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Resin printing is getting weird again. I’ve finally got my hands on the final retail versions of the Uniformation GK3 — both of them. And yes, there are two. The GK3-T and GK3-B are near-identical resin 3D printers, differing only in their motion systems: one with a lead screw (aka T-screw), and the other using a ball screw. Same shell, same screen, but different guts — and a few surprises.
This is a full review, not just a preview, so we're going hands-on with the actual shipping units. If you’re into 3D printing for tabletop miniatures, garage kits, or just want a reliable UV resin printer that won’t make firmware updates a full-time job, this should answer most of your questions — or raise some new ones.
Whether you're upgrading from the GK2, comparing against the Elegoo Saturn 4 or Anycubic M7, or just trying to decode why the GK3T and GK3B both exist, this video walks through everything from screen replacements and lid design to motion hardware, VOC handling, and more.
Curious how the GK3 stacks up against other 16K resin printers? Wondering if a ball screw is really worth the extra cash? Or if a T-screw is just fine for miniatures? This might help. Just don’t expect a straight answer.
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0:00
so once again I've got two GK3 printers
0:02
in front of me and no this isn't deja vu
0:05
this time neither of them is the GK3 Pro
0:08
these are both standard GK3 printers but
0:11
if you take a closer look can you spot
0:13
the difference go on pause the video
0:15
drop it in the comments if you think
0:16
you've cracked it already we'll get to
0:18
it soon enough because now finally is
0:21
the time to ditch the preview talk and
0:23
bring you a proper review of the normal
0:26
basic bog standard GK3
0:30
and sure a lot of people have already
0:31
shrugged these off but buried in this
0:34
machine is one surprisingly good reason
0:36
you might actually want to pick this
0:38
model or one of these models over any of
0:40
its direct competitors it's just a shame
0:43
that that one feature kind of feels like
0:45
a happy accident hi this is Ross and I'm
0:48
Fammer Videos now starting off with a
0:51
bit of a somber retread one of the
0:53
biggest issues with the GK3 launch was
0:55
the creation of two machines so
0:57
incredibly similar with the only
0:59
difference being so nuanced it's more
1:00
likely to confuse people than help them
1:03
the kind of thing that makes people go
1:05
you know what that mess and just pick a
1:07
different brand to avoid the headache
1:08
entirely but to be fair to Uniformation
1:11
after the early preview videos dropped
1:13
and the community started sharing some
1:15
strong feedback they did go back and
1:18
make some changes other brands don't do
1:20
that so credit where it's due it's
1:22
genuinely refreshing to see a brand
1:24
actually listening instead of just
1:26
quietly waiting to move on to their next
1:28
machine that said their fix about the
1:30
two different machines well now having
1:33
three kind of just makes the lineup even
1:35
more confusing because yeah now there
1:37
are three GK3 printers okay four if you
1:41
count the Ultra but the actual
1:43
difference between these two standard
1:45
models well one uses a ball screw and
1:48
the other uses a lead screw also known
1:50
as a T-crew which adds even more
1:53
confusion to the pile so let's try and
1:55
straighten it out so the original
1:57
frustration was this in the previews I
1:59
said if the ball screw is supposed to be
2:01
the better motion system and it's only
2:03
available on the Pro then that means
2:05
anyone who doesn't want the Pro's 385 nm
2:09
light source will be stuck with a
2:11
potentially less desirable mechanical
2:13
setup so to me the ideal solution would
2:16
be offer the 405 nanometer light source
2:19
the normal GK3 printer that most people
2:21
want with the ball screw option so
2:23
people can choose based on use case not
2:26
arbitrary part restrictions and for a
2:28
while that's exactly what happened in
2:30
fact kind of uniformation quietly
2:33
upgraded the standard GK3 to also use a
2:36
ball screw and from what we saw in their
2:38
Facebook group all the early buyers got
2:40
that version now things have shifted
2:42
again and apparently it's due to
2:44
staffing limitations specifically they
2:47
just don't have enough technicians
2:48
qualified to install the ball screw
2:50
reliably they had to scale back
2:52
production of that version which is why
2:54
they're so commonly out of stock so now
2:57
they offer the cheaper T-screw variant
2:58
alongside it aimed at people who want
3:01
the standard GK3 but just don't care too
3:03
much about the motion hardware does that
3:06
clear things up yeah didn't think so i'd
3:08
also suggest they wouldn't have this
3:10
problem if they just hadn't made the GK3
3:12
Pro but that's another video it's a
3:15
different printer anyway I'm going to
3:16
cover the rest of the changes as we go
3:18
through and I mean changes from the
3:20
preview so let's start proper with the
3:22
stuff you see on the outside the kind of
3:23
stuff that makes you go "Ooh," before
3:25
the printer inevitably disappoints you
3:27
with firmware bugs and some confusing
3:29
design choices that make no practical
3:31
sense now I've already said I don't love
3:33
the look of it the gray plastic against
3:35
the green lid it's not my cup of tea
3:37
i've warmed to it a bit but still yeah
3:40
I've seen better the lift up and over
3:42
lid is nice and they've now added rubber
3:44
seals down the side to help keep in
3:46
VOCC's or at least it would if there
3:48
wasn't a few millm gap between the
3:50
handle recess and the VAT a gap that
3:52
could have been easily fixed with a
3:54
simple extra piece of plastic and this
3:56
lid is also removable so you can use it
3:59
as a face plate the USB port on the
4:01
front is recessed into the body of the
4:03
machine to avoid resin drips but one
4:05
thing I missed which Derek from J3D Tech
4:07
pointed out recently is that the port
4:09
itself is recessed a bit too far into
4:12
the plastic too so if you use a USB
4:15
stick with a thicker neck it might not
4:18
actually fit now thankfully the ones
4:20
that come with it do fit but for reasons
4:22
I'll come on to later they're not always
4:24
the best ones to use round the back
4:26
you've got the Wi-Fi antenna port and an
4:28
Ethernet socket yay and I am genuinely
4:31
glad they included one that alone makes
4:34
this unit a far more appealing option
4:35
for print farms than most that's not the
4:38
killer feature also on the rear is the
4:40
power socket but gone from the retail
4:42
version is the old school rocker switch
4:45
that's now been moved to the front of
4:46
the machine using the same style of
4:48
power button as the GK2 which I've
4:50
always been a fan of i like a good click
4:52
clack the only issue is that it's hidden
4:54
underneath the rotatable screen plate
4:56
and as much as I like this rotatable
4:58
plate because it means I don't need to
5:00
crane my neck to look at the screen when
5:02
I'm stood above it yeah I just don't
5:04
know that this was a level of
5:05
engineering we really needed in a 3D
5:07
printer but going back to the power
5:09
socket yeah placement wise it's a bit
5:11
dafted it's almost a thrownin solution
5:13
now I like that they cared enough to
5:15
move it to the front because if it's
5:16
around the back and you've got things up
5:18
close to your printer you can't reach it
5:20
but I can guarantee there will be people
5:22
out there who will get this machine and
5:24
spend far too long trying to figure out
5:26
how to turn it on now probably not the
5:28
people watching this video obviously
5:30
you've just seen it but I already know
5:32
of a few users who've had this printer
5:33
for over a week before realizing that
5:36
this plate even rotates upwards now
5:38
we'll move on to the guts of the thing
5:39
the bits that actually make it go br and
5:41
sploosh depending on how your prints
5:43
going and how excited you are first up
5:46
the build plate i love this i've always
5:48
loved this it's my favorite build plate
5:50
of any printer yeah it's chunky but it's
5:53
not as heavy as it looks the surface has
5:55
got a really nice soft grain texture
5:58
it's consistent across the whole thing
6:00
and once you've got it dialed in
6:01
adhesion is absolutely no issue and
6:04
there's even a little lip around the
6:05
edge to catch minor resin spills which
6:08
is one of those simple why doesn't
6:10
everyone do this sort of details and in
6:12
my opinion this has got the best
6:14
leveling mechanism of any comparable
6:16
printer no autoleveling crap no wobble
6:19
just a solid latch that clips the build
6:21
plate directly onto the Z arm it locks
6:24
in place tight clean mechanical it works
6:27
but again this isn't the killer reason
6:29
to buy one moving downwards it's got a
6:31
single linear rail setup like the GK2
6:33
and now depending on which version you
6:35
end up with you'll either get a T-crew
6:37
or a ball screw from what I've been told
6:39
by people with actual engineering
6:41
degrees neither one is inherently better
6:43
for accuracy at this scale a bad ball
6:45
screw can easily be worse than a good
6:47
lead screw but according to Uniformation
6:50
the reason they chose this as an option
6:52
is just that the ball screw is designed
6:54
to last longer and that's it fair enough
6:57
then there's the VAT it's big it's
6:58
plastic it comes fitted with a crystal
7:00
clear PFA film labeled as NFP and just
7:04
for clarity PFA stands for perflloroy
7:08
and it's basically the stuff that
7:09
replaced FEP which is florinated
7:11
ethylene propylene nfep is just a
7:14
marketing term that means new FEP and
7:16
new FEP is PFA so when you see NFP or
7:20
PFA usually the same thing the large vat
7:23
is great for catching resin drips the
7:25
only real issue is that the resin feed
7:27
system sticks out the back corner and of
7:30
course that's exactly where the pore
7:31
spout is so when it comes time to empty
7:33
it it's more awkward than I feel it
7:36
needs to be on the left side though
7:38
there is a really handy recess section
7:40
where you can actually sit the bill
7:42
plate in sideways and that lets you use
7:44
the entire width of the bat as a drip
7:46
tray and I love this more brand should
7:48
implement it but something I missed in
7:50
my preview and credit to James over at
7:52
Rising 8 for spotting it was that the
7:54
lid wouldn't actually close properly on
7:56
those machines if the plate was sitting
7:58
in that slot and Uniformation have since
8:01
changed the design slightly they've now
8:03
extended the upper arm so you can close
8:05
the lid but it's a bit of a bodgege job
8:07
you kind of have to wedge it shut now it
8:09
works but it's definitely more of a
8:11
workaround than a fix also in the back
8:13
left corner of the VAT there's a little
8:15
metal pin which actually tells the auto
8:17
refill system when it's time to top up
8:19
the resin and below the VAT we've got
8:21
the LCD and it comes with a plastic
8:23
screen protector it's not as optically
8:26
clear as glass so you will lose a bit of
8:28
UV efficiency but it's easier to replace
8:31
and that counts for something just tear
8:33
it off drop a new one on and I had to do
8:35
that after a resin leak which I'll
8:37
explain in my GK3 Pro video now then the
8:40
screen itself this is what they call a
8:42
16K panel it's not 16K i've done plenty
8:45
of videos explaining that we'll just go
8:47
with the resolution which is 15,120x
8:50
6,230
8:51
pixels uniformation do actually list the
8:54
screen size honestly as 9.6 in which
8:57
I've got to say I appreciate because
8:59
other brands like to pretend this is a
9:00
10-in display when it's not but this
9:03
makes your build volume here 211x
9:06
118x240
9:07
mm and yeah in my preview I did winge
9:10
about this screen being smaller than the
9:12
GK2's 10.1 in panel but as it turns out
9:15
and thanks to Nico from Concepts 3D for
9:17
this the printer brands don't really
9:19
have control over that the screen
9:21
manufacturers are the ones who are
9:22
driving these changes smaller panels
9:25
smaller pixels higher resolution it's
9:27
more marketing juice and these new
9:29
screens also limit UV penetration in the
9:32
process but the point is it's not
9:35
uniformation's fault as I might have
9:37
implied before that said a lot of us in
9:39
the community have noticed that the
9:41
panels are kind of getting worse in the
9:43
name of progress still the end result is
9:46
this is on par with other so-called
9:48
10-in printers using the same 9.6 in 16K
9:52
screen mostly thanks to the Cobb light
9:54
source underneath so print quality yeah
9:57
it's on par with the best in its class
9:59
and I'll take that but here's where it
10:01
gets really interesting to me at least
10:03
and weirdly and like I said accidentally
10:06
this is the feature that might tip
10:08
people over the edge it's the stupidly
10:11
easy to replace screen now seriously
10:13
that's not a joke if you're weighing
10:15
this up against something like a Saturn
10:16
4 or an M7 do yourself a favor go and
10:19
watch a screen replacement video for
10:21
either of those printers and I'll be
10:23
right here when you get back and if
10:25
you've gone there and done that and
10:26
watched them yeah thought so now I
10:29
actually called Elgu out for this
10:31
directly in my Ultra 16K review but I
10:33
genuinely didn't realize that any Cubic
10:35
were just as bad and this process is
10:38
before you get to the people saying that
10:40
their printer was never quite the same
10:42
again after the swap so whilst this may
10:44
seem like a tiny thing and I did say in
10:46
the intro this feels like an accidental
10:48
win it could genuinely be the reason why
10:51
people picked this printer over its
10:53
competitors especially if you're
10:54
planning to use it for longer than the
10:56
lifespan of a single LCD and when we
10:59
consider these newer panels need
11:00
stronger light sources just to push the
11:02
UV through yeah they're burning out
11:05
quicker as well now one last thing
11:07
underneath the screen is a heater that
11:08
warms the lower chamber and allows heat
11:10
to rise through the LCD into the resin
11:13
and yes that can also affect the life of
11:15
the screen but and the only counter I've
11:17
got for this is if we use the GK2 as an
11:20
example people weren't exactly
11:22
complaining about those panels dying
11:24
prematurely and it's only 20 odd degrees
11:27
a lot of people in the world operate
11:29
their hardware at 30 plus degrees so
11:32
genuinely I'm not worried that this is
11:34
going to make a massive impact to the
11:36
screen life but it is just a guess would
11:39
I prefer a heated vat yeah but this
11:41
works so a couple of extra features to
11:44
mention it's got a built-in fan which
11:46
pushes bad air through a magnetized
11:48
carbon filter at the back and then
11:49
recirculates it back into the chamber
11:51
unfortunately thanks to the gap in the
11:53
lid which you could tape shut that same
11:56
air flow will help push VOCC's straight
11:58
through the gap and into your room but
12:00
what I think is really cool is that
12:02
Uniformation do provide a printable
12:04
exhaust adapter on the USB stick and in
12:07
that case that gap actually becomes a
12:09
benefit because it sucks clean air in
12:10
through the front and pushes the bad air
12:13
out through the back so intentional
12:15
feature or another happy accident who
12:17
knows another feature is the resin feed
12:20
you can use Uniformation's new cuboid
12:22
bottles to create a constant feed of
12:24
resin into your vat during the print and
12:27
they even give you a free empty bottle
12:28
with your printer so you can fill it
12:30
with your own resin and I like the idea
12:32
of it in theory but since I've learned
12:35
this is just another resin pump like any
12:38
other resin pump which means it's a pain
12:40
in the ass to clean the lines out and I
12:43
have seen one too many people posting
12:45
about how the lines cracked internally
12:47
inside the machine yeah like any resin
12:49
pump system I personally will not use it
12:53
and yeah that means I'm a bit gutted
12:55
that we're paying for something or at
12:56
least I'm gutted that I would be paying
12:58
for something that I and I think many
13:01
others won't actually use and finally
13:04
the webcam it's a very good
13:06
highresolution camera and thanks to the
13:08
new app and cloud connection we can
13:11
finally remotely monitor prints visibly
13:14
on this machine and generate time-lapses
13:17
hooray took them long enough and I have
13:20
to say it is a shame that the light they
13:22
put in this printer is mostly blocked by
13:25
the bloody build plate that's between
13:27
the light and the print but at least in
13:30
this final version the light has a
13:31
proper amber cover rather than just
13:33
being a normal light covered in orange
13:35
tape right then the UI this is super
13:39
basic it's not sexy it's simple it's
13:42
pretty much exactly the same as the GK2
13:45
bar a few new options for the new
13:47
features on the new printer we can do a
13:49
bit more now like edit settings
13:51
mid-print which is helpful but some of
13:53
the features we expected by now still
13:55
feel a bit halfbaked first
13:57
disappointment for me firmware updates
14:00
you see there's a menu that looks like
14:02
you can go into it and search for and
14:04
apply overthe-air updates but in the
14:07
last 6 months I've never once seen
14:08
anything appear there and speaking to
14:10
Uniformation it turns out that
14:12
over-the-air updates aren't actually a
14:14
thing on this printer nor will it ever
14:17
be possible but even when I inserted a
14:19
USB drive with a firmware update on it
14:21
that menu still didn't see it instead
14:24
the way to run updates is you have to
14:26
run two files an RBF and a BIN file and
14:29
you load them as if you're loading print
14:31
jobs which yeah it's kind of awkward but
14:33
for some yet unexplained reason none of
14:36
the three USB drives that I got from
14:39
Uniformation would actually allow the
14:41
firmware update to process it was only
14:44
when I tried a SanDisk USB stick that
14:46
the update actually ran and I've still
14:48
got no idea why these uniformation
14:50
drives worked absolutely fine
14:53
transferring print files just not the
14:55
firmware update so yeah go figure but I
14:58
think the biggest letdown is their
15:00
multi-exposure test yes we got it but
15:03
it's so limited you can't use your own
15:05
test files like on other machines you're
15:07
locked into Uniform's version of the
15:09
test and worst you can't change any of
15:12
the starting exposure times or
15:14
increments it starts at 1.8 seconds and
15:16
then goes up in 0.2 second jumps and
15:19
that's it and that means it's completely
15:21
useless if like me you're running 30
15:23
micron layers i know many of us are so
15:26
for most resins 1.8 seconds is already
15:29
far too high for that resolution and for
15:32
some resins it's still too high at 50
15:33
microns so right now it's a less than
15:36
half useful tool and I can only hope
15:39
they actually bother to revisit this
15:41
later and actually give people the
15:43
flexibility and functionality we need in
15:46
order to make proper use of it cuz right
15:48
now this was a complete waste of
15:50
development time and the existence of it
15:52
kind of makes uniformation look worse
15:54
than they are so conclusion time all in
15:57
all what do I think about this printer
15:59
can I just say ambivalent and leave it
16:02
at that no all right then honestly I do
16:06
still think this is a step down from its
16:08
predecessor but that's mostly because
16:10
when the GK2 came out the GK2 did
16:13
everything the other printers did but in
16:15
smarter more userfriendly ways and it
16:18
was the only one with a decent built-in
16:20
heating system at the time but now other
16:23
printers have caught up and in some ways
16:25
they've overtaken it in terms of tech
16:27
this machine's got no pressure sensing
16:29
for example and no that's not some oh my
16:32
god wow feature but it's still bloody
16:34
handy and yeah as I said I don't love
16:36
paying for a resin pump i prefer those
16:38
to be optional especially considering
16:40
it's a feature that I'll never use i
16:42
think uniformation needs to start
16:44
looking at what consumers want and stop
16:46
just trying to copy as much as they can
16:48
from Formlabs approach but whilst I can
16:51
easily winge I also can't just sit here
16:53
in my grumpy old man cave winging that
16:55
things were better in the GK2 day
16:57
because the only real reason I prefer
16:59
that machine was the screen size this
17:02
still has everything that had and more
17:05
and as I said let's be honest we can't
17:07
blame Uniformation for that the panel
17:09
manufacturers are just giving everyone
17:11
smaller screens now this is what we get
17:14
so I'll begrudgingly accept it and all
17:17
in all I think what it comes down to is
17:19
when you look at this printer in the
17:21
context of everything else out there and
17:23
available right now no it's not the
17:25
smartest it doesn't have all the modern
17:27
bells and whistles i mean it's got a
17:28
time-lapse camera and it does offer some
17:31
convenience in that the build plate is
17:33
still brilliant the way it mounts
17:35
sideways as a drip tray as halfass as
17:37
that implementation now is it's
17:39
genuinely still useful and it's also the
17:42
only printer I've used with a phone app
17:44
that does actually let you see your
17:46
prints in progress not just send you a
17:49
text update saying layer 100 of 4,000
17:52
that's great and all but it's better
17:54
when you can remotely see if a print has
17:56
failed and remotely stop it but above
17:59
all and this repetition is for those of
18:01
you who skipped to the end of the video
18:02
to find out why you should buy this
18:04
instead of a Saturn or M7 again go and
18:07
watch the screen replacement guides for
18:09
either of those printers that's why
18:12
honestly Uniformation should send a
18:14
thank you letter to those other brands
18:16
for making such a mess of their screen
18:18
swap processors because it's probably
18:20
going to win Uniform a lot of business
18:24
so now you've decided this is the
18:26
printer you want but which version do
18:28
you begrudgingly go for t-crew or
18:30
ballcrew well if you want to save as
18:32
much money as possible go with the
18:34
T-crew version if you want it to last a
18:36
bit longer go with the ballcrew version
18:38
but realistically with how long the
18:40
other components will last or how soon
18:42
you'll just want a new printer anyway
18:44
because the tech got upgraded and you
18:46
got bored I'll bet neither one really
18:48
matters for most of us in the long run
18:50
the GK2 had a T-screw and everyone was
18:53
fine with that in fact people are still
18:55
trying to buy them so my honest advice
18:57
flip a coin don't let it decide for you
19:00
but that should tell you how your gut
19:02
feels go with your gut or just get the
19:05
one that's in stock and you may have
19:07
watched this thinking hm maybe I want
19:09
the GK3 Pro instead i'm just going to
19:12
say you probably don't but check out
19:14
that video on my channel i'll link it
19:16
here when it goes live if this video
19:18
helped you decide on a printer I'd
19:19
really appreciate it if you did use the
19:21
affiliate link in the description before
19:24
you make a purchase i will get a
19:25
kickback at no extra cost to you and
19:27
that's what helps me keep making these
19:29
videos i want to give a massive thanks
19:31
to all of our channel members your names
19:33
are on screen now and if you'd like to
19:35
join them you'll get your name up in
19:36
lights Discord rolls early access and
19:38
exclusive videos thank you all for
19:41
watching until next time for those who
19:43
come after Fammer out
19:50
[Music]