At a glanceExpert’s Ranking
ProsEasy to make use of & reliableWorks with numerous slicersGreat print qualityConsFan runs always throughout printingRequires post-printing cleanup + curing (like all resin printers)Dearer than some rivalsOur Verdict
The Halot One Plus is an easy-to-use resin 3D printer that has a good-sized construct quantity, prints reliably and at top quality. It’s fairly costly in comparison with rivals, particularly within the UK.
Greatest Costs Right now: Creality Halot One Plus
I’ve turn out to be one thing of a 3D printing addict over the previous few years, however the Halot One Plus is my first foray into resin printing.
For these new to 3D printing, or simply to resin printers, it’s essential to know there are main variations between resin printers and FDM printers (the sort that print utilizing a spool of filament), such because the Creality Sermoon V1 Professional.
This isn’t the place to check the 2 applied sciences, however it’s value realizing from the outset that with a resin printer just like the Halot One Plus, you’ll want a ‘wash and remedy’ station as effectively. In contrast to an FDM printer, when the Halot One Plus has completed printing, this isn’t the tip of the method: uncured resin should be cleaned from the print (together with helps), then it should be cured utilizing UV mild.
Attending to the Halot One Plus itself, it’s the flagship mannequin within the Halot One vary, which additionally contains the Professional and Halot One. It has the most important construct quantity of the three, the most important LCD and highest decision.
It’s no shock that it’s costlier, however the query is whether or not it’s value shopping for. Let’s discover out.
Options & design
7.9in monochrome LCDProprietary mild source4.9in touchscreen172 x 102 x 160mm construct quantity
In comparison with an FDM printer, the Halot One Plus is pretty compact and fully enclosed. It measures 236x243x418mm and weighs a bit below 7kg. The duvet is required to guard your eyes from the UV mild, and it’s such a darkish shade of blue it’s onerous to see by it.
Thankfully, the massive shows progress so you may see how a lot print time is remaining and what number of layers have been printed (out of the entire). It’s a capacitive touchscreen, like a telephone, and this makes it easy to navigate menus, change settings, select fashions to print and enter your Wi-Fi password.
Jim Martin / Foundry
Subsequent to the display are two USB ports, one for a flash drive containing print information and a type-B port for direct connection to a PC.
The built-in Wi-Fi means wired connection is one thing you’re unlikely to make use of, and there’s even entry to Creality’s Cloud service that permits you to obtain prints on the printer itself. The Halot One Plus can then slice these fashions and print them.
I’ve seen lots of people declare that among the fashions accessible are “stolen” and are breaking copyright, so if you wish to keep away from inadvertently printing one thing you need to have paid for, it is likely to be finest to supply your fashions elsewhere.
Below the duvet you’ll discover a metallic resin tray with a clear FEP sheet screwed to the underside. There’s a spare included within the field, which is useful.
Jim Martin / Foundry
The tray has markings for 250, 450 and 650ml and likewise has captive screws so you may’t lose them. On two reverse corners are lips that permit unused resin to be poured extra simply again into the bottle.
The aluminium construct plate has 4 Allen bolts that have to be loosened earlier than levelling. It is a easy course of (in comparison with an FDM printer) which requires you to put the calibration sheet on high of the LCD display, then tighten the bolts as soon as the construct plate has been lowered on high of the sheet.
Jim Martin / Foundry
The highest of the construct plate is angled to assist resin run off, however actually wants a steeper pitch as some resin stays after printing, and will get caught across the bolts.
The 7.9in LCD has a decision of 4320×2560, which is larger than a variety of resin printers. As with graphics, a better decision means a smoother-looking print, whereas a decrease decision means prints are blockier. This is among the causes the Halot One Plus prices greater than lower-resolution resin printers.
Nonetheless, as a result of resin 3D prints are created by shining UV mild by the display, it’s essential that this mild is even throughout the display. Many resin printers use a UV LED matrix, however Creality has developed its personal ‘integral mild supply’ which it says can attain over 90% “evenness”, in comparison with round 50% for resin prints utilizing ‘parallel emission’.
Additionally, as a result of it makes use of far fewer LEDs than a matrix, there are supposedly fewer issues with damaged models inside the matrix.
The Halot One Plus can print 0.01mm layers and has an XY axis precision of 0.04mm. It has twin rails on the Z-axis which ought to assist guarantee no deviation for tall prints.
It’s good that firmware updates are potential over the air through Wi-Fi, and Creality says that its workforce is engaged on including webcam help. Confusingly, there are references to cameras within the menus already, however what actually threw me was that the ‘Digicam password’ within the Digicam Monitor settings is definitely the password (token) it’s worthwhile to set if you wish to print over Wi-Fi from a PC.
Jim Martin / Foundry
Having webcam help can be good if the duvet wasn’t so darkish that’s isn’t potential to see clearly what’s being printed, because the digicam must be positioned outdoors of the duvet.
With two followers, one for the UV LED and a second for the activated charcoal filter, the One Plus is comparatively noisy because the followers run repeatedly whereas printing. Utilizing Creality’s personal resin, the odour wasn’t too dangerous, nevertheless it actually appeared that the filter wasn’t capable of neutralise the odor fully.
There aren’t many equipment included within the field: only a plastic scraper, a single paper filter (for pouring resin again into the bottle) and some Allen keys. There are not any flush cutters for eradicating helps, nor any gloves, so these and a few IPA (isopropyl alcohol) to wash prints are the extras you’ll must get at the least.
You may also wish to purchase Creality’s UW-02 washing and curing machine which prices $219 / £179.
Slicers
You’ve a selection of slicers. There’s Creality’s personal Halot Field, Lychee Slicer and ChiTuBox. As I hadn’t used any of those, I went with Halot Field.
Creality
It’s comparatively easy, although you will want to learn to add helps to resin fashions. The auto-generated helps weren’t positioned in essentially the most smart locations, so it’s value spending the time to manually add them the place you need them.
You’ll be able to export the sliced mannequin to a USB drive, or print direct to the Halot One Plus over Wi-Fi, after setting and coming into the password, and the software program will estimate the print time and the way a lot resin will probably be used.
Printing
For the primary print, I downloaded a Minion mannequin from Creality Cloud and used the default print settings. Surprisingly, it printed completely with no issues in any way – the exact opposite of nearly each FDM printer I’ve reviewed.
Jim Martin / Foundry
The plastic scraper eliminated the mannequin from the construct plate and, since I didn’t have a wash-and-cure machine handy, I used a shower of IPA to wash the uncured resin after which left it outdoors within the solar for a superb few hours.
Jim Martin / Foundry
Resin prints do change color when cured, so the white resin took on an nearly peach shade as soon as cured.
For the second check, I opted for one thing rather more tough: a mannequin of Captain Jack Sparrow which stuffed a superb proportion of the utmost peak. This took a bit over 13 hours to print however, as soon as once more, printed efficiently first time.
Jim Martin / Foundry
Element was exceptionally good, with nice texture within the beard, jacket, wood ground and cord.
Resin prints are a bit versatile earlier than they’re absolutely cured, and might turn out to be brittle at that time, so it’s important to watch out to not snap items off, such because the sword. On this mannequin, one of many two chin braids snapped off when eradicating a help.
The primary downside with this print was that it was caught so quick to the construct plate it was extraordinarily tough to take away. I needed to resort to a metallic scraper, and even then, it was robust to prise it off. Lowering the first-layer remedy time largely fastened this for subsequent prints, although.
One more check was the difficult Tower of Pi. That is nearly not possible on an FDM printer, which is why the designed created a model with partitions. However the Halot One Plus took it in its stride, printing nearly completely at 100%, which is 150mm tall and 85mm huge.
Jim Martin / Foundry
The one imperfections had been a couple of stuffed in holes in among the quantity 8s. You may also see stepping across the edge (on the left-hand facet of the picture above), although this wasn’t current all the best way round – some areas appeared completely easy, so it’s not merely the 0.04mm XY decision coming into play.
Importantly, there have been no points in any respect with Z-axis accuracy, and prints with vertical surfaces had been additionally good and easy.
Total, print high quality is superb, and the nice mild uniformity means you should utilize the complete space of the construct plate with out sacrificing high quality.
After printing, you may run a ‘cleansing’ cycle which cures a whole layer and will catch any small items which have fallen into the resin vat.
The default time of 25s wasn’t sufficient, so I ran it twice extra and was then in a position to make use of the plastic scraper to take away the cured resin.
Jim Martin / Foundry
Value & availability
The Halot One Plus prices $399 from Creality’s web site.
That’s $100 greater than the same Anycubic Photon M3. It isn’t similar: it touchscreen is smaller, it has a single linear Z rail and doesn’t have the Halot’s integral mild supply.
Within the UK, availability is extra restricted than within the US. You’ll be able to’t purchase one from Creality’s web site, and one of many solely UK retailers itemizing it on the market on the time of evaluate was Expertise Outlet, the place it price £469.
For comparability, the Photon M3 prices £295, £174 much less, making the Halot One Plus look overpriced. Hopefully it is because it’s model new, and costs will come down when there’s higher provide (and Creality sells direct to UK consumers, one thing that’s deliberate for the longer term).
Bottles of resin aren’t low cost. They’re offered by weight and a 1kg bottle prices $35-40. Creality sells each water-washable and commonplace resin, in quite a lot of colors.
Verdict
The Halot One Plus is an excellent resin printer general. In my testing, it carried out reliably and delivered high-quality prints with out fuss.
Like all resin printers, the method of eradicating helps, cleansing and curing after printing is a messy enterprise, however there’s no solution to keep away from this until you select an FDM printer as an alternative.
Apart from it being barely noisier than I’d like, the principle downside with the Halot One Plus is the value. It’s significantly costlier than the Photon M3 and lots of first-time consumers will discover it onerous to justify spending the additional.
When you’re not a newbie care about getting the best-possible print high quality, and really need the additional mild uniformity of the Halot One Plus’ integral mild supply, you may have the ability to justify spending extra.
Specs
Print quantity: 172 x 102 x 160 mmXY decision: 4320 x 2560 (4K)XY accuracy/pixel measurement: 0.04 mm (40 μm)Print pace: 1-4s per layer (relying on the resin used)Z-accuracy / layer thickness: 0.01-0.2 mmTouchscreen: 4.9in coloration touchscreenUV mild wavelength: 405 nmPower provide: 100-240 V 50/60HzPower: 100WSize: 236 x 243 x 418 mmWeight: 6.9 kg
