The Anycubic Photon Mono X 6K… let’s give it a review.
Hey guys, Anycubic’s much loved Mono X has got at upgrade.
I reviewed the Mono X when it came out and I loved it – and if you haven’t seen that review, that’s
really is the place to start. I found it to be a quality machine that produces excellent prints.
It’s hard to imagine how it could be improved on if I’m honest, but thanks to Anycubic,
I have the 6K version here, so let’s get started. Now don’t look for massive differences
because as I said, this is a upgrade, not a replacement. So the 6K and 4K
X’s externally they have the same dimensions, the same user screen, the same number of fans,
the same style and position Wifi antenna, the same switch and the same usb port; in fact,
let’s not beat about the bush here, they’re very similar - but there are a few differences.
Noticeably the build plate has the same chequered pattern that I first saw on
the Anycubic Photon Ultra DLP, and I don’t personally think this is a gimmick. Prints
stick like stink to the Ultra plate, so there shouldn’t be any adhesion issues with the 6K.
The print length has increased by a whopping 5mm and the width by a staggering
2mm, so those desperate to print a matchstick or another print support will now have the
room – sideways at least, as there’s no extra print height with the 6K.
But with all joking aside, an increase in build area is always welcome
and it’s due to the increased Monochrome screen size, stretching from 8.9 inches to 9.25 inches.
This screen also gives us some improvements we can’t actually see,
namely a more powerful light matrix which improves uniformity for crisper edges,
and also allegedly increases print speed, though they’re not overly clear whether they’re comparing
with non-Mono screens in their literature, so I’d take that bit with a pinch of salt.
Thankfully however, this new screen gives us 6K and that, from what I can see,
is what the upgrade is really all about.
In terms of pixels, we’re seeing a substantial increase, jumping from 3840 x 2400 to 5760 x 3600.
Anycubic tell us that this increase in XY could print at a resolution of 34 microns
and that’s the sort of print quality we’re used to seeing on printers like the Mars Ultra 4K and
the Phrozen Sonic 4K. So whilst this new 6K screen gives us the equivalent print of 4K at the plate,
it does this over a much bigger area than the Mars or the Sonic can possibly give us.
But talk is cheap, so let’s see what the Mono X 6K can actually do.
I had a bottle of Anycubic Grey to hand and using the version of Photon Workshop software
that came with the printer, I stuck with the standard settings already added by Anycubic.
As usual, I began with the AmeraLabs Town test print and sure enough,
it looked lost in the middle of this large plate. As suspected, it was certainly stuck firmly.
Upon clean-up, it has to be said this is a very impressive looking print. For something so tiny
there’s bags of detail and thanks to the magic of television, we can compare this with the
one I made on the original Mono X. I think it’s fair to say the quality difference is obvious.
This meant I could move on to something with more detail and as usual I turned to our
friends at Archvillain Games who had a Gnoll that certainly ticked all the boxes for me.
I loaded everything onto the plate and marvelled at all the spare space that was left
over. I could have easily squeezed in a two inch miniature, so instead I included the
Opensource Ring to give us an idea of the sort of jewellery quality we can except from this printer.
As expected Photon Workshop lied to me. I’ve often found this.
It told me the print would take approximately 7 hours but in truth it was more like double that.
I don’t blame the printer for this, just the software.
Now I’ve never really been a fan of Photon Workshop and no doubt some of
you will want to know if the Mono X 6K will be accessible via third party Slicer Software
such as Lychee, or whether it will be locked into Photon Workshop or worse, ChiTuBox.
Well I’ve contacted Anycubic on this issue and I quote:
“The launch will only be in the latest version of Photon Workshop.
It will gradually accept other slicing softwares to give users different choices in the future.”
And this makes perfect sense as third parties need to catch up with every new release
and at least it reassures us that there’s no nasty software lockouts.
Once the printer had done its thing, I had the fun of removing the prints from the build plate.
And fun it was. That was me swearing as I hit my thumb across the edge of the plate.
Prints stick VERY well to this plate. In fact I’d say too well. If you ever
wanted a flexible plate, this is the time. After clean-up, I was initially unimpressed with
these prints, BUT the fault here was 100% mine. I used both IPA and Ethanol to clean these prints
which resulted in blotchy patches that I initially thought were excessive layer lines.
But after a very thin splash of primer, I concluded to use either IPA or Ethanol,
but never both at the same time. So looking more closely at this print now,
I am impressed. There’s some wonderful detail here, especially as it was
printed at a layer height of .05. If we look at the Opensource Ring,
we can see it did an excellent job there too, certainly as good as I’ve seen on the Mars 3.
So is the Mono X 6K any good?
Well yes, of course it is. The Mono X is a great printer.
It has great build quality… A responsive and clear touch screen…
Nice wide dual rails for smoother, wobble free printing…
Wifi connectivity to your mobile phone… And a very large build area.
What the 6K is giving us over the 4K is a tiny bit more build volume, but most particularly
improved print quality. Now this is tangible. It can be seen with the naked eye, but as we’re
getting better and finer print quality these days, it’s getting harder to see without magnification.
But if you’re going go ask me, does the 6K print better than the 4K, then yes, it certainly does,
and it’s my understanding that there will now be two Mono X’s available for purchase,
the 4K and the 6K models, which gives you more buying options.
Unfortunately, right now I’ve no idea what sale prices will be for the 6K, so I simply
cannot quantify whether the difference in print quality will be worth the difference in price.
I guess you’ll have to judge that for yourselves when prices become available.
But for now, I can tell you I like what I see. It’s the same old good stuff that we’ve had
before, but printing better than ever, and after all, that’s the whole point of a printer, right?
So that’s the end of this review guys. If you have any questions,
as always feel free to drop me a line. So take care guys and thanks for watching.