Finally switched to DLP.

[C855B]

Amazon still has some  Anycubic D2: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B4QWYBZL

They had two in stock when I checked this evening. Now they have one. I'm recalling somebody said something about the DLP engine sourcing being a hangup for both AC and Elegoo.

I ordered this second D2 as a backup since I'm going to be leaning on mine pretty heavily once a couple of priority projects are out of the way.

[timwatson]

@Lemosteam i’d love to do a comparison “print off” against your D2 and my Saturn 4 Ultra? Want to stipulate the model and the resin. It might help others? I am very curious of the difference in a 12k machine and the DLP tech. I’ve always seen a rough texture on the skin of some dlp prints but yours bears that might not be the case any longer. Make it difficult and n scale.

[Chris333]

I'd be interested in if the Saturn 4 Ultra smart features actually work?  On my Mars5Ultra I get a warning that my FEP needs changed at a default time that has nothing to do with my FEP condition. A warning that my resin level was too low, when it had more than enough in it. And what doesn't work at all are the residue detection or print failure detection. Worst part is no way to turn these off.

[timwatson]

I have had mine for 6 or more months @Chris333 and I’ve been super happy with mine. I wish the bed adhesion was better but that more a problem with the flex steel plate I have on it.

[Lemosteam]

Any possibility of trying some brick?

Jason

@wcfn100 ,

Edit: forgot to add image.

Brick, as measured from my house. 1/2W x 1/2”D scale mortar lines. They are there, but I think they need to be deeper to hold paint and mortar. I use tan India ink over my base color.

[Chris333]

I made a brick chimney for this building (file is there)
https://www.printables.com/model/1270684-n-scale-post-office

But the size of the bricks was just freestyled.

[rodsup9000]

I made a brick chimney for this building (file is there)

 Chris
 I'll print some chimneys in craftsman resin and send them to you, so you can see the difference.

[Lemosteam]

@Lemosteam i’d love to do a comparison “print off” against your D2 and my Saturn 4 Ultra? Want to stipulate the model and the resin. It might help others? I am very curious of the difference in a 12k machine and the DLP tech. I’ve always seen a rough texture on the skin of some dlp prints but yours bears that might not be the case any longer. Make it difficult and n scale.

@timwatson , I am fairly certain that the print quality is very similar so no need for a print-off, BUT, the loss of the LCD screen in the design of the printer is what convinced me.  Ask @Chris333 how many screens he has replaced over the years.  Also the DLP system has a life expectancy of 20,000 hours where the LCD has a life expectancy of 2,000.  That is a dealbreaker for me now.

I'll attach some pre-supported STL files for an apples to apples via email, later in a bit.

[turbowhiz]

Phrozen Sonic Mini 8k Vs Anycubic Photon D2 DLP

/>(Over 2 years old comparison… Ross’s channel is very good in general)

At this point I really doubt you’ll ever see another consumer grade DLP printer. That’s unfortunate, superior technology doesn’t always “win out” in the market alas. Looks like even the last of the Amazon D2 stock is gone.

That said, I have little doubt you can get equivalent results, and probably better, with the present generation of LCD devices, with a significantly larger build volume. The improvement in light sources make a significant difference. You can’t compare an early 1st gen mono class printer like a Photon mono to the present generation of printers. An attention to proper resin tuning is still very critical, and I suspect why people have found so much success with the DLP tech here is largely due to the fact the window of success is so much wider with respect to resin settings.

[C855B]

...Looks like even the last of the Amazon D2 stock is gone. ...

Yep. Said above, I got the second-to-last one they had. The comments... somewhere... about the DLP engine supply got my attention. I was waffling, but when I saw that both AC and Elegoo were OOS, I came to the same conclusion that we were not going to see another consumer-level DLP printer for the foreseeable. Didn't exactly need it at the moment, but better to have it when I get things going again.

Interesting that, in my simple mind, the highest-quality "replicator" likely to personally produce many of the hobby items shortly... probably... to become scarce in the current environment is itself becoming impossible to find. Life can be cruel in odd ways.

Now... fingers crossed that the D2 slated to be on my porch this Wednesday arrives intact and fully operational. I'm a non-fan of Amazon for a number of reasons, but this one couldn't pass without doing something about it.

[Chris333]

I remember all the reviews. Something like it is so good the step lines are more pronounced. And I did not understand how that was better. I did want to try one though.

[rodsup9000]

   I ordered the last one Amazon had, as a backup too.
  I have 2 in use already.
  It was just delivered

[reinhardtjh]

   I ordered the last one Amazon had, as a backup too.

Thank you!  I was waffling on whether to get it or not, but in reality I have an original AnyCubic Photon from 2018 and Photon Mono X from 2020 both still NIB waiting for me to get a workbench of some sort set up so it would probably have just sat there.

Is there some kind of 3D Printer museum that might want them?  Not exactly kidding...   

[rodsup9000]

Is there some kind of 3D Printer museum that might want them?  Not exactly kidding...   

Well John, I still have 4 of the original Photon's and a M3 that I don't like.  They are under the layout waiting to be re-homed.

I think a local modeler is going to take the M3 and one of the Photon's.