Here's what no one is telling you about the HeyGears Ultracraft Reflex
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- Опубліковано 21 лис 2024
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• Here's what I got so far
UPDATE: HeyGears responds!
HeyGears have now issued a statement and would like you to know that a Login-Free and Offline functioning slicer is on the roadmap. This is good news obviously but imo you should wait to see it actually get implemented before jumping in. Hold em accountable to their promises!
Also no word yet on settings access. I remain optimistic HeyGears won't continue to be stupid 🤞
They clearly have some great engineers and manufacturing wizards on their team, and they could absolutely dominate the hobby market if they just let us be nerds and have fun with our nerd toys.
Give us that glorious curated experience AND let us run wild with the settings and our own print profiles and you'll basically be the Bambulab of resin. Until you give us that you're just the Juicero of resin.
ORIGINAL PINNED COMMENT:
Some additional thoughts to add here..
- I forgot to add a LANGUAGE WARNING. This video has naughty words. If that offends you, too bad.
- I don't think I mentioned it so just to clarify: You CANNOT use Lychee, Chitubox or any other slicer to prepare files for a Reflex printer.
- Updates to Blueprint Studio can also brick the device as Jeremy from @FigureFeedback discovered.
ua-cam.com/video/pFUtspRV1eY/v-deo.htmlsi=nbOm9XDWTgVgcXF&t=24m
- Blueprint Studio is also completely unusable without an active internet connection. I just tested it, and even if you're logged in and have access to the slicer, you cannot create a new print project because it won't let you choose a printer, resin, or layer height. This was worth making another video for, and you can see that here:
ua-cam.com/video/wB1kdW2z2Ws/v-deo.html
- No you really do not need an inbuilt heater, I made a whole video about it. Aftermarket plug and play solutions are plentiful and work great. Don't believe the hype.
- All my criticisms of the closed ecosystem, Blueprint Studio, and materials also apply to the new Reflex RS. I'll have an in depth look at that machine out soon, but tl;dr is I think that is the one to buy if you're still convinced a HeyGears machine is for you.
- Regarding my criticism of the automatic supports. I don't have a dog in the fight. I haven't done presupport work professionally in years, I offer no presupport services today, and I make zero dollars presupporting minis. Minirater.com is also not monetized in any way either. I'm actually all for a good auto supports engine, and I look forward to the day we have one.
- I personally have had great success now with countless resins and machines printing miniatures by putting in no more work than simply adjusting the normal layer exposure, and bottom layer exposure values. Please if you're new don't be discouraged by calibrating a resin. It usually takes no more than a single print, and it's set and forget. Do it once, never worry about it again, and the experience from that point on is the same as a printer like this that's come with a pre calibrated resin profile.
You can go deeper with calibration if you want with the other settings, but honestly you don't have to. Again, this is worth reiterating: I've dialed in countless resins on multiple machines by simply changing nothing more than the two exposure settings. One of them effects how well parts stick to the bed (bottom layer exposure) and the other effects how sharp the detail is, and more importantly how well support tips can hold on (normal layer exposure).
All those other settings people talk about to try and scare you off, that stuff is there only if you want to make calibration a hobby. If you really want to rule out the guess work though, then just take the hit to print time and decrease lift speed and add some light off delay, THEN run an exposure calibration print, and then just enjoy resin 3D printing without ever thinking about settings again.
Resin printers produce such insanely high detailed prints, you won't notice if your resin is perfectly dialed in or not when it comes to sharpness, unless you like pixel peeping with expensive macro photography gear. So please don't sweat calibration, it's easy and fast. I think I'll even make a video about it soon, so let me know here if you want to see that.
For now, my Comprehensive Guide to Resin 3D Printing Miniatures already includes this quick and simple calibration process if you can't wait
ua-cam.com/video/yenQsi-4pPA/v-deo.htmlsi=zPeuafNMtLlES9d4
Yippee
Can I recommend trying a vehicle from Nate Feyma range as there are some great models and they are well done in supports and the support if there is anything wrong with them is great
The first sign of an Australian accent should be language warning enough. People all over the world know our most dearly held cultural practice is casually dropping the C-word. "Oi, c**t" means "hello there, my good chum!", while "hey, mate", depending on tone, means you should prepare for violence.
Don't stop good man!
Hi,
I have the Reflex. Heygears stated that the no login offline mode should be available with the next release of Blueprint December 2024. I like your videos, but you need to show more of your rabbit. 😁
No way am i buying a online-only printer. If i pay for it, i get to use it without outside control.
Especially a Chinese one.
When Chinese companies that wants to sell their stuff aboard, they try their hardest to hide the fact that they're a Chinese company. (They most likely not have a "About us" in their page or they'll say something vague and say WHEN they started but leaves out the WHERE.)
And I can tell you from the two decades living there, almost all of the medium size and above companies required to have a CCP department inside, especially the tech ones. For info gathering of course, they are required by Chinese law to give information on demand to the CCP.
So, whether you wanna POTENTIONALLY give your info to this basically a shady organized criminal group (CCP), it is up to you.
And thus I have a Phrozen instead, with Lychee for the slicer. (Taiwanese Phrozen & French Lychee
However, I want to use the latest 3D printing process package to stay at the forefront of technology.
@@omi_liang Hello Corporate Account, how are you?
@@nordishkiel5985 Sorry, I'm just a user of the printer. I have used HeyGears' printers, and you can't imagine the convenience and printing stability they offer, far surpassing other brands currently available. I really think you should try it first. Besides, UA-cam also requires an internet connection, and I haven’t felt that being connected has caused me much inconvenience. Also, the printer in the video isn’t the same as the ones I purchased, which proves that this is not an officially sold machine. I actually think the video is trying to create a topic. Don’t waste everyone’s time-once you try it, you’ll see a complete difference.
Hi, as part of our software development roadmap, an offline Non-Login mode for Blueprint, which includes offline slicing functionality, is due to be ready by December 2024. This Non-Login mode will feature capabilities to cover general usage if a network connection is not available and does not require an account registration or login.
I wouldn't buy a printer that would require me to log into their servers to slice a print.
The other thing is I pay about $17/kg for resin from a local company. I just need to add 10-15% tenacious so it adds a little bit to that cost.
Heygears resin cost is 2-4 times the cost of what I'm willing to pay.
They need to realize were artists/gamers, not dentists.
I'm glad one of you guys finally said it, I'm sure heygears are unlikely to work with you again after this but this needed to be made. Good on you!
Who knows, they've been open to critical feedback and they've known for a long time I dislike their approach. I'm optimistic they might listen and change things up! But if not, whatever I'll happily just buy next year's mod if it looks interesting enough to make a video about.
@@OnceinaSixSide They would probably fear you buying the next one and doing a review _fully_ off the reservation, with no obligation to spin it positively. I think you've guaranteed your next sponsorship from them with this!
Wait wait wait... you cannot use the slicer offline? Meaning that you can only prepare your models if you have an internet connection? That is a big no-no. Huge thanks to you for pointing this out.
yep, even if you start it when online, if you lose connection for whatever reason the slicer entirely stops working.
@@threecreepio I've been scouting the market for a new printer and looking into the reviews on youtube to help me decide between this one and the GK3. I was almost conviced to get the HeyGears but this online only system is a dealbreaker for me. Not considering getting one anymore unless they open up the system like BambuLab has.
Yep, no internet no printer!
Hey guy, Smart phone time now
@@OnceinaSixSide I have the same issue with lychee. I can't use it without an internet connection.
Online only is the step before subscription only. And they're already doing subscriptions with their resin... Nope! Thanks Once in a Six Side, this kind of unbiased review is gold.
Where are they doing subscriptions for their resin?
Regarding the bad smell of the resin: I guess this may be a hot take, but I think resin being stinky is a good thing and should be required: it's toxic stuff that you shouldn't be smelling, and being odorless makes you comfortable with not taking proper safety measures. It's like kitchen gas: it's naturally odorless and can kill you without you knowing, so they add some smell to make you aware that you are inhaling it.
Decentralization is the point of 3d printing. I was planning to get one of these in the spring, but this walled garden approach isn’t the future I’m willing to invest in.
Oh god I was just seriously considering the Reflex Printer because my Saturn 3 Ultra was giving me so much trouble and I was so happy with my Bambu. But this complete requirement is a deal breaker. Not making this up. Always give an option to let me use things locally and completely offline.
I just measured my s3u uv uniformity, rated 92% actualy 52%, so 6x bigger difference between brightest and darkest point than advertised. elegoo is seriously a stain on this industry.
Get the Saturn 4 ultra. It's waaaaay better than the S3
@@awildtomappeared5925all LCD screens weaken over time until pixels completely stop working.
@@jasoncombs3232 Nah the problem I have is the lasagna bug and that still exists on the Saturn 4 Ultra, where it gets overwhelmed if there are too many pixels in one line and then the image starts flickering on the screen.
@@TashiMortier my Saturn 4 Ultra has been running since it's launch and I don't have that problem or "bug" It's rock solid and far better than my other 8 printers.
Digital decay is one of the reasons why the stop killing games initiative exists in eu
Proprietary resin makes it a no from me
Forcing me to log into their server makes it hell no
Glad you pointed this out......I haven't heard it anywhere else
I run a small print farm. We were just discussing options to expand our printers, with the two main options being HeyGears Reflex RS or the Uniformation GK3. I don't have giant qualms about the proprietary resin, but this is the first I've heard (after watching a few reviews) that the HeyGears is Online Only.
Online Only is a deal breaker for me. We were going to buy 3 - 5 of them.
It wont be online only soon. Don’t buy his clickbait. Guy is trying to build a channel so decided to trash a great product. But all in the name of the consumer right? 🙄
He lost me in his video at “I want to pass this to my kids.” Since when has that been a strategy that a single person judges a 3d printer off of? They’re all obsolete within years because the technology is evolving so quickly.
GK3 due to ship on the 5th Oct, Unifomation go on holidays from the 30th Sept(yesterday/today depending on where you are) to 6th Oct A DAY AFTER supposed shipping date, not a good start
@@WhiteGloveFans then why bother making it online only in the first place? Bad move, boy.
I havent even got ten minutes in, but thank you already. I dont see anywhere near enough people actually talking about this side of it. I'm 36, in all that time 100% of my experiences with closed ecosystems i've either bought into or been proximal to have wound up being negative. Something ALWAYS happens eventually, its not if, its when
Online only appliances? Hell no xD
Not.
Even.
Once.
Pull your collective heads out of your asses HeyGears.
Thankfully Heygears don't sell to New Zealand, just like Elegoo, so they fail the only test that matters as far as I am concerned - availability.
As for online only, f3ck that. I'm still using my Kenwood Chef mixer built in 1964, because it's got no digital components. The motor has been refurbished and rewound twice so far and should be good for another 10-15 years before another rebuild. Some of my power tools are older than me, for the same reason. Bought once, maintained and constantly in use.
Very weird for elegoo to sell to australia but not newzealand.
@@soupcake3092 it is generally cheaper to buy from an Australian store and ship it over.
Most licences require the seller to hold stock in New Zealand, and NZ shops are not willing to do that.
First, writing from Kyiv, people in the heart of global conflict with frequent power and internet outages still print, and not only drone parts. Power generators and big batteries solve power issues, but not exactly internet.
Second, for engineering parts this is even more unusable as every engineering application needs different resins, and for any other "hobby" printer you not only can choose from tens of engineering resins, you can also make custom mixes to suit your needs. Overexposure is also very bad for engineering parts so that's a straight no go with closed system. They are not Stratasys or even Formlabs so you can be sure of longevity, resin availability or quality.
Or, yeah, changing profiles "behind the scenes" - that's a "good" feature - imagine you finetuned your model in cad to accomodate all shrinkages, overexposure and stuff, slice a new version and suddenly parts don't fit andl threads don't screw. Brilliant!
This is exactly why I dont get the hype behind these printers. HeyGears did nothing more than producing the poor man's Formlabs but without the brand name to stand behind it or the resin variety or the overall quality and engineering. Yes they cost 3X, but thats the cost of a real tool not a half baked gimmick.
@@joek600 To be fair: they're a new player, they might end up with Formlabs range of resins and reputation over time. Most companies would probably choose a Formlabs printer for those reasons, but some might be more willing to gamble, perhaps for non-critical/backup purposes or to avoid over-reliance on a single supplier.
I think it's a normal behaviour for a small new challenger like Heygears to go for features and cost while cutting corners here and there, otherwise they couldn't compete with a big established company. That's how you break into a market.
Also, they might be a good value for a rich hobbyist that wants things to just work without having to (or even being able to) learn the nuances of the underlying technology. Apple vs PC market, sort of.
This printer has an identity crisis.
It has design elements that are meant for professional controlled environments, like a lack of ability to vent (like it assumes you are in a climate controlled, ventilated manufacturing space)
It's login locked slicer assumes you're a professional company paying for licenses who have built their business model around operating the HeyGears.
It's locked resin profiles assume that you have some sort of locked in distribution contract with them, like in a professional environment.
And with all of those professional features and snags, they are trying to sell it to hobbyists and miniature gamers.
If you are a miniature gamer who is into 3D printing, you are FAMOUSLY against high price tags and closed ecosystems. They are trying to sell this thing to the wrong crowd.
They are one step away from just flat out saying they will only allow bulk licensing and have an admin portal to manage the users.
Basically how FormLabs work, as they have exclusive contracts for example with the EU for their private funds. So if you want to borrow EU funds to open a 3D printing business, you can only spend them on FormLabs printers and resin.
HeyGears does it for the hobbyist.
This video is why I continue to watch your videos. Thanks for not being a shill.
The company replied on another UA-camr's video (FauxHammer) saying that a new slicer version is due December 2024 and it will feature offline mode
Even so, there are still deterrents from buying their printers, as a regular hobbyist. Proprietary expensive resin, proprietary slicer, locked printing profiles with no customization options, and for the cost of this you can get three excellent printers, or an excellent printer and a ton of consumables.
@@thrrax I just don't get why anyone would buy this printer. A GK2 has the same or slightly better resolution and build volume, isn't locked down to proprietary software and resin, and you don't need to pay hundreds extra to get high-quality temperature regulation. Sure, the build-quality of the hardware appears to be excellent, but with so many other serious drawbacks, that's small consolation.
FauxHammer is the biggest shill ever... i hate what he does.
I don't own a 3d printer, I don't print, I don't play warhammer or any other games using miniatures, recently have become interested in 3d printing, watched a lot of videos. Saw a ton of reviews of this printer, they all look bought tbh, and your honesty here is commendable
Hey look, it's the review that I heard imprinted in the last video.
All the criticisms you couldn't say because it was an actual ad, as you made very clear. Love it
I'm glad someone came out and pointed out how locked down the system is with no way to get around it. All the other content creators just skirt around the issue or handwave it away as not a problem. Even with bambu, at the very least you can print locally over lan, you can print using an SD. You aren't locked into their slicer or their filament.
Yeah I've basically been shouting at my screen with every other HeyGears video I've suffered through.
I was looking at this thing a couple of days ago. But secure login required online? That's a BIG NOOOOOO. Never. Upcoming California legislation is going to make it illegal to claim they're "SELLING" you this gear. If you can be locked out because you can't log in, you're LICENSING only. It's a rental. A lease. You don't own this printer.
Lets goo
It's not your printer. It's the kind of printer GW would use to sell you their miniatures.
Next one will check the files you print to make sure they're not infringing on IP or pirated or modified.
Also it will have 3 resin vats, grey, transparent and magenta.
You will not be able to print anything if you're low on magenta.
Vendor lockin is one of the main reason I have avoided Apple products. Hey gears falls into that same trap along with certain laser companies. They are not tools if you don't have the freedom to use them however you want.
This man right here speakin’ facts about beginning resin printing and whatnot. All those gatekeepers or bigger channels creating fear. I remember it took me months of and months of research to pick up my first printer to find out that, it pretty much worked right out of the box. Easy asf. I hope those bigger channels take note as well as Heygears because you are doing it right.
The thing about resin printing is that you are right -- it's really not that complex. Even auto supports are 95% fine if you manually rotate your object, and then just give it an eyeball to make sure nothing absurd is happening. But trying to vertically integrate everything is really just solving a problem that isn't much of a problem. Any printer with a resin calibration tool makes this really easy. Also this printer is so expensive, you could buy 3-5 regular printers that will produce quality just as good for the same price. Absurd.
As a side note, people who compare these disasters to Bambu printers really irk me. Not only does Bambu let you use 3rd party filaments, they specifically have tools to help you tune and calibrate 3rd party filament. The X1c *even does this automatically with its lidar*.
Even if they did allow offline printing, I wouldn't touch these machines with a 10 foot pole, unless my intention was to hit it.
I love that you're bringing some attention to this. I've written to a few reviewers to try to nudge them to at least include something about the online-only locked down approach and most seem to feel that no consumer actually cares about that stuff, or everyone already expects software to work that way anyway. The resin *price* issue seems almost irrelevant to me, if you're willing to spend thousands to get a 'premium' printer setup, you're probably not that price sensitive on the resin side.
Yeah everyone has completely missed the real issues in my view. I don't really care about the high cost of the resin either, it totally makes sense. But locking out the settings and making it online only is insanity.
You're absolutely correct. Here in the U.S. there are farmers who are locked out from working on their own tractors because of B.S. like this. Not going to buy into a printer that plays this nonsense. I own it. I use it. I modify it. I maintain it.
I shouldn't have to ask permission to use something I own. Period. End of story.
Not locked out of using the tractor. They just are not given the service manuals or computer diagnosis.
Reminds me some mini painting channel announced their own boardgames with 3D printed figures. Nothing too big. They also announced the only way to play it was via an app which caused most of their fan base to immediately say no. After all the moment the app stops working the boardgames would be useless. So it had, at best, a 5-10 year shelf life.
Haven't heard anything about the project since.
Thank you. This is what I believed when I saw every youtuber I follow reviewed this printer, but they refused to adress! I would not be interested a printer that is so restrictive.
Thank you for the honest review! Agree with all the pain points you covered that other reviewers have glossed over.
Thank you for this big picture look at the HeyGears product. I actually dropped FauxHammer due to his horrific review. Love it or hate it, whatever its their review its their truth, but at least be honest and tell people about the damn product in it entirety. How the hell can you miss always online BS, you can't without smelling your own shit that's for sure.
I still cant understand how this printer is taking UA-camrs by storm, its literally the Bambu Reddit was making up in their heads to fear monger about. I could never get behind $$$ for a printer that actively strips out basic features that every printer has to force you into their ecosystem for one reason, greed. Imagine an X1C where only Bambu filament is allowed and that's it, that's bananas for a makers tool.
HEY LOOK IT'S A JAILBIRD!
I honestly don't understand how anyone can trust fauxhammer when every other printer he """reviews""" is "the best printer ever" or "the new industry standard". He's just a shill who will happily clickbait you trying to get you to buy crap, as long as he's getting paid by the manufacturer of said crap.
No doubting it's a good printer but, apart from the huge cost, being dependent on the internet for slicing and tied into HeyGears resins as well, no way. As always, you tell it like it is, that's why I subscribe to your excellent channel. Great stuff )O(
From someone that prints professionally THANK YOU for such a good and honest review!
Heygears contacted me about the reflex sooooo glad I missed the email I had a play with my friends and not a fan of the slicer or the resin, he has a good sized print farm and the reflex never gets used because it requires models to be resliced using there slicer and no one can be bothered with it..
I had to ask him 10 times to collect it because he just didn't care, I don't think he's even plugged it back in!!
He needs all his printers running to make money so for him not to bother with it speaks volumes, also it prints REALLY slow..
Glad you are bringing this up, best reviewer in the resin space. Definitely second guessing HeyGears now if they don't fix this.
I had for a quick minute thought of getting this over the gk 3 to start creating a printing service for my designs and im glad i didnt take the plunge. Thanks for sobering my expectations. Hopefully the uniformation GK3 lives up to its own hype.
Back in 2019 I bought a 3d scanner. The program that runs the scanner requires website authentication after installing the software on a computer. This was fine until the company was involved in a lawsuit, delayed by Covid, that shut down the company. I can run the scanner on my old laptop, but I cannot use my new computer to run the scanner. The company I work for has the same scanner and cannot use it because we upgraded our computers. The $5000 scanner is now being offered on the secondary market for $150.
Damn! That's a great example of what I'm worried about here with HG machines. Do you recall the name of the company and the scanner? Would love to read up a bit more on it.
@@OnceinaSixSide NextEngine
Hey man! That sucks! That is the main reason I usually give a Hard pass on online-only stuff. But maybe there is a solution to that. You could remove the HDD of your old laptop and instal it on your PC and it should work, since the files are all there. And the fact that even after the servers went down the Scanner still works on the laptop suggests that it just needs the files on the instal folder to run. So you could, in theory, just try copying and pasting all the files on that folder on the other PCs 😁
@@OnceinaSixSide NextEngine.
Thanks for your video. I've watched as many as I could about this printer because I was choosing between this and the GK3 Ultra. Yours is the only one that was real about this printer.
Thanks for this, was just researching 3d printing for a potential future purchase, watched several videos on the Heygears printers and no one mentioned a online only requirement. NOT A CHANCE IN HELL, no way do I want a £1500 unless lump when they eventually shut the servers down/stop support (and they will, it's only a matter of time). Also I don't see any reason they can't have an auto and manual option for settings, just put a warning on that they take no responsibility if you make a mess of it. I really hate it with anything when there's an issue that could be fixed by myself in 5 mins and I have to wait for a company to do it.
yep, I'll stay with my Saturn's. Thanks for the heads up.
Proprietary resin at $60 a litre shipped to Texas from China is $80. For. One. Litre... I currently use Sunlu ABS Like resin for $20 per lite available next day from Amazon. For me, that one thing makes it a deal breaker.
Their resin is $30 per liter from their website plus shipping.
@@rsilvers129 that's not one of their miniature resins then. Or I am mistaken, which I would be happy to admit. Please share a link to the $30 Heygears resin. I'd love to see which resin we are talking about.
@rsilvers129 so I went back and looked at resin prices on Heygears website. There was one resin for $32 per litre. The rest ranged from $45 to $59 per litre. Even at $32 plus $20 shipping is $52 per litre.
Amazing videos that are great to watch even if you don't own that specific printer. I'm a noob and just changed my first FEP (a fear of mine) and I still am learning supports/calibration. I use this channel to help me the best possible and I Thank you. Great job and keep the videos coming.
You are my go-to channel for all 3d printed material. Thank you for being you.
I won't buy a locked in printer, full stop. I OWN what I buy not the company. There's a reason that I won't buy certain printers etc. They locked it all down.
This channel needs to reach more folks. Really appreciate your time and content... awesome stuff
Yeah, HeyGears could go out of business or you could lose internet access... What's more likely to happen, IMO, is they move the slicer to a subscription model and now you're forced to choose between having a useless printer or spending $30/mo to use it. They've already locked down their resin system, so they have no problem making your life harder for their financial benefit. Why should we believe they aren't going to try to squeeze every penny out of you?
And, yeah, having a resin profile for your specific resin is great! But... as far as I can tell, they use a LED light source... LEDs dim with age, so either the new printers are overexposing or the older printers are going to start underexposing and causing more print failures. If you can't edit the profile, you're hooped.
100% they will deprecate features, add them in with a paid subscription model, and hope to play chicken with their users who face the prospect of having an expensive paperweight or continuing to pay.
"What's more likely to happen," That is very unlikely to happen. In fact, it is almost impossible to happen as it would be basically illegal to take away function after purchase. The closest I have seen to that happening was QuickBooks Desktop stopping working with bank feeds after three years, which did happen. If they had any competition at all everyone would drop them.
I'm glad I watched this. That money can stay in my account.
Thank you for this honest and brutal review. Ive seen a few videos like your last one that show off how great it is (and even in this video, you still compliment it!) But getting into the nitty gritty on issues and things that need improved really puts the real user experience into perspective. I had considered this as an upgrade when my Mars 3 stops satisfying, but it looks like the workhorse will continue to work.
This has been my biggest hangup with the HeyGears printers. Bambu does the same sort of "customer experience" thing but i atill have full control of that orinter and im not locked in to proprietary consumables. Try harder HG
Thanks for constantly trying to give the best details we can, and as honest as you're capable.
By the way, commenting here because you helped me on buying my first resin printer, the Photon Mono 2. I love that little thing. While I was unsure because of its GREAT price point - it was pretty much the most affordable resin printer for sale on Brazil -, it was your review that gave me the confidence to buy it. And I'll say it, I LOVE that little thing, would recommend it for anyone just starting out. Its such a workhorse I'm not even considering upgrading to a larger printer. Also, RERF for the win.
Mono II is a beast! Stoked to hear you're having a good time with it 🤘
Totally agree with your assessment. The HeyGears machines are fantastic, but if they want to drive massive sales and consumer loyalty, they need look no further than Bambu. That's the template. Ditch the online only model and build profiles for popular (significantly cheaper) resins, and it's a done deal. Too easy. The only thing hindering their domination in the SLA minis field is their refusal to do the above.
Yep, 100%
The price alone was plenty of reason for me to not consider it. Especially since I get what I want/need out the machines I have. But seeing all the other hassles and failures in this, definitely a no for me. And I really think they are trying to ride the coat tails of Bambu's popularity and reputation. Trying to be the Bambu of resin printers. And this clearly is not the case. Thanks for pointing all of this out. Up until now all I have hear was "this is the greatest resin printer ever and you need it". Keep spreading the truth.
Thanks for a really thorough and balanced review. Your dedication to transparency and focus on the end user experience is really helpful.
You nailed it, I will never buy an online only printer and the BambuLabs model is the way to go. Offer a cloud first, closed system first with benefits, but let customers step outside of the walled garden when/if they want. This is the best of both worlds and what competitors should try to emulate.
Also I wish your videos didn't include explicit language so I can watch them with my kids around.
Proprietary resin I could deal with, but mandatory always online is actually insane.
I really appreciate your point of view on the Ultracraft machine. In fact, you're the only one I saw who pointed out some flaws, which are needed if anyone wants a clear view of the product. Personally, I run my little DLP printer and it's a real charm.
After breaking out of the Apple Ecosystem this year I’m not willing to get locked into any new ecosystems and for this reason HeyGears won’t ever be a printer I’m willing to buy. A cage, even one made of gold, is still a cage.
Not a lot of Android users are going to buy any expensive product.
Another great video, I don’t see the internet connection as a massive issue personally but as you said, this printer and the new reflex are NOT for everyone, only a narrow section of the hobby
I want a few changes like the log in, better ventilation, a build plate that doesnt store resin, custom and easily shareable profiles, a sealable case, heated bed standard and make the FEP sheet change easy.
I will never understand why everyone requires dozens of screws for the FEP when it could be done with a few levers.
Ok, when I saw this pop up on my screen as I was eating my turkey bacon like sandwich drenched in curry sauce, I thought, WTF !!!
Yes, I have just pre ordered a HeyGears RS & heated vat & pumping thing, I'm sitting here in anticipation waiting for the day it is dragged up to my 2 nd floor flat by a loving delivery driver who couldn't wait for this box to enter his life either... So, what a very bad feeling & it to defend the honour of my newest resin printer, I listened intensely, waiting to jump in & say how very wrong you are etc... Hang on, no actually I totally agree with what you are saying & I truthfully think HeyGears should open their ears & eyes & take what your saying on board, it is in fact the very reason I bought my Bambu Labs X1 Carbon, I love it intensely. I can 110% concur what your saying to HeyGears, stop mucking about, this isn't an industrial venture, your playing with the guys that ponder to the non professional buyer out there, guys & girls that love machines because they are the best & want to be better by sucking this part of the non industrial industry dry...I get it, why can't they? I'm no way cancelling my RS I have no intention of pandering to only using £50 & £90 resins... truly am buying this printer because of its quality & software, to think I might be kicked out of it if my internet goes down is worse, HeyGears is horrendous... Listen to this guy, listen to us all HeyGears, you can't do this & survive long term with the Reflex or RS... Someone will break this special privilege you think you can keep & take away your long term sales... This guy is right, I am backing this video completely & hope you are listening, good job Onceinasixside, well said 👍 subscribed & very big like... If I knew how to patron you I'd be doing it now 👍🤔
PS, I just bought an Elegoo Saturn 4 Ultra a few weeks ago & after watching this to the end might even cancel the HeyGears?? I'm pondering....😢
I found your Patron, I'm ok for a while to help a tiny bit with your channel, if HeyGears listens to our whining Ill be here a bit longer as a bonus lol 🤭 not sure with all this expensive resin buying how long it can last though 🤔
They can do what they want. Hopefully they listen.
Check out what formlabs did. The community baked in this company. They promised an open material system in the Form3 and now they selling this Upgrade for 2k per licence.
I have this paperweight printer in my basement and not willing to pay 160€ for one liter grey resin ever again.
In the end we can be lucky that we can fill whatever we want into the vat of the reflex. Allready bought the rs combo by myself If I didn't watched this video. Just for the good slicer alone. But Imagine a new AI auto support slicer come to the market or lychee catches up one day. Would be nice to have an open printer around than.
Thank you for this video. I am brand new to 3D printing and want to buy a really hassle-free printer as I begin my learning curve. The auto-support creation was a big reason I was interested in this product, but after seeing that you have no control over the orientation of the model, this video has really helped me in making my choice.
Just hearing that it's online-only is a huge no-no on my end. There's too many circumstances and situations in which that's not feasible, and it's just a glorified method of data collection.
Easily your most important and best video. You're a seriously credible voice in this space. I bought my halot mage because of you and I've been very happy with it.
I'm happy to hear you covering the always online issue. In my opinion its crazy that you need a permanent net connection in order to make use of the slicer/device. The locked down nature of the resin is also open to abuse down the line. If hey gears decides to up the price there isn't crap you can do about it. I'm shocked that both of these have not been bigger talking points amongst other youtubers, specifically the always online thing.
Closed ecosystems are a hard pass for me.
Always online is so damn stupid, seriously....
That's absolutely wild, a lot of people need to see this
thank you, I was considering this printer as first dip into the hobby, but after hearing it is a close system AND only only. NO. THANK. YOU.
Thanks for an honest opinion video. They are always appreciated Once.
I agree with a lot of the sentiment in the comments. Online only is awful, it can limit a lot of people, especially in Australia (specifically QLD) where our internet can be dodgy. I wouldn't want to be stuck in an ecosystem. My enjoyment of the 3d printing hobby is I can do what I want within my ability and what the machine is capable of.
I love this dude, this channel should be the number one 3D printing channel on UA-cam for everything not just miniatures, and I think ice as a community should make this happen I know some of the fanboys won't help but honestly we don't wanna have anything to do with them anyways........... This channel is one out of two or three channels I look forward two new videos coming out and enjoy every minute of the content pause if I can't fully pay attention or step away for a second while other channels just feel like every video is an ad about that particular thing that they're trying to sell me..............
It's your videos that caused me to leap into 3d resin printing. I'll keep buying g you coffee if you keep making these gems! ❤
Keep up the good work 6! These videos that are what break the norm and make our hobby continue to get better!
This video is helpful as you touched on some topics a lot of other channels have never mentioned. Thanks
This printer would be completely out of contention for any government, corporation, or school that have policies against sharing information with third parties.
This is basically consumer only printer, and only for suckers who are okay with getting locked into an ecosystem and not having control of their own products.
Actually, their main market is professional - architects and dental. It's like 1/4 the price of a Formlabs, which is also easy to use but closed.
I was really looking at this printer but the resin price is outrageous. Cheapest being 32 dollars for 1KG , or since i use alot of Sunlu ABS like resin which i can get for 40 bucks at 2kg where HeyGears abs like would be 130 bucks for 2kg
Thank you for making this video! For the life of me I don't know why any company things closed exclusive gardens are good business.
I'm not into mini's, however your channel has been absolutely necessary for me getting into SLA. With the detail you need for mini's, I feel mastering mini's makes the dimensional and strength needed is much easier after mastering the mini's. Then it becomes design issues that make resin hard.
Would never buy a printer that locks me into their system in this way.
Very true…that is why I got the Bambu X1C. I wanted high quality printing and speed so I can only worry about designing terrain for my channel without tinkering. When I feel or have time for tinkering..got my CR10.
Looks like HeyGears just posted an update about offering an offline version of Blueprint. "Blueprint Studio has a new mode coming!
As part of our software development roadmap, a Non-Login mode for Blueprint, which includes offline slicing functionality, is due to be ready by December 2024.
This Non-Login mode will feature capabilities that cover general usage when a network connection is not available and does not require an account registration or login."
This announcement makes it sound like the offline version of the slicer will be either vaporware (just an unfulfilled promise to drive sales now) or crippleware (an inferior version of the slicer designed to drive customers into eventually accepting the lock-in that comes with the online version). No thanks.
Can't believe this is the first time I'm hearing that you can only use the Hey Gears slicer with their printers. Thanks for letting me know. I think it's unacceptable for a peripheral to use a proprietary format to communicate a print job. Imagine having to use "Epson writer" to write and print a document on your Epson printer... No thanks.
As a fallback if HeyGears refuses to standardize alternative people with HeyGears printers could sniff their network packets try to reverse engineer the authentication.
Their slicer is one of the main reasons that people buy this printer. If you are not going to use their slicer, you would buy a low-cost printer because you would not be getting the benefit of their slicer.
Massive respect for this. Hopefully they respect you for making it
Finally someone that reviews this printer that doesn't make dumb illogical excuses for the closed resin system and must-be-connected software. No way I would buy such a machine to make functional parts that require high performance resins and internet-independent operation with access to all the printing parameters. Even a miniature printer person should not like this printer due to the limited resins.
3d printer that requires an internet connection, yeah nah, noone wants that, thanks for warning us this printer relies on a service
I’m totally behind you on this one! I would never buy a printer that I lost control over even before I would receive it.
Let's go! Or, I'm ready!
Like that, right? Nailed it...
Thanks for the honest review. I had seen a comment about the always online requirement but couldn't find more information. Knowing that the slicer has an always online requirement is a deal breaker for me, even moreso than the closed resin ecosystem. I hate not being able to use something without a connection to a server when that connection isn't providing any benefit to me over an offline equivalent.
At last a real honest review. There are so many tubers giving ‘reviews’ of new printers that are just sales videos for a new printer…fauxhammer comes to mind.. I just don’t trust that fella 👍
Jesus. I'm not buying any 3d printer with this ridiculous level of lockdown. Insane. Fuck this shit.
Lets go! Or, I'm ready! Something like that just to stoke the algorithm and help me get this out there.
I'm on the opposite end of the spectrum. I just like having access to all the awesome minis that are out there. I don't like customizing settings, experimenting with new resins, or troubleshooting failures. I just want to put in the resin and clean the minis when they are done.
And, for me, failures are that much of a pain. I have a Photon Mono X 4k I bought when they came out. I have had plenty of success on the machine, but I have spent more time fixing failures than anything else. Troubleshooting hardware, settings, and cleaning failures off the FEP sheet. There are plenty of machines out there with customizability and freedom to experiment. This printer isn't one of them, and it isn't intended to be.
For the price you pay, you get success and consistent sharpness of the miniatures you produce.
Critique the product for what it is and what it is intended for.
Thanks for being one of the few printer reviewers I've found who not only has the balls to say "this is arse" but *shows* why. 👍
Yeah there's no way in hell I'd even consider buying that printer with all the listed issues unless they were changed!
Thanks for continuing to call it as you see it. Not only calling out the limitations of a closed ecosystem, but also the gatekeepers of a hobby who make it sound intimidating and unapproachable for beginners.
Thanks for the information, I saw too many reviews conditioned by sponsorships... UP!🔥
Awesome video! It really helped with my hemming and hawing about this printer as the new hotness on the block
Wow. Lots of good thoughts here. Thanks for the unvarnished deep dive into this. And for naughty words.