The Phrozen Sonic XL is an affordable professional SLA printer that boasts a large build volume and accurate prints. Read our Phrozen Sonic XL 4K review to find out the specs, features, quality of print and price of this resin 3D printer.
About Phrozen
Phrozen is a 3D printer manufacturer based in Taiwan. The company gained global recognition in 2016 through a Kickstarter fundraising campaign for building an affordable resin 3D printer.
Since then, the company has produced a line of Phrozen SLA 3D printers that produce high-quality prints and are significantly affordable to the home consumer.
The success of the company has led it to innovate and manufacture 3D printers for additive manufacturing in diverse industries.
Today, Phrozen has been recognized as one of the leading additive manufacturing solution providers in the US, Europe, South Korea, and Japan.
Phrozen Sonic XL 4K Overview
The Phrozen Sonic XL 4K is a large format resin 3D printer that has a wide range of applications, from jewelry to manufacturing, product prototyping to dentistry. The 4K LCD screen and impressive workspace of the Sonic XL 4K make it one of the most powerful resin 3D printers on the market.
This printer has a custom-made monochrome LCD screen with 4k resolution. Therefore, it can produce prints fast and accurately.
The large build area makes the printer ideal both for dental and jewellery applications.
Like all the Phrozen resin printers, it is engineered with the proprietary ParaLED optical engine, a powerful system that relies on a parallel UV LED matrix backlight system.
This 3D printer boasts a large build volume of 190 x 120 x 200 mm (7.5 x 4.7 x 8 in). The space is wide enough for you to print anything, whether it’s a piece of jewelry or a dental part.
Apart from the large build size, we love the high precision and accuracy of the Phrozen Sonic XL 4K. The machine prints at a minimum layer thickness of 10 microns and has an XY resolution of 50 microns. Therefore, all models that are printed come out highly detailed and with smooth exterior surfaces.
Unboxing the Phrozen Sonic XL 4K 3D Printer
Here are the items that you will get in the package:
- Phrozen Sonic XL 4K 3D printer
- AC power cord
- User manual
- ParaLED optical engine
- 4K monochrome LCD screen
- USB and USB Wi-Fi dongle
- Backup screws
- Gloves
- Scrapers
- Plastic funnel
- Door knob
- Resin Vat
Phrozen Sonic XL 4K Specs
| Connectivity | USB, microSD, ethernet, Wi-Fi |
| Display | Full Color Touch Screen |
| LCD | 4K monochrome, ParaLED 3.0 |
| Manufacturer | Phrozen |
| Manufacturer country | Taiwan |
| Operating system(s) | Windows, Mac |
| Outer dimensions millimeters (xyz) | 290 x 330 x 470mm |
| Print speed | 200 mm/h |
| Printable material(s) | 405nm liquid resin |
| Slicing | Phrozen 3D |
| Weight kg | 19.5 kg |
| Build volume | 190 x 120 x 200 mm |
| Min layer height | 10 Microns |
| Technology | LCD |
Setting up the Printer
The Sonic XL 4K comes mostly assembled. However, there are a number of parts you will need to assemble on your own before you can start printing. The assembling is easy but will take you about 30 minutes.
To begin, you have to install the build plate and calibrate the Z-axis. The calibration is simple and full instructions are provided on the printer touchscreen.
After the calibration, the next step is to loosen 4 screws of the build platform and connect the printer to the Wi-Fi. After this, you can send your first test prints through Wi-Fi, USB or SD card.
That is all that the setup entails.
In case of any problems, you can refer to the user manual that comes with the printer.
Phrozen Sonic XL 4K Features
Design
The Phrozen Sonic XL 4K looks stylish in its white body and a transparent red window in the middle that allows you to see the progress of your print job.
The printer measure 290 x 330 x 470 mm (11.4 x 13 x 18.5 inches) and weighs 19.5 kg (43 lb.)
Printer Controls
The Sonic XL has a large touchscreen with the operational controls. The printer is also Wi-Fi enabled, which means you can send your files for printing through the network.
Apart from printing via Wi-Fi, the Sonic XL also allows printing via Ethernet, MicroSD and USB.
Sonic XL 4L Build Volume
The Phrozen Sonic XL 4K is a large format resin 3D printer with a build volume of 190 x 120 x 200 mm (7.5 x 4.7 x 7.9 inches). With this large print area, you can print large parts in a single printing session.
Materials
The Phrozen Sonic XL is not locked into any proprietary resin. You can use any material in the range of 405-nm (SLA, DLP, LCD resins).
The printer is compatible with a wide range of materials, including biocompatible resins.
Print Quality
The Sonic XL produces high-res prints that are ready for use. The printer can print layers at 50 microns with an accuracy of 10 microns. Your models come out highly-detailed and with clean edges.
Use Cases
The Sonic L can also be used for souvenir and jewelry business. Check the models below printed by the machine:
The ultra-fine precision of the machine makes it suitable for printing detailed dental impressions with impressive mechanical properties. This is why the printer is used to provide cutting-edge digital dental solutions.
The highly-detailed and smooth surface finish models created by the Sonic Phrozen XL 4K makes it suitable for a wide range of applications.
The printer’s transparent LCD speed up the curing process up to 0.2 seconds per layer.
The printer’s stable case and Z-axis improve ensure models are printed at high accuracy and fast speeds, and consistent quality.
The printer’s LCD can resist heat and high temperatures. This helps in improving thermal dissipation, ensuring greater efficiency and a longer lifetime. According to the manufacturer, the printer can manage up to 2000 printing hours.
The Phrozen Sonic XL 4K is powered by the ParaLED 3.0 optical system, which ensures that the UV light emitted is uniform. The uniformity leads to consistently detailed, high-quality models.
The ParaLED 3.0 engine is specifically designed to work with the custom-built monochrome LCD.
Coming to speed, the Sonic XL 4K is really fast. The machine can print models at speeds of 200 mm/h.
Slicer Software
The Sonic XL is bundled with Phrozen’s slicer software known as FormWare. This is a powerful software with various features, such as lattice infill generation, mesh hallowing, drag-and-drop function, automatic support generation and more.
The Sonic XL 4K focusses on fast print speeds without sacrificing quality. The printer has the new Phrozen monochrome LCD screen, which can cure 50 micron layers in just 1 second.
The monochrome LCD only transmits white light instead of the standard RGB spectrum. Therefore, the resin is cured fast (50 microns in 1 second, or 200 mm per hour vertically).
The LCD screen is reinforced to be sturdy and pressure-resistant and has a service life of 2000 hours. In turn, the ParaLED 3.0 Module ensures complete uniformity of UV light through an even flow for each pixel, which guarantees consistent quality throughout the entire area of the print bed.
The resolution of the LCD display of the Phrozen Sonic XL 4K 3D printer is 3840 x 2160 pixels, which allows to increase the effective volume of the build area without sacrificing quality.
The Sonic XL 4K build area is 190 x 120 x 200mm. XY resolution of 50 microns at layer thicknesses from 10 to 300 microns provides high detail that meets the needs of professional applications.
Phrozen Sonic Mini vs Sonic XL 4K resolution comparison
Sonic Phrozen XL 4K Price
The Sonic Phrozen XL 4K is priced below $2500 (check current price here). We find the price to be affordable given the large build volume of the printer and the high-quality prints. This is a great printer for jewelry makers, dentists and workshops that carry out small batch parts production.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Offers multiple connectivity options
- Fast prints speeds
- Large build volume
- Ultra-fine precision
Cons
- The building platform and LCD screen have no warranty
- Does not come with UV resin
Phrozen Sonic XL 4K Review: Our Verdict
The Phrozen Sonic XL 4K is a sturdy 3D printer that consistently outputs highly-detailed models. This machine is easy to use, even for beginners, and extremely reliable. It offers different connectivity option and can be used in digital dentistry, prototyping, jewelry, and other professional applications.
The stylish design of the printer makes it a perfect addition to any office or workshop.
