I recently got the GK2 after the Black Friday sales, and it now comes with the WiFi dongle, as well as having the firmware updated. Oh and it now also comes with extra nFEPs. The prints are sharp as heck, and I hardly had to fiddle with the presets in Chitubox, apart from the exposure times.
Thank you so much for this review. I just opened my new GKTWO and as I pulled out the vat 3 small parts fell out. I discovered that 3 of the 4 vat clips had broken in transit/packing. I am so thankful for your review and for the files. Thankfully I have a Sonic Mini 4k that I can use to print out the clips, but I would have had a nightmare of a time had I not watched this video. Thank you so much.
Wow this was a very impressive follow up review so much I had to Sub. Being new to 3D printing and not knowing enough yet to make the move to a resin printer this is greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time and sharing.
Very fair assessment of this unit. I picked mine up the last week of May last year after my commercial unit kicked the bucket after 5 years of dutiful service. The GkTwo prints almost as well as that printer, but the quality of life bits are what sold me on it to begin with. I had my very first near-disaster ever last week while running back to back 22 hour prints. While being something of a power user, I also develop additives for photopolymer resins and had a new batch running on the first long print. I'd already had 148k layers run and evidently the vat film was a bit late on letting me know she was done, as it looked perfectly fine and wasn't showing any abnormal signs of wear. Pulled that print and found my vat had punched a hole in the pool, too. After a bit of a soak, I'd gotten the screen protector to a serviceable level while I looked vainly for the replacement that I had squirrelled away in my mess of manuals. Got everything ready for the next 'biggun', went to pour my resin in, and dag nabbit, I was so tired I forgot to put the vat back in. Nooooooo! I ended up buying a new protector set, vat film pack that was on order for quite the while (I normally buy my nFep by the roll, but this printer uses a bit thicker film I don't have on hand) and found those feet to be a bit of an issue like you did. Mine didn't break, but they are definitely a weak point. One other thing I've already been in contact with Uniformation with (ironically the very first print afterwards, they sent me a personal email to see how it was going) is implementing a molded-in pour spout into one corner of the vat. I still remember the first time I poured the excess out, thinking those back corner 'ears' would work best. Nope! In fact, I much prefer the front right corner now, as those back ears will let resin pour over the sides and spill Everywhere. Other than those bits, it's been the best printer of many that I've owned, price irrelevant. Wish the print plate size was bigger, but sectioning larger prints and in rare form, part stacking, has been effective for using All of that Z height. 😁
Brilliant review! I absolutely agree with you, long term use reviews are a must. How does a thing work after it has left the show room floor and the shiny new luster has worn off is something most reviewers don't do. You hit all the major points, the good, the bad, the ugly and most importantly; how does the company support its product after the sale. A good company can sell you a good product, but a great company sells you a good product and then supports you when things go awry.
It's certainly not a bad choice and even with the release of other printers I think this holds its own do I think it's the best printer on the market no .... but there is nothing wrong with the gk2
Absolutly important to see and hear a review after months of usage. Appreciate your effort. I own two of them since a couple of weeks now, and this machine is by far the most reliable and comfortable printer I have. I really don't get those big three companies, every month they release a new machine and the only thing they are interested in doin marketing with their resolution. All other parts seems even downgraded till today, when I think of cheap plastic bodies and VATs. The knob of my anycubic literaly dematerialized after a year. My only concerns are confirmes in your video, I think the hooks of the VAT are bit too loose, and it seems the Vat is pulled a bit up in while the Z arm is raising. I would prefer a screw system here, even when its not that comfy. And also want to mention the leveling system is the smartest I've seen, because you can finetune the corners of the builtplate individually, and that is just so smart, I know people find it fiddly, but I am so happy about it, when I compare it with Elegoo system, I wasnt able to have all 4 corners equally leveled on the Saturns.
Nice 6 month review. I'm still on the wall on this printer because of the price and the replacement parts (fep/screen protector). Also i've seen companies release an updated version months later which then peeves me off, so wil. Want to make surebthat uniformation dosen't abandons there previous release. Having said that, the world of wayne did an upgrade from 8 to 12k, so i like that idea as well.
Yeah did think about the 12k upgrade but honestly don't think the human eye can see any difference... Honestly a fantastic printer... The best out there imo
I totally agree with you about long term reviews. You've done these before and they are much appreciated. Initial impressions of a product might be great, then the gremlins start to appear and it turns out to be a dud, and vice versa. P.S. I've noticed you have empty shelf space. Well.....Don't just sit there!!! Stop reading this and get to filling it.🙂
I wish I had a similar experience to yours with the GKTWO. I've had this printer for only 4 weeks and I've had all of the same problems and more since day 1 of owning it, just recently the hinges on the lid broke off from the printer body making the lid unusable. I've printed something every day with this printer and haven't had a single successful print even with help from customer service. Needless to say I've been very disappointed with my purchase and I hope others don't have the same experience as I did.
I am really sorry to hear that and I am also a little surprised given my experience and others that I know who use the gk2 I guess you can always have a dodgy model are they going to replace this for you
@greedy3d480 One thing I will say is that their customer is top-notch. They aren't going to replace the printer, but they are sending me replacement parts so I can at least make some repairs.
Now I'm holding off to buy till you update if the parts fixed anything. Hopefully it not they'll replace it.. but the shipping costs on that thing must be astronomical which is probably why they don't want to do that.
Great vid, thank you! Looking at one of these as my first 3d printer, mainly for the ease of use most reviewers are saying it offers, and the heater (I'll be printing in the unheated garage).
Considering Uni provides the USB stick, why don't they include the file for the feet on the USB? That way the owner could print new feet and have them handy in case they need them. Considering they provided the download for free, it would cost them nothing, and would provide a better level of customer service for the owner of the machine.
When the hard drive gets full, you can use "data cleaning" which deletes all the files. It was a bit odd, because the first few times I tried it, it didn't do anything. Then I turned the printer on and off, and I used that feature, and it worked. I didn't have to delete each file 1 at a time.
Clicked on the video for the hot chicks and blistering rock n roll but stayed for the review! - after watching numerous out of the box reviews this was most welcome - thanks!
When purchasing this printer. They should just tell you to download a load of extra feet for the vat-plate as your test models so you have them ready for the day this potential problem may occur. Tbf this is a small gripe. Great 6 month review man, was looking get one of these as my first machine, now I am gonna dust off my wallet and splash some of my dust covered cash 🧐👊
Great video, just bought a GK2 and this was very informative. One question as I'm totally new to 3D printing, would filling the vat just to the top of the depression work to avoid spillage?
Great video thanks. I just got mine :) I am very new at 3D printing. I am a BJD doll artist and I will use the printer to print my doll. The doll has articulated joints and many tiny detailed parts. Could you kindly give me some advise on which slicer is best to use with the gktwo for this purpose? i would like to use one with beginner friendly futures such as automatic support adding options to make things easier for me thank you so much
I'm in the market for a 3D printer. I can now buy the Saturn 3 Ultra for $450 in the US. It includes wireless printing (also saving to internal memory first), a metal body, a ballscrew and has a large build volume. Aside from this being a small company and potential problems with spare parts, I am concerned about support from third party software vendors like slicer software and also resin vendors providing preconfigured settings. The sliding vat is maybe convenient, but I would be concerned that it introduces a moving part. At twice the price this is a hard sell.
i have a bambu p1s which i love! my first printer. i just want to get a resin printer to print models to paint like once a month. this printer is a tad too expensive for my needs where i could get a saturn 4 for 1/3 the price and accomplish what i need .
No vat heater fitted as standard on the S4 so if your not printing in in cold temps lots to choose from... However if you are printing in cold temps I recommend heated vat machine
Hi I have a question what type of oil or grease do you use for the metal rod that lifts the build plate? Mine is starting to make noise and needs oiling.
If you do a like by like comparison the hey gears is more polished does give out excellent results what let's it down is its use of proprietary resins only and lack of exposure adjustment and no ability to use third party slicer software whereby the gk2 is an all-rounder. Is high gears fixed those problems in my opinion it would be a better 3D printer
Hi there, I am another UK owner of the GKTwo. I bought it at release but for a number of reasons only unboxed it last week. This has annoyed my brother to no end as I have had one of the best resin printers around just sat unboxed for many months now whilst he has been battling on with his Saturn. My intent is to mostly print miniatures but I do also want to print a few larger multi part models. One thing I have realised is that it's very hard it seems to get Uniformation Resin in the UK. Do you have a preferred Resin brand and type that you use when printing smaller models vs the big chunky stuff on the GKTwo? Would be curious to know which if you do and also what settings you have on things like exposure etc? I picked up some Sunlu ABS type to get me going but given your extensive use of the printer am keen to hear your thoughts on Resins, thanks in advance and really appreciated your perspective on the printer itself.
I really like Jamghe plus resin... Sunlu is good and cheap but a bit brittle... Jayu is good but same as Sunlu.. Same company different name... Depends What you want... If you want cheap sunlu... But drop the model and it's bye bye lol. Aceaddity is also good stuff .. I feel paying a bit more guatentees results... Saving a free quid may not always be the best thing.. Do exposure tests whatever resin you get is my advice 👍
I have a gk2 and all the upgrades are nice, but the saturn 2 prints just as good just doesn't have the rest of the upgrades. Honestly if the saturn 2 had a built in heater I probably would have chose that. The dialing in on the gk2 is a nightmare. I think I literally printed 40 exposure tests, vs saturn 2 of maybe 6.
@Vostoceq much larger? No, I actually don't even think it's larger but if it is I didn't notice. I had them side by side at one point. The flip top lid is very convenient though.
@greedy3d480 so the issue I was having is when I would put it at say 1.2, then I went up because it didn't look good, and every time I would go up it got worse, then I was like ok, it's needs to go below 1.2 and it was still bad. No matter what I did it just looked all bad. So I had to adjust not only lift speeds but the pausing when it hit the vat. I think my pausing is at either 2 or 3 seconds in between. Right now that's the best I can do it. I compared saturn 2 prints vs gk2 and I'm happy to say the gk2 can just about print the level of detail the saturn 2 can do. The built in heater is the main reason I kept it.
I have two of these printers and on mine there is a “clear hard drive” button. It wipes the whole thing. My only complaint is I usually have to power the machine off and then back on again for it to show.
Thanks for the video, mine arrive tomorrow and i have a lot of expectations. About the fep, its not possible to use other brands nfep maybe less expensive?
Greedy I have a dilemma, I want to replace my elegoo saturn 8k, I don't know if to get the uniformation or wait for the elegoo saturn 4 ultra which seems to be getting some praise for the tilt vat. Your thoughts if you were in my position.
For me the gk2 has been a great machine print after print,consistent and reliable with a built in vat heater from the go...that's my choice ...but I'm sure others may disagree......🤔
I had so many fails with my Elegoo Saturn 2. It still doesn't work right even after sanding-down the back of the vat to reduce the air-gap. Damn thing was a nuisance from day 1. I bought my GK Two secondhand for £450; I took a bit of a gamble on throwing good money after bad, but so far it's been a good investment. I would not buy a lesser printer now that I've gotten used to the GK Two, it's just so much less hassle than my crappy Saturn 2. That said, there's probably a lot of people who never had a single fail on their Saturns.
@@greedy3d480 Ive put my money down on the GK2 ,I went to 3Djakes website and they have just started a 10% off summer deal so picked one up for £629 with free delivery.I,ll be glad to retire my saturn 8k it has been hit and miss with printing results since i had to change the origonal fep.Out of curiosity what exposure setting do you use with sunlu standard gray with the GK2?
@@greedy3d480 If you were building a small farm, which printer would you choose for reliability? I have 4 anycubic machines and seem to spend more time troubleshooting than printing.
I’m sure its a great machine. I just think it’s overpriced for what it is. And nobody in any of the printing fb groups, I’m in, has one. So I think it has basically the 3D printing youtube channel market. Except for Uncle Jesse. 😅
I own a print farm and have 2 of these machines, they print exactly the same quality and speed as any other 10 inch printer brand. If you want to spend 3x the amount on a printer for absolutely no reason then go ahead and waste your money. The heater in the unit does not pre-heat the resin. The vat securing system is a POS it allows the vat to move and the retaining clips require constant replacement. I am on my third heater already and parts are virtually non existant and it take months to recieve them. The hinges on the flip hood are flimsy as Fuck and will break. The clip on the build plate becomes loose over time and only way to fix it is by replacing the whole plate. Both screens have dead pixels after nearly 8 months of use, and parts are 4 x more expensive than Elegoo. While these printers may be ok for a hobbiest they simply are not worth the price , even if they were the same price as a Saturn 3 I still wouldn't buy one.
@@greedy3d480 wait till it has a few hours under its belt and if its amazing the saturn and every other brand for a 1/3 of the cost will be amazing as well
@@greedy3d480 yeah wait until you get about 5000 hrs on the machine and you will see they are not built to last I have saturn 8k's that have over 15000 hrs on them and saturn 3's with 6000 hrs and still no problems. Both GKtwo's have cost more in repairs than a brand new saturn machine. Example a screen for a GKtwo is au$450 for a saturn its au$90. A 3 pack of FEP is $90 compared to a 5 pack for the saturn at less than $50. The Vat hold down system is a joke. Even with brand new metal clips the vat will eventually move around. I had to modify both units and vats to use hold down screws. Simply put they are not worth 3 x the price of any competitors machine.
