Maker Hacks - The blog for makers and hackers

Monoprice MP Mini SLA 3D Printer Review

Chris Garrett

I don’t usually post negative reviews. My approach is to first let the company know of any issues I find, and if they can not be resolved, I move on, unless something is particularly dangerous or misleading, or there is a real risk of people being out of pocket.

This is the latter.

There has been a flood of cheap resin 3d printers hitting the market recently, so I thought I would take the plunge and buy one. Seeing as the Monoprice Mini was available for $200, and at Amazon, I thought it would be a low-risk purchase.

Yeah …. about that …

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Glowforge Review – Glowforge Laser Engraver Impressions, Plus Glowforge Versus Leading Laser Cutters

Chris Garrett

Glowforge review (laser engraver,not laser printer). This review is about the Glowforge Basic — the Glowforge is the best laser cutter I have ever reviewed, or used for that matter. Heck, the Glowforge is the funnest machine I have ever owned.

I say that as an owner of several CNC, laser, and 3D printing machines!

Updated 12 July, 2019 – All models now available in Canada!
Updated 6 May, 2019 – Appears camera calibration is solved!
Updated 30 April, 2019 to include information about the compact filter, and “Set Focus” feature – see below

Personal Update – we got so much value out of the first Glowforge Basic after this review, we bought another one which arrived early May 2019!

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Glowforge Compact Filter Review

Chris Garrett

Do you want to laser engrave or cut, but don’t like the idea of pumping the smoke out of a window? Or perhaps, like us, you live in a climate not conducive to that?

The Glowforge Compact Filter has come in handy during our freezing cold winter days, but it is not entirely good news, so I thought I would put my thoughts into this post to serve as a review of the compact filter and feedback for how things could be improved.

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Bittboy versus Pocket Sprite

Chris Garrett

Bittboy or PocketSprite? Which is best? Which should you buy?

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Are You Making Soldering More Difficult than Necessary?

Chris Garrett

Soldering. Love it, hate it, tolerate it, but if you are into electronics, learn to do it. Are you making it more difficult for yourself than it needs to be?

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Which Glowforge to Buy? Glowforge Basic Versus Glowforge Pro

Chris Garrett

Glowforge reviews like mine have convinced you to buy the Glowforge over other options such as Full Spectrum, Trotec, or a more DIY solution. That’s great!

But which Glowforge should you buy?

Let’s take a look at the differences, what those differences mean in practice, and help you decide!

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5 Best Tools for Makers of 2018

Chris Garrett

What were the best tools you bought or used in 2018?

I review a lot of stuff (to the point where I stopped listing everything), but a few things stood out above the rest. Let’s see how many match what you are thinking of …

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