Anycubic, the established 3D printer brand known for its high-quality and affordable printers, is coming to Kickstarter with the first affordable, high-precision DLP 3D printer for consumers.

DLP printers are superior to LCD based 3D printers in printing small, highly detailed models, but have always been more expensive, until now. The Anycubic Photon Ultra features a new DLP technology exclusively developed by the company Texas Instruments. This unique tech offers many advantages to users, including: low-to-no maintenance, extremely high-resolution prints, and much lower power consumption.

The Anycubic Photon Ultra is making its worldwide debut on the crowdfunding website Kickstarter on September 14th, where it will be available at a discounted price of $399 for early backers, before ultimately retailing for $599 once the campaign is over.

Anycubic Photon Ultra: Even Closer to Reality

Anycubic’s expansive 3D printer line has proven to be incredibly popular with DIY enthusiasts, makers, artists and designers since the introduction of its first FDM printer, Anycubic i3 Mega. Despite the excitement users got from these early printers, the quality and resolution of prints remained an issue. To give people the creative freedom they needed and quality they deserved, Anycubic developed the Photon, its first desktop LCD printer with a 2K screen and a resolution of 50 microns, back in 2017.

The Anycubic Photon series quickly became a staple in every maker’s tool kit, but the biggest drawbacks were the short service life of LCD screens and the small print size. That’s why we’re incredibly excited to introduce the next revolution in desktop DLP 3D printing.

Most DLP 3D printers produced today are expensive industrial printers, unaffordable and impractical for home use. The cheapest DLP printers on the market right now cost thousands of dollars, leaving many creators unable to realize their ideas with this next-level technology. The new Anycubic Photon Ultra shatters these barriers, unleashing a revolution at the intersection of creativity and technology. Now, anyone can enjoy the precision, details and durability that DLP printers offer, but at a price that’s more affordable than ever before.

How Did We Get Here?

We challenged ourselves with an ambitious target to produce a world-class machine for consumers that is priced below $1000. This was not an easy thing to do, especially with the rising cost of electronics and chips caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, together with our partner Texas Instruments, we settled on a new chipset and optical engine that delivers exceptionally high details at a surprisingly low cost.

To support independent creators across the world, we are launching our first ever Kickstarter campaign. We will offer the Photon Ultra at a price that leaves us with close to zero profit, in an effort to keep costs low for 3D printing enthusiasts everywhere.

Another way we kept costs down was by using a similar structural design found in our LCD 3D printers, so we could focus our R&D efforts on the unique optics engine instead of the external frame. Currently, there are no DLP 3D printers on the desktop market, and only LCD printers somewhat compare to this technology. However, compared to LCD printers, we firmly believe DLP printing has many clear advantages, and will serve as the next generation of mainstream resin 3D printers at home and for small businesses.

Anycubic Photon Ultra: Features and Benefits

High-resolution printing

Although Photon Ultra’s resolution is DLP720P, its print quality is even better than 3D printers with 2k/4k monochrome LCD screens. This is because DLP printers use a different technology to project light compared to LCD printers. DLP printers use a projector that reflects all the light to a pixel via a nano mirror, therefore, there is no light convergence, achieving crisper black-white contrasts.

LCD printers converge all generated light to a pixel, which can cause bumps and shadows on the edge of 3D printed models. When displaying thin lines and small-size texts, DLP printers are clearer than LCD printers with purer colors and richer layers, resulting in more delicate texture and sharper corners on final models.

Longer durability

Most LCD screens need to be replaced every 3 to 5 months. The Anycubic Photon Ultra does not have an LCD screen and the internal projector doesn’t require maintenance for up to 20,000 hours of use. This means the average user saves $200-$800 per year on LCD screen replacements alone. With our special Kickstarter price of $399, most people will have saved more money than they spent on LCD screen replacements after just six months of use!

Energy saving

The fact that the Anycubic Photon Ultra doesn’t require high maintenance LCD screens is already a major step forward in creating a more environmentally friendly 3D printer. The machine is also much more energy efficient, further improving its impact on the environment.

The Photon Ultra DLP printer operates at 40% light efficiency, which is 15 times higher than the 2.5-3% that most LCD printers usually operate at. It uses far less energy and is rated at 12W with an average power consumption of 8.5W. The printer consumes between 0.017 – 0.034 kWh to print a 100mm high model.

Whisper quiet printing

Lower power consumption equals less heat, which means the Anycubic Photon Ultra doesn’t need any cooling fans, making it truly whisper quiet.

Smooth edges

With 16 x anti-aliasing, the edges and corners of prints are smoothed out, reducing layer lines and post-processing time.

Fast print speed

Anycubic Photon Ultra’s print speed is about 1.5 seconds per layer, comparable to LCD printers like Anycubic Photon Mono X, whose speed is 1.5 – 2 seconds per layer. Compared to SLA 3D printing technology, its speed of the Photon Ultra is up to 5 times faster.

Wide range of resin options

This new 3D printer also has options for adjustable UV power, which makes it suitable for use with a wide range of resins, giving users endless possibilities and creative freedom.

Note: Anycubic recommends using DLP specific resins for the best results.

Better adhesion

The print bed has been laser engraved for enhanced platform adhesion and evenness, ensuring prints have a higher success rate.

User friendly interface

The Photon Ultra allows print settings to be adjusted directly on the printer via the color touch screen, making it easier to adjust and optimize without a computer.

Anycubic Photon Ultra Specs

System: ANYCUBIC Photon Ultra
Operation: 2.8-inch resistive touch screen
Slicing software: ANYCUBIC Photon workshop
Connection mode: USB

Print specifications

Printing technology: DLP (Digital Light Processing)
Light source configuration: UV LED (wavelength 405 nm)
Resolution: 1280 * 720 (720 P)
XY axis precision: 80 um (0.080 mm)
Z axis precision: 0.01 mm
Layer thickness: 0.01 ~ 0.15 mm
Print speed: 1.5S / layer
Rated power: 12 W

Physical parameters

Printers size: 222 mm (L) * 227 mm (W) * 383 mm (H)
Build volume: 102.4 mm (L) * 57.6 mm (W) * 165mm (H)
Net weight: ~ 4kg

Anycubic Photon Ultra: The Latest Kickstarter Special

Anycubic Photon Ultra is launching on Kickstarter on September 14th, 2021, where it will be available worldwide for pre-order at just $399. We are using crowdfunding to match the innovative spirit of our customers, who are trailblazers in this incredibly creative community that is always embracing the new. Our campaign will last for approximately one month, during which we’ll offer various benefits, discounts and special promotions to our early supporters.

After Kickstarter, campaign backers will be the first in the world to receive their Photon Ultra, and later in the year it will become available via the regular Anycubic distribution channels at a slightly higher price of $599.

Click here for more information.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/anycubic-official/photon-ultra?ref=6i4rdg)

About Anycubic

Anycubic is a leading company in the 3D printer industry, specializing in 3D printer R&D, manufacturing and sales. We provide many affordable, high-performance and smart printers for different kinds of customers, consumers, hobbyists, schools and product designers. Since its establishment in 2015, we have been committed to propelling 3D printing technology so as to enable people from all walks of life to unleash their creativity and turn their imagination into reality.