Phrozen Sonic Mini 4k

[timwatson]

Same here @JeffB Mine has been holding up well. I need to disassemble once more because it’s leaning backward some and I need to fix that. It is stable now and I have very few if any fails. I will post pics of the current state of things a bit later.

[Chris333]

The little bat wing brace I put around the back of mine sort of keeps the sunlight out of the vat 

But man the whole design to hold the print head is clumsy. The Z rail is so short that it is hard to even rotate the build plate 90 degrees to let it drip off. And every time I end up with resin on my fingers. And I keep bumping the top of the machine and that is getting resin on it. Compared to the OG Photon that I rarely ever got even a single drop of resin anywhere.

[timwatson]

Here is the latest.

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Front view. I'm calling this version another ridiculous name like the original.
It's going to be called the Mega Mini 4k (Mm4k) the irony!

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I've added handles to the case extender ... it's so much easier to take on and off now. Next up is to prime and paint the cover extender.

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I painted the arm and end stop silver to better match the stock nature of the machine.

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The pretty floral paper is me testing a different gasket height.


I am using the Nintendo switch tempered glass on top of the 2 layers of card stock. The extra glass does take away the details some. I was disappointed by that.
So you can protect your screen or you can have uber tiny details but not both.

[kryts]

How hard was it to drill and tap the  z-axis and the z axis build arm?

I am thinking of doing something similar to what chris did. I don't want to disturb the underside so was going to put a plate on top, brace the z axis and the build plate arm.

[Chris333]

Just tense moments while hand tapping into aluminum is all. Aluminum gets gummy so use oil and every 2 turns forwards I back it out a little.

[timwatson]

How hard was it to drill and tap the  z-axis and the z axis build arm?

I am thinking of doing something similar to what chris did. I don't want to disturb the underside so was going to put a plate on top, brace the z axis and the build plate arm.

If you make a new metal arm you’ll likely have torque issue from the current motor and leadscreew. Carl from the UK did that and those were the issues he had.

[timwatson]

It's been awhile since I've posted about this machine but I am making a kit for the Sonic Mini 4k based on all the work I did to it. I've already got a few beta testers in the UK, Italy, Netherlands and the US running through the kit.


Here's a video of some of the things it's capable of now.

[Chris333]

I stopped following the Sonic 4K Facebook, but saw this posted:
https://phrozen3d.com/collections/t-plate/products/sonic-mini-4k-upgrade-kit-bundle-free-aqua-ivory-4k-resin?fbclid=IwAR3xmyEiotUqYFPAtZSnz63n_xeQtxA59XFIc9Xb_k-jEFLiFS8DVfE9AAc

So it would seem that even Phrozen thinks the machine is too flexible.

[JeffB]

I stopped following the Sonic 4K Facebook, but saw this posted:
https://phrozen3d.com/collections/t-plate/products/sonic-mini-4k-upgrade-kit-bundle-free-aqua-ivory-4k-resin?fbclid=IwAR3xmyEiotUqYFPAtZSnz63n_xeQtxA59XFIc9Xb_k-jEFLiFS8DVfE9AAc

So it would seem that even Phrozen thinks the machine is too flexible.

Hmmm...  I get the new bracket, but why the Z-rail/bearing and motor/feed screw?  Did they come to the conclusion that they needed a more powerful stepper motor?

Interesting.  Once I got my unit back together, I'd planned on ordering a spare LCD.  It might be worth it to buy the upgrade too, though I think it should be free!

Jeff

[timwatson]

I stopped following the Sonic 4K Facebook, but saw this posted:
https://phrozen3d.com/collections/t-plate/products/sonic-mini-4k-upgrade-kit-bundle-free-aqua-ivory-4k-resin?fbclid=IwAR3xmyEiotUqYFPAtZSnz63n_xeQtxA59XFIc9Xb_k-jEFLiFS8DVfE9AAc

So it would seem that even Phrozen thinks the machine is too flexible.

Yeh ironic right. They're not fixing the real issue sadly. I just got a Saturn (which I am loving) and there is no flex in any of that machine. So there certainly are proper builds.

[Chris333]

I had to change my lead screw/motor because I was getting stepped lines in my prints, but still using the same rail. I don't think the rail was flexing, think it was the mount to the base.

I don't know why. And how does any of that bulk up the base plate.


This Elegoo Mars 3 seems to be that same resolution as the mini 4K:  https://www.elegoo.com/products/elegoo-mars-3-lcd-3d-printer

[Chris333]

This version of the upgrade comes with ChiTuBox Pro instead of resin:

https://phrozen3d.com/collections/3d-printer-parts-phrozen/products/sonic-mini-4k-upgrade-bundle-chitubox-pro-software?fbclid=IwAR2wkDgYo9OskZyGb7qtPSR6WKPhCZ7a5WwqthV5bjYqtO-LrxqsipEm4iw#specs

I guess ChiTuBox Pro is $169.00 by itself.


Oh and the shipping for the upgrade is $50 yay! 

[timwatson]

I had to change my lead screw/motor because I was getting stepped lines in my prints, but still using the same rail. I don't think the rail was flexing, think it was the mount to the base.

I don't know why. And how does any of that bulk up the base plate.


This Elegoo Mars 3 seems to be that same resolution as the mini 4K:  https://www.elegoo.com/products/elegoo-mars-3-lcd-3d-printer

When I upgraded my machine (with my soon to be released kit) I had to reinforced UNDER the z-axis where the z tower connects to the deck. That's where the flex is. The tower itself doesn't flex but the base only below the z-axis connections. The rest of the deck doesn't really flex, just under the z-axis tower.

[Chris333]

Just passing along how someone else braced up the Z rail on their printer:
https://twitter.com/khreathor/status/1461111434428006402?s=20&fbclid=IwAR3e-6ENozv3Xj72koNNAK352_zbmJne5-c3pTDLtUnMIR4wpXMneasMPQg

[timwatson]

That’s interesting but thats got a lot of joints to allow movement. I will finally be releasing the digital kit for the Sonic this weekend. I’m glad thats almost done.