busts.  The Wonder Woman bust on the right was right, was the one that printed on the scratched area.  I can't see any deformities or surface blemishes, so this is more proof that FEP is the way to go, over PDMS.  Scratches like that would have shown as flaky surface areas on the Form Labs printer.

Also it's impressive to see this printer in action, about the only things you hear are the fans which kick in as soon as you start to print, and if you listed hard you might hear the lift motor, but it's so quiet it's hard to make out over the noise of the fans, which in itself is pretty low.  And it's fast, each layer is about 7 seconds including exposure time and peel.  In fact exposure time is only 2 seconds, the rest is the lift and peel process.

So I'm quite please with my new printer.

http://soliforum.com/i/?wLOWV13.jpg

To print or, 3D print, that is the question...
SD3 printer w/too many mods,  Printrbot Simple Maker Ed.,  FormLabs Form 1+
AnyCubic Photon, Shining 3D EinScan-S & Atlas 3D scanners...
...and too much time on my hands.

3 Reply by pirvan

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Re: Anycubic Mono X

Here is an update.  This weekend I printed quite a few new models, mostly busts and of course the requisite Madalorians.

http://soliforum.com/i/?AHgpT2w.jpg

Quality is great, the idea that I can print so many at a time in such record times is awesome.  The problem I'm having is the time estimates given by ChituBox are quite a bit off.

I noticed that the 4 prints in the first post had an estimated print time of 2h:48m.  In reality it took 3h:07m to print.  The last batch I did had an estimate of 3h:47m, it was off by 1 hour it took 4h:48m to print.

I also tried the software that comes with the printer, Photon Workshop, and after slicing the same models, it gave me estimates that wee within 1-2 minutes of the actual print times.

What's interesting is that Photon Workshop, which seems to be something of a clone of ChituBox, has the same identical print parameters in it as ChituBox, yet it calculates the time accurately.  Obviously there is something they take in consideration that Chitu doesn't.

To print or, 3D print, that is the question...
SD3 printer w/too many mods,  Printrbot Simple Maker Ed.,  FormLabs Form 1+
AnyCubic Photon, Shining 3D EinScan-S & Atlas 3D scanners...
...and too much time on my hands.

4 Reply by AZERATE

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Re: Anycubic Mono X

Very nice. I bought a Mars about a year ago (very similar to the Mono X) and these LCD printers are very impressive. What brand and type of resin is your go to?

Personally, I've found 3:1 ABS-like and Flex by Siraya Tech to be my vice lately.

Printit Mason and Printit Horizon printers
Multiple SD2s- Bulldog XL, E3D v5/v6/Lite6, Volcano, Hobb Goblin, Titan, .9 motor, Lawsy carriages, direct Y drive, fishing line...the list goes on
Filawinder and Filastruder #1870.....worth every penny!

5 Reply by pirvan

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Re: Anycubic Mono X

I've heard good things about Siraya Tech, but haven't used it yet.  I've used primarily Anycubic resins, mostly the translucent green and the gray.  The models above are all done in Anycubic gray, which I like because it has a nice matte finish.

I also have used and still have some Elegoo clear and blue, and I just bought some water Washable Elegoo Gray, I'm curious how that will work out.

Is your MARS printer the new v2 model with Monochrome screen or the original? 

I'm tempted to replace my original color LCD Photon with one of the new Photon Mono, that way, I have both the large and the small versions with monochrome LCD

To print or, 3D print, that is the question...
SD3 printer w/too many mods,  Printrbot Simple Maker Ed.,  FormLabs Form 1+
AnyCubic Photon, Shining 3D EinScan-S & Atlas 3D scanners...
...and too much time on my hands.

6 Reply by pirvan

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Re: Anycubic Mono X

It's been a couple of months since I posted anything.  In the mean time I retired the Photon S, and replaced it with a Photn Mono, basically a smaller version of the Mono X, but has the same advantages as the Mono X because of the Monochrome LCD.

I also modified both printers by adding a flexible steel build plate.  This stuff works great, because you no longer need to use a scraper to remove the prints, you just pull off the plate and and flex it to pop off the print.  It works particularly well when you print directly on the build plate, without supports.

Installing the plate on the MOno X was simple enough, clean the aluminum build plate with alcohol, stick the self adhesive magnet sheet to it, and attach the flex plate.  AFter that simply relevel the print bed and you're done.  The small Mono was abit more work, becuase it doesn't have enough adjustment in the build platform to accommodate for the added thickness, so when you would bring the plate to "home" it would bind and freeze.  I ended up shimming the little plate that interrupts the optical homing switch, to extended it down 2mm, and was then able to home the plate and level it.

Last but not least, I've switched to Elegoo resin, it works great, the grey has a really nice flat texture which really makes details stand out.  The added bonus is that it's even cheaper than Anycubic, only $35/liter.

So here are some of my latest prints:

http://soliforum.com/i/?nrBLWQB.jpg

http://soliforum.com/i/?CtTTao3.jpg

And this is the one I'm currently working on.  It's pretty massive, 1:8 scale, Iron Man is a little over 8" tall, and the assembly as shown is about 13".  Once the Diorama base is printed and the whole thing assembled it will be about 15.5" in height and 17" wide.

http://soliforum.com/i/?2NyyShB.jpg

To print or, 3D print, that is the question...
SD3 printer w/too many mods,  Printrbot Simple Maker Ed.,  FormLabs Form 1+
AnyCubic Photon, Shining 3D EinScan-S & Atlas 3D scanners...
...and too much time on my hands.