Test print of Diana & Hugh diorama (Pragmata) by Bulkamancer Sculpts.
Printed on Anycubic Photon P1 & ELEGOO Saturn 3 Ultra using Conjure Sculpt Beige resin.
Sculpted by Szymon Szpaczek (Hugh) & Katerina Likhacheva (Diana).
Pre-supported STL for 3d printing created by Bulkamancer Sculpts, sculpted by Szymon Szpaczek (Hugh) & Katerina Likhacheva (Diana)
Test print of Hugh (Pragmata) created by Bulkamancer Sculpts.
Sculpted by Szymon Szpaczek.
Printed by Takokumono on Anycubic Photon P1 & ELEGOO Saturn 3 Ultra using Conjure Sculpt Beige resin.
STL for resin printing.
Created by Bulkamancer Sculpts.
Sculpted by Vik.
Test print of Diana (Pragmata) by Bulkamancer Sculpts.
Printed with Conjure Sculpt Beige resin.
Sculpted by Katerina Likhacheva & Szymon Szpaczek.
Test print of Garrus (Mass Effect) by Bulkamancer Sculpts.
Printed with Conjure Sculpt Beige resin.
Sculpted by Vik.
Test print of Zelda (Tears of the Kingdom) by Bulkamancer Sculpts.
Printed with Conjure Sculpt Beige resin.
Sculpted by Polina Shaman.
Himmel (Sousou no Frieren) by Bulkamancer Sculpts. Printed with Conjure Sculpt Beige resin. Sculpted by YoruNoAme.
A couple of weeks ago, Anycubic sent a Photon P1 printer to our studio (Bulkamancer Sculpts) in exchange for an honest review and a few posts – and here we are, eager to fulfill our part of the deal. But allow me to clarify a couple points right off the bat:
Let's be real – it's not easy for any manufacturer to mess up printer packaging after so many years in the market. So, to nobody’s surprise, the printer is well-packaged, but unboxing remains straightforward. The list of included accessories is pretty standard and doesn't stand out from any other printer we’ve laid our hands on. The only nuance is the power cable, as the printer has a built-in power supply. On one hand, that's good - fewer unnecessary external elements; on the other hand, the cable is quite short, so if your printer isn't located near an outlet, make sure to get a longer cable or an extension cord.
The casing is plastic, but it doesn't feel cheap – it's pretty thick and pleasant to the touch. Around the screen, there is a steel plate about 5-6 mm thick for structural rigidity.
As for the drawbacks, there's no height adjustment for the legs. If your table isn't level (like in our case), you'll either have to put something underneath or make peace with the risk of resin splashes on one side of the printer due to the tilt.
Let’s mention the hinged lid separately – for us, this is the first printer with a non-removable lid, and the hinged option turned out to be quite convenient. However, there is a noticeable gap between the closed lid and the casing, which may let dust and excessive resin smell through. But then again, the problem can easily be solved by adding a sealing strip, which we definitely will.
By the way, the lid itself is made of very dark plastic that almost doesn't let any light through. Frankly, even if it was completely opaque, it wouldn't change anything at this point, so you can forget about watching your printing cycles.
There is no built-in carbon air filter in the printer, nor are there any USB ports for connecting one. We suspect that this could be important for some people. However, there is a dedicated space at the back for connecting an external exhaust.
The build plate is secured with a clamp instead of a screw. It’s easily removed and installed, while the bracing is reliable.
Additionally, there is an intelligent platform calibration assistance feature: the plate lowers onto the spring-loaded screen, then the system suggests which of the screws need adjustment. It’s certainly more convenient than the classic method of pressing a sheet of paper, but it is still not exactly a fully automatic calibration.
The platform itself is made of thick stainless steel. If we had to nitpick, its main drawback is that, unlike other printers we've dealt with, the upper surface of the platform is completely flat, without any slope from the thickened center towards thinner edges. Because of that, excess resin tends to settle on top of the plate at the beginning of printing and not drip by itself later on. To compensate for this, the tray has special holders that allow you to mount the platform for resin dripping. This solution is convenient, but if you're printing tall parts, they will be submerged in the tray in that position, or they might not even fit at all. However, it's perfect for printing miniatures and similarly small pieces.
The vat is heated, which is especially useful in unheated rooms during the cold seasons. However, the design of the plate’s mounts and the power supply for the heater add extra curves to the inner walls of the vat, making resin drainage and cleaning a little bit more complicated.
The vat itself is secured with clamps on the sides, which, unlike conventional screws, are quite difficult to miss and not snap into place properly; otherwise, the lid simply won't close. In general, if you've ever remembered in the middle of printing that you forgot to screw the vat, you can finally relax and forget about that risk.
The factory configuration includes an NFEP film, which, combined with the new textured screen surface, creates a noticeable effect: the slapping sound of resin tearing from screen, well-known to any printer enthusiast, disappears, and printing becomes quieter. This is, of course, a good thing, but for many experts used to determining printer failures by sound (or the lack thereof) such unusual silence can be unsettling at first. Predicting a possible question about whether this new textured screen surface affects print quality — yes, but with caveats. If the top layer of the model is parallel to the screen, the textured pattern may be slightly noticeable. However, in the case of figurines or complex geometries, we found no significant impact.
By the way, before starting a new job, the printer checks whether the vat is in place and whether there are any floating debris from the previous print. If an issue is detected, the printer will stop immediately and present an error, rather than forcefully trying to push the platform down in a desperate attempt to damage the film and screen.
We haven't used Anycubic Photon Workshop for a long time, since we lacked Anycubic printers for a while. During this time, the software has become noticeably more user-friendly. We can't fully assess the work with supports since we use another app in our workflow, but model preparation, as well as printer-management itself (both from PC and smartphone), are both implemented quite conveniently.
There's a caveat: if you prefer other slicers, file transfer via Wi-Fi will be impossible. The file is first uploaded to the Anycubic cloud and only then sent to the printer—there's no option to send the file directly to the printer. This makes sense for printing farms, but for a single printer it seems somewhat excessive, not to mention adding potential points of failure and the need for an internet connection.
AI functions deserve a separate mention. The printer analyzes the print and tries to adjust the plate movement speed and layer exposure time. Technically, this can speed up printing by dynamically changing parameters, but in practice, it leads to unstable quality and wobbling. In our opinion, it should only be used for prototypes when speed is more important than quality, or when you need to check something quickly. But we can’t recommend this function for regular use with the emphasis on quality.
Overall, Anycubic Photon P1 has left a positive impression. It has a number of minor drawbacks, but they are compensated by its ease of use. Currently, most of our models are first launched on this printer.
We are attaching pics of our exposure tests, including a comparison between 14K screen from Photon P1 and 12K screen from another printer.
Cheers!
Review by Takokumono
Editing and translation by Br.Des
Test print of Judy (Cyberpunk 2077) by Bulkamancer Sculpts. Printed on ELEGOO Saturn 3 Ultra using Conjure Sculpt Beige and Rigid Clrar resins.
