WD7V15 Wanhao Duplicator 7 V.1.5

Any kind (SLS, SLA, DLP, LCD) of UV-cured resin printer can be a HUGE step up in detail and certain capability from standard plastic filament Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) printer, and this could be wonderful, but several fatal flaws have laid it low. Read on to find out the reality of failure at every level.===================Necessary Software Not Included (Maybe. Anymore.)When purchasing this printer, you may get one packaged after November 2018, or you may get one from before. It's the luck of the draw. You won't be able to tell until you reach the manual. If it's newer, it will have a License Key for the WanhaoD7Workshop software and refer to that. If it's older (Like mine was) it will have no license key and send you to download "Wanhao Creation Workshop" which does not require a license key. Unfortunately, the download for the free software is no longer present and only the key-requiring software is there. This means that not only is the whole printer manual out of date, but the only option is software that requires a paid license that you do not get with the printer. There is no free option to run the printer from them.So the day of arrival found me emailing China to ask about this. No response. Just the text on the page that says "Just buy two bottles of Wanhao Resin and we'll send you one key for free". Alternately you can buy the software directly for $30. Two bottles of resin is at least $40. So there is a non-zero chance that you will receive a product from Amazon that you cannot use without buying more things that the listing does not tell you about in advance.=====================Electronically Sound... Like a raspberry soundMultiple YouTube videos show off "how to properly wiggle the connector when the printer stops working because the connector was soldered badly and dies randomly". ... I could make one too. This doesn't really require more explanation.======================Tighten these four, but only two canFatal design flaws are always fun. The brand new 1.5 head and print plate assembly is supposed to be an improvement from the prior 1.4 version."The alignment lip keeps things square.""Improved leveling bracket makes leveling easy."Physics has something to say about that though.* The top knob that connects the plate bracket to the Z assembly connector arm creates a "walking force", that lovely problem you encounter when one side of the rotating screw part hits the surface first and applies torque to the whole situation, moving the parts that are supposed to be held tightly in place along their sliding areas. Therefore the whole thing disengages from the alignment lip, twists, moves, and gets worse the more you try to tighten it. Another part of the problem is caused by the fact that the plate bracket made of bent sheet metal and is convex at the top, creating a naturally-unstable physical interface with the Z assembly connector.-----Speaking of bent sheet metal on the leveling bracket assembly...The assembly itself is also designed poorly. The top U bracket has four slide holes for the plate fixture's screws to slide within. The plate fixture is 1.7mm narrower than the U bracket though. All four screws have to be tightened for the plate to stay stable, but tightening one side pulls the fixture over to that side of the U bracket and away from the other. This means...- If you tighten diagonal sides, the plate twists out of alignment.- If you successfully tighten both sides, it pulls the U bracket further bent against the plate which... which contributes to and causes the convex state of the top of it mentioned above.The holding screws are also knobs, and as soon as the U bracket begins to bend, they also start to walk the plate fixture itself up or down, completely wrecking any chance at leveling and providing a good opportunity to break the LCD.Notably, the plate itself is very nice and flat, which is good. But that's no good if you can't level it. Additionally, the plate I received has a pair of large gouges in it despite being in what appeared to be OEM protective packaging. The gouges made it impossible to level the plate, as the level is sensitive to just a few tens of microns, or 0.01mm of offset.============Consumable bitsThough it's not noted in the listing, the LCD panel itself is considered a consumable and must be replaced after some use. The FEP film at the bottom of the vat is also consumable and must be replaced any time it is damaged, scratched, poked, prodded, punctured, stretched, or annoyed. The film is not too expensive at $6, but the LCD panel is currently $80. Take that into account. The LCD LEDs may also eventually need to be replaced. The rated lifetime of the LCD is 1200 printing hours., which is quite easy to go through in a quarter of a year.====================================Support-free support - Responselessness likelyI try to be rather lenient and provide the support teams of things that cost me several hundred dollars a bit of time to get back to my initial inquiry. No response was forthcoming. Your experience may vary, but the complete lack of response from the manufacturer does not bode well to me.=====================Inaccurate resolution accuracyThe Amazon listing indicates a resolution of 35 microns - which is Micrometers (um or more properly µm), or 0.001 millimeters, so 0.035mm. The actual pixel pitch of the LCD is 47 microns. This printer cannot render 35 micron resolution on a 47 micron grid unless physics is extremely drunk at the time.=============================Computer/software controlThe default software control for this printer requires it to be plugged into your computer as an additional HDMI screen. If the computer is used in this way, it must not go to sleep, shut off monitors, or do anything on the extra screen during the multiple-hour duration of printing. Alternately you can use a program like NanoDLP on a Raspberry Pi 3 to control it, but that comes with its own set of challenges.=========OdoriferousJust as an FYI: The resin is VERY stinky. This is not a bad thing, per se, but something to be aware of. It is also toxic to skin contact. Gloves and good ventilation are an exceptionally good idea.==========================Not completely hopeless. Not... completely...The printer receives one star from me because the plethora of faults is indescribably bad. Actually, no. It's describably bad, otherwise I wouldn't've been able to describe it above. That being said, it can be recovered if you have the time and patience and extra money and access to 3D print some new parts.* Expect to possibly pay an extra: $30 for the software alone -OR- At least $40 for two bottles of resin to get the software for free -OR- Around $45 for a Raspberry Pi 3 and SD card to run NanoDLP or similar software* 3D print an alternate plate leveling bracket. Unfortunately the prior best one no longer applies and is missing from the sites, and the new best two require obscure metal hardware in the form of, for example, nuts that can only be bought directly from China.* Reflow and/or resolder the HDMI connector so it isn't as likely to fail.* Understand that the 35µm resolution is, like the cake, a lie, and the actual resolution is 47.07µm.If you're willing to fiddle and futz, this can be an extremely good value for what it is. If you want something that Just Works, look elsewhere.

I want to start off by saying that I really hate that this product didn’t work. I was looking forward to printing with this.Unfortunately, the trouble started the day we opened the box. After making sure everything was set up perfectly, making sure the desk was level and well ventilated, we began trying to install the software and following the installation guide. We quickly realized, after spending more money on an adapter, that this printer wasn’t easily compatible with Macs. The installation guide was quite confusing and took us doing a bunch of research through Reddit and Discord before we figured out that we would need to hook it up directly to a PC or purchase a Control Box.So we dropped another $150 on the Wanhao Duplicator Control Box and waited for it to arrive. Hooked it up and had everything connected perfectly.Here’s where we really started running into issues. The programs used for slicing were super confusing and extremely difficult for us to figure out and find profiles for. The versions through WanHao’s website were outdated and took us a couple of days to even find the appropriate software with what we thought were the correct profiles.We had a tough few tests at first due to the z-axis literally not moving due to the plug we had the machine plugged in to. After moving the printer and reworking an outlet situation, that issue was solved. We attempted print after print, making adjustments and being sure to clean each part between tests. Nothing worked. After going through the entire bottle of test resin, we had no luck. We tried contacting Wanhao, going through forums, Facebook groups, and Discord channels attempting to find help troubleshooting our issues. Until the last straw, we had no luck.Please note that the individuals using this are very tech competent, with some of us having experience building computers, coding, and even 3D printing. We were actually recommended this product by a 3D modeling and printing professor at the local university and was told it’s a great starter SLA printer...it is not.I’m sure those with ample time to toy with settings, features, and programs could make this printer work. I’m sure there are people who have had wonderful experience with these printers, but for us, this was a huge turnoff to any Wanhao product.Value for Money 1/5 - There are common and more popular SLA 3D printers that have a larger community with more support and simplicity on the market for close to $100 cheaper. And they have better reviews.Easy to Use 1/5 - See my entire write up for why this is not easy to use or start with.Print Quality 1/5 - Since we actually never got a print out of the machine after about 20 tests, I can’t actually give this a decent score.Overall thought, you’re better off doing some research and getting a more popular printer for cheaper. I will never buy another Wanhao product.

I love designing and printing things with this printer. After getting familiar with it and getting the settings adjusted properly, I can print out production quality pieces with little to no finishing at all. Really amazing!

Frustrating product. Instructions lead you to the software you download and install. Then it asks you to put in the code in the manual to start. There is no code in the manual. Contacted wanhao and they said that I need to buy the software or spend $130 and it's free. Strange deal.

I've been using this fairly regularly for several months now. This is a great product. It has been reliable, and the quality of the prints has remained great through lots of use.

Reasonable price and good 3d printed models! I reccomend the purchase!

First, the printer comes with instructions saying that a software key is included, which it isn't. So that's another $60 if you want to use their proprietary software. To be fair, it is excellent.However, their hardware fails at an alarming rate, and they will not respond to any support emails, even when Amazon reaches out to them to start the process.The attached pictures are of the last print I attempted to make. I had only made less than 30 prints with the printer (including failures as I was learning the process and settings), and the LCD is completely unusable. New ones of those are over half the cost of a new printer from a better manufacturer.I can't wait to process my return and be rid of Wanhao once and for all.

Excelent!