In this Nova3D Bene4 Mono review, we look at an overview of the unit, it’s specs, features, quality of print, and more. Should you buy this 3D printer? Read on to find out.Nova3D Bene4 Mono
is a low-cost resin 3D printer boasting of fast high quality printing. The unit features a monochrome LCD matrix with a resolution of 2K (2560 x 1620 px). This is a quality, user-friendly printer with a well thought out design and that is easy to work with.
However, it also has some drawbacks. Read our review to find out more.
SEE PRICE ON AMAZON | 3DPRINTERONLINESTORE
Technical Specifications
General Specs
| Technology | LCD |
| Year | 2020 |
| Assembly | Fully assembled |
| Manufacturer | Nova3D |
| Country | China |
3D Printing Properties
| Build Volume | 130 x 80 x 150 mm |
| Layer Height | 10+ microns |
| XY Resolution | 50 microns (2560 x 1620 pixels) |
| Z-axis positioning accuracy | 0.01 mm |
| Printing Speed | 30-40 mm/h |
| Bed-Leveling | Semi-automatic |
| Display | 4.3-inch touchscreen |
| Third-Party Materials | Yes |
| Materials | 405 nm UV resin |
Software Requirements
| Recommended Slicer | NovaMaker |
| Operating system | Windows 7 or above/ macOS X |
| File types | STL |
| Connectivity | USB, WiFi |
Dimensions & Weight
| Frame dimensions | 240 x 250 x 430 mm |
| Weight | ~9.5 kg |
| Boxed size | 365 x 280 x 481 |
| Weight (packed) | ~11.5 kg |
Nova3D Bene4 Mono Review
is equipped with a 4.3-inch touch screen control that is easy to operate. Along with the options to manually move the calibration platform, the OSD can be used to start printing models from a USB stick or from the printer’s 8GB internal memory.
Strictly speaking, printing occurs from the internal memory. The printer transfers the file received from USB or via Wi-Fi to its memory and then prints from there. This helps to prevent possible failures due to the source.
You can also use this menu to connect the printer to your network, and control the unit via Wi-Fi.
During operation, the printer screen displays the remaining print time and an image of the layer currently being printed.
What’s in the Box?
requires careful preparation and availability of everything you will need. Nova3D ships the Bene4 Mono with a basic set of tools. However, there are other items you will need to buy.
For example, there are several pairs of high quality disposable nitrile gloves in the kit. There are also funnels in the set for draining the polymer from the bathroom back into the bottle. These funnels are not of high quality and will not last long.
In addition to photopolymer resin, the print material, you will need isopropyl alcohol to rinse your finished prints. The manufacturer-supplied aerosol can will not help you here. Rinsing the printed parts requires a container and enough alcohol to completely submerge the part for cleaning.
The plastic scraper supplied by the manufacturer is ideal for cleaning the FEP film of the bath bottom. There is no metal spatula for removing a part from the platform. In addition to a spatula and additional gloves, it would be good to also purchase protective goggles in case of splashes of the photopolymer or solvent. We also recommend you buy additional funnels for draining the polymer.
Finally, you will need a way to secure your printed models. The resin does not completely harden during printin. Therefore, any photopolymer prints require additional UV illumination to bake. This procedure takes several hours.
If you live in a sunny place, you can leave the items in direct sunlight. If there is no stable source of ultraviolet light, you need to buy a UV camera such as the Wanhao Boxman Curing Chamber, Anycubic Wash and Cure Machine, or the Phrozen Luna Curing Station .
CHECK PRICE ON PHROZEN
Nova3D also includes a spare FEP film in the kit. The film may have to be replaced at any time because it can be easily damaged if handled carelessly. Replacing is easy and can be done using the included hex wrench.
Regardless of which resin 3D printer you choose, resin printing is not for the faint of heart. If you’re new to 3D printing or sharing your space with kids, it’s best to start with the more traditional FDM printer.
Bene4 Mono Design
At first glance, the Bene4 Mono looks just like any other desktop photopolymer LCD printer. It has a metal body, touch screen control, LCD matrix and resin bathtub, vertical stand with rails and platform. There is nothing out of the ordinary.
However, there are some distinctive features of the printer that you should know about. These include:
Hinged Cap
The cover for protecting the polymer from external light is fixed on a strong hinge. This means that you do not have to remove it completely and look for somewhere to put it every time you need access to the inside.
Platform with Four Adjusting Screws
Four adjusting screws are needed to calibrate the platform. This is a simple and straightforward solution, instead of two screws and a hinge that are found on similar printers.
Bathroom Feet for Resin
There are four small feet at the bottom of the bathtub to help position it correctly. When you need to remove the remaining polymer, you can take out the bath and place it on a horizontal surface, 3D printer table or workbench.
The legs protect the FEP film from contact with the surface, contamination and damage.
Nova3D Test Prints
The printer ships with a USB stick containing two pre-cut test patterns. One is an octopus while the other is a Nova3D logo. The whole octopus is printed, although each tentacle can be detached and reattached. The Nova3D logo is a complex geometry shape.
Monochrome screens provide faster printing, letting in more UV light than older color LCD screens,. Moreover, they have a longer lifespan. This is a significant improvement over the previous generation of printers. However, it can hardly be called an outstanding feature since more manufacturers are switching to monochrome matrices.
The print quality is excellent. However, this is also the norm with resin 3D printers under $500. There are no resin 3D printers with poor print quality.
Print Quality
Below are some 3D models made using the Nova3D Bene4 3D printer.
Figurine of a Man
Bene4 Mono’s printed models are accurate enough to be used in prototypes. You can print a part to check everything.
- XY-resolution: 45 microns
- Printing time: 1 hour.
Phone Prototype
After completing the modeling of the mobile phone case, we took only two hours to create the samples and get the customer’s approval.
- XY resolution: 45 microns
- Printing time: 2 hours.
Custom Headphones Charger
The custom wireless headphone charger case is designed to accommodate a larger battery. Each part must have extremely accurate dimensions or else the product cannot be assembled.
- XY resolution: 45 microns
- Printing time: 3 hours.
Advantages of the Nova3D Bene4 Mono 3D Printer
1. Engineered for Accurate Prototyping
The Nova3D Bene4 3D printer’s 2K sensor provides smoother flat surfaces and finer detail than previous 1080P sensors. The difference between 1920 x 1080 and 2560 x 1620 pixels is obvious.
2. Long service life of the light source
A monochrome LCD flare has a longer life than a color one and is more stable over long print runs.
3. Printing twice as fast
The monochrome screen is brighter and gives more light. This reduces the exposure time of the layer to 1.5-1.8 seconds, giving a print speed of up to 60 mm/h. This is 2x faster than color matrix printers.
4. More uniform illumination
The 3D printer uses a 3rd generation light source. With this light source, ight uniformity increased by 10%, print size tolerance is ± 0.05mm.
Disadvantages of Bene4 Mono
1. Rear USB port
The form factor of a desktop photopolymer 3D printer has been worked out by many manufacturers. In terms of convenience, working with Bene4 Mono is as simple as working with similar printers.
The only design flaw is the location of the USB storage socket, which is located on the rear panel next to the power and Ethernet connectors. This inconvenient location can be annoying if you use USB often. However, you don’t have to use it. It is much more convenient to transfer files for printing over a local network, via cable or Wi-Fi.
2. Proprietary NovaMaker software
Since its release, the only official application to work with this printer has been the proprietary NovaMaker slicer.
Almost all photopolymer printers use Chitubox for slicing. This 3D printing slicer is constantly updated, is well known to the public and has a strong community behind it. That means you can easily find tutorials and tips on YouTube and forums.
Bene4 Mono does not officially support Chitubox. There is an unofficial add-on you can install for Chitubox to work with .cws files, but it is unstable.
The only third party slicer that works with the Nova3D file format – .cws – is Lychee. Perhaps this format will appear in other programs, but this is not certain.
NovaMaker does its job well, but lacks many of the features that are available in popular slicers with good community support. For example, you cannot create hollow models in it. Moreover, there are fewer possibilities when adding supports.
NovaMaker has received several significant updates in recent months. Also, where there is an unofficial plugin for Chitubox that adds support for the .cws slicer files that the printer accepts, it is prone to breakage and does not work during checkout.
Alternatively, you can use other software to prepare your models and then import the .stl into NovaMaker for printing.
If you import a raw model and try to prepare it for printing in NovaMaker, the quality of the result is not guaranteed.
The software’s built-in printer management and network print-to-print functions work flawlessly.
Nova3D Bene4 Mono Review: Should You Buy?
The Nova3D Bene4 Mono is an easy-to-use printer that produces excellent quality models at high speed. The printer is at par with competing models from other manufacturers in terms of performance.
However, it might be worth waiting for the NovaMaker software to improve or the manufacturer adds stable Chitubox support.
SEE PRICE ON AMAZON | 3DPRINTERONLINESTORE
