I bought this almost a year ago, and is my second Mono X, both are in constant use. I am really impressed by both machines. I'd recommend installing a screen protector. The new etched checher board build plate is a major improvement on the original plain alluminium build plate, and I had to reduce the base layer exposure time to be able to get the prints off the build plate - GREAT. Also recommend getting the Airpure filters they do make a big difference to the air quality. My only niggle is the retaining nuts for the resin bath and build plate degrade and break apart. I've printed 3D replacements. Used mainly for printing model railway rolling stock - lots of flat and curved faces, and have I've had amazing reults with the Craftsman resin, unfortunately now discontinued, but Anycubic help desk says the DLP Craftsman resin will produce similar results.
Very easy to set up and print compared to FDM printers, the downside being that there is more post processing involved. The workflow takes some adjusting to but I was able to get a very clean print second try (my first attempt was too big, ran out of resin) and I love the look of clear, solid prints. Glad to have it as my first SLA printer.
I need to preface my rant with the facts that you should care about most- The printer is Quality. The construction is heavy metal, glass, finished machined parts, solid plastic, it does not feel, look, nor assemble cheap. The print quality as you can see is superior. I thought our first print was going to be pieces we put together but it literally printed a jointed moving object, and my mind is properly blown. Even the finest details are visible and honestly I can't really see how a print can be better unless you are manufacturing like glasses or something on a micro level. Taking apart and cleaning is not that bad and thankfully it came with a metal scraper- the plastic one is useless. we shall see how long it lasts but by other accounts is has longevity. Now...The instructions for setting up are, well, leave something to be desired, but for the most part there isn't much to set up and you can follow it fine-ish. The instructions for use on the other hand... If you are an experienced 3D printer-fine you already know how to do it buy it it's worth it it's a good machine, if you are a beginner, prepare yourself for endless YouTube and Google searches. Eventually you'll learn through trial and error and have a good printer ????
The Mono X is awesome and still working great after just shy of a year and hundreds of hours of printing. Super easy to use menus and straight forward equipment if you have used resin printers before. Easy to update firmware too. The vat is huge coming from a Mars 2. But tricky to handle when it¡¯s mostly full (failed prints happen) I use Chitubox and Elegoo resin (sorry anycubic I haven¡¯t tried your resin yet) I also installed a slap mat from wham bam. Highly recommend. Not really sure if it¡¯s needed but I also put a screen protector over the glass on the base (no issues, just wanted to protect my $700 purchase. Also got the two in one Wash & Cure. Pros Ease of use See through acrylic shield Sturdy AF frame Adjustable feet (super helpful) Side USB port and power switch Great menu My only negatives Build plate is a pain in the ass to level (4 bolts) but once it¡¯s level it¡¯s level for ever. Kinda noisy but who cares. No idea how the wireless app use works. Replacement Mono LCD is tricky to find If you want to upgrade do it especially as it¡¯s cheaper now.
I bought this 3D printer 7 months ago and this is some of the stuff I have been making with it. I am very happy with the quality of this printer. Also this is the first printer I have ever used. I learned blender and wallahh. The quality of this printer is great. It is sturdy and made well and should last a long time. I have printed about 9000ml of resin items so far with this one and I haven't had any problems. I would recommend ANYCUBIC printers.
We were only able to get a dozen successful prints before the LCD screen started to fail. It took a few weeks of troubleshooting to determine the issue. Note that the Anycubic support form on their website does not support all browsers, so if you are unable to submit, try a different browser (Chrome eventually worked for me). Their support determined that my LCD screen went bad, but was just a few days beyond the 3 month warranty period for the screen. The replacement LCD is $149, not to mention my time to figure out how to actually perform the maintenance. We took great care of the screen and printer, so I highly doubt it was user error. No resin spills, scratches, or an incorrectly leveled build plate. Just bad luck, I suppose. ***UPDATE*** Anycubic support was helpful troubleshooting our printer and getting it up and running again. While their LCD screen replacement tutorial video wasn't the greatest (a few minor differences with wire connections), I was able to figure it out. While we were waiting for the replacement part to be shipped, we went ahead and bought a second Photon Mono X so that we can double our output and have a backup printer if one stops working again. So I guess that's a seal of approval considering that we bought a second one. Time will tell whether it was a good decision, but so far the new one is working well. I do recommend adding screen protectors, there are plenty of youtube videos about it. You also need to dial in the settings so that your prints come out well and adhere gently to the build plate. Our first few prints on our second printer (with the updated checkerboard build plate) were stuck on the build plate so hard that we needed to chip them off with a hammer. Overall, I'm still blown away by the technology. I recommend Anycubic products and specifically this printer.
LOVE THIS PRINTER!!! I started with the photon s, and this was a huge upgrade! The size alone allows for massive prints. The print quality blew my mind. I've been printing larger and more detailed models, and I haven't had a single failure in weeks. I would suggest getting a flexible build plate though to save a lot of trouble and time. I recently bought the BIQU plate and have had huge successes.