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I'm still marvelling at how clear their resin is. This canopy was printed with the standard Clear UV resin. Mike

The MAC version can be found on this page, scroll down to OS X: Mike

Show us NOW...... we want to see a little teaser! Mike

No problem, send a pm to @Mike @Julien or @Greg B and they should be able to help. Mike

Thanks Tinners, I hadn't considered that and it would certainly make the area look tidy. I wonder if I can get the pillowcases back into the drawer before swmbo notices. Mike

That must be a big, and good, company to give that sort of confirmation and confidence to the work force, and to be financially sound to pay them for a further 16 months. I used to work in Brighton and know there were some very good companies in that area, especially in employee relations, and I'm heartened to hear that it is still happening over there. Mike

The UK's nearest distribution centre is Germany, there is another in California; therefore over here we would receive it from Germany. All European purchases include that country's VAT, as part of the EU agreements, at least until the end of December. With prices like these, they are likely to be popular and, although it is good to check and be sure, too long spent on queries could result in missing out on the stock that is held in Germany. The sale ends a week on Thursday. Mike

Thanks Nigel, it is good to get feedback from anyone who knows both machines. I have levelled my Photon only twice; however, each time was quite simple I found. Advice I received said to get a sheet of copy paper, A5 size is good, and place it on the LCD glass (base of printer) lower the printing plate, via the up/down buttons on the screen to just before it reaches the paper Using the supplied hex allen key untighten the screw in the printing plate. It only needs about a half to one turn. continue lowering the plate, via the screen, until the plate holds the paper but not too firmly. You should be able to pull the paper out but feel it rubbing both surfaces as you pull. If there is more pull on one side then gentle push with your finger on that side, until the pressure on the paper is even on all sides, Tighten the screw and return the plate up towards the top. Having looked at videos, this method looks very similar indeed to the Mars, although that machines printer plate is spring loaded. I hadn't noticed the lack of resin with the $169 (c £130) sale item. I've checked and the addition of 500ml resin is an extra $24 (c £18.30) and a 1 litre bottle is $37 (c £28.35). Those prices compare very well against normal retail prices. cheers, Mike

Hi Robert, the Bell 47 Sioux, in post #11, was printed in plant-based non-toxic resin and the output was as good as the HH-3 Jolly Green Giant in post #3. Mike

Thanks S-B. My comment on the cover was its size. Not everyone has a large space for modelling/printing and, if I was limited on space, I would be thinking "where would I put that box whilst working on the printer?" The front access to the Photon is fine and not limiting at all. One of our club members has an Elegoo Mars and we share each other's files (saved as .chitubox) and we both get the same good results. cheers, Mike

I don't know much about the Elegoo Mars; however, having seen video demo's it does look to be clunkier to use, and having to lift off and refit the box like lid doesn't look simple. Check out this review here, especially at 16 to 17 minutes, where he describes the risk of the plate dropping into the vat. Mike

Right, herewith my personal view on how a printing station should be set up. First off, if using standard resins; as opposed to plant-based resins, the standard resins are toxic. They can cause breathing problems and lung issues, so WEAR A MASK AND GLOVES when handling them! Another point, do not use the (dark blue?) cheap Latex gloves as these have been found to let the resins leach through into the skin. Any ex-service person will understand the effects of blood and nerve agents on the body and these resins aren't too dissimilar. Sorry for the morose message but it is a serious point to take. My set up is in the shed and the first thing I did was put in an extractor fan. £20 off Amazon and 30minutes work, even for an old duffer like me.! Here's my printer, with the fan behind and the resins to the left. Note that I use a labelling system, for a few simple reasons. - if using the standard (toxic) resins then I gown and mask up fully for the work - if using the plant-based (ECO) resins then I only need to wear gloves. - sometimes I forget which resin I have used, especially if I've left it for an overnight print. I don't want to get mixed up with what I have used, or pour a standard resin back into a plant-based bottle etc. - the clear resin is absolutely clear, so much so that the vat actually looks empty - there's a risk of pouring coloured resin into the vat, thinking it is empty. The cleansing station is situated on a separate table alongside the printing station. I use to airtight sealed containers, got mine from B&M for a couple of quid. and these contain IPA, The method I use is to remove top (printing) plate and then remove the pieces, which are adhered to the plate, with a steel plasterer's spatula. You get a plastic one in the package but that wouldn't shift this. Put the pieces in one container of IPA (warm soapy water if plant-based resins). Best to mark this one "cleaning". Then seal the container and give it a fairly vigourous swirl (don't shake as you might break pieces) for a few minutes. Then, using tweezers, transfer the pieces (let any dirty fluid drop back into the washing container first) into the rinsing container and repeat the process, Note the plastic spoon. Drill a few holes into one and keep it near the wash station, as the fluid can become quite dirty and the spoon act like a sieve to find and remove the pieces! Once the pieces have been washed and rinsed, remove them and place onto some kitchen type towelling and move them to the post-processing area. This where I remove the supports from the pieces. I have found that it is best to do this straight after the cleansing process. This is because the parts are still soft and the support can be removed quite easily, sometimes I can just run a fingernail along the edges and the supports will break away cleanly UV cured resin is, as it states cured by being subjected to UV light. This means that the resin starts to harden as soon a UV light/daylight is exposed to it. So don't leave the lid off the bottle for any length of time; also keep your area covered from the effects of light. I normally keep the shed door closed and windows covered but, in the heat of recent weeks, I had to open the door to get some fresh air. To compensate for this, I have strung up an old bedsheet to act as a screen. And finally, if I have left any resin in the printer vat, perhaps to do another print of the same the next day, then I will cover the printer to shield it from any UV sources. The method I use is an old pillow case. Well, a bit long winded but I hope this will be of some help when considering how to set up your printing station. cheers, Mike

Hi Ali, that's on my desktop PC. Once the set up has been done, you slice the file, using the hatched symbol on the lower left, and then save the file (xxxxx.Photon). I recommend that this is saved to your PC, laptop, ipad or whatever, before the next stage. This is just so that you have an original stored on a hard drive. The next stage is to copy that file to a memory stick, again; one is conveniently included with the Photon package. Take the memory stick with the file and insert it into the Photon, select print, select the file and then select go. Simple as that. One of the reasons I state about making an original and a separate copy for actual printing is that resin printers should not be set up in the home, especially areas like bedrooms or kitchens as the toxic fumes will linger and can cause health issues. Unless, of course, you are using plant-based resins which are Soya based and non-toxic. Another good reason for using plant-based resins is that they can be handled straight off the printer, can be cleaned with warm soapy water followed by clean water; plus, and this is a big plus, they do not need IPA to cleanse off the residue resin. With the current CV-19 situation, and its expected prolonged effects, the prices of IPA have gone through the roof. So, if you are using the standard, toxic, resins then it is safest to have it situated away from the home environment, prefeably in a shed. You may not notice the smell yourself, some don't, but you may go off to work each day and leaving those toxins around the house affecting partners, children and/or parents etc. Not good in the long run. cheers, Mike

When setting up a file for printing on the Anycubic Photon, or I imagine any other resin (inverted) printer, the piece(s) tend to be best positioned when angled and support. The angle is in order to reduce weight at any given point, remember this will be upside down and want to drop off, so it is best if there is minimal down force anywhere. Here is a quick demo of how I prepare my pieces for printing. In this case I am using the free slicing software that comes with the Anycubic Photon although others, such as Chitubox, are also free and available on the net. This is a typical piece to be printed, in this case the framework of a 1:144 scale Bell 47 Sioux. This is really tiny, the whole model is only 59mm long; however the parallel length and weight on piece could cause the drop off or even distortion. By changing the angle to about 45deg or more, it can be seen that less area is weighing on the plate on any given line/time. By rotating the view, to look from underneath, the software will point out areas that need supports. These are shaded red and the deeper the red the greater the requirement to add supports there Supports have been added in this view. Depending on the weight of the piece and the angle etc., more or less supports might be required. This is probably the area of concern, mentioned in the post about setup and is trial and error until you get it right. After a while, you get a feel for where the supports are needed; however, one mustn't get complacent as it sometimes bites you in the bum! Ask me how I know this. Here we can see a full set of pieces that were printed using the Photon. Although only one piece was used in this demo, all of these pieces were printed together on the same plate. Each was angled and supported differently due to their size and weight. This was a test print and, as noted, the canopy was also printed as a solid with the same resin. I made another print of the canopy, this time using clear resin. The first canopy didn't come out too clear and I think it was because I washed it in dirty IPA. The contaminations stuck to the clear part and caused it to look cloudy A second print came out fine and this time I only washed the piece in clean soapy water before curing it. Then I gave it a coat of Vallejo clear varnish. I'll do a walkaround of my setup next, showing the printing station, cleaning station and my post-printing area. cheers, Mike

Sorry Ali, I had to cut this short as I was called to dinner. I find that you don't need the wash setup unless your have a busy routine and need to leave things to wash etc. I'll explain further after dinner and I shall also try and take some photo's of my setup and, hopefully, explain my routine with pictures. Mike