Elegoo Jupiter SE printer review

We’ve been 3D printing for a while now and had some success with our version of a MOLLE phone holder. However the vast majority of Airsoft printed parts are big so you’ll need a big machine, but it is not as expensive or difficult to master as you might have thought.

Stereolithography printers, usually referred to as “SLA printers” have many advantages over other types of 3D printers, including their use of liquid resins as raw materials. The process is fascinating. Following a computer-generated pattern, an SLA printer aims a UV laser at select points in the liquid resin. This light cures just the targeted point, solidifying it.

Three-dimensional (3D) printing is an additive computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) process that constructs objects by binding and solidifying the material with which the object is made. Unlike subtractive construction methods that remove unwanted material or substrate to reveal the final piece, 3D printing fabricates the object by assembling it bit by bit. Resin 3D printing is a type of 3D printing that assembles objects from liquid resin.

The type of resin fabricators use to create a 3D object depends on several factors including the intended use of the item and the level of detail desired for the finished object. Although there are several resin types that include standard SLA resin for our industry there are only really two choices –

ABS-like SLA resins: ABS-like SLA resins are stiffer and harder, yet less brittle than standard resins, and are the resin of choice for many professional-grade and industrial uses. This resin is called ABS-like because it emulates many of the properties of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) plastic, which is a type of thermoplastic polymer. ABS is a popular filament material for FDM 3D printing. ABS-like SLA resins are notable for producing objects with clean, detailed surfaces and good impact resistance.

Tough SLA resins: Tough SLA resins, as you might have guessed, are formulated for resiliency. These resins are suitable for building prototypes that will need to undergo repeated stress testing and for parts that will be exposed to lots of action once put into use. Some resin manufacturers classify their ABS-like resins as tough resins. Other manufacturers offer separate resins with differing degrees of durability and strength.

Putting the meat on the bones

To allow any 3d printer to produce a 3d printed object you’re going to need a file that talks to the machine and produces the desired end result. Put simply you’re going to need what’s known as an STL file. These files are typically created by a computer-aided design (CAD) program as an end product of the 3D modelling process, but don’t worry as there are enough free airsoft files on there on the web to choose from.

Go Big or go home!
The Jupiter SE is a large resin printer, with a build volume of 277.848×156.264x300mm. It boasts a 12.8 inch 6k mono LCD for exposure, linear rails, a built in air purifier and a built in automatic resin feeding system, which to be completely honest with you- we could never get to work, that that in its self is no big issue as the Resin vat on this machine holds an entire bottle of resin, which aquates to  1000ml or 1 litre.

Unlike other resin printers There really isn’t much to the setup on this machine. Simply pull the machine out of its box, which is easier said than done due to its ample packaging and your almost good to go The air purifier and automatic resin pump are both add-ons that simply slide in to place using a USB interface, but if you opt for water based resin products you can ditch the air purifier.

The only thing you really need to do is to set the initial z-height. Like any resin printer, you’re going to want to do this immediately. It’s the usual simple process of loosening screws that hold the print bed in place, placing the levelling spacer over the LCD screen, homing the print bed then tightening the screws and hitting the button to set the initial height. We’re not going to say that its “childs play” but it is a really simple process

Like any other Elegoo resin printer, this thing just works. It isn’t a complicated system, so there isn’t a ton to talk about , it really is care free printing at its finest

The laser etched bed holds the prints fine and the quality is stunning. We’re not sure how well the air filter performed as it was surplus to requirement, but if the ease of use of the main printer is anything to go by then its going to work just fine.

Playing around
Although we didn’t install the automatic resin pump. We  played with it quite a bit. It was pretty cool how you could just screw in a bottle of resin and it would automatically dispense enough to keep the vat topped up  This seems like it would be invaluable if you were doing really large prints that consumed more than a single vat of resin, but that’s going to be a bit ambitious for your initial prints.
The removable hood of the machine is worth mentioning, just like the bas if huge and a bit pointless ( if you are using water based resin) so its sitting under the board room table for now. Which is the only real down side to this machine, We can’t express how simple it is to get up and running,

Features
12.8-Inch 6K Mono LCD, 51um XY resolution

Build volume of 277.848 x 156.264 x 300 mm³

Automatic resin feeding and recycling

With a 4-point leveling system

Upgraded USB Air Purifier

Price £562
www.elegoo.com