You print a calibration model and notice that the tiny holes are starting to close up.
The obvious fix is to reduce exposure time. So you go from 2.5 seconds to 2.0 seconds. The holes look better, but now some of the thinner supports are less reliable.
If your printer also lets you adjust UV Power, you now have another option. But which one should you change first?
1. Why Do Most Resin Printers Only Open the Exposure Time Parameter to Users?
Tuning parameters usually focus only on exposure time, because most machines expose this parameter to users. The UV power adjustment function is not enabled, mainly because adjusting the exposure time can replace power adjustment in most cases: it is lower-cost, safer for hardware, and more beginner-friendly for the user experience.
1.1 Exposure Time is a Near-Perfect Alternative in Most Cases
For most print scenarios, fine-tuning the exposure time allows extremely precise control over how much resin cures. There is no fixed value for the optimal exposure time; it depends on the combination of "printer + resin + environment," so it is necessary to find the optimal balance point of the current combination through an exposure test. R_E_R_F Anycubic allows users to test the best exposure time settings for a particular machine at the current ambient temperature when printing with a particular color of resin.
1.2 Why Keeping UV Power Fixed Makes Sense
There’s a reason most consumer 3D resin printers don’t let users adjust UV power: keeping it fixed improves hardware reliability and makes the tuning process simpler and less error-prone.
1.2.1 Extend the Lifespan of Optical Components
Limiting UV light sources to proven safe power ranges reduces long-term exposure to UV radiation and thermal loads on the LCD, reduces optical aging, and prolongs exposure screen life.
1.2.2 Reduce the Risk of Printing Failure
Too high UV power can easily lead to overexposure, light bleed, loss of detail, increased resin heat, model warping, or adhesion problems. Limiting the power range increases the tolerance of default parameters, making it easier for novices to get stable print results.
1.3 Fixed Light Intensity Makes Resin Profiles More Transferable
Most common consumer desktop LCD 3D printers completely lock the light intensity power, which can ensure the universality of the official and community "anycubic standard resin parameters". This makes it more standardized.
2. Why Exposure Time Should Usually Be Your First Adjustment
Exposure time is usually easier to tune because there are far more official and community-tested parameter profiles available for reference.
It is also a straightforward numerical variable, while UV power is more closely tied to hardware behavior, heat generation, and the resin’s photochemical response. As a result, exposure time generally provides a more linear and predictable way to control curing.
For most printing scenarios, adjusting exposure time is therefore the simpler and more practical first choice.
3. Does This Mean that UV Power Adjustment is Completely Unnecessary?
In the following scenarios, we think it is more reasonable to adjust UV Power appropriately.
3.1 When Exposure Time Can No Longer Balance Detail and Reliability
If your model is already printing successfully but adjusting exposure time alone can no longer achieve a good balance between fine details and other aspects of print performance—such as support strength and interlayer adhesion—you can try lowering the UV power.
3.2 When Printing Resins with Greater UV Penetration
When printing light-sensitive 3d printer resin materials, such as printing transparent resin, with deeper UV penetration, you can reduce UV Power and then fine-tune the exposure time.
3.3 When You Want to Preserve a Stable Printing Cycle
When lift-retract-exposure is stable, and details are slightly overexposed, try lowering UV Power slightly to keep exposure time constant.
4. Why Adjustable UV Power Can Be Valuable for Print Farms
Farmers 'machines may be different brands, different models, different levels of use, and different daily maintenance conditions, resulting in different states of each machine. Machine side adjustment UV Power--let all machines try to "speak the same language"
Its role is not to let users adjust every day, but:
First, calibrate each machine to be as consistent as possible.
For example:
For machines with strong light sources, reduce UV Power a little;
For machines with weak light sources, improve UV Power a little;
New machines and machines that have been in use for one year should get close to the actual light output by adjusting UV Power.
By doing so, the differences between the machines will be significantly reduced.
For farms, this means:
There is no need to maintain a large number of parameters because each machine is in different states;
When new machines are added to the farm, they are easier to integrate into existing production processes;
It is easier to mix and use equipment of different batches and different ages.
In a word: machine-side regulation is managing the equipment itself so that all machines are as consistent as possible, thus improving the consistency of farmers 'products.
5. How to Access the Hidden UV Power Adjustment on the Anycubic Photon P1 and Photon P1 Max
The steps for accessing and adjusting the hidden UV Power setting on the Anycubic Photon P1 and Photon P1 Max are shown below.
Setting-System-About-Tap Product Name 10 Times-UV Power Adjustment(40-100%)
UV Power adjustment is not included as a standard user-facing feature, mainly to prevent beginners from accidentally changing the setting and causing unexpected results. Keep the following guidelines in mind, and you’ll be able to get started with UV Power adjustment quickly and safely.
5.1 Start with Exposure Time First
First adjust the exposure time. When the model has been able to print stably and successfully, but the details need to be improved, then consider UV Power.
5.2 Adjust Only One Parameter at a Time.
For example, lower UV Power from 100% to 90% while keeping all other settings unchanged, then check the small holes, text, supports, and surface details before deciding what to adjust next.
Avoid changing UV Power, exposure time, and lift height at the same time. Otherwise, it becomes difficult to tell which parameter caused the improvement—or the problem.
5.3 Make Small Adjustments Each Time
Do not adjust too much at a time; the adjustment span should not be too large. It is recommended to adjust the span by 5%~10% each time, gradually finding the best parameter range. Small, gradual adjustments make it much easier to find a stable parameter range.
5.4 Fine-Tune UV Power and Exposure Time Together
UV power and exposure time are not substitutes for each other. Once you start adjusting UV Power, Exposure Time may also need to be fine-tuned to maintain the right balance between curing reliability and print detail.
Still struggling to balance detail and reliability, working with deeper UV penetration, or trying to keep a proven print cycle unchanged? Give UV Power adjustment a try—it might be the extra control you need.
