Over two years ago, VogMan first encountered one of Phrozen's most daring innovations—the Sonic Mini 8K. Since then, he has reviewed dozens of 3D printers from various brands, yet he still recalls the Sonic Mini 8K as the most enjoyable printer review he has ever done.
The Sonic Mini 8K is the first printer in the world to attain 22 micron XY resolution, and after years, it's still one of the highest resolutions in the consumer 3D printer market. According to VogMan, it was indeed the golden days of Phrozen.
Just a few weeks ago, VogMan received his Sonic Mighty Revo, and it has since become his new favorite printer and the main go-to in his workshop. Sitting next to the Revo is the Cure Mega S, his go-to post-curing station.
Launched earlier this year, the Sonic Mighty Revo is Phrozen's take on the new 14K resolution 3D printers. Packaged with various smart sensors and new patented 3D printing technologies, it's a new generation of 3D printers to enhance your 3D printing experience.
Want to know more about this smart printer and why it immediately stole VogMan's heart?
Keep on reading!
Like Always, a Premium High-Quality Built
Unlike all its predecessors, the Sonic Mighty Revo comes in a premium, full-colored box. VogMan highlighted that it was indeed a gorgeous box and got him excited.
Unpacked, the new 14K resolution printer is a stunning machine. The full metal body exudes the same sense of quality that Phrozen has since instilled in its customers, while the flip-up lid has since grown on Geoff with its space-saving benefit, which gives you plenty of access to the printer. Best of all, you won't get the lid all sticky from removing and installing it with resin-wet hands.
The accessories box makes you feel like you are receiving something extra special. Along with all the usual 3D printing tools that you'll receive with any other Phrozen 3D printer, the Sonic Mighty Revo accessories box also includes a Phrozen Air Purifier that you can plug into your printer with a USB adapter.
The 5-inch large horizontal touch panel comfortably accesses the menu screen. The UI is easy to understand, with responsive features like sliders. Geoff noted that it might take a while to know where every setting is located, but once you get familiar with it, it's a seamless operation.
The printer's USB port is on the front side, while the power switch and the port to connect the Pump & Fill are on the printer's back. Nearby, you can find a removable panel to vent the resin fumes outside.
Inside the lid, the building plate is all metal with a 4-point adjustment screw for extra fine-tuning, attached firmly to the arm of the printer with a large thumb knob. Etched with the same design you can find in other Mighties, it ensures all your 3D models will attach firmly during prints.
Sitting gently on top of the 14K resolution screen, the metal resin vat utilizes the nFEP film for maximum clarity and four tiny legs on the bottom side of each corner for easy placement of the resin vat.
4 Exciting Built-In Features You Shouldn't Miss
VogMan mentioned that while some features in other brands often feel like an afterthought that is added way after, he loves how the extra features in the Revo are integrated directly into the printer like they were carefully planned from the start.
Let's check out the features:
Built-In Heater
The Revo's back right corner features an integrated built-in heater that can be controlled directly from the user interface on the menu screen. Taking advantage of the built-in heater, the Revo has a pre-heating function to warm up your printer to the optimum temperature to start printing, which you can enable through the menu.
Interior Light
Learning from the Sonic Mighty 8K, the Revo features a built-in interior light. Positioned on the left side of the printer, you can control it by the menu screen. It'll also turn on when you are taking pictures from your Phrozen GO app, ensuring that you'll always be able to see your printing conditions from Phrozen GO or other slicer software, even in a darker room.
Built-In Adjustable Camera
Of course, it wouldn't be possible without the camera. The camera on the Revo is magnetic and adjustable, so you can place it anywhere you want in the printer's metal body. Connect it through the app, and you can simply monitor the progress of your prints and even record it into a video to share it with others.
1-Minute Easy Screen Replacement
Historically, replacing an LCD screen in your 3D printer requires you to unbolt the body. The Revo offers a quick-change screen option that will only take about a minute to replace. It's a neat and easy way, without the need to dismantle he whole printer. According to Geoff, it's certainly a feature that will certainly benefit print farms in particular.
High-Resolution 14K 3D Printer
The Sonic Mighty Revo carries the new 14K resolution screen, but is it better than the 12K? VogMan personally prefers the 14K.
From his observation and comparison, he found 3D models printed with the 14K to be smoother than those printed with 12K.
For his test print, he started with his go-to —the Ameralab Town Test Print. He compared the result from his Revo with the one printed on his Sonic Mini 8K. He used the Aqua-Gray 8K with the same settings for both tests to remove other variability.
VogMan mentioned that the results on the Revo are smoother than the 8K with more details. For this, the 14K is easily a winner for him.
A Smart 3D Printer With Smart Features
Different from other 14K printers in his class, the Revo features a patented smart sensor and auto-leveled building plate.
The smart sensor offers a residue detection and failure detection system, notifying you when there are abnormalities in your prints. When connected to Phrozen GO, it'll send a real-time notification to your phone with the option to stop printing. However, if you are not a fan of the features, you can turn them off on the menu screen. In VogMan's words, 'the intelligent functions can be turned off if you fancy an unintelligent printer.'
While the build-plate is pre-leveled with the auto-leveling option, it still keeps the 4 screws on the build-plate if you ever want some precise fine-tuning, ultimately giving you the freedom to do it your way.
New Kid on the Block Turns a Favorite
Now that you've heard about all the main features of the Revo, the final question is: Should you get this new 3D printer?
VogMan personally really likes the Revo. He thinks it's the best printer Phrozen has produced since the Sonic Mini 8K, and he was excited to see Phrozen back in the game with its innovation.
He acknowledges that you could also find the features available in Revo in other sprinters. Still, he thinks Phrozen has done an excellent job of integrating all these mighty features into a coherent quality package that is the Sonic Mighty Revo.
It has a higher price point, but it's very well integrated, with obvious printer quality and excellent prints. In fact, VogMan loves it so much that it has since become the first option in his mid-range printer recommendation on his website. After all, he claims that the printer is designed not to disappoint, which it certainly hasn't!
Are you interested in learning more about the Revo? Visit the Sonic Mighty Revo page to learn more about all the little details on the printer!
