The Sovol SV06 Got Much More Interesting In 2024

| Comments

First of all, I am NOT saying that you should buy a Sovol SV06. I wholeheartedly believe that the Bambu A1 Mini is by far the best $200 3D printer, and I really do think everyone should own one. The only measure where the Sovol SV06 beats the Bambu A1 Mini is size.

If you click one of my links and buy a Sovol, I will make a few dollars. If you buy a Bambu printer, I will make absolutely nothing. I still think you should buy a printer from Bambu.

Stable Diffusion 3D printer guy

I DO believe there are good reasons to buy a Sovol SV06, SV06 Plus, or SV08. I also believe that Sovol makes a decent printer, but you have to understand what you’re buying.

Now that we got that out of the way, let’s talk about why the Sovol SV06 recently got more awesome.

The Sovol SV06 now ships with Marlin’s input shaper

Do you already own a Sovol SV06? If you do, then you should definitely head over to Sovol’s website and download the latest firmware and Orcaslicer profiles. Your prints will run two or three times faster.

I updated my Sovol SV06 to support Marlin’s input shaping a little over 12 months ago. I had to dial it in on my own and create my own PrusaSlicer and Orcaslicer profiles. That work resulted in me being able to print a 21-minute Benchy with a 0.6 mm nozzle.

This was my Sovol SV06 going about as fast as Octoprint will allow!

This is neat, but I have to note here that I have seen my Bambu A1 Mini print a Benchy in less than 14 minutes at a higher resolution with its 0.4 mm nozzle. The A1 Mini can print faster than my Sovol SV06. Even so, if I slice a Benchy myself with Bambu’s stock profiles, it won’t print much faster than the 35-minute Benchy that Sovol is advertising for the SV06. The 14-minute Benchy on Bambu’s SD card is super optimized!

You don’t have to do any of the work I did to make my own Sovol SV06 fast. If you buy a Sovol SV06 today, it will ship with officially supported firmware that has the input shaper configured for you. Once you figure out how to get your Sovol up and running, you will be printing almost as fast as a Bambu printer.

If you already own a Sovol SV06, you are one firmware update away from printing almost as fast as a Bambu Lab printer!

The Sovol SV06 is ancient technology

The Sovol SV06 is an open-source clone of the venerable Prusa MK3. It is a solid, reliable, and well proven design, but it is built around technology that was state of the art in 2016.

It is also extremely important to note that while Prusa uses premium components, Sovol seems to be using the cheapest parts they can get away with. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but this is one of the reasons why a Prusa MK3S kit was $750 while an almost fully assembled Sovol SV06 costs $199.

Fast benchy on my Sovol SV06

One of my first 30-minute Benchy prints on my Sovol SV06

Almost every single Prusa ships with straight rods, good bearings, and a decent print bed. Some people get a good roll of the dice, and they wind up with a nearly perfect printer from Sovol. A few people will wind up rolling poorly, and they will receive a dud.

There are a lot of little things that a Prusa MK4, Prusa XL, or any printer from Bambu can do that a Sovol SV06 can’t, but the most important upgrade would be their modern bed-leveling systems.

Sovol’s printers are still using an inductive probe to locate the heated bed. These sense the position of the print surface indirectly, and their accuracy varies with temperature. That means they aren’t detecting the PEI surface that plastic has to stick to—they are sensing the metal underneath, which means it is up to you to explain to the printer where the nozzle is in relation to the metal surface.

Bambu Lab printers and the most recent Prusa printers detect when the nozzle makes actual contact with the surface. These printers know exactly where the nozzle is in relation to the PEI sheet. Temperature doesn’t have any impact on this like it does with a PINDA probe, and heat slightly changing the shape of the bed doesn’t matter. These more modern printers know how to get a perfect first layer almost every single time.

0.2mm nozzle benchy

The Bambu A1 Mini prints a very nice tiny Benchy with zero tuning or effort, using the 0.2 mm nozzle!

I only use my Sovol SV06 once or twice a month, and I always wonder if I am going to have to adjust the Z-offset for my next print. I have been doing this for more than a decade. I know how to make this adjustment quite well, but the trouble is that I don’t know if I will need to do it until after the start of my next print fails. This is a waste of my time.

If you are new to 3D printing, then this is the thing you are most likely to mess up. Buying a printer that doesn’t require you to dial in a z-offset may be worth several hours of wasted time.

You get a lot of nice features when you buy a Bambu A1 Mini. This feature in particular could be the difference between immediately seeing a successful print vs. hours of frustration.

Sovol is cutting as many corners as they can get away with

There are people all over r/Sovol and r/3DPrinting complaining about bent linear rods, crunchy bearings, and warped beds on their Sovol printers.

It is challenging to determine which folks are actually having a problem, and which folks are expecting perfection. Nobody is getting a perfectly flat print bed on a Sovol SV06, and you don’t need one. Marlin’s mesh bed leveling can compensate for a bed that is 0.4 mm or so out of flat.

Some people have DEFINITELY received beds that are too bent to be usable, but Reddit is flooded with people who think they need perfection. You don’t need perfection to get a good first layer, and Sovol isn’t likely to ship you perfection.

It isn’t just that Sovol chooses cheap components. Their customer service department is tiny, they are slow to respond to emails or tickets, and they don’t keep people updated about the status of their preorders.

Every time Sovol releases a new printer, you will see one or two people every day on Reddit complaining that Sovol isn’t answering their emails about when their printer is going to ship. If you’re expecting good customer service, then you need to spend more money to get it.

You are getting precisely what you pay for. You just need to understand that you aren’t paying for a premium product, and you aren’t paying for a cadre of customer support people. These are some of the reasons that you are getting a bigger printer from Sovol for less money.

Refurbished Sovol SV06 printers are where things get interesting

The Bambu A1 Mini and Sovol SV06 are both about $200. Just about the only reason to pick the Sovol is the bigger build volume. The Bambu is better in every single other way.

Refurbished Sovol SV06 printers are listed at $149. Now you get a bigger build volume AND you save about $50. Is that a good deal?

I’d still go with the A1 Mini. At the time I am writing this, the Sovol SV06 refurbs don’t seem to ship with the input-shaping firmware installed. That is something you will have to spend time upgrading, and it is something that you can mess up.

But that is just, like, my opinion, man! The hours I save using my Bambu A1 Mini instead of futzing with my Sovol SV06 are easily $50 to me. In fact, those hours are worth way more than $50 to me. The results that come out of my printer enable my other hobbies, so I prefer that my printers just work.

A whole lot of people enjoy tuning and upgrading their 3D printers. This is a valid hobby all on its own, and it makes a ton of sense to buy a Sovol SV06 or Sovol SV08 if that is what you enjoy. I certainly don’t want to deprive you of something that you would consider fun!

A few more complaints about the Sovol SV06

When I bought my refurbished Sovol SV06 in April of 2023, my biggest complaint was how loud these printers are. My Prusa MK3S was almost as quiet as a whisper when printing in stealth mode, while the SV06 has the drone of loud, cheap fans as soon as you flip the power switch, and things only get louder when you start printing.

This is still true today. My Sovol SV06 is louder than my Bambu Lab A1 Mini, but neither printer is quiet. You just can’t print fast and quiet. A 3D printer has to move a lot of air to cool the object you are printing, and the faster you are printing, the faster those fans need to go.

Sovol SV06 cable clips

*My SV06 has inadequate cooling for high speeds toward the front left. These are printed with the same settings, but with the overhang oriented in different directions.

Keep in mind that I have upgraded every fan on my Sovol SV06, and I have dialed in these bigger fans to spin as slowly as I can get away with to keep the noise down. My Sovol SV06 is probably quieter than stock.

A lot of people will tell you that there are upgrades and other things that you HAVE to do to your Sovol SV06. They are exaggerating. You don’t have to do anything. The Sovol SV06 prints just fine with 100% stock hardware.

That said, it is hard to resist the urge to upgrade. Those crappy 4010 fans on the extruder assembly are loud and underpowered. Upgrading the part-cooling fan will improve overhangs and bridges, and it will allow you to print a little faster. Swapping out the power-supply fan will make the printer quieter. Spending two bucks on a knock-off CHT-style nozzle will increase your maximum print speed by up to 35%.

If you are planning on immediately spending $20 or $30 on upgrades and investing hours of your time into getting those things working, it might be worth considering putting another $100 in and just skipping ahead to the even bigger and better 256-mm Bambu A1.

I feel like I have to mention the Sovol SV08

The Sovol SV08 is an impressive machine. It is an open-source clone of the Voron. It’s massive 350x350x340 mm build volume is very nearly as big as the $1,999 Prusa XL, but the Sovol SV08 is currently priced at $579.

If you need a machine as big as the Prusa XL, then the Sovol SV08 seems like a steal!

I am looking at things from the other direction. I rarely need a printer larger than my Bambu Lab A1 Mini, but I would enjoy owning a printer larger than my Sovol SV06. That printer SHOULD be a full-size Bambu A1 with an AMS Lite, but there is a tickle in my brain telling me I should put a Sovol SV08 in place of my Sovol SV06.

I liked the value proposition from this angle a lot better when the Sovol SV08 launched with early-bird pricing of $450 while the Bambu A1 was $399 or $559 with an AMS Lite. The trouble is that the Sovol SV08 has crept up in price, and Bambu sure seems to have made their anniversary sale pricing permanent.

Now it is $579 for the Sovol SV08, $339 for the Bambu A1, or $489 for the Bambu A1 with AMS Lite. That has me leaning back toward the convenience of a Bambu Lab printer with an AMS.

Conclusion

In the world of 3D printing, choosing the right machine can be a daunting task. While the Sovol SV06 does have its merits, especially with the recent firmware upgrades that enhance its performance, it is essential to recognize that the Bambu A1 Mini excels in various ways, including user-friendliness, build quality, print quality, and performance. For those who value ease of use, speed, and price, the A1 Mini is hard to beat, while the Sovol SV06 may appeal to enthusiasts on an even tighter budget who are looking for a larger build volume or the joy of tuning and customizing their own printers. Not all of us find joy in working on our 3D printers, and that is OK!

Ultimately, your choice should align with your printing needs, preferences, and budget. Whether you opt for a Sovol or a Bambu 3D Printer, remember to keep your expectations realistic.

I’d love to hear your thoughts! Have you had experiences with either the Sovol SV06 or the Bambu Lab A1 Mini? It would be awesome if you would share your insights in the comments below. And if you’re passionate about 3D printing or want to connect with other enthusiasts, consider joining our Discord server! It’s a fantastic space to share tips, get advice, and stay updated on the latest in the 3D-printing community.

Comments