AnyCubic Photon Zero (entry-level 3D printer)

The Anycubic Photon Zero 3D resin printer is currently selling in the UK for £99 without resin (December 2020), and is likely to be many people’s first tentative foray into the world of 3D printing.

Overview

The Photon Zero is a neat little unit, measuring ~18 cm by ~19 cm, with a black steel base on four rubber feet, supporting the print tank and a motorised arm that raises and lowers the detachable print head. The upper part is enclosed by a yellowish plastic lift-off hood, whose yellow tint is claimed to block 99% of UV rays.

The left-hand face is flush and can be butted against something, the rear face needs to set be a little away from the wall to accommodate the cable from the power supply (which has a 90-degree angle plug), the right hand face has a ventilation fan grille, power switch and USB socket, so it needs enough space to pug and unplug a USB thumb-drive, and the front panel has a colour touchscreen, which, obviously, needs to be accessible.

The unit obviously needs to be operated somewhere out of direct sunlight. Bright sunlight hardens the surface of liquid UV resin in about six seconds, and you don’t want the excess goo on your printed model to harden before you’ve had a chance to wash it off.

While it’s recommended not to leave unused resin in the tank for more than 48 hours, if you must do this, consider putting a thick paper or plastic bag over the unit for extra UV protection.

Links

AnyCubic Photon Zero -- video