Find out the specs, features, performance, and quality of print of the Wanhao GR1 3D printer.
The Wanhao Duplicator 7 and Duplicator 8 are some of the best resin 3D printers by Wanhao. However, there is another SLA printer that falls somewhere between the D7 and D8. This is the Gadoso Revolution, or simply GR1.
In this Wanhao GR1 review, we’ll go through the features and performance of the unit so that you know what to expect.
Let’s get started.
Wanhao GR1 Review
What’s in the Box?
The printer is shipped with the following items:
- A set of hexagons
- 2 pairs of black gloves
- A 4 GB flash drive
- A plastic spatula
- A 250 ml bottle of resin
- A spare FEP film
- A printed test model of a ring with a screaming man.
Specifications
The Wanhao GR1 has a print area of 140 x 78 x 200 mm. The printer has a 6.33-inch LCD-screen with a resolution of 2560 x 1440 px. This means that the size of each pixel is 55 micrometers.
The layer height can be changed from 35 to 100 micrometers.
The UV LED-matrix is made using the Uniformtrix technology – special faceted lenses are installed on each diode. The technology enables a uniform light output across the entire print area.
Despite its small size, the Wanhao GR1 3D printer weighs an impressive 12.5 kg. The body is made of steel.
The printer looks durable, reliable, and nothing dangles anywhere. It’s obvious that the design has been lifted right from the Duplicator 8.
In front and on the sides, there are plastic windows that do not transmit ultraviolet light.
The lid swings up and does not have any position latches or soft gaskets.
There are handles on the left and right to make it easy to carry the printer.
At the back is the power cable connector and the power button.
At the bottom of the front, there is a touch screen and a USB port for a flash drive. The screen is crisp and its response is good.
The touch screen interface is designed in red and black, Wanhao style. The menu has everything you need.
Interestingly, you can change the exposure settings right during printing. This can be useful if you want to print an already cut model with new resin.
To change the exposure settings, run the file for printing, change the exposure time and that’s it .The model will be printed with the new settings.
There is a carbon filter with an exhaust fan inside the rear wall.
The Z-axis moves along two rail guides and is driven by a motor through a trapezoidal single-thread screw.
The printing platform is completely new in shape. It looks somewhat similar to the Anycubic Photon S platform. The top is painted black.
The bottom is unpainted and has a slightly roughened surface for better adhesion. Calibration is done a little bit differently. We’ll talk about this later.
The bath is very similar to the D8. The only difference is that it is smaller and in one of the corners, there is a cutout for conveniently draining off the resin.
In the middle, there is a transparent area with MIN, 250ml and MAX markings. Theoretically, using this window, you can understand how much resin is poured. Also, during printing, you can check if the model has adhered to the platform.
The markings make it easy to determine the amount of resin poured.
Calibration
Calibrating the platform is slightly different from other printers. The basic principle, of course, is the same; the platform should be exactly parallel to the screen and at the zero point be at a distance of about 0.1mm from it.
But with the Wanhao GR1 3D printer, there is a very specific way to align it. In the carriage, to which the platform is attached, there are 4 vertical threaded stoppers, which touch the corners of the upper part of the platform.
There are 4 more horizontal stops on the sides, which should fix the vertical stops.
Here is the calibration procedure:
- Unscrew the vertical stoppers
- Remove the bath
- Put A4 sheet on the screen
Some people calibrate directly from the bath using FEP to obtain the required clearance. However, from practice, it is more convenient to control the pressure of each of the corners of the platform without a bath. Therefore, we calibrated with a sheet of paper.
- On the printer menu, go to tools – move z-axis – home .
The carriage will move down to the zero point.
- Next, you have to install the platform without twisting its lamb. Use a hex wrench to tighten the 4 vertical stoppers so that they evenly press the platform against the sheet.
The calibration procedure is not the most convenient. For example, it is difficult to know at what point the pressure is sufficient but not too strong. Therefore, make sure that when the platform wing is swirled, the sheet of paper moves with resistance, evenly in all corners.
- After that, you can screw the stoppers on the sides to fix the vertical ones.
- Finally, press the Calibration OK button on the touchscreen and the calibration will complete.
Yes, calibrating the 3D printer this way requires some skill. However, the calibration method has one big advantage – the platform itself has no moving elements and all the parts that are responsible for calibration are on the carriage. As a result, the calibration cannot accidentally go astray when parts are removed from the platform.
Also, before the first print, you should check the performance of the spotlight and LCD screen. To do this, before filling the bath with resin, go to the tools-detection menu, select the exposure time, press the forward arrow and Start Exposure. A rhino with the words Wanhao should appear on the screen.
If it is visible, then the spotlight and screen are working properly. You can then pour resin into the bath and start printing.
Slicer
To prepare models for printing, Wanhao made a separate slicer – GR1 Workshop. The slicer is a commercial software, but the printer comes with a license for it. The slicer is similar to the slicers used by Wanhao D7 and D8. The only difference is that the colors are different and the files are exported in a different format.
The slicer works quickly and smoothly and has all the necessary functions.
The slicer allows you to create profiles for different resins.
You can make models hollow and create infills in them, and cut drain holes in models.
Of course, it is possible to customize and add automatic support. You can also edit and arrange them manually.
There is an interesting function we have to highlight; the Islands Detector. With this function, after placing supports in automatic or manual mode, the slicer goes through all the layers and finds the places that begin to be printed in the air. The slicer then highlights them and allows you to dot the missing supports.
It is not very clear why the slicer itself cannot put them, knowing where these places are.
One of the issues we notices is that in the automatic mode, the supports are often set close to the surface of the model. This makes them very difficult to remove.
When checking the prepared model, you need to carefully monitor this.
That’s basically all. Otherwise, the slicer is good.
Printing
On the USB flash drive, along with the printer, there is an already cut file with the same ring that was in the box. First, we tried to print it with the original Wanhao gray resin.
The ring was printed without problems. The quality was not different from the one that came with the kit. The detailing is good and the layers lay flat.
Next, we tested the printer with the ESun Hard-Tough blue resin, which has physical and mechanical properties comparable to ABS plastic.
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Since there are no print settings for GR1 with third-party resins yet, we selected the exposure time by printing a test model – the city of Ameralabs.
It turned out 60 seconds for the first layers and 8 seconds for all others with a layer of 50 micrometers. For the city model, the windows on the houses were printed, the slots up to 0.4mm were open, the thin columns were almost all in place.
We used the same resin and with the same parameters for the next test. This time, we printed 40 identical models resembling small Christmas tree decorations, with thin lines twisted in a spiral.
The models were spread over the entire area of the table. All the models were printed. Unfortunately, there was not enough light in one corner.
At first glance, this may seem impossible. However, comparing the models, you’ll notice that the lines of the model, which was in the front right corner, are slightly thinner than on the others.
Regardless, all models printed to the end.
Nest, we printed the Eiffel Tower.
The model printed without support, right on the table. Thismodel has strong slopes, bridges, thin elements and holes.
The model printed without problems. At the very top, the holes were closed. This could have been because we did not wash the model well in alcohol after printing, or we could have made the exposure time a little less.
In general, the tower printed well. Even the railings, which are held by very thin posts, turned out to be even.
Finally, we printed a lens holder for one of our clients.
It is not possible to print it at an angle, since small details would require supports that could hardly be removed. Therefore, the model was laid flat on the table.
For everything else, we had to put up a lot of supports, partly automatically and partly manually using the Island Detector feature in GR1 Workshop.
As expected, the bottom, where the supports held the wide horizontal surface, didn’t turn out very nicely.
This area had to be thoroughly processed with a Dremel.
But from above, everything is very neat and even.
The spring-loaded elements that are supposed to fix the lenses all printed well. The toughness and elasticity of the resin was evident here. The clamps can be bent without breaking, and also restore their shape.
We also used Monocure 3D Rapid GunMetal Gray resin to print Tifa Lockhardt’s action figure from Final Fantasy. In the slicer, the model was turned at an angle and placed on the supports.
The exposure time was 70 seconds for the first layers, and 8 for all others.
The supports were not enough. The stand unhooked from them a little and turned out to be crooked.
Also, because of this, there are small stripes on the surface in places. This probably happened because when the layers were detached from the bath film, the model slightly shifted.
The slicer put some supports close to the surface of the model and they left quite strong marks.
When slicing in the GR1 Workshop, you need to pay close attention to these areas.
The rest of the figure turned out well.
We printed another figurine, a Tusken Raider from the Star Wars universe, with Monocure 3D Rapid Gray resin.
This model is printed in two parts; the stand and the figure itself.
Both parts fit into the GR1 platform without any problems. In a slicer, they were hollowed on the inside and two holes were created to drain the resin.
The raider turned out well. There are only a couple of slightly bulging layers on smooth surfaces. But they are visible only under certain lighting conditions. Overall, it looks good.
However, the resin turns a little yellow after additional exposure, which makes the model look slightly worn.
Conclusion
The Wanhao GR1 stands out against its price segment competitors (Anycubic Photon S and Elegoo Mars) with the increased print area. However, it sacrifices a little accuracy in the XY axes. Still, this does not affect the print quality.
The printer comes in a reliable case, has user-friendly touch screen, carbon filter, two rails on the Z axis, and a good slicer. The resin 3D printer offer uniform illumination. The light was only slightly not uniform in one corner. Finally, while the calibration is not very convenient, it is reliable.
The Wanhao GR1 has no major differences from the previous Wanhao resin models. But still, there are some nice changes.
In terms of pricing, the GRI goes for slightly more than the D7 but is cheaper than the D8. On the same note, the build area is somewhere in between.
