I purchased a Kimetsu KL9 SLA printer from Sain Smart in December of 2020. It worked beautifully for 10 days, and then the LCD screen failed. Sain Smart tech support was very helpful in diagnosing the problem, and eventually shipped me a replacement LCD screen and links to several videos showing how to replace the screen. After over 16 hours of struggling with the cable connector on the screen I gave up. Tech support, again very helpful, decided to replace the whole printer. The second printer arrived and worked beautifully for 5 weeks. Then the LCD screen died. Tech support was out of replacement screens. After a week or so, they offered to ship a replacement printer. The third printer arrived. From the start, there were problems with getting prints to stick to the build plate. Tech support suggested increasing exposure times. At about double the recommended exposure time (and subsequent print time) I started getting acceptable results. After about 4 weeks, I started noticing large holes in the printed models, and eventually discovered that the LCD screen had large black spots where the pixels were failing. The number and size of the spots grew until I only had about 4 sq inches of usable build surface where I could print. Tech support shipped me a replacement screen. I purchased a second screen as a backup. Both screens arrived at about the same time and I went to work. After 20+ hours working with tweezers, a digital microscope, a new screen cable, and reviewing all of the installation videos several times I still can’t get either screen to work in any of the three printers. The final straw came when the connector on one of the screens broke while I was trying to latch the cable in place. Sain Smart has done an outstanding job of trying to stand behind and support a bad product. But I deeply regret purchasing the KL9 printer. I am an electronics engineer with experience in manufacturing and in repair of computers and other 3D printers. The connector on the LCD screen is tiny, fragile, and poorly designed for a part that apparently needs to be replaced every month or so. This whole process has been a nightmare. All three machines are going on the junk heap because I don’t think anyone (outside the factory) can repair them. The KL9 now competes against similarly priced monochrome LCD printers with longer operating life, faster print time, higher resolution, and comparable build size. I understand that it is unprofitable to fix this design. The only way any KL9 printer will still be working a year from now is if Sain Smart starts selling the LCD screen and cable pre-assembled with a touch of goop on the connector to keep it sealed. Even then, I don’t know that the short life of the screens makes a $60-$80 repair an attractive option. I have been told that there is no way to upgrade the KL9 printers to a 4K monochrome screen. Other vendors have figured out how to do it. Even at $150 to get a replacement motherboard and monochrome screen there would be a lot of KL9 owners willing and eager to upgrade and keep using what is otherwise a pretty good design. As it is, the model lab I consult with has designated their KL9 as “run to fail” and will not try to repair it when it fails. They have already started shopping for a replacement. I have started saving up for a replacement as well.

Happy! Great to have a spare for when the time comes to replace my screen