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Creality announced a new desktop resin 3D printer, the HALOT-LITE.
The HALOT-LITE is a member of the company’s new HALOT series, which now comprises several devices. The first device was the HALOT-SKY, and we’re currently in the process of testing another model, the smaller HALOT-ONE. While we’re not quite ready to publish that review, I can say that we’re extremely impressed with the quality of the prints from the smaller HALOT device.
Now there’s another model in the series, the new HALOT-LITE.
The HALOT-LITE is in some ways similar to the earlier model HALOT-SKY, but much more refined. For example, it has the same build volume of 192 x 120 x 200 mm, which is quite larger for an inexpensive resin 3D printer.
Another feature that carries forward into the HALOT-LITE is the massively powerful controller board. While many 3D printers still use 8-bit controller boards, the HALOT series uses 64-bit quad core boards that can provide nearly limitless computational power. Specifically, the HALOT-LITE uses an ARM Cortex A53 processor.
This powerful controller may seem overkill for this 3D printer, but I have a suspicion that Creality may be positioning their equipment for something big in the future. With that amount of computation available, it may be possible to have the machines work with their Creality Cloud to perform new features currently unimaginable on a simple desktop 3D printer. However, that’s something to watch for in the future.
The HALOT-LITE includes the standard (for HALOT) five inch color touchscreen, which is a breeze to operate. It has an easy-to-follow interface that uses icons as well as text, unlike some other machine interfaces.
WiFi networking is included with the HALOT-LITE, and this can be used to connect the machine directly with Creality Cloud and HALOT-BOX, the company’s proprietary software system for preparing jobs for machines in the HALOT series.
The WiFi interface also allows for “over the air” updates to the HALOT-LITE’s internal firmware. This is a very important feature, as it will allow Creality to deliver increasingly functional software to all the HALOT series more easily — and that software can leverage the powerful controller board.
The key feature of all the HALOT machines is the light engine, which Creality terms an “Integral Light Source”. At its core is a 3840 x 2400 8.9 inch monochrome LCD panel, but Creality has engineered the system to ensure that the photons strike the build plane with great focus and uniformity. This increases the quality of 3D prints on all the HALOT machines.
The monochrome nature of the light allows for much faster 3D prints. Rather than losing energy when traversing a color filter, the photons pass directly to the resin and polymerize more rapidly. Creality said layers can be 3D printed on the HALOT-LITE in 1-4 seconds, depending on the material and model geometry, which is quite fast.
Creality explained that the HALOT-LITE’s design has doubled heat dissipation. This is important, as consistent temperature is also critical to obtaining high-quality 3D prints. During longer print jobs, which are likely happening on this large-volume machine, heat might otherwise accumulate and alter the printing conditions.
The HALOT-LITE is also safer to operate, as it includes an efficient filtration system for cooling air passing through the machine. This could reduce odors emanating from the device during operation.
You might be wondering why the HALOT-LITE is named “LITE”, and my suspicion is that it relates to the earlier HALOT-SKY machine. The HALOT-SKY weighs 16.5kg, while the more compact — but same build volume — HALOT-LITE is only 10.6kg.
Somehow the engineers at Creality were able to build a machine that is smaller than the original HALOT-SKY, yet offers similar capabilities. Nevertheless, I expect operators will find the HALOT-LITE to be physically a very solid machine, as we have found the HALOT-ONE to be.
