Longer 3D has a considerable upgrade if you are an Orange 10 user, the Orange 30!
Introduction and Assembly
Previously I wrote about the Longer Orange 10 in an article about 3D printing my family, so when I was given the opportunity to review its bigger and more resolute brother, the Longer Orange 30, I jumped at the chance.
Like the Orange 10, the Orange 30 came quickly through Amazon and was packed safely and efficiently. Building the Orange 30 was also as easy as building the Orange 10. It took me roughly 30 minutes from the box to print, which is phenomenal. Most of that time was pealing the safety paper off the lid, which comes in 5 pieces. This is probably the single most frustrating thing about the entire build and may drive some people mad getting it accomplished. Seriously, I am not overselling how frustrating it is. The rest of the assembly consists mostly of removing some foam attached to the pieces, attaching the build plate, and leveling the bed.
Being on the Level
If you have an FDM 3D printer, you have probably spent hours on bed leveling and have had to make many adjustments to get that perfect first layer. Leveling the bed on the Orange 30 is a dream. You take off the resin vat, cover the screen with two playing cards (which are provided), loosen 4 bolts, lower the bed onto the cards, then tighten the bolts, and voila!!! It takes a whole two minutes to level the bed! Even better than that, I have not had to re-level since my initial setup.
What Is the Difference?
So you may be wondering why I would be excited with a Longer Orange 30 vs. the Longer Orange 10 that I already own. Let us look at how the 30 has some very distinct advantages:
- The Orange 10 print size is 98mm/55mm/140mm. The Orange 30’s is 120mm/68mm/170. Many of you may think that is not much of an advantage, but based on all of the 3D models I have printed with both printers an extra 20mm here and there feels like miles. The Orange 10 limits you to minis, jewelry, and a few other things you have to break up into pieces, whereas the Orange 30 can handle busts, terrain, and much larger pieces. That will save you a lot of time and grief having to figure out how to cut them up in editing software.
- Resolution is another major upgrade in the Orange 30. The resolution in the Orange 10 is 854×480, while the Orange 30 is a whopping 2560×1440. This will make your prints far sharper and give them magnificent detail.
- Both offer an off-line connection, but the 10 uses a micro SD slot (which will turn your dark hair white trying to fit it in) whereas the 30 has a traditional USB slot and comes with a flash drive (which will keep you young and healthy).
Giving It a Go!
I decided that for my first print with Longer Orange 30 I would use the same model that I used for my initial Orange 10 test, the Skeleton Storm Trooper. I don’t mind printing this model over and over again because it is A) cool and B) a little Imperial gift my friends seem to adore.
For the test, I used the Elegoo Mars grey resin that comes in at an amazing $17.99 for a 500ml bottle! The Elegoo Mars standard grey resin has been praised on every forum and discussion board that I have either read, watched, or listened too, so you can’t go wrong.
To be fair, the Longer resin works just as good, but is a bit pricier and is currently unavailable.
The print lasted roughly two hours and the supports were already on the model, so things went rather smoothly.
When I began to print my own models some problems did pop up.
- I had a lot of issues with models stuck to the FEP film, which is strange because my Orange 10 has yet to be in need of a change. I burnt through both FEP films included with the machine.
- I also had a myriad of support issues so I switched to doing my supports in Prusa slicer, which allows you to set the optimal angle on your print and then set great supports.
- So take this information on with caution
Final Thoughts and Recommendation
Coming in at $254.99, the Longer Orange 30 may offer the best value to quality ratio in its class. The bed size and resolution have a lot to do with that. You need detail and volume in a 3D printer, and this has both for under $300. That is why I recommend it, along with its almost foolproof and quick assembly. If you are looking into getting into resin 3D printing, the Longer Orange 30 may be the right machine for you!
A sample of the Longer Orange 30 was made available by the manufacturer. The views expressed in this review are my own and not that of the manufacturer or the editorial board.
Thank you very much Ricardo … I am pretty much convinced that the Orange 30 will be my first 3d printer … I just need to make sure to purchase extra FEP Film