Manufacturer: Phrozen
Price: $299 preorder price
URL: https://phrozen3d.com/pages/sonic-mini-8k-s
Features:
- 165 x 72 x 170 mm print volume
- lcustomized frosted laser etched built plate
- 22µm resolution
- 3.5″ touch panel
- max print speed 80mm / hour
Out of the box
Unboxing was a breeze. There was no assembly required and everything was packed quite nicely. I didn’t see a manual, but there are references to a digital manual that you can look up.
Setup for first prints only required setting the print bed height, which is extremely easy. I just dropped it in place, added resin, and printed one of the test files from the included USB.
Printing
The first print I chose was a the castle test print from the usb and the quality is pretty astonishing. The resolution on this thing is crazy good, it’s quite difficult to even find any voxelization when you’re looking for it.
After that I wanted to try something a bit more intense, so I loaded up this digital sculpt I made of a realistically styled turtle monster. Think Gamera but based off a snapping turtle from Missouri.
The included trial of VoxelDance Tango was easy enough to use and I had no problems hollowing out the model, adding holes, and adding supports.
The final result is stunning. I usually worry a bit about fine detail but looking at this, I’d say I could even add more detail! (ignore the feet, they printed perfectly but I forgot to account for ooze when curing and messed them up).
What I’d change
Frankly, I’m super impressed with the quality and ease of this machine. I had 3 items that gave me a slight frustration but keep in mind that these were minor.
The slicer that comes with it is VoxelDance Tango and appears to be a trial. I’d prefer a full slicer, even if it were less functional.
The “beep” that the machine has as it starts a print or does the first layer is extremely loud and there’s no way to alter the volume or turn it off that I noticed. I heard it a couple rooms away.
The prints stick to the build plate too well. You really need to fight to get them off, chipping away the raft slowly.
Conclusion
Despite the few very minor annoyances I have to say that the value here is very good. I’m not sure what the price after pre-orders is going to end up at, but the pre-order price makes this a no-brainer. The print quality coming off this machine is just crazy good.
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