Hey guys, Probably the most commonly heard complain
about resin printing is that it’s messy, particularly when it comes to cleaning and
curing the prints. So when Anycubic asked me to review their Wash & Cure Machine, I
was quietly hopeful. Anything that makes the process simpler has got to be good, but does
it work and is it worth the money? It’s certainly a nice-looking machine and
whilst it’s very early days, reviews are promising.
After a typically well-packaged box was unwrapped, I have to say it looked just as nice in real
life. Stripped to it’s minimum, it oozes the quality
we expect from Anycubic. This base is nicely constructed, heavy metal with a highly intuitive
touch screen display. There’s a long line of UV emitting LEDs and a couple of sturdy
fixing brackets at the top. Absolutely nothing about this machine is flimsy.
There’s a large container to house the cleaning solution and this has a small propeller at
the bottom. Sensibly, there’s no holes in the base that might encourage leaks. Instead
they made use of magnets to drive the propeller. There’s also some spares, just in case.
Along with the expected drip basket, there’s a couple of brackets and these can very cleverly
support the build platform. You can imagine the scenario… you’ve just finished printing
and even after dripping for a while, everything is still covered in resin. So the build platform
and the print can both be washed at the same time. I really do like the idea… it’s
good practical thinking. The only problem I see with it is the underside
of the print remains covered in resin, and so does the build plate. So personally, I’ll
remove the prints. For something to print, I turned to David
Eastman’s fabulous work on Myminifactory and I strongly urge you to do the same. What
amazing talent David has. The basket rests securely in these dedicated
brackets. I’m using IPA but you can use your preferred
cleaner. This is quite a large print so I’ll give
it 6 minutes. But hang on, nothing’s happening… why?
Well again I like this. It’s a useful safety feature. The cover needs to be in place for
the propeller to spin. It reduces the risk of splashing.
I hope you can see the propeller creates an energetic vortex, a whirlpool if you like.
This then spins the IPA round and round very quickly, constantly washing over the face
of the print. Whether you choose 2, 4 or 6 minutes, halfway
through the wash cycle, the propeller stops and reverses direction, another very clever
touch. With the cycle complete the drip basket can
be pulled free and given a little shake. And here comes my first criticism… what a shame
Anycubic didn’t think to include a bracket here to hold the basket in a drip position.
It would have been a very simple inclusion. Instead the basket has to be carried wet and
dripping. Paper towels are therefore a must whilst you wait for your print to air dry.
Now’s the time to place the airtight lid on top of the container and prevent any accidental
spills or annoying loss of IPA through evaporation. If you’re impatient like me, rather than
wait, a hair dryer on a cool setting blasts away the IPA very quickly.
And look at that… no shiny spots of left over resin. That wash cycle really did a very
thorough job. No matter what I do with my usual arsenal of washing products, including
an ultrasonic cleaner, there always seems to be some resin residue left behind. But
not here. UV curing is equally easy. This detachable
turntable is pushed into position, the print placed on it, and the controls gently tapped.
I think 6 minutes should be good for this. The same safety feature prevents the LEDs
from coming on until the UV shielding cover is placed on top. And now it’s just a matter
of waiting. It’s not soft or sticky. It looks like the
UV cure was equally successful. And that’s a nice looking print. Whilst
it needs a little tidying up, it was without a doubt the easiest washing and curing session
I’ve had so far. It was an absolute doddle. No annoying and messy faffing about. The Anycubic
Wash & Cure Machine did all the work for me. Now come on guys… it’s me… there’s
always going to be a but… Whilst everything I’ve said so far is absolutely
true, the cleaning process isn’t over. This container is now filled with dirty IPA
and it can’t be left alone. Even if the container were UV shielded, which it isn’t,
residue is likely to form on the bottom of the container where it can clog the bearing
on the propeller. That means straight after use you ideally
need to empty the container and maybe give it a nice wipe down with paper towels. Personally,
thanks to a tip given to me by fellow YouTuber, I pour my used IPA into an empty plastic bottle.
I then just place it on a windowsill and ignore it. The unreacted resin reacts with the daylight
and sets to the sides of the bottle. Residue falls to the bottom of the bottle. So in a
few days, the content can be finely filtered and the IPA is clean and ready for re-use.
The plastic bottle will survive dozens of similar sessions and when you’re eventually
done with it, just throw it in the sea or something.
Just kidding – just kidding. Dispose of it sensibly, obviously.
Just go careful when emptying the container. Its rounded corners mean easy spills, where
squarer corners would have made better natural pouring spouts.
So, as I’m picking flaws, would I do similar to this American gent? Would I give it five
stars? Absolutely I would. It’s an excellent wash
and cure machine that makes a formerly fiddly job much quicker and easier. He quality is
obvious, it’s quiet in use and does exactly what it says it can do – and it does it
very well. I can’t talk about price… it’s unfair
to. What one guy considers a bargain another considers a fortune, so you’ll need to draw
your own conclusions there. But I will say this… if you think the Anycubic is expensive,
take a gander at our friends at Formlabs. Now it may be that somehow the Formlabs machines
do a better job… maybe they give a back massage at the same time or something… but
based on the performance I’ve seen from this Anycubic machine, I can’t see how they
could do better. So there you go guys, the Anycubic Wash & Cure
machine… it’s exactly the sort of high quality product we’d expect from Anycubic.
I hope you enjoyed this review guys, take care and thanks for watching.