Anycubic Photon Mono M5s Review - What ANYCUBIC DIDN'T SAY -

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All Reviews
• Anycubic Photon Mono M...
• Anycubic Photon Mono M...
• Anycubic Photon Mono M...
• Saturn 3 & Ultra Vs An...
M5 Playlist: • Anycubic M5
This is a good printer, and I know I may have scared a few people with my recent shorts. but that wasn't on purpose or misleading, it shows that this printer does, out of the box - but it was marketed this way. You haven't been misled by Anycubic any more than your typical company promoting any new product. They show you what it does. My job, is to show you what it doesn't do...
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00:00 - Intro

[@FauxHammer]

Buy the Anycubic Photon M5s Here: geni.us/PhotonM5s Buy the Anycubic Photon M5 Here: geni.us/PhotonM5 Get any printer working easily with the Photonsters XP Range Finder - www.thingiverse.com/thing:6023738 (watch my video for full instructions kzbin.info/www/bejne/fZ6TXq1vbJannbs) Join this channel to get access to perks: kzbin.info/door/_9Jsf3SP8aMJgn0xv5jHjAjoin Buy WARGAMER - The best Resin for Miniatures yesthats3dprinted.com/pages/wargamer?ref=FauxHammer 3D Printer Cleaning Mat: geni.us/3DPrinterCleaningMat (This and all Amazon links in our video description are affiliate links. Clicking these and making any purchase will earn us a commission from Amazon at no cost to you) This Video is part of our series looking for the Best 3D printer for Miniatures; www.fauxhammer.com/top-10/the-best-3d-printer-for-miniatures-models/

[@ckonnick]

Thank you for the thorough review! This will be my first resin printer. I hope your theory ends up being true. My pre-order is in, but I care about quality more than speed, but went with the M5s because of the auto leveling. Hopefully, better quality will be as easy as changing out the vat and resin. Honestly, it would be nice to have a high-speed and standard-speed option. Thanks again!

[@daemonishere]

Hey there, have you received the printer yet and what were your experiences in detail trying various resins? Thanks!

[@oswaldcobblebot]

Got this printer in my cart ready to check out, but then I found this video. You saved me! Thanks!

[@snowko.raspados]

hello. I want to first say that I am truly and deeply grateful to you. It is common for most reviews of sponsorship to cleverly hide the flaws and highlight the strengths. So I think it is more difficult to find accurate and honest information in this age of overflowing information. In the meantime, thank you so much for watching your many videos. I fell in love with your cautious but at least trying to convey the facts. I already have an anycubic mono X2 and have been searching and searching for a lot of printer information for a long time to buy a better printer. Honestly, except for the small bed of the mono X2, it's already a nice enough printer for me. But at the same time I wanted a printer, so I was trying to buy the anycubic M3 premium model, but at the same time, the sale stopped and I suddenly found a new printer. Recently I was very excited to see a 12k, self-leveling printer, but I couldn't afford the m5s. The reason is, will the print be good enough to realize 12k with my own eyes? Will the automatic leveling system create another issue? For example, the sensor is broken, or the spring is broken. Anyway, I'm not sure if you'll read my comment, but I really appreciate you. Thank you so much for updating this accurate review so quickly. As expected, I was convinced that an 8k printer would suffice and the fast speed was a bit of a trick. ps: I am Korean. I just wanted to say thanks to you so I used Google Translate. If my English is strange, I ask for your understanding. :)

[@petercallison5765]

Due to all the new models coming out you can find some real bargains. I just bought a couple Saturn 8k printers. If you want the best prints, then maybe the Mars 4 9K printers.

[@garymckenzie9307]

yet another excellent review, potentially saving us from a purchase not suitable for certain requirements. Keep up the great work!

[@markoramljak9579]

I was on the fence about buying an M5s or Saturn 3 (the regular one, not the ultra).. decided to go with Saturn 3.. I like the idea of auto leveling but I think Anycubic underutilized the force detection technology.. and I don't want to compromise quality for speed.. especially seeing what kind of issues you're having because of the new fep film.. and cheers on the best M5s review on YT!

[@ChuckBell-mb5cd]

Terrific, thorough review--many thanks! I had been planning to get a 3D printer for a while, and having done my research decided on the Anycubic Photon M3 Premium. But when it came time to order one, they weren't available. As near as I could figure out, it was because they had been discontinued in favour of these "new kids on the block", the M5 and M5s. But I didn't want to wait for these to be available, so when I found Anycubic still had some M3 Premiums available on Ebay, I went for it. I knew I might be sacrificing some of these newer features, but I've been delighted with my M3 Premium, and now after watching your video feel like maybe I didn't sacrifice too much after all.

[@FauxHammer]

Nope, you bought a better printer in my opinion

[@thatvanillagorilla]

Thank you for going so deep into the issues with this printer. I was so close to buying it, but I think I need to let this gen cook a bit and buy next gen.

[@dejanbrice8774]

Yeah I saw it, prepaid for the machine. Then cancelled it last week after watching so many videos of the reviews. I'll stick to Phrozen and elegoo.

[@BrickBazooka]

​@dejanbrice8774 but they aren't better.. :/

[@dejanbrice8774]

@@BrickBazooka They are far better. Why do you say they are not?

[@omelaurus]

I pre-ordered the m5s for ease of use and the speed so I’m not that concerned. However.. if it turns out that ordering a second vat and putting a clearer film in it gives me better prints when I do need it.. that would be a major bonus! Looking forward to your test!

[@PhotonicNoodle]

Really hope he tests this

[@rhoalpha]

About the diffusion problem, it's opacity to visual light may be different to uv

[@drune6212]

I will be interested to see if it is the film dropping quality, it could result in people buying a second vat with PFA so they have a "fast vat" and a "detailed vat". Great review as always!

[@hmmdoh7835]

Nice review, is the nub marks on the supports bad? Just got from my friend can it use other brand resin or must use any cubic brand? Ty

[@jtrain9926]

Great review. Im glad I held off on this preorder. I think the auto-leveling and sensors/notifications are great features and I hope they become the standard for printers going forward.

[@FauxHammer]

lets see how well it goes down in this one. it was huge in the FDM world. but resin beds are so much easier to level. is it even needed?

[@bitzbox]

Really good review. Hopefully the auto bed levelling becomes standard in most printers in the future. It's a shame about the issues with the ACF

[@FauxHammer]

Hey there BB!! Didn’t know you watched out channel! I dunno, I don’t really have a problem with levelling, only needs to be done once. Hopefully in the next couple of days I can prove this ACF theory too!

[@mackbolan1733]

Thanks for the thorough review, much appreciated. I had this on pre-order, but as the reviews rolled in and I realised it wasn't want I wanted, I cancelled it...I'm after the best possible detail capture and surface quality, not speed. I like the idea of auto-levelling, however I don't trust that the auto-level system in this printer is a robust system that will keep working flawlessly for at least a couple of years, I suspect that those spinrgs and the compression on the screen will end up causing problems over the short-medium term.

[@BrickBazooka]

so you gonna buy elegoo saturn 3?

[@mackbolan1733]

@@BrickBazooka Yes, Saturn 3 Ultra and I'll get a spare vat. One vat will have nFEP for printing miniatures and the other ACF for printing terrain pieces for gaming.

[@rodsawhite]

Once again I love your content and your well presented and reasoned opinions and theories.

[@FauxHammer]

Thanks so much

[@magikarp2063]

Please compare the ACF film to normal FEP. I've preordered the mars 4 ultra and I wanna know if I should just instantly switch the VAT to normal FEP.

[@Sir-Chalz]

I've learned from video games not to pre order anything until you see the reviews! Thanks for your hard work and putting out these videos!

[@FauxHammer]

Callisto Protocol comes to mind...

[@tomhugues7033]

Hi Ross, I pre-ordered the M5s and was straight away concerned about the ACF due to being translucent. In my experience, the more distance you have between the LCD crystals and the resin in the vat (glass, screen protector, air gap, ...), the more light bleed you get and with the ACF diffusing the light "energy" on top of that you might end up in a loss of sharpness. I never put a screen protector for this reason and luckily never had a pierced film issue. I have yet to test the super thin nFEP/FEP for improving sharpness. I'm looking forward to see if a few changes would improve the sharpness from my mini 8k.

[@_SamUSA_]

I am also in the same pre-order boat as you. This idea of UV being "energy", not light, and is not being affected by ACF opaque diffusion of the light passing through the film is complete nonsense. UV is ordinary every day light that has unique properties that we take advantage of in our resin printers. PROOF: UV was discovered by using a prism that divided all incoming light.

[@Wenturi]

Just unpacked mine and now watched this.... DISAPOINTED. If you find a solution to problems in mentioned in this video, please post them.

[@_SamUSA_]

@@Wenturi The solution: Use it. It's really good at printing figures. If you need the absolute sharpest prints, install FEP.

[@Wenturi]

@@_SamUSA_ Thats it? I only need to install FEP if I want the absolute sharpest prints? Thanks man!

[@_SamUSA_]

@@Wenturi It needs to be tuned of course according to the resin and FEP changes, but yea, great detail now!

[@TheJaredAllen]

Thanks for your diligent testing, I haven't cancelled my M5s pre-order yet, I am hoping that you are right, and these issues can be fixed by replacing the release film. Looking forward to those reviews.

[@FauxHammer]

I could be wrong, but i am super confident I'm not.

[@WIBRTyranT]

screen size is generally done by measuring from a bottom corner of a screen to an opposite top corner, diagonally across the screen. they do this all the time with computer monitors as well.

[@qzl9]

Hello Faux Hammer. Im currently using a Photon Mono X printer, and was looking at this one in particular. I dont care about speed prints really, i dont mind a print takes 6 hours, as long as i get nice results. What are your current favorite printer in the 500 ish price range for miniatures?

[@SpottedPainter]

Absolute craziness. My acf comes tomorrow and I'll be testing as well.

[@supershotgun5300]

nice review although it would be interresting to know how the prints (for the minis) are when you use "regular" settings with normal resin

[@madsgram9962]

Thank you so much. I bought it to do tabletop miniatures, so this was a big help! Ive send Anycubic a mail to cancel my preorder.

[@erlinghagendesign]

Some notes on automatic leveling and AFC: 1. Force detection for automatic bed leveling: There is a printed circuit board (electronic sensor board connected to the main board in the lower housing) in the head under the large round screw to which the print platform is attached. Nothing mechanical under the tray. In fact, that would be trivial, not smart, and prone to error. When the platform is pressed down, the flexible part (AFC) deforms so that the screen part adheres firmly to the pressure platform. At the same time, the machine detects the pressure between the pressure platform and the screen component (AFC) and uses a preset value to determine whether leveling is complete. Once the preset value is reached, printing can begin. Therefore, do not replace the AFC film with another film. Pressure scanning would then no longer be possible. 2. AFC ( yes translucent ): I recommend to use the supplied original R.E.R.F.stl file ( R_E_R_F" (Resin Exposure Range Finder) ) for each resin type for this printer. 8 different exposure models are printed in time steps of 0.25s (1.5s-3.25s) and are really intelligently modeled. You can download it from Support / Model Download. Each model has a number that refers to the exposure time and a very detailed explanation is provided. In general, speed vs. resolution: the application/resin determines the choice and requirements. There is no general golden rule. You need to match the 12K to your needs and you will get great results. Have fun printing - Herri in China. PS: the current Wash bucket (Wash & Cure Pro) is not large enough for the 10.1in platform. Models need to be removed to be washed and cured. That is really a pity in the moment. There is a larger bucket in development, but no availability time is scheduled yet.

[@avjebs]

Hi, di you work in the industry? According to what you say p, one can not replace the film on the M5S. It’s interesting and I wonder if you have tested it.

[@avjebs]

@fauxhammer did you see this?

[@FauxHammer]

Just now yes

[@FauxHammer]

What is your source for all of this information? It’s all very interesting. But forgive my need to request validation?

[@erlinghagendesign]

@@FauxHammer Hello, I'm sorry, I don't know your name. Direct sources: Anycubic + Aorita. And of course my general engineering knowledge. I built 3D printers and CNC machines myself years ago, just out of necessity and interest. But then I gave that up when the local offers got better and better. In the meantime, I have many very good partners here in China. Basically, I can realize anything I want. My only wish: there is a large audience following you and others reviewing the latest equipment, but when I read many comments from irritated and disappointed followers, I thought it would be better to provide some clarity to restore confidence in the latest technology. And to clarify: I am not affiliated with anyone, just passionate about the creation and methods of doing so. The recent products from Bambu Lab and other great developers show what is possible when skill and conviction are used to get very good tools into the hands of many people at incredibly low prices. I am grateful for that. Herri

[@retromodernart4426]

@FauxHammer Is that ACF on the M5S transparent when you put it onto a flat surface? For example, if you put it on a paper with some text on it, does it still look "cloudy"? Just for reference, the Aorita ACF is perfectly transparent when it's on a flat surface. Also, ACF (which is almost certainly "Amorphous Cellulose Film", bonded to a silicone substrate) is ~6% less transmissive of UV than FEP or PFA. Good, thorough, informative review, thanks for all that effort, it's appreciated!

[@hand8007]

I bought this printer wanting auto leveling, that juicy build volume and I print at .02mm Layer height.speed is not what I want. I’m listening to the video but would you suggest I send it back? I have a Saturn 2 but I want as much detail as possible. The leveling has been an issue for me because some prints seem to affect it. Should I return and get a dlp instead or just wait. Or keep and hope for firmware or better film? It’s literally coming tomorrow and I’m unsure I should keep it while I have a saturn2

[@dynamicdigitalcreations]

Thanks for the great video, very infomative. I am looking at one of these as a backup to my Formlabs Form 3 resin printer. Regarding the milky look of the ACF, the Vat on the Form 3 is completely milky and not transparent in any way yet produces brilliant prints. Makes me wonder about there explanation regarding the travel of the light being Energy.

[@windforward9810]

I’m glad I waited on this printed. Will wait for the test results.

[@236wargaming4]

Awesome video, fella. Really appreciate the insights. I need detail rather than speed, but the self-levelling and warnings are also very valuable to me as time savers - even if I'm not printing as maximum speed! My plan is to go straight for FEP or PFA. I'll probably go with the screen protector until confidence increases since this is my first machine. Cheers! Subscribing! 👍🏻

[@FauxHammer]

Yeah, screen protector is a good idea. Just too big in this.

[@RocketGeek]

A material can be "translucent" or "transparent" at different energy levels and/or wavelengths. Energy at a certain wave band lengths is also known as "light". The difference between white light and UV light may make that translucent ACF sheet more transparent. Also, the pixels on the M5s are rectangular, so what would happen to your test plates if you rotated them right 45 and 90 degrees?

[@carlanderson5068]

I came here to say the same thing. I'd really like to see the the rotated result, too.

[@Tawnos_]

Moreover, material can be similar to ulexite or selenite and maintain a 1:1 fiber-optic like parallel projection through the material. I don't know the properties of this sheet, but if the engineers are saying the perceived translucency isn't the cause of this issue, I'm inclined to believe them.

[@Blake-jl8lh]

"wave band lengths"

[@Psych02K]

Great review. I cancelled my pre-order because I need detail, not speed. I am looking forward to your M5 review because I feel like that printer will be more what I need.

[@nattyray4921]

How would you recommend cleaning the build plate after taking off the print? I tried using the scraper but the cured resin layer doesn't wanna come off.

[@FauxHammer]

Buy the Anycubic Photon M5s Here: geni.us/PhotonM5s Buy the Anycubic Photon M5 Here: geni.us/PhotonM5 Get any 3D printer working quickly & easily with the our beginner guide kzbin.info/www/bejne/fZ6TXq1vbJannbs) 3D Printer Cleaning Mat: geni.us/3DPrinterCleaningMat This Video is part of our series looking for the Best 3D printer for Miniatures; www.fauxhammer.com/top-10/the-best-3d-printer-for-miniatures-models/ Artis Opus FauxHammer Essentials Set: store.artis-opus.com/products/fauxhammer-mixed-brush-set-5-brush-deluxe FauxHammer Patreon - www.patreon.com/fauxhammerblog FauxHammer Facebook Group - facebook.com/groups/PaintHub FauxHammer 3D Printing Group - facebook.com/groups/3dprintedminiatures FauxHammer Discord - discord.gg/dPexM9SeN4 Best Airbrush For Miniatures: www.fauxhammer.com/top-10/best-airbrushes-for-miniatures-wargames-models/ Beginner Airbrush: www.fauxhammer.com/featured/best-beginner-airbrush-for-miniatures/ Affiliate Links to support us. Element Games - elementgames.co.uk/wargames-and-miniatures-by-manufacturer/games-workshop/warhammer-40k/warhammer-40000-indomitus-english-?d=10279 Wayland Games - affiliates.waylandgames.co.uk/781-1-3-4.html Forbidden Planet: forbiddenplanet.com/catalog/?q=Warhammer%20Imperium&sort=title&page=1&affid=FauxHammer& Amazon - www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=Warhammer&ref=nb_sb_noss_2 Website: www.fauxhammer.com/ Facebook: facebook.com/pg/FauxHammerBlog/ Twitter: twitter.com/FauxHammerBlog Instagram: instagram.com/fauxhammerblog/ Pinterest: www.pinterest.co.uk/fauxhammer/ Video Editing by VidPros: app.vidpros.io/r/J50Z26 00:00 - Intro

[@kevinfutter]

Just a note about semantics: the ACF is *translucent*, not *opaque*. The latter term means "blocks light completely", and is the binary opposite of *transparent*, which means "blocks no light at all". Everything between those two binary end points is, well, translucent!

[@AFV85]

If you are correct and is that new film then good luck changing it! I run a couple anycubics the frame doesn't splice the whole fep and frame are one peice saves so much time but you probably wont get one with a clear fep as not intended use for this printer unless you can swap it with the M5 is the vat is the same size?ndoes this m5s have a splitable fep frame? I dont know but im guessing no?

[@cyberkyv]

Your video is incredible, I also saw Vogman, and apparently everything can point to the ACF sheet, it would be interesting if you could locate a PFA sheet for that tray and change it to test if those strange details are actually maintained in the final piece. Thanks for sharing

[@FauxHammer]

Normal M5 is on the way, I’ll use that vat.

[@Smathalgoth]

After some of the initial hype over these printers was going around, I actually sourced a sheet of this ACF film to experiment with on a Mono 4k. I have noticed zero difference in detail for the same exposure settings vs an NFEP sheet, and was able to get away with much higher lift speeds along with finer support tips than would reliably work for me previously. So I don't think the ACF film is to blame here. My guess would be this "12k" screen Anycubic and Elegoo have sourced is just crap, the rectangular pixels just being the tip of the iceberg of compromises.

[@FauxHammer]

@@Smathalgoth what resin are you using?

[@Smathalgoth]

@@FauxHammer Mostly Siraya Tech Fast, but also some Ameralabs TGM-7. The latter of which had the biggest improvements for list speed and support settings.

[@Gromic2k]

@@Smathalgoth can you try the same test Fauxhammer used in the video and share the results? I would love to know if you are able to get all the small details that the M5s misses

[@jessicadetrick3842]

Screens are measured corner to corner diagonally which is where they get the 10.1" figure. The calculator that you were using measured the length and width like you would for a rectangle which would yield a different figure than the industry standard for screen size measurement.

[@avjebs]

I was pretty sure that after your replies for the shorts comment, and after you've already said it's 99.9% the film, that you'll buy a new film, put it instead of this ACF and use frozen 8k like in your other videos and would include this testing in this video that took really long time to come up. Not to be rude, I thank you for your reviews and information, but this has stole 26 minutes from my life, you've added nothing new, and even subtracted the most (and only) important testing to a next video. When you said "If you've already preordered it please stop watching now" - this was acualy wrong because if the film replacement provides better details than the 8k midrange ones (with slow speed, 0.2mu hight, frozen 8k resin) for miniatures - then there is no reason for anyone to cancel it, or to choose the m5 instead, and we can enjoy both worlds.

[@jaidenlee4128]

Thanks for the video, Ross. I’m disappointed as well. Bought this for 12k detail not fast printing. Looks like I will be going the Athena route. Also hope all is well with the wife. ❤

[@FauxHammer]

Glad you enjoyed it, and thanks it’s only a day op but sat now in recovery waiting for obs and the ok to go.

[@aberodriguez4149]

Very thorough review, thank you for having such an honest channel it is greatly appreciated. Looking forward towards your Anycubic Photon M5 review.

[@FauxHammer]

No problem, it’s what I aim to do

[@ajc4477]

Delighted I didn't buy one of these, thank god for you and Vog - the other "reviewers" barely had a bad word to say about it. The auto level is pointless (never had an issue manually levelling a resin printer) and the "12K" aspect is a bit of a con. I still think the Saturn 2 is a better option and there's nothing to stop anyone installing ACF for faster prints.

[@FauxHammer]

Isn’t @VOGMAN an absolute hero… he really helped me out on this.

[@deivonferreira]

I do still prefere the Photon Mono x 6k or Mono x2 6ks, they have the quality that I need and have a good speed. Great video!

[@BrickBazooka]

I have a pmx6k too (the old gen), but would say a 6k is better than an 8k/12k ;/

[@dkeyuk]

Gutted, was hoping this would be a good first step into resin printing. Just cancelled my pre-order, back to the drawing board i guess, as probs need to wait 6-12 months for the newer speed and quality features to mature enough. Ideally I was looking for something that could do quick prototypes and still do high quality final prints, the auto leveling was a bonus too. ☹ As ever @FauxHammer, great and real reviews. I really appreciate the honest approach inc. the shorts . Keep up the great work.

[@FauxHammer]

Thanks, you do realise you could have kept your preorder and just replaced the ACF sheet?

[@dkeyuk]

@@FauxHammer Yeah, I saw at the end of the vid you said about swapping the film out, but hadn't yet tested it as wanted to get the vat from the M5. I actually pre-ordered it based on Vogs video, as it was "ok" and the main issues he seemed to talk about was the lack of quality jump from 12k to 8k (even a slight step down due to the rectangular pixels) without really having issues with the film. I had orignally looked at getting the 8KS, but after that I thought the marginal quality loss for the ability to prototype would be worth it. But needing to buy a new film for a new printer and dial that in (as i'm a complete newbie to resin) would mean i am more likely to get worse results thatn either of you two pillars of printing 😊

[@sdghtjsdcgs]

Good for you. Shitty practices shouldn't be rewarded. Replacing things out of the box isn't a reasonable solution.

[@YourAverage_J0e]

@@sdghtjsdcgs how is it a shitty practice? The printer is marketed for its speed. literally the 5"S". the film is designed for speed. that comes with trade offs

[@aaronbono4688]

I'm really curious as to the price of this fast resin. I am currently printing hundreds of pieces of dungeon blocks and I have been comparing quality vs. cost vs. speed when determining what to print with my fdm printer vs. my resin printer. With the resin printing I'm getting faster prints with better detail bed at a 50% increased cost using run-of-the-mill resin. If you have to use the special fast resin to get faster prints, what additional costs are you having to put into the resin to gain that speed?

[@dwarfy2k264]

For the side usb slots being an issue, I just get usb extenders (also to protect the usb slots lifespan) to get it to the front as you can get usb extenders that come out flat on the machine instead of the normal vertical out.

[@WhosthisBernard]

Great review as always. Looking forward to seeing what you have to say about the M5. Have you got any more printers lined up to review?

[@FauxHammer]

Too many All the new Elegoo line. A secret one M5 Mono X 6k Several more too that I can’t remeber

[@WhosthisBernard]

@@FauxHammer awesome news. I really appreciate the no bullshit reviews and they have genuinely informed my decision process more than once.

[@Now-YouKnow]

Great job, but Im confused Did you run the test with regular resin {maybe 8k} and using the not speed setting? or was everything done with the speed settings and the fast resin which we know sacrifices detail (big time)

[@FauxHammer]

I used 8k resin at the normal speeds I have used on all my older printers. I slowed it down to the speeds it should typically work at

[@pavelbotezat808]

Just got an answer for Anycubic: About the effect of using ACF: The ACF film has a thickness of 0.3mm and a matte surface on the bottom, which differs from the 0.15mm smooth FEP release film. Due to the light scattering phenomenon within the resin vat, the ACF film may slightly affect the surface details of the printed model. Specifically, it could result in a decrease in the model's matte finish and the appearance of minor fine lines. However, in practical printing scenarios using non-high-speed resin with a layer thickness of 0.05mm, 16x anti-aliasing, grayscale 0, and blur 3 settings, the print quality is comparable to that of the M5. Moreover, the light scattering effect of the ACF film can actually improve the anti-aliasing performance compared to FEP.

[@FauxHammer]

so, when you print with 16x AA!!! That's a lot!

[@brianhickling1867]

So we are really getting there! That now admitted light scattering of the ACF may indeed "improve" anti-aliasing, which is in fact blurring, if you are fast printing with the 0.1mm layers or normal printing at 16x anti-aliasing with 3 blur settings but your high definition models will always suffer. So a M5 or M5s with nFEP will always outperform as regards accuracy of printing compared to using ACF. I commend Anycubic for honesty here but I strongly suggest they ship with two resin vats one with ACF for speed another with nFEP for accuracy... before more customers jump boat.

[@FauxHammer]

@@brianhickling1867 I told them the exact same thing. Though i suggested a fep sheetonly rather than a whole vVAt to keep costs down. This is still one of the best Vats of all the brands

[@JN-sr1yh]

16x anti-aliasing... 🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂🙃🙂🤣🤣🤣

[@zahn.aerztin]

What resin should I buy for this printer?

[@alanpreston1822]

Been waiting for this one. I got my preorder in, and I am sticking with it as i need more build volume, this is Anycubic's premier option, and I dont think they will leave this without improvement over time. The Athena is a Kickstarter, so delivery is in question, and the cost looks to be 2X this unit if not more. This has the features I am looking for at the right price from a dependable company. It will work well alongside my Mars 3 Pro. I can pump out terrain fast.

[@anab0lic]

Printing terrain in resin? Fdm is a better choice for that tbh.

[@alanpreston1822]

@@anab0lic if you dont mind it taking 2 days for some simple walls and stringing at a critical part of a print when a single small issue on a support failed.

[@anab0lic]

@@alanpreston1822 you won't have that issue if you buy one of the faster fdm printers thats now on the market. Printing terrain in resin is considerably more expensive, the end result is more brittle, heavier and you have to faf around with a whole bunch of Post print cleanup, washing curing, triming supports etc etc. Most terrain stls are optimized for fdm too,, so you will have to manually cut up and key all the peices and maybe hollow it all out too. Oh and If the terrain is designed well, it doesn't need support to be printed on an fdm printer.

[@Gromic2k]

​@@anab0lic FDM printed terrains look terrible. On every FDM printer.

[@chriswebb9375]

@@anab0lic There is also the consideration that if you have a resin printer already buying an FDM printer only to print terrain makes that terrain very expensive. If you are buying a printer (don't already have one, or are adding a second) then look at the use case, if it is only to print terrain absolutely buy FDM over resin, if however you are buying a printer and want to print miniatures and some terrain I would expect resin is the more cost effective solution.

[@markie74656]

WOW! Amazing review! Thank you very much for reviewing this printer in such detail. You saved me! I was really thinking of ordering this, but was a little concerned about the rectangular pixels. Now that I've seen this review, I won't be purchasing it. Again, thanks for the amazing review, and for the incredible content you put out for us all!

[@christophersteen1873]

You can put an extension cable on it, yes a bother but this makes it a lot easier, there are low form factor angled ones and everything.

[@riyadc]

I plan on having a vat tray with PFA on it and an another with ACF. One for fast prints and the other for details.

[@FauxHammer]

My plan too

[@muhammadsammy9484]

Thanks for the great review, can't wait to see what it would look like with normal PFA (nFEP) sheet, if that is the real culprit....honestly I'm assuming it's the sprint system on the screen, maybe it's designed so that it pushes further than normal each layer, and that's how it's detecting failures or things that are stuck... This would mean that the force sensors on the printer are not very sensitive, and it requires slightly more force than normal to get the layers in One way to test that would be to check for Z height accuracy, compared to XY, if my hypothesis is correct, you're Z accuracy would be lower than normal, when using the same resin compared to other printers I'm on the fence of cancelling my order, I ordered a few of this printer because of the amazing price and features, but it seems all too good to be true

[@BrickBazooka]

did you cancel your order?

[@muhammadsammy9484]

@@BrickBazooka no I have not

[@BrickBazooka]

@@muhammadsammy9484 why not?

[@muhammadsammy9484]

@BrickBazooka I don't want to base my whole decision on 1 review, and I'll try some troubleshooting of my own in one of the machines. If it doesn't work, I'll return the rest.. I have a ton of different types of sheets, so I'll test that out first with different resins, but if it has to do with the plate leveling system there won't be anything to do about that. I also want to test the Z and XY accuracy, I want to know if the tension from the springs affects the Z accuracy and if the rectangular pixels affect the XY accuracy

[@terrain4print]

Lol at the "This is energy, not light".

[@badboibubby1878]

Was about to buy, but lack of info like this made me cancel. Glad you made this vid

[@bradandteinacook3506]

I like from the video how a line moves up the model on the LCD to show how far the model is along.

[@infantrymanejb358]

So what printer do I need for quality minis with great detail? I’m not worried about speed.

[@ChristmasEve777]

I'm sorry about my comment on that video where you kept blurring images. It was meant to be helpful criticism 😃BUT I continued to watch your videos anyway and I"m so glad I did! When you said the resin was brittle, did you just mean the high speed resin? How is Anycubic's standard resin when printed at normal speed? I'm looking at buying one of their 3D printers and I want things like clasps and buckles to be strong.

[@WallyMahar]

Hopefully, this is merely a software and film replacement issue, similar to past instances when 3D printer companies faced backlash over plastic versus metal tubes. They rectified the situation by switching them out, resulting in satisfied customers. The same needs to be done here. Extensive testing should always take precedence over rushing to kickstart. Companies often find the latter too tempting, but it's not always the best route. And no Thank You for this content!

[@bardoksvisions5390]

Looks like I’m gonna cancel my m5s preorder and get the m5 . I need that detail and not speed

[@magikarp2063]

Well they are basically the same printer minus the auto leveling that is cool but whatever, leveling takes 3 minutes and you basically never have to do it again. That being said I think its right that the ACF film is the problem and you can simply replace that with normal FEP. Seems like I will be doing the same for my mars 4 ultra when it arrives.

[@bardoksvisions5390]

@@magikarp2063 yeah looking at all of this I think they should had just put the acf and a fep into the Package and not squishing the „cool“ acf shit in our face 😂

[@rlira0908]

Same. Ima see if I can swap n if they'll honor the early bird cuz detail > speed Speed is nice, but that's too steep a trade for my liking

[@Roscodatosco]

@@bardoksvisions5390I agree high quality not high speed

[@dou8letap82]

Lol basing your purchase decisions on a youtubers opinion LOL hilarious 🤣

[@CGDreamsTutorials]

Thanks for this video, I need the best results over speed but of course Id like both which was the selling point of this printer. I will look out for your update, mean time I will be looking into if I can cancel the pre order. Stepping and parts not fitting together, not good for me.

[@FauxHammer]

why are so many people jumping to cancel their preorder? just get an NFEP if you wnat quuality, then you have the choice. and the Auto bed levelling and failure detection this offers. at a bargain price

[@CGDreamsTutorials]

@@FauxHammer This is my first Resin printer, all new to me. If the NFEP is all there is to it, then no problem at all. I'm a sculptor and have been holding off getting a printer till the tech came which let me print integrate detail, skin pores e.c.t. I felt the 5s was that shift in tech along with a better user experience.

[@paullancaster297]

mmmm ...... My new M3 max has arrived and waiting to be unboxed - still in the middle of building a printer enclosure, it also has the new translucent fep, so testing may be interesting. Great video.

[@marcellrideg2965]

Is the Saturn 3 Ultra not using an ACF film, without the quality loss? I've got the M5S pre-ordered, but started feeling uneasy about that choice when I saw Vog's closeup of the Amera test, where the M5S looked overexposed compared to the S3U - Oddly enough, Vog didn't comment on Elegoo's edge there (I put it down to his.. complex relationship with the manufacturer). This confirmes what I saw, fingers crossed it's the film - That way I could have to vat-s, depending on what I need, speed or quality. Thanks so much for the thoroug and unbiased review, it's very much appreciated!

[@brandam4179]

Thank you for this info. I preordered the m5s and after watching this video I realized this isnt for me. Im going to cancel this preorder and look into the Uniformation GKtwo. Hopefully the canceling and refunding process with anycubic isnt difficult.

[@frankcastle1973]

I just got mine setup last week and so far it's amazing. The only thing is, it's really support happy. Does anyone have good settings for supports for the Photon Workshop app?

[@user-gs4ig3jj5m]

so what printer can be best for warhammer like minis and stuff?

[@PerfectionHunter]

Thank you for this review

[@ohaleceiffel]

Hi do you ever share your exposure settings? Thx.

[@MrNBridger]

Excellent video and very informative. I hope Phrozen is sending you their Mighty 8K upgrade kit because that will also give us a great comparison.

[@FauxHammer]

Yep, they are sending the 12k kit, some ACF and a spare vat 😉

[@MrNBridger]

@@FauxHammer Sweet!

[@calrak]

I pre-ordered this as my first resin printer. I want to print DnD minis. I would be happy to print slower, with old FEP for better quality. I have been waiting for your thoughts and now I do not know what to do.... I assume I can cancel my order, but if you can show some quality prints with a normal FEP - I guess I would not cancel....

[@666Azmodan666]

same...

[@Gromic2k]

There is a guy here "Smathalgoth" in the comments, who said he has bought the same matte ACF film the M5s uses, and he does not have a quality loss in his prints. If he's right, the issue is not something we can solve by ourselves. By the way, i just canceled my preorder.

[@ingoliebig6206]

@@Gromic2k how did u cancel? There is no such function on the website for me

[@666Azmodan666]

@@Gromic2k note that its display shows a blurry image and a strange color compared to other youtubers. uv is purple on his video is blue...

[@Gromic2k]

@@666Azmodan666 can be the white balance of the camera

[@Desmo904]

Thanks for the in depth review Ross! Great stuff, and very useful. One thing that interests me is why don't manufacturers package their printers with flex plates as standard? Is it just a cost issue? I wouldn't use a printer without one. (Just me?)

[@FauxHammer]

I guess they don't believe it's needed. I'm kinda with that view. sorry, i think they are a waste of money and introduce more problems than they solve... A couple of years back. maybe, but nowadays i find it easy enough to get prints off a plate when the resin is dialled in that i don't see a need for them kinda worried I've lost a subscriber here, but just my view. hope that's ok.

[@petercallison5765]

@@FauxHammer Says the guy who just stabbed himself removing a print : )

[@Kaiesis]

Think the sonic mighty 8k is a better choice? both are about the same price now.

[@jasperpott6341]

So, if I keep my M5s pre-order, replace the acf film with a regular fep. Start using regular resin at regular speed. I might get the details, do have auto leveling, and hardly paid any extra due to the pre-order discount? All based on the assumption that the acf film is likely the cause?

[@TheSickness]

I'm glad people like you are spearheading these things, testing and trying out things. Anycubic still has some time to figure these things out, preferably with you guys, before the shipments arrive.

[@FauxHammer]

I’m confident you just need to change the FEP, especially after some other commenters shared Emails from Anycubic

[@TheSickness]

@@FauxHammer would be the easiest fix, still looking forward to your test. Thanks for your efforts 👍

[@NaterNorris]

I bet you could test if it's the levelling system by putting some screws in there to hold it steady.

[@daniarmagedon]

Thanks for the video, will wait until the vat test to decide if I cancel my preorder

[@waynehawkins654]

I got one of these and first time using today. I wish they had move video on the clean up. I made a mistake on my first clean up. After emptying the vat, it had bits stick to the vat, so as carefully as I did try to remove by scraping, bad mistake. I should have run the vat clean and remove this way with one go. Hopeful not creating problem, but I can see visual lines now. I went to order another vat to have anyway, but you cannot as yet in New Zealand. Putting on the screen protector - oh my. Like you said, it has air gaps on the bevel of the screen. But for me, I have some air bubbles that I am sure is creating problem when I try to print flat services like a cube box that is required for the job I paid to buy this printer. To hold PCB boards. Time for my second print, a box with a lid, well this did not turn out well at all. The flat top of the lid was not flat, and the resin did not set right. I'm going to remove the screen protector and try again another day. Other screen protecters are on order and to be honest, like a cell phone, I just never use them. Only two prints so I will keep playing and learning. As a beta release I got 6 lots of 1KG of fast resin. I wish they had ship others to play with. Look forward to your review on the non- s version. I hope I have not made a mistake but it was not a large amount of money anyway.

[@rickkubina8977]

Great review, thanks.

[@internetmail3888]

Does it print castable resin for lost wax casting?

[@petercallison5765]

Any chance you could test Phrozen's new speed resin with this printer? Is it not possible to print at a lower layer height with high speed resin? Thanks for the review, that was very helpful.

[@FauxHammer]

I won’t be stealing Phrozen speed with this printer as it doesn’t tell me anything I don’t already know. But no, you don’t need that layer height, it just helps with the speed

[@kaijuh]

Deciding between this and the Elegoo saturn 3 12k ultra. The print quality does seem higher on the Saturn but what is your opinion?

[@FauxHammer]

The prints are sharper on the Saturn 3 than on the M5. But I have not used the Ultra. The Ultra uses ACF film which also slightly blurrs the image. My supposition is that it won't do it as much as the M5 will, but it will do a bit.

[@kaijuh]

@@FauxHammer I ended realizing that the saturn 3 was just way to big for how I would use this. I am going to print infantry size minis 95% of the time. So I ended deciding between the mars 4 ultra and the mars 3. Once I saw Uncle Jesse had to use a digital microscope to see any actual differences between 4k and 8k, I just didnt see the point of spending 2x the money. The wireless is nice but I dont mind walking an USB to my printer once in a while since I wont be printing like a madman

[@BoGanora]

I just don't see auto leveling as a huge step forward for resin printers, at least not like it is on FDM printers. This first gen of 12k 10" printers looks like a hard pass. I appreciate the innovation but I'll stick with my mini 8k for now as I don't need the extra build plate area

[@MrBuffDavid]

Can you recommend the top 3 Resin Printers to get at the moment? Best quality, most printing area and least problems? I was going to decide between this M5s and Elegoo's Saturn 3 Ultra.....but now you're making me think that maybe I should get the best 8k printer out there now instead.

[@FauxHammer]

Here you go, top 10 and it’s up to date… www.fauxhammer.com/fr/top-10/the-best-3d-printer-for-miniatures-models/

[@stepahinigor]

Can I clarify which printer made the tests you are comparing to, where the fine details are almost perfect and the edges are not smoothed 17:36 (right), 23:53 (top)?

[@FauxHammer]

basically any of the 8k printers, kzbin.info/www/bejne/j4Sun2iheLylf6ssi=TCd4sHgvUaapMGzs

[@Flashhawk2k]

@fauxhammer would you consider a test print of pin and hole in different orientation on the build plate to see if that affects the fit? I mean print both flat along the rectangular pixel, flat but 90° to them, then oriented at 30° or 45° and at 90° to the buildplate also in line with the pixels and 90°. I just would like to know if that affects your socket problem in any way because of the rectangular pixels...

[@FauxHammer]

If you could spot the difference between these pixel sizes which are only 6 microns different you would need superhuman eyes. People can’t see the difference between most 35 and 22 micton printers. And that’s 13 microns difference. This test tells me plenty.

[@Flashhawk2k]

@@FauxHammer it wasn't actually the quality that i wanted tested with this, but you talk about the wolverine bust and how it's not fitting well together. My question was, if alignment of the print could have anything to do with it given the rectangular pixels...

[@FauxHammer]

@@Flashhawk2k no, at 24um no. I’ve tested this on 35um printers without issue. Honestly, people are getting more worked up about rectangular pixels than they should. It’s not a new thing in LCD tech. It really doesn’t matter

[@waltperko8389]

Hi, I learned the hard way, but the video should also start with a warning about the fumes from the resins. I now have a simple ritual of wearing one glove on my left hand, moving the print bed up near the top so there is room to tilt the print bed at an angle to allow more excess resin to drip back into the printer before pulling the whole thing out.

[@izan_br2613]

Hola buenas. He comprado la m5s y esta de camino a mi casa. He visto este video y no me ha dado tiempo a cancelar el pedido para elegir otro modelo diferente. Si cambio la resina y algún que otro ajuste puedo conseguir un nivel de detalle notablemente mas alto ? Gracias y un saludo

[@FauxHammer]

Not noticeable no. But it’s not terrible either. It’s fine

[@AFV85]

Please read this let me know what you think mate! Your matrix test prints ive been getting EXACTLY the same issues i kinda knownwhat is going on here its the resin! Anycubic dont like other resin as much as their own im testing elgoos new like ABS 2.0 resin in my mono 2, Thinking it's definitely Not compression as used it all the time it had to be something else? The Resin itself! And yes the exposure had to be set to near doube than what i would originally print at withy anycubic like abs! Now ive done this amd lowred my bottom layer to 4 instead of the 5 or 6 it was standard with ive got it printing perfectly! So try this if not got it dialed in yet mate! If it was brand new out the box and done this i would have come to same conclusion compression! But its not! Try anycubics resin in the printer and try the test again itll probably be perfect or near perfect than that phrozen resin used! You could always try what Dennic wang done and thickened up the scale in the slicer only upwards to pull the detail out slightly swch off the uniform scaling its better than using a raft! His models are cults if need thickened version of matrix but if you follow what i said at the start about me going through this with elgoos new 2.0 it was driving me crazy it really was, then finally got it perfect by changing them 2 settings! I would try it with anycubic resin first reset settings to default for that resin bet its good! So hope this helps you out

[@christopherlund1198]

Off topic, what adhesives can be used with cured UV resin? Say acrylic to the C'd UV resin? Thanks!

[@FauxHammer]

I just use superglue or a 2-part resin adhesive for larger pieces

[@frbrbrgrblgrr7777]

I’m curious about the Elagoo 12k and then I’ll decide after

[@dorbie]

With all the other data points these symptoms can only really be image convolution, either through diffusion in the film, distance from the screen or lack of collimation in the throw (depending on the system), unless the display itself is jank which I doubt. There aren't that may variables. It can't be about exposure, it's about acuity on the fluid boundary plane. Basically blurriness due to diffusion, contact offset or display problems. Their engineers saying UV is energy not light is troubling nonsense.

[@Jimbob-fw9fh]

Doesn’t the Elgoo 9k Uktra Model have the same problem then? It has the same ACF film?

[@minninator]

Just can´t decide what first printer i should get to print minis and terrain. Any recommendations?

[@magikarp2063]

Wait for this to clear out and if the ACF is causing the issue primaraly then get the regular M5 (non s)

[@DarkWolfWRX]

Yup got that exact feeling with my Anycubic Photon Ultra. Just got my Sonic Mini 8K S though, so that makes up for my prior disappointment lol.

[@bgordon2166]

Thank you for this. I run a Sonic Mighty 8K, and was seriously considering Phrozen’s 12K upgrade kit. Now, I think I’ll hold off until I see independent real world results. One question I’ve asked the Phrozen Pholks (see what I did there? 😆) is how is the print quality using the 8K resins with the 12K screen and ACF film. So far, I haven’t received any answer beyond “we’re still testing that”.

[@FauxHammer]

I can't give you a better answer. i no longer speak directly with the Pholks at Phrozen, we have an intermediary. but rest assured this will be one thing I surely test.

[@bgordon2166]

Thank you. Looking forward to it 🙂👍🏻

[@lukecasey2830]

Thanks for the review! I wanted to get this 3d printer to print detailed dnd miniatures. I canceled my preorder and am going to go for something else!

[@666Azmodan666]

how does the film change in the container look like? whether the film is in a permanently glued frame and you have to buy one in a frame or you can cut the film and tighten it with screws only. I made a preorder but I definitely care about the detail, I wonder if I will get the detail and what other costs will be incurred to obtain it.

[@jeremiahembs5343]

Changing film is usually pretty easy but takes time. The film is held in a frame with screws then stretched over a rim in the bottom of the vat creating tension and the frame held in the vat with more screws. The screws are hex screws of different sizes so require 2 sizes of wreches or hex screwdrivers. It's important to get the tension on the film right. Too tight and the frame doesn't fit together again, too loose and it doesn't lay flat. Somewhere between is ideal and will release the model you are building easily. There are videos on youtube about the way to change fep film. We'll see if fauxhammers test with the more clear film fixes the print quality or not.

[@666Azmodan666]

yes I know that the film is in the frame and it is screwed to the tank. I meant whether the frame itself consisting of two parts is to be screwed or is it glued together permanently and you have to buy a film in the frame (which is not cheap) or try to dismantle it without damaging it and remake it so that it is screwed as I have seen on others movies. Unfortunately, as I can see, it is glued together permanently, but I won't be modifying it, so I came to the conclusion that I will make a whole new one out of aluminum (I have a small cnc) and it will be eternal, and the only thing I will have to buy is the film itself.

[@jeremiahembs5343]

@@666Azmodan666 I would think if the frame is in two parts but glued together the glue just helps to seal the film better. So if it doesn't have screws to hold the frame itself together obviously the frame could be drilled and tapped for that to make it like other frame, but I would also think or there are probably after market frames that will fit the vat. I've never seen one that couldn't be replaced, but I have a machine that is a couple of years old.