0:00
Right. If I sound extra frustrated in
0:01
this one, it's because it's the third
0:03
time I've had to record this due to PC
0:05
and Premier Pro issues. So, don't hold
0:07
that against the printer. Speaking of,
0:09
if you've watched the channel for a
0:11
while, you'll know I've got a fondness
0:12
for So, printers with the very clear
0:14
caveat that they wouldn't be my personal
0:17
first choice. I just respect that
0:19
they're clear about being
0:21
mass-production Voronbased machines. And
0:23
I've always been clear that if you want
0:25
a printer to tinker with rather than
0:27
sourcing your own Voron kit, Soval might
0:30
be an easier board to dive off from. And
0:32
unfortunately, for all the reasons I
0:34
would personally avoid such machines in
0:36
favor of machines that just work, I've
0:39
experienced a few of the negatives of
0:41
that here. This is the Soval SV8 Max.
0:45
Max, short for maximum frustration. And
0:48
I am Ross, and this is Fammer Videos.
0:51
Now we know what's what and who's who.
0:53
Let's look at the details. Now the 08
0:55
Max is a machine I have been super
0:57
excited to try out. I want to print some
0:59
massive big things. And it's actually
1:02
been sat with me a few months. I wanted
1:04
to give it a bit of time so I could show
1:06
off the full potential of the machine
1:07
which includes the additional hotends
1:09
along with the enclosure kit. And my
1:12
hope was this would also give Soval more
1:14
time to dial in the profiles rather than
1:17
me test it in its beta state. And on the
1:21
outset, this is an impressive printer.
1:23
It's the largest build volume I've ever
1:25
been semisuccessful with at 500x 500x
1:29
500 mm. And unlike other large printers
1:32
I've tested, this isn't a bedser. It's a
1:34
Core XY printer, which should also infer
1:37
more stability. Quite important when
1:39
attempting taller prints, and you aren't
1:41
shaking the model back and forth. Now,
1:43
it's worth knowing that the actual built
1:45
machine takes up 700 by 700 by 750 mm
1:50
because of all the frame and mechanics
1:51
around the print bed. And that's without
1:53
including the filament reel holder on
1:55
the right side because you might use
1:57
your own or the PTFE tube holder on top
2:00
cuz you might not use it. Also, if you
2:03
add the enclosure kit, the rear fans are
2:06
external, too. So, for usability, you're
2:09
probably looking at a good meter cubed
2:11
to fit everything in. And whilst this
2:13
isn't as complex as a full Voron kit,
2:15
the build does still take a while. It's
2:17
generally straightforward. It's a case
2:19
of attaching the four corner arms, the
2:21
top frame, the mechanics frame, a load
2:23
of cables, and then the accessories like
2:25
the screen filament holder, and the
2:27
auxiliary feeder, which is an
2:28
interesting element I'll come back to.
2:31
But the instructions for assembly aren't
2:33
super clear. And at the time I got it,
2:35
there wasn't a build video. I don't know
2:37
if there is yet. There are some parts
2:39
inside the machine during shipping that
2:41
it turns out you need to remove and this
2:44
wasn't clear in the instructions. It
2:46
wasn't even mentioned and I doubt those
2:48
instructions have been updated since
2:50
I've had it. Now, in fairness though,
2:52
with this machine being what it is, if
2:54
this isn't something you can't figure
2:56
out for yourself, this probably isn't
2:58
the sort of printer for you anyway. It
3:00
is a tinkerer machine. And if you're not
3:02
already convinced of that, well, we'll
3:04
continue. But yeah, setup can be a
3:07
chore. I'd dedicate at least an hour or
3:10
two just for the main unit and probably
3:12
a good hour for the enclosure kit as
3:14
well. And as for features, well, all of
3:16
the IO is on the right hand side at the
3:18
bottom. The left side is completely
3:20
bare, which means you can wedge this
3:22
right up against a wall. That might save
3:24
you some space. The power socket and
3:26
rocker switch are near the back. And
3:28
towards the front, we've got an external
3:29
Wi-Fi antenna. Ethernet, which I love,
3:32
as I'm sure do print farms. We've got
3:34
two USB ports and a HDMI socket for the
3:37
external display. And that display gives
3:39
you a lot more control versus the
3:40
onboard UI, and I'll talk about that
3:43
shortly. It's got a built-in webcam,
3:45
which is handy for both remote
3:46
monitoring, and remote monitoring is
3:48
done via the third party OCO app. But
3:51
anyway, for some reason, I wasn't able
3:53
to get time-lapse generation to work on
3:55
this machine, despite it working fine on
3:57
both the original SVO8 and the Soval
4:00
Zero. It's also got a built-in light.
4:02
It's got a nozzle wiper. The large build
4:04
plate is guided into place easily thanks
4:06
to the tabs on the back. So, they've
4:08
done all the bare minimum to make a
4:11
working machine. My favorite feature,
4:13
which I first noticed on the Soval Zero,
4:15
is the Eddie current sensor in the
4:17
hotend for bed leveling. Rather than the
4:19
nozzle having to touch various points of
4:21
the bed, which would take forever on a
4:23
unit this size, the Eddie current sensor
4:25
scans the whole printing area incredibly
4:28
fast. And when it comes to the UI,
4:30
unlike previous Soval machines I've had,
4:32
which had the dial controlled monochrome
4:34
display, this one's got a full
4:36
touchcreen UI and a very basic clipper
4:38
style interface, which now mostly makes
4:41
this accessory screen a little bit
4:43
redundant. But hey, if you're someone
4:45
who likes to tinker, you want more
4:46
nuance control, you can add this. I
4:49
personally don't see the value over the
4:51
existing UI on this model, and the
4:53
layout of that screen is rather
4:55
cumbersome. It's also just a screen in a
4:58
3D printed chassis. It's a bit cheap.
5:00
The element I wanted to come back to is
5:02
the auxiliary feeder. I honestly wish
5:04
more printers had this. This handy
5:07
little gadget automatically feeds
5:09
filament from the roll mounted on the
5:10
right side all the way to the hotend.
5:12
And that is my favorite feature of
5:14
multimaterial units, the more automated
5:17
filament loading. And this one has
5:19
tangle detection, too, which again we'll
5:22
come back to shortly. What I want to
5:24
talk about is the software. I've said
5:26
with many other brands, I am getting
5:27
tired of using their version of Orca
5:30
Slicer. I genuinely wish all brands
5:32
would just integrate into base Orca like
5:35
Soval do. Well, kind of do. Now, I
5:38
presume this isn't as simple as I think
5:40
it is, cuz if it was, they'd be doing
5:42
it. And many brands come out with new or
5:44
their own versions of features that
5:47
require custom development to work. So
5:49
rather than wait for Orca to put it into
5:52
their main software brands making their
5:54
own cut is probably just easier but
5:57
Soval have incredibly basic machines. So
6:00
in that case you do just use base Orca.
6:03
Now unfortunately the installation
6:05
process when you get these early in the
6:07
life cycle is rather manual requiring
6:10
various file replacements of the core
6:12
software in your operating system.
6:15
Again, not difficult stuff, especially
6:17
for those of you even slightly computer
6:19
literate, but also still far from
6:21
plugandplay, at least until Orca catches
6:24
up and puts the machine and its profiles
6:26
into the main build. And cuz I get
6:29
machines often pre-release, I've got no
6:31
idea how long that actually takes. If
6:34
you know, let me know in the comments.
6:36
It might be there already for this. But
6:38
overall, that's kind of it. The SPO8 Max
6:40
has all of the raw parts and features
6:43
needed to make a solid modern machine in
6:46
terms that it's a relatively simple
6:48
affair. But what is it like to use?
6:50
Well, as I said, I waited to review this
6:53
cuz I wanted to give Soval the chance to
6:54
dial in the profiles available on the
6:56
machine and they sent me the latest ones
6:58
just a couple of days before using it. I
7:00
started with the default 0.4 mm nozzle
7:03
and 2 layer height using Soval's PLA
7:06
profile. And the first layer test was
7:09
okay. All right, I'm I'm being kind. It
7:12
was marginally below par with some small
7:14
elements of layer separation between
7:16
lines of material, but it isn't so bad
7:19
that I expect any major detriment to
7:22
finished prints from this. So, with that
7:24
successful enough, I went on to print a
7:27
Borderlands mask. No tiny little test
7:29
prints, just straight onto a decently
7:31
sized print. And I've got to say, it's
7:33
not amazing. I could tell immediately
7:36
that the print quality was off as soon
7:38
as I tried to remove the supports, which
7:40
in many cases were fused to the model
7:42
rather than just lightly touching and
7:44
able to snap away like I've had from
7:47
most other printers in in at least the
7:50
last year. And that really comes to the
7:52
main crux of this review and and kind of
7:54
the same review as all Soval printers.
7:57
Cuz I'll be honest, for a lot of these
7:58
printers now, a lot that I review, it's
8:01
becoming less about the tech in the
8:03
modern world of 3D printing, ease of use
8:06
really does have the most to say. So,
8:08
I've got to be honest, the difference
8:09
between this machine and one with a
8:11
similar spec that people may find better
8:14
is going to be down to no more than the
8:16
profiles that ship with it, of which
8:19
Soval's selection is already limited,
8:21
but the ones they do have just aren't
8:24
dialed in well enough. And in the
8:26
current market, I've got to be honest,
8:28
that's the bare minimum for most other
8:30
units. If Soval spent more time having
8:33
these ready to go out the box, I think
8:35
people would be flocking to them a lot
8:37
more, especially because they've got
8:38
that open Voron approach in a few ways.
8:41
They're actually doing a better job than
8:43
Prusser of catering to a similar niche
8:46
in this market. But for me, this was
8:49
genuinely just the start of my problems.
8:51
I was so excited to get the enclosure on
8:54
this and test ABS printing. And the
8:56
enclosure is kind of decent. It's got
8:58
three metal panels for the sides, a half
9:00
panel for the top along with two glass
9:02
doors and a glass half panel for the
9:05
top. Unfortunately, there's quite a few
9:07
holes in the chassis which would let
9:10
heat out when heating things. Anyway,
9:12
installation is straightforward. Again,
9:14
it's just lengthy and cumbersome due to
9:16
the size of the machine and my limited
9:19
space. And yeah, as previously
9:20
mentioned, the fans are on the rear. One
9:22
inlet, one outlet. They're external
9:25
because there's no space inside the
9:27
machine to put these. Speaking of fans,
9:30
there's also no part cooling fan to help
9:33
with filament cooling and bridging and
9:35
things like that, and there's none
9:37
available. Speaking of things that I
9:39
don't have or perhaps aren't available
9:41
and I'm a little bit confused, Soval
9:43
didn't send me the chamber heater for
9:44
this and I can't find one on their
9:46
website despite the product listing for
9:48
the08 Max saying optional chamber
9:51
heater. Yeah. So, I preheated the
9:54
chamber using the bed and got it as hot
9:56
as I possibly could and then printed
9:58
with ABS and the result was absolutely
10:02
awful. And I doubt this is just a
10:04
chamber heat issue. It's clearly more of
10:06
a flow rate problem to retract the
10:08
layers this much from each other. So, I
10:11
went back to do some more PLA testing to
10:13
start to dial this in as they intend you
10:15
to do. But whilst I was doing that, I
10:18
forgot to keep the lid off the machine,
10:19
which it does say on the lid, keep the
10:21
lid off when printing materials like
10:23
PLA, and I accidentally jammed the
10:25
nozzle due to the excess heat in the
10:27
chamber. Now, thankfully, the extruder
10:29
is easy to access by simply removing the
10:31
face plate and then the front board on
10:34
the head unit. just two screws. Then you
10:36
just need to remove the screw for the
10:38
spring-loaded tension arm, and you've
10:40
got immediate access to the extruder
10:41
gear and any jammed filament, at least
10:44
in the extruder gear. And before I move
10:46
on, I've said it before and I'll have to
10:47
say it again, this level of access for
10:50
maintenance should be applauded and
10:53
adopted by other brands. Now, yeah, the
10:55
nozzle here isn't as quick swap with a
10:58
latch, but it is just three screws and
11:00
two screws for the fan. It's not the
11:03
hardest, but at least Soval are maybe
11:07
considering that yeah, filament jams are
11:10
going to happen just like paper jams in
11:12
2D printers. So, being able to have fast
11:14
access to that mechanism, incredibly
11:16
handy. But unfortunately, because the
11:19
excess heat actually caused the PLA to
11:21
melt inside the top of the nozzle above
11:24
the heat brake, I just couldn't unclog
11:27
this. And believe me, you're you're
11:29
seeing the short version of the efforts
11:31
I went through. So I jumped up to the
11:34
0.8 mm nozzle and immediately just got
11:37
errors from the auxiliary feeder from
11:39
the first layer indicating a jam. And no
11:42
matter what I tried, the feeder simply
11:45
couldn't keep up with the speed that the
11:47
machine was pushing out filament. So I
11:49
tried completely ignoring the feeder and
11:52
going direct from spool to hotend and
11:55
the extruder gear simply couldn't pull
11:57
the filament in fast enough. So either
11:59
So I'll need to update the firmware on
12:01
that to work differently when you're
12:04
using the larger nozzle or you need to
12:06
accept it and mount the filament
12:08
somewhere else like directly above the
12:11
hotend. So finally I moved on to the 6
12:14
nozzle hoping that this would be the
12:16
best of both worlds. But when this got
12:18
partway through a print, a print by Alex
12:21
Geek Workshop that I wanted to do for
12:23
this video, which is two power fists,
12:26
and this is the only printer even
12:27
slightly big enough to print that on.
12:30
Yeah, it got partway through and the
12:31
tool head knocked over a part and left
12:33
me with a bit of spaghetti mess. And
12:35
I'll be honest, at this point, I gave up
12:37
and I wanted to go back to the point 4,
12:39
but I'd now clogged that beyond repair.
12:42
I need to get a replacement. And
12:43
overall, that kind of says it for me.
12:46
This is now an example of what I've been
12:48
saying about these machines from the
12:50
get- go. They are fine. They're decently
12:52
priced and the brand are pretty clear
12:54
with you that you're buying a
12:57
mass-produced Voron. And the important
12:59
thing for you to know about that is,
13:01
yeah, that means you will be expected to
13:04
do a lot of tinkering yourself starting
13:06
from the print profiles when you get it.
13:08
Yeah, when you get these, there is an
13:10
expectation you'll need to whether or
13:12
not you want to tinker to get the best
13:15
out of it. To me, that feels a bit
13:18
legacy now and simply isn't something
13:20
that I personally want to do. I respect
13:23
those who do. I just want to print
13:25
things. And this has a great unique
13:27
selling point in its print volume. And
13:30
in that print volume, it has core XY
13:32
mechanics. But that selling point would
13:35
have been so much stronger if Soval gave
13:39
us competitive print profiles out of the
13:42
box. Forget competitive, just on par
13:46
with the competition. That's kind of
13:48
what's letting them down. Make this more
13:51
user accessible and you'd have the best
13:54
of both worlds here. Right now, this
13:56
exists for those people who both want to
13:59
tinker and specifically those who want
14:01
to tinker and specifically want to print
14:04
with this big print volume. And I don't
14:07
know how big that audience is. If it's
14:09
you and this video was helpful, I I I
14:12
doubt it, but as usual, please use my
14:15
affiliate links down in the description
14:16
before making a purchase. That'll cost
14:18
you nothing, but will net me a
14:20
commission at no cost to you. For
14:22
everyone here, I want to say thanks for
14:24
watching with a huge thanks going out to
14:25
our members who are on screen now.
14:28
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14:32
rolls, and your name in likes. Until
14:34
next time, I'm Blue Da da da faux hammer
