Heygears printers?

[Bozothenutter]

Anyone own one?

Yeah they're expensive,  and you're almost locked into their resin and slicer.

But the apparent ease of use is enticing.

There are now lists around with tested 'other brand' resins.

I saw some reviews that stated the failure was very low.

Minus points seem to be the lower res, but their 'smoothing' seems to work well ( don't like it being 'fuzzy' though).

[dnl42]

I've learned to rely on Tom's Hardware for solid reviews.

 

Tom's review does indicate HeyGears' hardware is solid, but there's also the lock-in factor and forced reliance on their servers, which makes it a hard no for me. I don't actually find substantial problems with my Elegoo printer workflow, which I run completely offline--ditto with my Prusa FDM printer. To be sure, I could run both using their online services, but that doesn't offer me anything I value.

 

My Elegoo Saturn 4 Ultra is also very solid. My print failures have primarily been due to my modeling. My biggest lessors were features can be too small and modeled supports can be critical. To be sure, I did suffer some early slicer-induced problems, but,a again, that was learning curve. I'm fairly certain that my experience with FDM printing reduced the learning curve's slope. Finally, IMHO, 3D modeling for 3D printing is the biggest hurdle--the rest is detail.

That said, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe is famous for "God is in the detail."

 

Read the reviews, read some early HOWTO material.

[hendie]

9 hours ago, dnl42 said:

I don't actually find substantial problems with my Elegoo printer workflow,

I have to concur. Any issues I've encountered have been traced back to my errors aside from one. That was a software update which threw a wobbly on my computer (that was several years ago). I contacted Elegoo support and they had a fix issued to me within 24 hours. 

I've also contacted them on several occasions for minor stuff such as what screws were they using on the vat plates and they've always been very responsive. 

I'm on my second Mars and also run a Saturn (and had a Jupiter at work).  My Mars & Saturn have been running almost 24/7 over the last year and continue to churn out excellent quality parts.

I've been very happy with the hardware and their service and to be honest, I find it difficult to see past them based on my experience.

I do everything off-line and can use any resin I fancy and any slicer I wish to use.

I'd be very wary of buying into a platform that locked me into using only their product offerings.

 

 

[Bozothenutter]

Tbf, the vendor lock in is what's keeping me away.

But after messing with my old Anycubic Mono......

Is there such a thing as a printer for the occasional print?

Not looking for production numbers.

Tbh, I'm focusing more on learning CAD .....

[dnl42]

2 hours ago, Bozothenutter said:

Tbf, the vendor lock in is what's keeping me away.

But after messing with my old Anycubic Mono......

Is there such a thing as a printer for the occasional print?

Not looking for production numbers.

Tbh, I'm focusing more on learning CAD .....

For the occasional workflow, perhaps a printing service is sufficient? Perhaps look for a local 'maker space', which will have fellow modelers. That said, my local group is very FDM-oriented.

If you still want your own printer, Elegoo's Mars might be a good choice. There's more needed, however. Temp-controlled workspace, ventilation, PPE, tools, IPA, &etc. Ikea's Bror work-bench is just sufficient to hold it all.

 

As for learning CAD, Arnold Rowntree's Fusion 360 vids are excellent!

[rockpopandchips]

I think if you have the cash kicking about and want a printer that just works, they do seem to fit the bill, but who wants an easy hobby?

Getting stuff to work is part of the fun, so is fixing it when it breaks. Personally, I think the fact that you can take the likes of Elagoo S3 and Ancubic M5 and M7 apart with relative ease and replace parts makes them a more interesting option.