Anycubic is readying a new resin 3D printer, the Photon P1.
We haven’t seen a new resin device from Anycubic for some time, and it looks like they’ve spent that time designing quite an unusual system. This seems to be the first desktop multicolor resin 3D printer on the market. The company is also billing it as having “industrial-grade precision”.
Let’s take a deeper look at this unusual device.
First, how on Earth would you do multicolor 3D prints on a resin 3D printer? Resin, by definition, is a single color!
Their answer is radically simple: they have TWO resin vats, which can be filled with different resins. As you can see here, there is one motion system, but two build plates and two resin vats. Each operate in parallel, but you can print two plates in a single job with two different materials.
The dual vat feature is something we haven’t seen before, and it raises some questions:
Is the smaller build volume enough? Probably not: most resin prints are small objects, and they’d likely fit into the smaller footprint. However, while Anycubic doesn’t seem to be publishing the specifications yet, it appears that the machine is larger overall. That could mean that the “smaller” individual build platforms aren’t that small.
There is one motion system, but the two resin vats clearly require two resin level detectors. Both of them must be continuously monitored during printing to ensure there is resin for each side that is printing. But if you’re printing on only one side, then an empty tank on the other side could be ignored. This shows that operation of the dual device could be a bit more complex for operators.
They say that the machine offers “20-30% resin saving”, which might be because you can use a smaller vat for some prints.
They have made a couple of additions to the machine that are interesting besides the dual resin vats. One is that the vats can be heated to 40C. This makes it possible to lower the viscosity of some thicker resins, enabling printing. “Cold” machines could not print this type of resin, as it would not flow properly between layers.
Another feature is a new vat film that is said to require 60% less force to release each layer. That could potentially speed up printing slightly, but more importantly would enable printing of more delicate objects that otherwise would bend or break with more force. This also enables the use of elastic materials that would be very challenging to peel given that they stretch.
They have a feature called “Intelligent Assist 3.0” that apparently coordinates all the sensors in the system to ensure more reliable printing. Anycubic claims the Photon P1 has a “98% print success rate”. That’s a bold claim, as it is easily possible to mess up a print by slicing a job improperly.
The Photon P1 looks to be quite an interesting machine. We don’t know how the dual vat concept will be accepted by the community, but we will find out soon.
The Photon P1 is not yet released, and we anticipate that happening within a few weeks. At that point we will find out the full specifications and pricing.
Via Anycubic
