The Anycubic Photon M3 Premium is a workhorse resin MSLA 3D printer that’s designed to supply uncompromising efficiency for critical hobbyists and small-volume half manufacturing. The .0285mm XY decision makes the Photon M3 Premium one of many highest-resolution desktop resin MSLA 3D printers out there whereas its 219mm x 123mm x 250mm construct quantity is likely one of the largest available on the market.
Both of those two could be a notable accomplishment, however by combining the 2 right into a single machine that additionally has built-in air filters, a contemporary and easy 4.3-inch LCD consumer interface, and a razor-thin NFEP movie for straightforward half separation, Anycubic has created one of many finest resin 3D printers available on the market for big format printing. With a particular intro value of $619 and a deliberate retail value of $639, the Anycubic Photon M3 Premium is a printer that can doubtless promote out shortly after launch.
Anycubic Photon M3 Premium Specs
| Machine Footprint | 13.78 x 12.91 x 24.6 inches (350 x 328 x 626 mm) |
| Construct Quantity | 8.6 x 4.85 x 9.85 inches (219 x 123 x 250 mm) |
| Resin | Commonplace, Water-Washable, and ABS-like UV Resin |
| UV Mild | Anycubic LighTurbo 2.0 |
| Masking LCD Decision | 7680 x 4320 px (8K) |
| Masking LCD Measurement | 10-inch |
| Interface | 4.3-inch LCD Touchscreen |
| XY Decision | .0285 mm |
Included within the Field of Anycubic Photon M3 Premium
The Anycubic Photon M3 Premium arrives with minimal meeting required, and contains all of the instruments, consumables, and equipment you might want to begin printing. Included within the field are a metallic scraper for the construct platform, a plastic scraper for the resin vat, a set of Allen keys, and consumables like gloves, masks, and paper funnels for reclaiming resin from the vat. The yellow UV-resistant lid rests on prime of the bottom of the machine, and the side-mounted USB port and energy change are simple to entry throughout printing.
Along with a paper handbook and leveling paper, the M3 Photon Premium additionally features a 4GB USB thumb drive loaded with a PDF copy of the handbook, the Photon Workshop slicer app (for MacOS and Home windows), and two print-ready sliced fashions.
Design of Anycubic Photon M3 Premium
Because the title implies, the Anycubic Photon M3 Premium is positioned on the prime of the Photon M3 line of printers. The general design of the Photon M3 Premium shares similarities to the smaller Photon M3 together with the yellow UV lid, recessed and angled touchscreen, and Anycubic emblem printed instantly on the bottom.
Nonetheless, the Photon M3 Premium nonetheless stays visually distinct from the bigger Photon M3 Plus and Photon M3 Max. Not like the remainder of the Anycubic Photon M3 household of printers, the Photon M3 Premium has a curved UV lid that’s harking back to an Artwork Deco constructing with offset sweeping curves and a mild upwards taper.
The 4.3-inch coloration LCD touchscreen is the first interface for the Photon M3 Premium, and the menu is similar because the UI used on the Photon M3 Plus. The interface is straightforward and intuitive, with generally used instruments like Publicity Check and Z-axis homing being simple to seek out and use. The Print, System, and Instruments menus are effectively laid-out and intuitive for inexperienced persons who need to get a print began.
Identical to the Anycubic Photon Mono X, the Photon M3 Premium has a triangular construct platform that’s designed to permit resin to stream again into the vat throughout printing. This taper makes cleansing the construct platform between prints simple, however extra resin can pool within the recess between the mounting bracket and the platform. The big measurement of the platform means it must be eliminated utilizing each fingers, and the curved handles are perfect for the lifting from the edges.
Picture 1 of 2
As well as, the upward-facing bolt heads will acquire resin and could be tough to wash totally. This can be a minor challenge however should you swap supplies typically and wish to keep away from any cross-contamination, cleansing these areas totally will probably be crucial.
The Photon M3 Premium options the brand new “NFEP” vat movie which is marketed as having a ten% larger success price over customary FEP movie movies. The graceful floor of the NFEP movie is designed to permit fashions to detach simply throughout printing, with out delaminating from the platform. Fashions sticking to the movie is a typical failure mode with resin printing, an issue I didn’t encounter whereas utilizing the Photon M3 Premium.
The resin vat itself is held down with two massive thumb screws situated on the perimeters of the vat, and there are 4 bolts which are used as finding options to assist information the vat into place. The vat is massive sufficient to simply accommodate a complete bottle of resin and nonetheless have loads of room for extra, a characteristic which permits customers to create massive and dense components while not having to pause and refill the resin throughout a print.
The Photon M3 Premium has twin air filters mounted behind the vat that plug instantly into the bottom of the machine. I believe that the addition of air filters on resin printers is a superb concept, as they scale back the general quantity of odor that escapes throughout printing whereas actively filtering the air beneath the UV hood of the printer. Air filters like those included with the Photon M3 Premium are sometimes bought individually as after-market equipment, however they’re shortly changing into customary on large-volume printers just like the Elegoo Saturn S, which additionally options an built-in air filter unit.
The construct platform incorporates a laser-etched sample which is designed to enhance adhesion of the underside layer throughout printing. This sample leaves a really delicate impression within the very first layer of each print, just like the textured platform on the Prusa MK3S+. This texture helps to cover the usually glassy look of the platform-facing layer, and in addition offers fashions higher adhesion by making a extra complicated floor to stay to throughout printing. The platform itself feels massive and substantial, and the 4 upward-facing mounting bolts and 4 leveling bolts are typical of different Anycubic machines, just like the Anycubic Photon Mono and Anycubic Photon Mono X.
Leveling the Construct Platform on Anycubic Photon M3 Premium
Leveling the construct platform on a resin printer is a important part of making profitable prints, and Anycubic has put effort into making this course of simple and straight-forward for customers. To ensure that components to stick accurately to the construct platform, the floor of the platform must be planar with the masking LCD.
Simply as with the opposite printers within the Anycubic Photon M3 and Photon households, the construct platform is leveled by first loosening the 4 bolts holding it to the gantry, reducing it to the bottom with a bit of paper used as an offset, and retightening the bolts to lock it in place. This course of must be executed slowly and punctiliously the primary time to keep away from damaging the construct platform and masking LCD. I didn’t have to relevel the construct platform throughout my testing after the preliminary take a look at, which implies the platform didn’t shift or drift throughout printing.
Printing Security with Anycubic Photon M3 Premium
The Anycubic Photon M3 Premium makes use of 405nm UV resin, a cloth that you might want to deal with safely when in an uncured state to keep away from harm. The resin could be dangerous when making contact with pores and skin, so be certain that to put on gloves when pouring, cleansing up, or dealing with uncured resin. I additionally be certain that I’m carrying gloves when eradicating the construct platform after a print, because the resin tends to pool on prime of the platform and might drip off whereas the platform is being eliminated.
Ensure you use the Photon M3 Premium in a well-ventilated room to attenuate the hazard from inhaling fumes. Any spills or uncured resin caught to a floor must be cleaned utilizing 99% Isopropyl Alcohol and the container for the resin must be stored closed and secured when not actively pouring materials.
Printing the Included Check Prints on the Anycubic Photon M3 Premium
Picture 1 of 2
The Anycubic Photon M3 Premium contains two take a look at prints on the thumb drive: a mannequin named “R_E_R_F.pm3r” and a mannequin named “TEST.pm3r”. The primary mannequin is an in depth torture take a look at that highlights a few of the tiny options the Photon M3 Premium is able to printing and prints as eight copies unfold throughout the construct platform concurrently.
Among the positive posts are so skinny they fold underneath their very own weight after printing and look extra like positive thread than a printed mannequin. The overhang take a look at, unsupported top-heavy posts, and clean curves all look flawless and spotlight the positive options made doable by the LighTurbo 2.0 UV gentle supply and 8K monochromatic masking LCD.
Picture 1 of 3
The second take a look at print included with the Photon M3 Premium is known as “TEST.pm3r” and is a single ebook on an ornate pedestal that takes about 2 hours to print. Printed utilizing Anycubic Water-Washable+ resin at a 2 second/layer treatment time, the help construction was simply indifferent from the pedestal and the mannequin was simply faraway from the platform. The intricate element highlights the 8K decision of the Photon M3 Premium, and the textual content on the ebook is crisp and legible. The letters are roughly half a millimeter tall, so you could want glasses or a macro digicam lens to make out the textual content.
Picture 1 of 2
Printing with Anycubic Photon Workshop
As of the writing of this evaluation, the Anycubic Photon M3 Premium is barely suitable with the Photon Workshop slicer app. Photon Workshop is a fully-featured app which is able to producing help materials, hollowing fashions, and including vents for resin drainage and stopping suction forces. In my expertise, Photon Workshop runs far more slowly than different apps like Chitubox and Lychee Slicer, which provide comparable performance with an easier-to-use interface.
Making a help construction for a easy mannequin may take as much as 5 minutes to generate, even on a quick laptop like my 2021 MacBook Professional M1 Max with 64 GB of RAM. Supporting the identical mannequin utilizing the identical laptop with competing slicer app Chitubox takes underneath 30 seconds, which makes the Photon Workshop outcomes even much less engaging compared.
As of the writing of this evaluation, the Photon M3 Premium shouldn’t be suitable with these different apps, making it the one printer within the Photon M3 line-up that may’t be used with a third-party slicer. A consultant from Anycubic confirmed that compatibility was presently within the works and we might be notified when the Photon M3 Premium is enabled on these different slicer apps.
Anycubic LighTurbo 2.0 UV Mild Supply
The 8K mono masking LCD permits for crisp element on printed components, and a part of that element can also be as a result of Anycubic LighTurbo 2.0 UV gentle supply. The LighTurbo 2.0 makes use of a COB (chip-on-board) UV LED gentle supply that initiatives right into a concave reflector situated under the masking LCD. Anycubic advertises this gentle as being collimated (made parallel) and extra uniform than UV gentle generated from a regular LED array. As well as, the Photon M3 Premium features a temperature sensor that prompts a fan-driven cooling system when the inner temperature exceeds 65°C, extending the lifetime of the COB gentle supply.
Operating the publicity take a look at with a bit of ordinary printer paper over the masking LCD reveals the sunshine is even and constant, with no variations throughout the display. The printer makes virtually no noise whereas working, and the air filters are practically silent when the lid is on the machine.
Printing ABS-like Resin+ on the Anycubic M3 Premium
Picture 1 of 3
Anycubic included a bottle of ABS-Like Resin+ with the Photon M3 Premium, a resin that’s designed particularly to imitate the mechanical properties of ABS. This powerful resin is good for printing fashions that want a better diploma of mechanical toughness or resilience the place a usually brittle customary UV resin wouldn’t be a wide variety.
I used to be impressed with the components made utilizing this ABS-Like Resin+, which felt powerful and sturdy after post-processing. The hole head of Frankenstein’s Monster by Fotis Mint makes an ideal ornament for Halloween, and the partitions of the mannequin really feel substantial and hard whereas nonetheless revealing a excessive degree of floor element.
Picture 1 of 3
These miniature fashions from Loot Studios include plenty of small options that are inclined to snap or break when printed with customary UV resin. Printed with the ABS-Like Resin+, these positive options are in a position to deflect and bend barely with out breaking or shattering, a welcome characteristic for anybody searching for a print that may survive a drop take a look at.
Printing Massive Assemblies on the Anycubic Photon M3 Premium
Picture 1 of 2
The big construct quantity of the Anycubic Photon M3 Premium is good for printing full assemblies on a single construct platform, one thing that will usually require a number of prints on a smaller machine. The Blade of Alphariox by Loot Studios is a full-size dagger that’s cut up into 5 components and the complete mannequin could be printed in a single print. Printed at a decision of 0.05mm and a 2.5 second per-layer treatment time, this mannequin is 2562 layers tall and takes slightly below 8 hours to print.
Picture 1 of 3
The mannequin itself is extremely detailed, and the leather-based texture on the deal with even has a seam with stitching sculpted into the mannequin which is clearly seen. The blade is made from three items which match collectively utilizing an oblong registration characteristic. The deal with locks into place on the crossguard, and the blade matches snugly on the opposite aspect. There’s a slight hole between items, which anybody making this prop would doubtless fill and sand down earlier than portray or post-processing.
Picture 1 of 2
Massive sculpted busts like Pennywise by Fotis Mint (one other nice Halloween ornament) are additionally very best for the big construct quantity of the Photon M3 Premium, which might print each the bust in addition to the bottom in a single print. This mannequin contains plenty of element all through the sculpt in addition to an in depth base that has a worn brick texture.
Picture 1 of 2
The 8K decision of the printer is obvious within the small particulars sculpted into the material and hair of the mannequin. Inspecting the mannequin rigorously, you possibly can see proof of the .05mm layer top on the very prime of the brow. These steps are practically imperceptible to the bare eye, and require direct lighting and a close-up photograph to see.
Comparability of the Anycubic Photon M3 Premium vs. Anycubic Photon M3 Plus
Picture 1 of 2
Curiously sufficient, one of many closest rivals to the Anycubic Photon M3 Premium is one other Anycubic printer, the Anycubic Photon M3 Plus. The Photon M3 Plus has a barely smaller construct quantity than the Photon M3 Premium (359.42 vs 399.58 cubic inches) in addition to a barely decrease XY decision (34 microns vs. 28.5 microns). The value of those machines may be very comparable and deciding between the 2 will rely on the appliance of the consumer.
| Anycubic Photon M3 Premium | Anycubic Photon M3 Plus | |
|---|---|---|
| Masking LCD Decision (px) | 7680 x 4320 | 5760 x 3600 |
| XY Decision (mm) | 0.0285 | 0.034 |
| Construct Dimensions (in.) | 8.6 x 4.85 x 9.58 | 7.8 x 4.8 x 9.6 |
| Construct Quantity (in^3) | 399.58 | 359.42 |
| Webcam | No | Sure |
| Wi-Fi | No (as of launch) | Sure |
| Worth | $619 at launch / $639 common | $639 |
The Photon M3 Plus contains an computerized vat-filling system which can prime off resin throughout printing while not having to pause the print and probably create a layer shift within the printed mannequin in addition to a built-in webcam and Wi-Fi. These options are good additions, however customers who’re targeted on construct quantity and determination will doubtless lean in direction of the bigger and better accuracy Photon M3 Premium.
In my view, the names of those two machines may in all probability be switched, with the “Premium” mannequin together with quality-of-life options that aren’t strictly associated to measurement and accuracy, whereas the “Plus” mannequin may very well be focused at energy customers who’re within the extra “bottom-line” facets of the printer.
Backside Line
The Anycubic Photon M3 Premium is a straightforward printer to suggest, and the characteristic set makes it very best for anybody searching for massive construct quantity, excessive decision, or simply failure-free resin printing. Throughout testing, the Photon M3 Premium carried out flawlessly and the {hardware} of the machine didn’t have a single hiccup. Sadly, the buggy Photon Workshop slicer app, difficult-to-clean construct platform, non-functional WiFi, and lack of compatibility with different slicer apps stored this printer from attaining an ideal retailer.
For those who’re searching for absolutely the highest decision doable in a big format, the Phrozen Sonic Mighty 8K technically beats the Photon M3 Premium with an XY decision of .028mm versus .0285mm, an infinitesimal distinction of half a micron (or 1/26,000 of a inch), however prices roughly $270 extra. Equally, the Elegoo Jupiter has a bigger construct quantity (278 x 156 x 300 mm vs. 250 x 123 x 219 mm) however prices practically twice as a lot because the Photon M3 Premium.
MORE: Greatest 3D Printers