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When taking on a 3D print job, you want the best you can get. Whether it’s online or offline printing, the device you’re looking for should always have a high print quality to ensure the final product will look just like you imagined.
Enter the Anycubic Photon, an SLA 3D printer that uses resin printing to produce awesome 3D models.
The Photon comes in two main varieties, each of which can easily take on whatever job you’d like. The original Photon is great for making a detailed 3D model. The Photon S 3D printer is another awesome alternative, using Anycubic resin to make DLP printing easy and safe for newcomers. Unlike SLA printing, this resin printer model scans each individual layer. Both models deliver a UV light source to the material as it leaves the resin vat. Each layer height builds on the foundations of the last, allowing for a sturdy, beautiful product.
Anycubic Photon UV is an amazing way to produce awesome resin 3D printing.
The result is a multi-layer 3D model with tons of intricate machine work. It’s great for small-scale detail work that makes a big difference. Whatever your printing job entails, the Anycubic 3D printer family is sure to be an excellent choice.
What is a 3D printer?
The Anycubic Photon 3D printer is a liquid resin DLP printer. As you may already know, a 3D printer is a device that allows users to print materials from a file or code into the real world. By making a detailed sketch in a design program, you instruct the machine on exactly what its result should look like.
Have you ever seen one of those laser etchers at stores, the kind that engraves your name or other information on a metallic plate? The concept is the same.
The 3D printer starts with a regular material, usually some kind of plastic or resin, and moves it to the unit’s center, which houses a heated print bed. Once there, the printers’ scanners analyze how much needs to be removed before making the specified product. If you’re making a toy action figure, for example, the printer will etch away any details that aren’t necessary for the final product. You can even create each part individually and assemble it afterward, which might be easier depending on the build.
The awesome thing about 3D printing is that it’s highly customizable and becoming much cheaper than it used to be. It’s accessible to tons of people and offers a cool way to create anything from tags to toys, models, and even jewelry. They allow you to express your creativity in ways that have never been thought of. Not bad for a device that uses the same basic technology as a regular 2D printer.
What type of printer is the Anycubic Photon?
As it turns out, there are different categories of 3D printers. This makes sense, seeing as it’s a developing field that needs to adapt to market requests. There are two halves of the 3D printing market: beginners and experts. As you might guess, beginners need a lot more guidance and easier products than those who have been 3D printing for a while. There’s been a push to provide people with accessible 3D printers that still get the job done. The Anycubic Photon and Photon S fall into this category. They use resin to create 3D models.
So what is a resin 3D printer? It’s a special type of printer that is much easier and safer to work with than other printers. The printer stores liquid resin, a substance that easily casts into molds, until it’s needed. After you upload what your model should look like, the machine gets to work.
Once the printer activates, it pours a layer of resin into the machine’s central structure for working. Powerful UV light casts a beam onto the resins’ like a narrow, super-powerful laser. But the laser’s job isn’t to cut the resin; on the contrary, it’s making it harder. When you heat resin, it becomes resistant to change. It contracts and sits in whatever mold you put it in before heating it.
It’s like heating pottery in a kiln, where the intense heat provides stability and form to the structure. The UV rays are essential: without them, the resin would remain a liquid and would drip out while it’s trying to make the mold. The bottom would liquidate, and the model’s integrity would fail before you could add any other layers. But with the heating power of the machine, resin printers can set up a foundation on which future levels of the model can firmly rest.
Once the first layer is heated and in place, the Anycubic Photon allows more liquid resin to add to the model. It holds the resin in place and shines its UV light on this next layer, treating it the same as it treated the first layer. Then it adds a third layer with the same treatment, then a fourth.
As the layer height increases, the model begins to look more like the product you ordered! It starts taking shape with each resin layer the 3D printer adds. Once the UV light has finished its job, the machine will inform you that the model is complete, and you can take it out and use it with ease. The resin will stay where it’s put because of its heat-hardened properties. That’s how the Anycubic Photon and Photon S work. This method has also been referred to as DLP, or “Digital Light Printing,” in reference to its use of UV rays.
Is the Anycubic Photon worth it?
For many people getting into 3D printing, Anycubic models are an alternative to complex, expensive devices. It’s considered safer than SLA printers because it doesn’t require resin to be heated up in advance. It takes care of the heating and curing once the product is on the print bed, so you don’t have to warm up a huge container filled with super hot liquified resin.
As you can imagine, it’s amazing to use because you reduce the number of heat sources you’re working with. That way, if something goes wrong, you won’t be spilling ultra-heated resin all over the floor.
Having fewer heat sources means a lower likelihood of starting an accidental fire. For safety alone, Anycubics are highly appreciated. Reliability and safety are the first steps to completing any project, and the Anycubic is well-stocked in both those attributes.
Does the Anycubic Photon come with resin?
It does, though you’ll almost certainly need to buy more in the near future. According to Amazon’s sales page, the Anycubic comes equipped with 500 grams of black resin, the perfect amount to get started on a new project. Of course, having only one color limits you somewhat, but not enough to deter most people from buying the product.
Understand that printers of all kinds, including resin 3D printers, are susceptible to running out of printing material from time to time. It’s no different from buying ink or paper for a regular 2D printer. Just keep track of how much is left before you start any big projects! There’s nothing worse than running out of resin halfway through a build and having to stop and get more before you can continue.
How long does the Anycubic test print take?
The Anycubic Photon’s speed is 10 mm/hr, whereas the Photon S is twice as fast at 20 mm/hr. Keep in mind that, in comparison to other 3D printers, the Anycubic models’ capacity is lower. That doesn’t alter the speed, but rather how big the projects you have in mind can be. They’re smaller and more versatile to sacrifice for space and size. It’s not necessarily a bad thing—maybe your project doesn’t require much room.
But it will mean you should print individual parts of a project if it’s going to be larger than the Anycubic’s size. The Photon S scales in at 115x65x165mm, less than half the size of comparable printers. But it delivers high-quality details for a much lower price than other 3D printers in its field, so it could be worth the size reduction.
There’s no one answer to length questions. Because the length of a project is dependent on the level of detail work, the number of layers, and other factors, each item you print will work on its own timeline. Plan carefully and ensure that what you’re printing will be done in time, especially if you have to create several of the same product at once.
What’s the difference between Anycubic Photon and Photon S?
Two things: price and detail work. The Photon S costs a bit more and delivers quality work for the extra money you’re investing. It comes equipped with an LED light to aid the UV curing process along, so its speed and overall performance are greater than the Anycubic.
But if you aren’t picky about how fast the machine is, or you’re looking for a budget option, the regular Anycubic Photon is a great choice as well. Both machines are competitive with others in their field for price and detail work.