HeyGear Ultracraft Reflex RS (HONEST review) - it may shock you!

[@TheDentalHobbyist]

I just wanted to note that the build plate can be manually raised or lowered by going to settings > calibration > keep rising/keep descending. Alternately, in the calibration menu, you can also select fine tune, which will allow you to set a travel distant and speed, and then select raise or lower. Otherwise, i think you've got this printer pretty well accurate. Thanks!

[@vogman]

Thanks for your input. I guess I must have been mistaken. 😁

[@TheDentalHobbyist]

@vogman to be fair, it's not clearly labeled, and not in the same place as most other printers.

[@Grave79]

@@vogman Not your fault. It's not an intuitive place for it. I thought the same as you until I accidentally stumbled across it after month of ownership. Honestly, the whole settings menu needs to be redone. There's a lot of non-settings options in there that really need their own menu item so that settings is actually just settings.

[@MrQuickEdits]

I went to search for the price for 1kg of Resin.... It is so crazy expensive!!!! for 1kg it costs $59... I don't care if the settings are set... you will go broke buying the materials to print. This is an incredible downside to buying one of these printers.

[@vogman]

Like I said in the review, they're not cheap...

[@MadMatMetals]

You really did a great job on this video. The close up shots of side by side differences was really helpful

[@vogman]

Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching 😁

[@MaheerKibria]

If the SD slot can support exFAT and NTFS the USB port should support it too and it isn't too hard to format USB to file systems. The main reason for including a MicroSD is normally something that can sit in the printer usually a cheap way to include lots of storage for network printing. It's a way to cut costs without cutting functionality. I would be more ok with this printer if it allowed me to use 3rd Party resins if I wanted. Like I like the idea of not having to dial in my resin. But on the flip side. I would like the option to do so if I want to. Kind of like bambulabs. They have their own filament and it's push button but you can also use any off the shelf filament.

[@C-M-E]

I had a few forum people ask my thoughts on this system a few months ago, and I basically summed it up as an easy bake oven for resin printing. If you don't mind being roped into proprietary everything and the enormous potential pitfalls of that type of ecosystem, it could be the next best thing. If you do value manual tweaking and having a well-rounded library of 3rd party resins, ehh... I think they're going after the Formlabs and Resin Printing for Dummies market, which I'm sure there's a lot of cake to slice there. On the flip side, being shielded from the experience so much inherently will make people approach these like they would a pastel-colored circular saw. Looks inviting, all the danger removed.

[@vogman]

It kind of is "printing for dummies," I agree. But shouldn't that really be the case? Are we all just too used to having to MAKE our printers work. They should be perfect out of the box. I've lost track how many people I've heard from that have given up because they couldn't figure out the settings, etc. HeyGears are not cheap, but their stuff works out of the box. People who own them love them. Consumer choice is good. Let the consumer decide 😁

[@C-M-E]

@@vogman Fair point on the out of the box experience. Maybe we've been the beta testers for too long, but that's how it's gone for a lot of niche industries that were more or less enthusiast-driven until hitting more mainstream appeal. Granted 3d printers of any sort have been mainstream long enough now that a lot of people pick them up not knowing there is a bit of a learning curve. While I appreciate the more technical side of them, I can see where 'hit button, make item' does have that Star Trek appeal, and more users overall furthers avenues for all of us towards having better machines.

[@vogman]

Let's be fair... what other industry would tolerate products that have to be made to work? If it was a TV, or a car, or a kitchen oven, and we were told to make it work be fiddling with it and best-guessing, we'd all refuse. The printing community seems to love to tinker. It's our blessing and our curse 😁😁😁

[@MaheerKibria]

see I would take the FormLabs over the HeyGears. Any day of the week. Yes it is way more expensive but at least FormLabs has Open material mode meaning you can use any 405nm Resin with their printers. They charge an arm and a leg for that feature but it is there.

[@Cakemagic1]

I was eyeing this printer, glad for the review!!!!

[@vogman]

Hope you enjoy it!

[@savoy9611]

Well said and great review. Exactly the reason why I purschased RS. It is so easy to use and have found that I am doing more printing versus screwing around with settings and want to print more. I know some will say to expensive, correct so do not buy it - that simple. Their customer service has been excellent, responsive and go out their way to satisfy the customer. I had sensor issue and complete satisfied with their efforts.

[@vogman]

Many thanks. I expected to shrug off this printer as too expensive and under-performing. Instead it truly surprised me and made me realise there's a lot other companies are NOT doing. Eventually the guesswork will go from all brands but for now, I have to congratulate HeyGears for setting a better example.

[@maokaimagina5372]

Good review, but I think you overlooked the most important parts about this printer which people should know before they buy! 1.) This is a very expensive printer and you can buy printers with a better quality prints for half even third the price 2.) Their Slicer is online only! You need to have internet access to use the Slicer 3.) "Just works" HeyGears moto isn't exactly correct. Autosupporting will make sure that your print will be there, but the program tends to have a very bad orientation resulting in lower quality 4.) Their resin is quite expensive at 70$ a liter and I can't see difference between it and any other cheaper resin

[@vogman]

Thanks, but I don't think I've made many omissions here. I mentioned very clearly that this printer is expensive, older tech, that restricts the user to brand only resin and brand only slicer. If you missed any of that, please watch again... it's there, honestly. However, my point is that some people WANT that ease of use, that simplicity of decision making. They want the joy of printing WITHOUT learning how to dial in a resin perfectly. Now some of these will pay for that privilege and some won't. My goal here was to show everyone that the option exists. A second less obvious goal of mine is to inspire other companies to try harder and stop relying on the printing community to make their products work for them. Too many companies send out products that aren't really ready. Anyway, as I've said to someone else a moment ago, there's a British proverb, "horses for courses." That's all this is. An option for SOME to take. Let them take it if they want. The rest of us will carry on regardless 😁

[@SergeiSugaroverdoseShuykov]

2) Slicer isn't online only anymore 3) You can autosupport with orientation of your choice, i've tested it wanting to test it on my S4U but their exported stl is unrepairable and i don't have a new model what i want to print to test it without repair

[@SergeiSugaroverdoseShuykov]

@@vogman RERF and tilting vat/strain gauge raise control already fixes absolute majority of "ease of use" problems, yeah you still have to learn for a half of a day, but if you won't - you might actually harm yourself whether with heygears or any other resin printer, it's not zero-knowledge type of activity anyway and you still have to work with highly corrosive liquids

[@RisingApe]

They have a resin called PAS which is 24.99/l too.

[@PBRJOHN684]

Nice review mate 👍 But where on earth did you get that photo of me before my first coffee in the morning? 😂🤣😂

[@vogman]

It was purely a selfie. It's gone now though mate 😁😁😁

[@JohnJones-oy3md]

Is it true that the slicer works offline now? I could grudgingly accept the proprietary resin ecosystem, but only being able to print as long as their servers are still around would be a definite deal-breaker for me.

[@vogman]

Several owners have come forward and said so, so I believe it's true. I've disconnected mine so I can't verify it, but I've no reason to doubt it.

[@RisingApe]

Great review, no secret I am a big fan of HG they are really excellent machines. I have made use of the help function to get feedback from engineers too!

[@vogman]

That's great to hear. Thanks.

[@peterhoulihan9766]

It's a nice printer with some nice features but there's no way I'd pay extra to help a company establish a monopoly.

[@vogman]

I can't see it. They'd honestly never get it. They're too far behind their competitors. If this had been fitted with a 16K screen and the sort of Force detection technology I've seen on the Athena, I'd be tempted to say, "These guys could capture the market." But no. The tech is mature, but not old, and they've just maxed out it's capabilities in a way that every printer company really SHOULD have done originally. They want a chunk of the market and they will get it. There are people that will pay extra for dependable and easy. That might not be you or me, but it's someone. So let that someone pay their money and make their choice. Meanwhile there's plenty of higher spec, cheaper machines for folks like you and me to tinker with. And we'll swear when it doesn't work. And we'll mess and adjust until it does. Because that's OUR thing. Horse for courses, my friend 😁😁😁

[@peterhoulihan9766]

@@vogman I don't think they will either but that is their intent. There's no other reason to lock down their platform to this degree. If they wanted they could provide a custom settings panel for third party resins for those who want to tinker, while still including automatic settings for their own resins. Equally they could open up their api to third party slicers without compromising their own one. It does look like a good printer though and your review was honest.

[@vogman]

Let's be honest, there's not a company out there that doesn't dream of being a monopoly. 😂🤣😂 I honestly never expected to like the product. I mean, 8K? But it's all pulled together very well and there's lots of people who love them for it. Their choice and all that 😁

[@peterhoulihan9766]

@@vogman Fair enough!

[@TheBlackweld]

The setting for moving the build plate up and down is in the settings menu, chose calibration. There you will find the controls.

[@vogman]

Hmmm... for me that just calibrates again... it doesn't have move options.

[@ruiromanoalmeida]

But it has ​@@vogman

[@dyansis]

The biggest selling point to me is the removal of having to calibrate settings. Is the price worth that it does all the finicky work for you? Yes if all those numbers just refuse to make sense to you no matter how many tutorials you read or watch. I dont think needing to use their own resin or systems is particularly bad. Many people are loyal to a brand anyway. Its not for me but i admit its a very nice printer that does what it does very well

[@vogman]

Like you, I can see this is a benefit many will pay for. 😁

[@SergeiSugaroverdoseShuykov]

1:09 it looks exceptionally good, i wish my Saturn 4 Ultra would look kinda like this instead of pretending to be a gunpla

[@RocktCityTim]

Thanks for this look into the RS - I'm just sorry that I didn't get in on the original pricing. At US$999 (or $749 with your code and Black Friday), it's still just a bit out of my bargain range compared to the other mid range printers. With the M7 Max now only US$749 current pricing and the ability to continue using my normal Chitubox and Lychee slicers. it's just not calling out to me/

[@vogman]

I quite understand. We're all ultimately governed by our wallets. My job is to speak as I find - warts and all - and not to twist anyone's arm 😁😁😁

[@ausfoodgarden]

Yeah the M7 Max is in my sights too. Although my wife has other ideas.😁

[@mathewschau9361]

$1000 is a little much for me. The polish is nice but the other manufacturer are not that bad (not great but not bad). Out of the box settings for resin are nice but other manufacturers do the same thing.

[@vogman]

Thanks for watching anyway. 😁

[@Tignoso79]

Interesting product (and great video, as always 😊). The arguable “8K” choice, as well as the limitations about exclusive resins, slicing software and parameters, may be deliberately part of HeyGear’s wider modus operandi like “enough with all the newest fancy wow effects, let’s get the best out of what it’s well-established and reliable”, as you similarly mentioned, I guess. After all, “oldie but goodie” is a timeless saying… Greetings from Rome 🇮🇹👋🏻

[@vogman]

Yes, I've heard so many people complain about how quickly the industry has developed. It's easy to look at 8K as being old, but it's still working very well in Phrozen printers and can produce excellent quality images, as we've seen here. 😁

[@imdeaded]

Lots of potential. I'm going to keep an eye on this gem. V1 usually has a lot of RnD.

[@vogman]

Thanks for watching 😁

[@teabagNBG]

when u did a review on the m7 pro u complained the vat has the heater integrated and u can clean the vat , here its the same but with the refill part...

[@vogman]

There's no heater on the tray I reviewed in this video. It's an unusual shape, but that's not a problem. Uniformation printers, for example, have unusual shaped trays. My issue with the M7 Pro heater was how large and heavy it was, and Anycubic were clearly aware of this themselves as they fixed it on the M7 Max.

[@teabagNBG]

@@vogman thats what i meant the shape is weird :D but the m7 pro is faster than the m7 max right?

[@vogman]

Yes. Large printers are always a little slower. 😁

[@Verdeloth-]

Would love to buy it but not avaible for my country 😢 really limited. Only one of four scandinavia country available

[@vogman]

Sorry about that 😁

[@Del350K4]

Yeah, the "fuzz" setting's confusing. It just seems to add steps to what would have been a smooth slope.

[@vogman]

I've no idea either. I think they just enjoyed confusing me. Easy to do 😁😁😁

[@Del350K4]

@vogman : )

[@Youtronics]

The user experience reminds me strongly of the Formlabs printers. Good that someone else also starts to focus on the overall ux. If they'd let you create custom settings for resins I'd probably replace the Formlabs one at work. (You could already do that with Formlabs if you pay for the "open material license", which is expensive as hell, or refill an old cartridge and make a custom setting, which is possible after one of the latest updates but is complicated as hell and you can't track you new resin seperately = it is still shown as the one from the empty cartridge you refilled. And if you buy the "open material license" I'd still have to deal with the print settings, so I'd rather replace the printer than deal with that (laser energy settings for 1st,2nd,...,#th layer, overhangs, first layer after overhangs, supports, "pressing force", mixing interval, heat settings, ...).)

[@vogman]

Ah FormLabs... those that avoid me most... and I don't know why. When you offer to cover all costs, take out insurance and sign any waivers, but are still declined an opportunity for an "unbiased" review, you have to be suspicious.

[@littletedsplayschool2525]

Great printer and I honestly think if they start to release tested profiles for Sunlu etc they will fly off the shelves

[@vogman]

I thought the same thing. Resin companies are clever. I'm sure many will flock to HeyGears to gain access to customers who don't mind paying a little more.

[@littletedsplayschool2525]

@ totally agree. I’m sure they will at some point. Keep up the good work

[@tonberryhunter]

This is essentially the Temu version of a Formlabs (I owned the Form 2) resin printer. Lol do yourselves a favor and just buy a much more affordable and just as capable Anycubic resin printer.

[@vogman]

I have very little knowledge of Formlabs. Unlike HeyGears, Formlabs won't send me their printers to review. I offered to cover all postage, take out insurance and agree to return within 14 days, but they still refused my reviews.

[@albertage1231]

They are totally different kind of printer mind ya

[@Grave79]

I use 64GB exFAT formatted USB sticks with an "ancient" Elegoo Saturn 2 so I don't think the FAT32 limitation is real. It's just that the applications people use to format their USB sticks don't format them properly. Try using Rufus and using the "non-bootable, MBR" options and formatting to exFAT and you should be good to go. It's what I've been using with my resin printers for years (Elegoo Saturn 2, Elegoo Saturn 3 Ultra, and Reflex RS)

[@KERSR]

looking this open to sell in my country. ! (TH)

[@ringoooringooo2190]

Hey gears the Bambu Lab of Resin Printer....

[@vogman]

They're certainly trying to be 😁

[@brendon6930]

So I can't use my own 3rd party resin...

[@vogman]

No. Only the HeyGears at the moment. By using JUST THEIR resin, you never need to be concerned about resin profiles. It's an expensive choice, but it's one I think many will go for. Regarding other brands, HeyGears inform me they are in talks with other brands to expand their range, but time will tell on that one.

[@cidercreekranch]

Thanks for the great review. But I'm going to pass of this printer until they allow the use of third-party resins.

[@vogman]

I can understand your reasoning. Thanks for watching.

[@FauxHammer]

Thank you Vogman!!. As one if the most respected reviewers in our community. I am so glad to watch this as it makes me feel validated You delivered a great review, well balanced and without any of the worry of impending drama that I had. Yoh talked about this straight and to the point. I’m envious of your review delivery here. And you pointed out some things I missed too, like the vat fill height. You are spot on and I agree. This would also mean there’s less resin to heat at a given time for those with a heated vat. Which I’m sure would be more efficient? Dunno. Just a guess. As for moving the build plate manually. It’s in “calibration” and you can only “move to top” which is poorly translated to something like “keep moving” or something. I’ve told them about this too and these functions half way down the menu list are so much more frequently used than several options above them. Which you’d likely only use once in the life of a printer.. Considering that list isn’t alphabetical anyway, use frequency seems like a smarter way to order it… But that’s just my 2-cents. This machine is not for everyone. But those people who it is for…. Will love it. Hit them up for some castable material (chefs-kiss)

[@vogman]

The problem with telling the truth is that it's "your" truth and not everyone will agree, which is at the end of the day is fair enough. That's as it should be. Everything about this company made me say to myself "I won't like this product." I mean, 8K, the price tag, resin and slicer restrictions? But you, like me, must get emails every day from people being confused by those very points, and like it or not, HeyGears have done a great job here. It works and it's easy. It's expensive, yes, but some folks will always pay extra for dependable and easy. So good luck to them. As for the calibration button, you're not the only one to tell me that. I swear I tried that and it just went through the calibration routine again. Maybe I was wrong. It wouldn't be the first time 🤣😂🤣

[@FauxHammer]

@ ah no worries on the calibration button. The settings in there are not so well translated. I have fed this back. And yeah I understand people will not like this and I support people not liking this. But with this one I struggled against a large backlash of people posting the same semi-accurate/inaccurate comments like an indoctrinated cult and it really made me question myself hard!. I know people are passionate, and I applaud that. But there’s no need to spread hate on a valid choice for many people.. after all, these are just printers. Yeah I get those emails all the time asking me what is the easy one… I think the Saturn 4 ultra is a little easier because it removes half the settings. This is easy mode, and if there weren’t people out there willing to pay for convenience. We’d all be using public transport. Everything you said in this video I am 100% behind and it’s why I’ve always been such a huge fan of yours!

[@paulpardee]

I think HeyGears gets a lot of hate from people who print as a hobby or as a side hustle. But if you're a business who doesn't have time to faff about, the closed ecosystem more than pays for itself in time saved. It's a totally different market, but it's also cheap enough to be accessible to hobbyists. And the fact that they've been responding to feedback with changes, we might see HeyGears as the Bambu Lab of the resin world in a few years!

[@vogman]

They aren't cheap, and their screen size is a little behind, but the quality and precision means it prints way beyond an 8K and like you suggest, it's reliable... doing exactly what you want without any messing about. Love it or hate it, this is the way the industry will eventually go. This is the level of control we should be getting. HeyGears have proved it's possible 😁

[@TrepidDestiny]

Fauxhammer got Flamehammered just for the temerity of giving the printer a positive review. People need to relax.

[@peterhoulihan9766]

The closed ecosystem isn't actually necessary for those features though, it's pretty clear they're doing it because they want a captive market.

[@IronCrown]

Not a fan of the AI generated thumbnail...

[@vogman]

I wouldn't know, I've never used one. I downloaded the droid face from an image library and the crappy swirly bits are all mine 🤣😂🤣

[@bksee7756]

I have no idea why the Chinese companies don't get some advice on the translation. "Heygears" is a stupid name...

[@vogman]

I don't think anyone has a monopoly on bad names. A few years ago here in the UK we have a broadband company called "Mad as a fish." It doesn't seem to be doing them any harm 😁😁😁

[@bksee7756]

@@vogman Mad as a Fish is actually pretty cool, depending on what they're selling....

[@georgeyboyhowe1685]

over 2 grand sod that

[@imdeaded]

Eeeek

[@vogman]

I've only seen two prices, £958 and $999 usd, so I'm not sure where you got 2 grand from. Possibly including the heater system, wash and cure stations, perhaps. I'm not here to defend their prices. I can only say that the quality, for me at least, really is there... and I'm known for being picky 😁