The Anycubic Photon M3 – let’s give it a review.
The Photon M3 is the baby of the new Anycubic M3 range and should not be confused with the
M3 Plus or the M3 Max, both of which I’ve recently reviewed.
I think it’s fair to say this is Anycubic’s entry level printer designed to attract those
new to resin 3D printing and it has a price to reflect this.
So does this mean the M3 is cheap and nasty, or is it a worthy investment?
It is an attractive unit, with a sloped removable lid presumably designed to look sleek.
The base and legs are integral, with USB and switch on the right side and the power point
at the rear.
It’s the third incarnation of this style of plastic base that I’ve personally seen
and whilst I’ve no doubt it’s created with the intention to reduce production costs,
I can say positively that it does work.
The menu screen is small but clear, with the standard Anycubic user interface that makes
operation straightforward and simple.
The M3 has a single linear rail which is supported by a strong metal upright.
The Z Arm is the simple affair we’ve now seen on the Ultra and Mono 4K, so it’s proven
to work.
Given this shared heritage, I expected the build plate to be the same as that on the
Mono 4K.
But no, this plate is larger, and also laser etched with the checkered pattern that helps
prints adhere well.
A bigger plate of course means bigger prints, and the M3 has a respectable build volume,
with a maximum height of 180mm.
The resin tray is solid metal with built in pouring spout and small feet that help it
lock positively into position.
Below this sits the heart of this printer, what Anycubic are calling a 4K PLUS screen,
which presumably mean it’s a bit better than a 4K but not good enough to call it a
5K.
Anycubic advertising wishes us to believe that a 4K plus is superior to a 4K.
What I can say is that the xy resolution is 40 microns, which is a smidgen less than the
rival Elegoo Mars 3 Ultra.
The M3 thumb drive contains a user manual and a copy of the Photon Workshop slicer,
which is perfectly good enough to get any newbie started in 3D printing.
However, those who prefer choice will be pleased to know that the M3 can work on other slicers
too, like ChiTuBox or my personal favourite, Lychee.
Anycubic were kind enough to send me a bottle of their Craftsman Grey resin, which I’m
really beginning to enjoy.
These are the settings that I’ve used, which have produced all of the prints you’ll see
in this video.
A sensible thing to do with any new printer or resin is to dial in the settings with an
appropriate exposure test print, which normally only takes a few minutes to run, and you’ve
certainly seen me do this before.
Unfortunately this does highlight the only negative issue I’ve found with this printer.
If your print is a quick one, and most exposure test prints are, the resin won’t have the
opportunity to naturally drain off the top of the sloped plate.
So, whilst the sleek front on the removable lid looks great, the inside of the lid is
much closer to the plate in its finished printing position, so that means resin can run down
the inside of the lid.
Longer or rather taller prints, of course, won’t have this issue as the plate will
have the chance to drain.
Now I did write to Anycubic about this issue and in fairness they’ve already produced
a firmware fix to resolve this issue.
I haven’t had the opportunity to install this yet, but me guess is the plate will end
in lower position, to allow natural draining and avoid splashing – so problem solved.
I began my test prints with the AmeraLabs Town print and was very impressed with the
results.
It was very crisp and clean… until I got dust on it.
The Open Source Ring test demonstrates well to jewellery enthusiasts that the M3 is capable
of pleasing them too.
I turned to Archvillain Games for a couple of fun minis, again with very satisfying results.
I was so impressed with print quality I was seeing I thought I’d push things a little
more.
Look at this amazing artwork.
Incredible isn’t it.
Now I’ve fancied printing a building for a while and this artist kindly granted me
access to a few of his marvellous designs, which let’s be honest here, are typically
intended for a much larger scale.
But I wanted to see what detail would show through when shrunk to just 75mm tall.
The print wasn’t perfect.
I think the heavy weight of it pulled on these lower layers resulting in a little ripping,
but I’m not too worried about that just now.
Supports and setting tweaks can sort that out.
But it’s the detail I wanted to see.
And this entry level printer certainly doesn’t let us down.
Now there have been issues with anti-aliasing and Anycubic printers in the past, so I thought
I’d best try this out here.
There was no anti-aliasing on any of my prints you’ve watched so far and seeing layer lines
with the naked eye was all but impossible for me, but when magnified we can see voxel
lines here.
So I maxed out the anti-aliasing and printed this ring again.
Massively magnified as this is, it’s fair to say we can still see lines, but it’s
also fair to say these are softer, so it appears the anti-aliasing is working.
So what do I think of the Anycubic Photon M3?
Well, it’s hard to find anything negative to say about this printer.
There was the issue of drips on the lid, but Anycubic’s Firmware update already has this
covered.
This is an entry level resin printer, and it’s amazing how far entry level resin printers
have come in just a couple of years.
We want resin printers to produce detailed prints, and that’s exactly what the M3 does.
In terms of cost, it’s extremely competitive and compares favourably with similar range
printers that I’ve reviewed.
The build volume is suitable for the needs of most of us, I would imagine, and the print
quality will undoubtably thrill.
In short, it’s a cheap but capable entry level printer, and I think Anycubic have got
a winner here.
So that’s the end of this review guys.
Take care and thanks for watching.