Resin based 3D printer discussion

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helifrek
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Resin based 3D printer discussion

Post by helifrek » Fri Sep 25, 2015 1:15 am

Hello all,
I am very happy with my M2 in every way, but I would like to expand my printing abilities with a resin based printer. I have searched and found many different printers and a few reviews but I can't seem to find any forums that discuss different resin based printers. Right now I know of SLA and DLP printing, not sure if there are others (maybe using the sun and a mirror :)..... that would actually be kind of cool....).
I always come to you guys for advice, so what are your opinions on any of the SLA or DLP printers out there? the Form1+ seems the be the most talked about SLA printer and it has a pretty good build area and produces high quality prints but what else is out there that you guys would consider buying?

Thanks in advance guys!

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jimc
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Re: Resin based 3D printer discussion

Post by jimc » Fri Sep 25, 2015 1:29 am

i dont have one but based on what other say that do have them especially the form1. with resin there is a high failure rate. i have heard you get about 20-50% good prints. the rest are trash. resin is expensive. the vats need to be replaced about every 2 liters of resin. the vat being about 60 bucks i think so be sure to add that on top of the resin cost. most prints are brittle and low strength so unless you buy specific high strength resin at an even higher cost then the prints are only good for prototypes or to sit on a shelf, that sort of thing. so figure high strength resin + vat cost is say 200 buck a liter give or take, plus a 20-50% success rate = some very expensive little parts. now if your intent is to make jewelry or detailed chess pieces and those kind of things then resin is the way to go for sure. dont think your going to printing parts for a new quadcopter design. again this is just what people tell me that own them so take that for what its worth.

jsc
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Re: Resin based 3D printer discussion

Post by jsc » Fri Sep 25, 2015 4:09 am

What jimc said. Also, for what the materials and printers cost, you could order a ton of Shapeways prints before you would reach break even.

Didn't MakerGear talk about a prototype resin printer some time ago?

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Tim
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Re: Resin based 3D printer discussion

Post by Tim » Fri Sep 25, 2015 12:43 pm

FormLabs just announced the Form-2 earlier this week. Their claim is that it improves upon some of the major problems of the Form-1, but it doesn't look like a huge breakthrough of any kind, just a number of small improvements. Apparently the main improvement is that much less of that precious, expensive resin goes to waste.

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helifrek
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Re: Resin based 3D printer discussion

Post by helifrek » Sat Sep 26, 2015 2:15 am

Glad to get some input on these. The print quality looks amazing on most of the sla and dlp 3d printers but the cost of the resin is way up there but not a deal breaker. I guess it my be good for making parts to do casting or to make molds with.....

I have a really good HD projector that I hardly use, maybe I could make my own DLP printer on a budget. Why the heck are they so expensive anyways? Even the ones that do not come with a projector are expensive. Less moving parts than a FDM printer and they seem to be more simple. Supply and demand maybe?

Thanks for the input guys.

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ednisley
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Re: Resin based 3D printer discussion

Post by ednisley » Sat Sep 26, 2015 12:31 pm

helifrek wrote:Why the heck are they so expensive anyways?
For example:

http://www.xconomy.com/boston/2013/06/2 ... ng-patent/

As a rule of thumb, you get sued when you have enough money to warrant the attention. That suit was later "dismissed with predjudice", but those lawyers don't come cheap. You're paying for a lot more than the business that makes the printers and the parts that go into them...

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helifrek
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Re: Resin based 3D printer discussion

Post by helifrek » Fri Oct 02, 2015 2:23 am

I understand about dealing with lawyers and paying employees plus overhead and insurance etc.... but still! Hobbyking is selling a little 3D printer for $150, there is the M3D going for around $350, and many more sub $500 3D printers out there. The cheapest SLA printer I could find that is still "professional looking" with a decent build area is still $1600 and prone to failure and uses proprietary resin! I have seen a few with permanent vats that don't need replaced and a few others that use slightly cheaper resin (around $89)

I found another board called buildyourownsla.com but I am not receiving the verification e-mail so I can't ask any questions there.... seen some pretty cool homemade builds though! very inspiring!

swbluto
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Re: Resin based 3D printer discussion

Post by swbluto » Fri Oct 02, 2015 4:04 am

I have a resin 3d printer. It's highly accurate but what I really don't like about is it's inverse-umbrella like curving on the entire part. I'm guessing that's probably due to the cheap resin I have (It came direct from the 3d printer maker), but it's definitely a showbreaker when you're looking for precision in the first place. I'm guessing this low shrink resin I have might solve that issue, but it's definitely a big deal with parts over 2" large.

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helifrek
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Re: Resin based 3D printer discussion

Post by helifrek » Tue Oct 06, 2015 7:05 pm

I have seen a lot of parts that are warped badly on the bottom. Let me know how your low shrink resin does. I e-mailed Formlabs to see if they offer any military discounts, they do not but I was offered a free cartridge of resin, so that was nice of them. I also e-mailed CTC to see how quickly they would reply and to see if they would offer any type of discount in exchange for an in-depth review. I got a reply within 2 hours of my first e-mail, it was very broken English and basically asked how much would I pay for a printer..... So that might be a barrier! Customer service is everything with 3D printing which is why I love my M2 so much, also great user support like this forum is a big help.

If you guys have any more info or opinions on resin printers please post!

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