The Halot One, Halot Sky, Halot Lite, and Halot Max are four intriguing 3D Printers for Makers interested in resin printing. We cannot resist the alluring beauty that DLP printing produces using digital light to solidify UV sensitive resin into mind-blowing 3D Prints. While this technology developed in the early 90’s, its recognition in the mainstream market is relatively new and steadily growing. Brands like Creality 3D have produced ranges with sequential releases of resin printers, offering new and different features. In this post, we are casting a curious eye over four resin 3D printers in Creality’s new Halot series.
Creality has shot for the stars by moving away from their previous LD series, with notable releases such as the LD-002R. LD-002H, and LD-006. Their Halot printers certainly stand out with impressively high quality and speeds. Besides a gradual increase in size, many differences between the four Halot printers are internal and lead to different user experiences. We hope this side-by-side analysis will help you decide which 3D Printer is right for you.
The Halot One kicks off Creality’s new range and cements their journey into something new. The Creality team seemed to combine the speed of the LD-002R and the detail of the LD-002H in the development of a powerful mainboard. Then, focus shifted to a better user experience. The Halot One heralded major features of the entire Halot series: WiFi connectivity, an ARMCortex microcontroller, and the beginner-friendly 5-inch touchscreen interface.
The small build volume of the Halot One is a drawback for Makers wanting more than a reliable deskside companion. However, for DIY hobbyists with an infinity for RPG miniatures, small models or concept test prints, the Halot One is a fantastic choice that takes up less desk space. The smaller vat where your liquid resin is poured allows the use of less resin at a time and easy clean-up. The Halot One also gives us a first look at Creality’s new intregral light source. Using a 120W light source, this refraction and reflection-based system consists of 6 light sources capable of outputting 3800uw/cm2 and claims an impressive 80% illumination uniformity. This means a near-perfect equal distribution of light onto the resin and results in sharp crisp details for your 3D prints.
Following the ground-breaking introduction of the Halot One, the Halot Lite makes a perfect bridging gap between hobby and professional 3D Printers. This middle-ground build volume is typically what you need for most large RPG miniatures and medium character busts, parts, or models. The Halot Lite is also refreshingly lightweight for its size, taking up little desk space in comparison to others its size. Although it may miss a few bells and whistles you would find on the Halot Sky, this 3D Printer is made for affordability to hobbyists while presenting an upscale option. You could fit multiple small models on this large build plate at once, but that also means a generous amount of resin is needed for the larger vat. A surprise awaits you on the vat tray which now possesses two handles and two curved sides to help pour out the leftover resin. We enjoyed that touch of convenience.
The Halot Lite offers the same WiFi connectivity and brainpower as all Halots, but two internal changes prove it is deserving of the spot as Halot One’s successor. Creality’s integral light source is again at 80% illumination, but this time the Haot Lite has a 3840 x 2400 Resolution LCD screen while the Halot One was only 1620 x 2560 Resolution. Not only does the account for the bigger build area, but it also generates images onto the resin in higher detail. The second difference is an activated carbon air filtration system. Intelligently detecting heat, the Halot Lite evaporates the fumes, reducing odour emission and making it a little easier to keep your room freshly aerated.
The Halot Sky rockets the Halot range into a new league of professionalism. Although somewhat similar to the previous Halot Lite, this 3D printer steps it up significantly and thuds onto your desk with the weight of its upgrades. The Halot Sky is a tank of a 3D Printer. In addition to the usual Halot WiFi connectivity and brain power, the Z-axis structure is reinforced with dual linear z-axis guide rails and a dual ball and screw configuration. This added stability allows you to attempt more ambitiously huge projects without fear of backlash tremors dislodging your print. The Halot Sky is built to accommodate those big models you’re itching to print, while increasing micron-level precision. Creality developed their integral light source to 90% illumination, consisting of 6 light sources capable of outputting 4000uw/cm2. With that, the Halot Sky jumps impressively in print quality.
Topping off these professional features, the Halot Sky introduces a new flip protective cover. Especially for small businesses working on multiple printers at once, safety from resin’s evasive chemicals is a concern that requires conscious thought of the surfaces you touch. Using a single finger, you can lift the Halot Sky’s protective UV resistant cover using a single contact point and reducing risk. Also, Post Processing is made that bit easier and convenient with the two handles and four small rubber feet on the vat of your Halot Sky 3D Printer.
Arriving in a huge crate, the Halot Max is the boss of the Halot range with professional high-grade quality. it’s easy to assume this giant is merely a larger version of the Halot-Sky. However, this 3D Printer is not only an impressive-looking purchase for small businesses and hard-core hobbyists. It handles massive scale models or numerous models at once with its reinforced Z-axis structure including powerful DC motors and an intelligent braking system. Dropping to 80% illumination for the integral light source, the Halot Max makes up for it with 300W power and a 13.3-inch 4K LCD screen to shine sharp details onto the resin. This refraction-and-reflection-based system consists of 6 light sources capable of outputting 3500uw/cm2. Creality jumbo-sized the Halot Max while keeping a good balance between technical and convenient details. In addition to its WiFi connection, the Halot Max has a flip protective cover and two handles on its vat for easy post-processing.
The real startling difference of the Halot Max is its new AI brain! Creality has developed a powerful new motherboard for the Halot series, but the Halot Max has upscaled even its computing power. The Halot Max motherboard features a powerful ARMCortex A53 microcontroller, 64-bit CPU+GPU, and up to 8g memory to provide faster processing times and ultimately faster printing speeds. The easy user interface and WiFi capability turn this 3D Printer into a smart device you can connect to using your phone and print stored files remotely.
Final Thoughts
While there is an obvious increase in scale and ability through each new version, every Halot 3D printer is unique and has merits for the type of Maker who needs it. Are you a hobbyist who will benefit from the Halot One or Lite for their affordable nature and exciting capabilities? Or are you a small business owner looking for a professional and large-scale resin printer, for which the Sky and Max so wonderfully fit your business model? The Halot for you very much depends on your personal needs. If you are curious about the difference higher resolution can make to a print then check out this video from Miniac.
Comparing the Halot range like this, we could not help noticing a clear line crossed into the premium range with the Halot Sky and Max printers. While a flip cover would be convenient for the Halot One and Lite printers as well, these are far better catered towards hobbyists who may have limited desk space and more time on their hands than a busy business professional. Creality’s balance of convenience and ground-breaking industry advancements promise an exciting future for DLP printing. If you are curious about the difference that higher resolution can make to a print then check out this video from Miniac.
If you are interested in resin printing, all the printers in the Creality Halot series are great choices with exciting functionality and quality. We hope these side-by-side comparisons helped to narrow down your decision. If you enjoyed this 3D Printer Comparison and want to see more of them then please consider sharing it on social media. Check out the rest of our blog for other interesting topics and posts. Join the DIY Community Discord or Forum and keep up to date with all things DIYElectronics by checking out our social media, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. If you want to check out our store, click this link.
Copywriter | Digital Artist | Dungeon Master
My greatest passion lies in storytelling, be it through writing, art or playing Dungeons and Dragons with friends and family. I dove into 3D printing a few years ago and earned a lifetime obsession of experimenting, learning, and making new things!