Key Questions Answered! My Honest HeyGears Reflex RS Review

[@apotheoz9196]

Well I am not really into 3D printers but this review was excellent in terms of pace, objectivity, clarity and fluidity. Thanks for the nice job !

[@mikesgroi21]

Just got this printer the other day. This video was extremely helpful in answering some of my questions. I do find for certain prints are taking much longer than on my Halot Mage Pro. Hoping this will change with software updates. Thanks for posting!

[@JohnVanderbeck]

They are focused more on quality than speed.

[@Heinzskitz14]

Great video, thank you! Where did you download the STL for the build plate holder you used at 5:04 ?

[@ElevatedSystems]

HeyGears sent it to me, but they said it's still being refined. There should be a better version available when the units ship.

[@Heinzskitz14]

@@ElevatedSystems I appreciate your reply and I'm glad to hear that!

[@jakewynn]

nice dude. Such a likable guy, wish i could spend this much on a hobby piece unfortunately.

[@justanotherstanczyk]

I just saw another heygear review that said this printer is online only, no Internet no slicing or printing. Can you confirm?

[@sammykim4896]

Heygears responded! Offline version is set for December, and we won’t need internet or an account. Now I can buy it without any worries😆

[@ThinkDesignMakePteLtd]

Hi!! could you please share the dimensions of the box the printer came in ? does the pulse release module come separately packed? I intend to get this freight forwarded to Singapore, so the dimensions of the box and weight of the package will really help with cost planning! Much appreciated.

[@SkitZHitZ]

Ive gota ask for the base model print do you actually need that many supports? I feel i waste majority of my resin on waste then actually mini prints

[@JohnVanderbeck]

You mention that this has an extra piece that lets you sit the build plate on to drain because of some lost feature that the original Reflex had to tilt the plate? I haven't seen anyone mention that feature of the original anywhere, not even on their website. Can you say something about that? That little stand to drain the plate on the RS actually looks pretty good.

[@ElevatedSystems]

It was a .STL that Heygears sent me and I printed, however, I've been told they are still working on it.

[@JohnVanderbeck]

@@ElevatedSystems Right I get that. But in that section you mentioned they did that because of some feature that the OG had but this one didn't. I'm curious about what the original feature was on the older printer?

[@ElevatedSystems]

The build plate could be hung on an angle from the Z arm to allow excess resin to drain.

[@JohnVanderbeck]

@@ElevatedSystems Ah ok so this is just built into the original Reflex?

[@kelljohn176]

Hello, I would like to ask if you have tested using the pulse stripping mold machine, but I don’t know if I need to purchase the pulse module together. Please help with the analysis, thank you. Please help with the analysis, thank you.

[@JohnVanderbeck]

Is it better though? I mean yeah I like the bigger build volume and smaller footprint. I won't complain about a cheaper cost (though today it isn't that much cheaper, especially if you need the heated vat) but the rest of it seems a huge step down. The build plate is far worse, you don't have the ability to sense the resin level and without the sluce(sp?) gate it just keeps adding resin until the vat is full rather than adding resin as needed. You also can't do a mid print resin change. I'm trying to decide which model to buy right now, and honestly I'm heavily leaning towards the OG right now. I haven't fully made up my mind yet though.

[@ElevatedSystems]

It really comes down to what features do you need. Overall the RS is faster and more accurate. The resin bottles have a spring valve so you can still do a mid print resin change. The sluce gate is really pointless if you think about it. Resin motion from the gravity feed is minimal compared to the actual print process.

[@stevedeitry4644]

Seems pretty "Bambu" like. 👏🏼

[@NoMercyFtw]

LOL no

[@ElevatedSystems]

Actually, yes. Click, print, done. With the integration of the hardware, software and media and the in-print dynamic calibration, it's the most Bambu like resin printer there is.

[@awildtomappeared5925]

apart from the fact that you can use any filament/settings with bambu

[@NoMercyFtw]

@@awildtomappeared5925 yeah they're missing the main part, you can use whatever consumable you want in a bambu printer

[@RickNuthman]

I love that the build plate isn't full of giant holes like the original. It makes it hard to print directly on the build plate for certain things. I wonder if you could put a magnetic flexible build plate on either of these printers?

[@JohnVanderbeck]

I've never heard anyone state the holes being a problem, and in fact as an outside observer trying to decide, it seems the OG with the holes is far better as you don't get resin pooled up on top. Have you actually found the holes to be an issue? The slicer obviously knows the holes exist and builds a raft under the objects so I wouldn't expect any problems.

[@RickNuthman]

@JohnVanderbeck the holes are no problem at all unless you want to build directly on the build plate. With small parts you can't do it at all in some cases, with larger parts it leaves giant thick circles you have to sand off.

[@JohnVanderbeck]

@@RickNuthman ok I guess that's true. I can't recall ever having a need to print directly on the build plate though but it's somethign to keep in mind.

[@RickNuthman]

@JohnVanderbeck printing directly to the build plate is incredibly helpful, especially if it is a very thin flat object. Imagine you are printing an array of thin strip objects a few mm thick. You can fill the whole plate and print it in a few minutes rather than hours.

[@felixsu375]

Using the cleaner as a resin shaker is hilarious.

[@ElevatedSystems]

"Shake" is actually the second built-in function of the unit.

[@JohnSmith-rt5yq]

Worth it over a s4ultra?

[@bostjanferlez5038]

Can you slice in blueprint and export to stl then slice in lychee ?

[@awildtomappeared5925]

you can only slice with their software, idk if you can export to stl but you won't be able to slice for the printer in anything else, if you could then you could use your own settings and they don't want that

[@88RunnerBlade]

Is this comparable to GK3 in quality, better , worse?

[@MonstaMunch101]

As far as I can tell; Same output quality, less fiddly in terms of set up, but also less versatile in terms of what resins you can get to work properly.

[@awildtomappeared5925]

16:40 'I used fuzzing at level 2 that was enough to erase the lines' if you look at a low angle top surface close enough you sill still see the layer lines. On the last printer they calimed 3dAA but lied, on this one they don't even bother to claim that. 3daa is possible on consumer printers, I've made a prototype slicer that does it very well, but they don't know how unfortunatly.

[@david12509]

Is there an official statement about using third party slicers? Other sources make it seem like HeyGears are pretty determined to keep the machines locked down.

[@Grave79]

Machine is locked down because the slicer/printer/resin work together to determine support properties, exposure, print speed, etc based on the HeyGears resin you choose and then dynamically adjusts during the print run based on environment sensor data (ambient temp, humidity, peel force, etc). That said, HeyGears slicer accepts STLs when creating your project, so there's nothing stopping you from using Lychee, Chitu, or whatever to do all your prep work (except supports. Let Blueprint handle that) and then export it out as an STL to then import into Blueprint. The sliced file the printer accepts is proprietary so you have to use Blueprint ultimately. Once you start trying to break out of the closed system with outside slicers, resins, etc., you negate pretty much everything the printer was designed for. At that point, you're just turning it into a more clunky and frustrating Elegoo, Anycubic, etc at like 3x the cost. Totally pointless.

[@david12509]

At 7:15 he says "HeyGears has told me it is possible to use 3rd party slicers. However, I've manually added and built profiles for the Reflex RS in a couple of different slicers and the printer doesn't seem to recognize the files. Maybe it will be an added feature later..." I want clarification on that point. Either he was given false information or HeyGears has changed their mind and the review should be updated to reflect that. There are a variety of properties you can get in different resins and HeyGears does not offer every combination. If they opened it up, I could still those other resins when the project requires them while still taking advantage of the convenience of their resin/settings for everything else. All in a single machine. Glad it works for your use cases but don't impose your limits on me. It's not totally pointless.

[@Grave79]

@@david12509 You can use other slicers to prep your file, export the STL and import to BluePrint. Using Blueprint is mandatory because their printer does not support goo or ctb. Their sliced format is proprietary. Again, once you put your own resins in a Reflex all the sensors become useless. The slicer becomes useless because it creates supports based on their resin properties. Support will not help you with 3rd party resins. At that point, you turned a $1000 printer into a $300 Elegoo. Just get the Elegoo if you want to use your choice of slicer and your choice if resin. Otherwise you're throwing an extra $700 down the drain for the exact same experience.

[@ioandragulescu6063]

I wonder how this compares to a Form 4

[@ElevatedSystems]

It's 1/4 the price and more accurate.

[@ioandragulescu6063]

@@ElevatedSystems that would be great but is it though more accurate? would be great it somebody could do a proper test, print some identical models on both and measure dimensional precision, warping if any, detail level and even more exotic aspects like material properties and so on.

[@awildtomappeared5925]

@@ElevatedSystems would love to see some proper tests on that like feature/gap tests and models shot with focus stacked macros

[@MonstaMunch101]

Is that female model Rey Skywalker? Anyone know where I can find the STL for sale?

[@ElevatedSystems]

It's called Rey of Shadows by VX Labs. FYI the site is NSFW.

[@MonstaMunch101]

@@ElevatedSystems Thank you!

[@MonstaMunch101]

@@ElevatedSystems That website was a goldmine, thanks again!

[@pitbullash]

Why buy this when you can get Elegoo S4U for 60% less

[@awildtomappeared5925]

the s4u is terrible quality, just test the uv uniformity, many times worse than advertised. Also unlike the reflex it doesn't really auto level, it just has springs and a seonsor, usually level is off by 0.4mm corner to corner and if the overall z height is off instead of just releveling or setting a z height offset you have to message an elegoo technician, have them send you a g code file to print that will find out your current settings, and then they will send you a new g code file with adjusted sensor settings that is hopefully closer. What a joke! Seriously, compared to crap like elegoo printers the price for this is unbelieveably low, saying that is the downside is ridiculous, the down side is the way it's so locked down, the price is a bargin and they are selling it so cheap so they can make their money back on the resin.

[@NoMercyFtw]

Shook up some wallets more like it

[@demingzhang7204]

can somebody just design a wash basket to go with this spec please, just print it.

[@TheFreestyleStorm]

my only issue is how absurdly expensive the resin is. i don't mind the proprietary resins. but 45 for their cheapest is actually ridiculous. completely out of consideration for any average hobbyist. until they can lower the resin price and adjust settings its just a business machine.

[@ElevatedSystems]

Their cheapest resin, the PAS10, is $32

[@TheFreestyleStorm]

@@ElevatedSystems i mean that still doesn't change the other facts of the matter. still on the higher end for resin. and that being their cheapest is still a bit upsetting.

[@nickisajev9281]

A machine with its absolutely closed ecosystem without many must have features. I dont see why anyone would buy this over gktwo (which is cheaper and has a good heater to print in freezing temperatures and allows to.use whatever you like), unless heygears allow (at least) to use custom settings for different resins. Its a bambu printer done incorrectly. And fume extraction? That is just horrid

[@TPCDAZ]

Honestly. I'd never buy from a company that throws on $200 to the price just for the sake of it when they can very clearly sell it for $799 and make enough profit. Tells me a lot about the company and what they think of their customers.

[@ElevatedSystems]

So you never buy from any company or retailer that offers sales? That must be difficult. Or do you just not understand the business 101 theory behind promotional pricing? Promotional pricing is a sales strategy that involves 'temporarily' lowering prices to attract customers and increase revenue but can't be sustained for an extended period without erroding profit margin.

[@TPCDAZ]

@@ElevatedSystems I never said I don't buy from companies who offer sales. I said I'd never buy from a company that offer an incentive to act like their Guinea pigs by offering you $200 less to sell you machines with issues then bump up the price after you've found them all.

[@ElevatedSystems]

@@TPCDAZ that's not what you said. Also, what issues?

[@TPCDAZ]

​@@ElevatedSystems It's what it implied. When you can sell machines cheap then add $200 you can afford to sell them cheap. They do that so us lab rats get the ones with issues that would usually end up on a test bench somewhere. You're a tech youtuber who is seriously asking what issues tech has when it's first released? jesus ... remind me to never listen to your advice then.

[@ElevatedSystems]

What you implied is you have no understanding of the simple business model of promotional pricing. I asked what were the issues with this product specifically, not tech in general. HeyGears has one of the most solid reps in the professional medical printer space and has brought that development to the consumer space. Uike most companies they spend many millions of dollars in R&D and don't need consumer "Guinea Pigs". Considering that and the level of tech in this printer it's probably under priced at $1k. The Z Axis, sensors and LCD screen HeyGears use cost almost as much as the raw cost of every component in a typical mid range 3D printer. I call out companies when they cut corners, but I do the same for those who don't.

[@user-jh1mq2ih2u]

It’s a 700 printer no and ifs or buts … they can sell it at that but what company doesn’t want high ass profits … the great thing is that next year most of the “affordable “ brands will have close to those same features for around 450-500 bucks .. all chitubox Or lychee have to do is create rock solid profiles for resins and printers you’re set … but right now they are the only ones doing it this easy for the end user and charge a premium for it because they can.. there’s no competition right now

[@ElevatedSystems]

My Uniformatiom GK2 is a solid $700 printer. The best I've reviewed up till now. The Reflex RS is solidly worth at least $200 more than it. I'd pay $100+ just for the auto support algorithm and the time and effort it saves in post processing.

[@ioandragulescu6063]

so all elegoos, crealities, sonics and so on from next year will have multiple sensors to monitor temperature, plate pressure and dynamically adjust the print settings during the print? Oh and chitubox will have really good support algorithms? And all this for half the price or less vs the Reflex?! WOW, what a year for 3D printing that will be !!!!

[@awildtomappeared5925]

I spend so much time helping people fix issues on cheap printers, especially elegoos, their engineers simply do not know or care about how to make a reliable printer, the issues on each printer are endless, each saturn since the first has had more and more issues, it's so awful. Enjoy your cheap crap if you can get it working but there are a million printers at that price point, only a few at the 500-1000 range so why complain. The only issue is how closed it is, not the price unless you get to the resin. "brands will have close to those same features for around 450-500 buck" a specific example would be auto leveling, 2 generations of anycubics and 1 of elegoos have claimed auto leveling now but neither actually auto level, it's just springs that don't lock each corner so it doesn't really auto level and a sensor to guess where to place the z height which rarely works, eg on the s4u average level is off by 0.4mm corner to corner which cannot be fixed, and if the overall z height is off you can fix it but not by simply setting a z offset by usual, no you have to contact an elegoo technician, have them send you g code to print, then you send them the result and they send you a g code change to the sensor sensitivity which should get it closer but not perfect like a z height offset usually does. The reflex however does actually lock each corner so it's actaully auto leveling and also lets you manually level. anycubic and elegoo are A not competant enough to do this and B this requires more hardware to do so the price goes up.