The Anycubic Photon D2 DLP Printer – lets give it a review.
Hey guys. I’m very excited about this one so let’s jump straight in there – but to do that
it’s best if you’ve already watched my D2 print test video from a few days back as I’ll be picking
up on points and questions raised from there. So, in this happy little box, Anycubic have
enclosed their new D2, and for me it was immediately obvious that it was bigger
than the Ultra. It’s clear the base has grown in size and that’s to house the new projector
that we’ll come to later. It’s a handsome machine,
very plastic in its outward appearance, but I like the look and I appreciate that
Anycubic need to keep costs down to bring us DLP technology for home use, as typically DLPs
are industrial machines costing an easy 5 figures. I was initially shocked not to see a build plate,
but it turned out it was in the box of sundries and required a little easy self-assembly.
And other than that, it’s pretty much the same printer we saw with the Ultra. Sure the base is
a little taller, but the rest seems unchanged. The plate surface has the same sure-grip
checkered pattern we’ve come to associate positively with Anycubic.
Just like the outer case, the resin tray is plastic, but don’t let that fool you. It’s
plenty strong enough for the job and the one on the Ultra is still going strong for me.
Thankfully the plastic ends at that point and from the deck upwards we have matt black,
sturdy metal construction. The Z upright appears to hold
the same simple-looking Arm and single linear rail that we saw on the Ultra.
And why not. These are tried and tested parts now that have proven stable and accurate.
The screen is, well, not a screen. It’s clear glass protecting a projector.
If you aren’t already aware, this is not a typically LCD or LED powered resin printer.
Such technologies are great and have powered the home resin printer revolution to date,
but they are limited and in many ways are already peaking in their abilities. Look at the Phrozen
Mini 8K. Since its launch back in late 2021, no one else has been able to match it. Yes,
there are other 8K printers, but none squeezing that 8K power into the same
small space and giving us the 22 microns or better that Phrozen has. Put simply,
Phrozen has set the bar higher than others are comfortably able to jump.
However, LCD technology gives us blurred pixels, as I’ve explained before,
so how can we achieve even better print quality. Well Anycubic have once again teamed up with Texas
Instruments to give us DLP technology. This uses a light projector and micro mirrors to
more perfectly focus light onto each pixel, with no shadows or blurs. And this technology has been
way out of price reach for most amateur users for years now, but Anycubic have changed all that.
The resin tray still slides into place, which is a little disappointing. This can
cause premature scratching of the FEP, so fit this gently with as much clearance as possible.
The menu screen is still the same tiny one we saw on the Ultra,
and the User Interface is the same. But I suspect a little tinkering with the UI has taken place
as my meaty fingers don’t seem to struggle like they used to – but maybe I’ve just got used to it.
I did grumble about the USB port on my Ultra. I said it felt loose, and apparently I wasn’t
alone in this. However, that’s not the case this time. It’s a much firmer, positive fit.
The power button though… yes it’s tiny, stupidly small in honesty, but it didn’t
worry me on the Ultra. But maybe I have a Friday-afternoon-special here as mine feels weak.
Plate levelling is the usual paper affair and even with a slightly bigger
plate this isn’t any kind of difficulty. I am a bit bothered by the plate though,
and I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t voice concern when I saw it.
Anycubic advertising assures us that everything is bigger with the D2, and sure,
I’m finding that. But this diagram troubles me. My build plates don’t look anywhere near the
same size and shape as they are on this diagram. However, maybe I had a Beta model with the Ultra,
or maybe even here with the D2. I can’t actually find any official sizing specs for either build
plate, but if we look at the slicer settings, we can get accurate printing dimensions as
fudging these figures would screw up any prints. Sure enough a bit of maths shows us that Anycubic
are correct in saying a 62% print size increase, so that’s reassuring.
The screen resolution for the D2 is just 2K, and the xy resolution is 51 microns.
Now I know on paper that makes this printer appear to be on an equal footing with the original Elegoo
Mars, but trust me, it’s a very different animal. From personal experience, I can confidently say
that this printer is at the very least on equal terms with the Phrozen Mini 8K.
Yes, I know the apparent differences make no sense, but one is LCD technology and the other is
DLP. You cannot fairly compare using the same terminology. It’s like asking a Tesla owner
how many miles he gets to the gallon. However, Anycubic have said in their
releases that the D2 performs in a similar manner to 8K printers, and
from what I’ve seen, I can’t disagree with that. When it comes to actual performance, DLPs bring
a lot to the table, and the D2 is no exception. In use the D2 uses around 75% less electricity
than a similar spec LCD printer, using just 15 watts of power.
Not only that, the projector that drives the DLP has tested to a lifespan of 20,000 hours, which is
ten times more than the 2000 hours expected from a monochrome. If you use your printer regularly,
these benefits quickly add up significantly. The D2 is also pleasingly quiet in use,
which will allow you to relax whilst totalling up the savings on your electricity bill.
At the time of recording, I was told the D2 will be available for $699,
which is – shock horror – the same price as the Phrozen Mini 8K.
There’s not a Kickstarter associated with this printer, which I know many of you will
be pleased to hear, and I’ll place a link in the description to take you to the right place.
Now we come to the real issue – how does it print, and it seems
I’ve already created a little controversy and confusion here. So let’s clear that up.
But first, Anycubic sent me a bottle of DLP Craftsman Resin for use with the D2
and I’m impressed. I pretty much went with the settings that Anycubic Workshop suggested and
they worked great for me, but feel free to tinker as much as you like. Whilst I’d like
the colour just a couple of shades darker, I’ve no complaints at all. All round, it’s a nice resin.
Now, if you saw my teaser video of the D2 prints the other day,
and you really should - to understand what follows - you’ll know I was amazed by the print quality.
But judging from the comments I’m receiving, many of you are not quite grasping the message
I’m trying to convey. So let me try and help by making it as clear as I can.
Pixelated. Not pixelated.
In other words, if the print is in your hand, or on a table or shelf,
you will NOT be seeing pixels. Instead, you’ll be marvelling at how much detail these prints show.
But, if you magnify the prints to a level that none of us can naturally see with the naked eye,
like I do in these videos, then you will see pixelation.
Look at this Thors Hammer print I designed recently. When you see the original concept
up close you get a real sense of how the Celtic Knot pattern weaves in and out,
and when I look at this print I get that sense too. I’m thrilled by it actually. The clarity is
excellent. But I get nervous that you guys can’t see exactly what I see, so I zoom in for you. At
that point many of you scream – yuk, look at the layer lines. But actually, this is more
likely the crispness of the pixels, which I have rightly or wrongly termed pixelation, meaning
to see the pixels. DLP printers give us sharper pixel definition – and that’s a great thing.
Look at this amazing Skull Ring. The depth I’ve achieved in this print is better than ANY print
I’ve managed before. The detail is exquisite. But close up, it looks like a Minecraft build.
Well don’t worry about that. This is merely demonstrating once again
how perfectly these DLP printers print. To use another example, the chances are right now
you’re using a viewing screen that will make this image seem larger than life. Well guess what…
your screen is made up of pixels, thousands of them. But they’re so small you can’t
see them and you don’t worry about boxy images. And it’s the same with these DLP
prints. There’s loads of pixels in every print, and they’re miniscule – so you can’t see them.
So, once again… Pixelated.
Not pixelated. You can’t see the pixelation in real life.
All you can see is fantastic depth and detail. If you can hold one of
these prints in your hand and claim to see any pixelation, then Lois Lane is your girlfriend.
Yes, there’s voxel lines, but that comes with printing in layers and every printer
gives us those. These can be caused by model position, resin temperature,
lift speed, layer height, etc, and that’s way beyond the scope of this video. However,
Antialiasing can help reduce these layer lines and Anycubic tells us the D2 uses a Double Algorithm.
So, I dropped down the layer height to just 0.02 and printed without AA. Then I repeated the same
test with full AA, and I think it’s fair to say there is a difference, but in fairness you can
spend days dialling in the perfect settings for antialiasing, and I’m not going to do that here.
Let’s have a look at a model by Archvillain Games. Again this is not a big print. It’s
only a 50mm base, and yet the detail screams out. Some folks have actually said that they’d
be worried about painting a model printing on the D2 thanks to the pixelation issues.
Well there aren’t any pixelation issues guys. There’s just good quality printing. So again,
let me assure you, this print looks excellent. There’s bags of details and depth. I’m not
much of a painter these days, but I’ll slap on a little primer and paint to show you what I mean.
I think we can say that looks pretty good. So what do I think of the Anycubic Photon D2.
Let’s not beat about the bush, it’s a 5 star printer, and credit like that doesn’t usually come
so quickly from me. But I genuinely love it. It’s not the most robust machine,
with plenty of plastic, just one linear rail and cheap switches, but I’ve personally
lived 12 months with these same issues on the Ultra, and so far these haven’t let me down.
But of course there are other factors, like printing volume, and whilst bigger than the Ultra,
the D2 still has quite a small print area. Is it good for miniatures? Of course. Is it good
for jewellery? Without a doubt. There’s great precision and depth here that you truly won’t
appreciate until you hold a print in your hand. But it is there. The D2 is sharp, accurate and
precise. It creates vivid detail and intensity. Should you buy one? Well that’s down to you.
I honestly think that most people will be happy enough with the 35 microns the Mars 3 Pro
or Anycubic Mono 4K bring us, and these are priced more favourably. But some people will always seek
the best they can get – they seek accuracy, fine detail, depth and quality of image. And until now,
at this end of the market, the Phrozen Mini 8K has had it all its own way. But not anymore.
I suspect Phrozen will be very worried by the equally priced D2 and may even
drop their prices a little. Time will tell. Folks will ask, is it better than the Phrozen
Mini 8K? To answer that I’d need more time, but from the limited prints I’ve done so far,
it is at least as good and of course it has those efficiency benefits that come with DLP technology.
So there you have it, the Anycubic Photon D2 – surely the best budget DLP printer in the world
right now, and a vying contender for the best detailed budget printer if there ever was one.
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to drop me a line.
But for now, that’s the end of this review guys, so take care and thanks for watching.