I used to repair 3D printers as a side job, and now use them pretty extensively in my business. Comparing the print quality of an FDM to an SLA is almost always going to be a one-sided battle....
I used to repair 3D printers as a side job, and now use them pretty extensively in my business. Comparing the print quality of an FDM to an SLA is almost always going to be a one-sided battle. There are definitely areas where an FDM is going to be the better choice, especially when you're printing large things or need a wider range of special materials, but in most cases an SLA will deliver the same part quicker, smoother, and more reliably. You do have to deal with goo, and you'll need a sink and if you're messy with pouring stuff you may have some regular cleanup to do, but you'll also never get jammed hot ends, burnt out thermistors, skipped belts, crazy filament spaghetti, or one of a hundred other headaches that just come with the territory of running an FDM printer.
I wouldn't actually recommend a Form 3 as a starting point, though. I mean, if you have the money to swing it, by all means, get the good stuff straight away, but Jessie started with the Mercedes of printers here and checked off all the options as well. You can get very comparable results from a far, far cheaper ~$300 option like the Elegoo Mars, the software is still clean and simple, and you really don't need cleaning and curing chambers. You can swish the platform in a bath of isopropyl alcohol for the same effect as the cleaner (I use ultrasonic jewelry cleaners I've picked up over the years at thrift stores for practically nothing), and pick up a UV nail dryer (like, for fingernails) as your curing chamber. Same function.
Bookmarking this comment for later, thanks. I have been interested in getting a 3D printer for a while, but there are so many types and options out there it gets super confusion for someone who...
Bookmarking this comment for later, thanks. I have been interested in getting a 3D printer for a while, but there are so many types and options out there it gets super confusion for someone who doesn't know anything about them. That Elegoo Mars looks almost ideal for me though, especially considering the quality of the prints and price. The only issue right now is it's out of stock, as are almost every 3D printer I have looked at over the last few months, likely due to seriously increased demand from COVID. :/
I would also suggest looking at the Creality printers, they are great entry level printers, fairly inexpensive and deliver pretty good results as well. (Learning to calibrate the printers and...
I would also suggest looking at the Creality printers, they are great entry level printers, fairly inexpensive and deliver pretty good results as well. (Learning to calibrate the printers and fiddling with the slicer options is great for learning the ins and outs of printers too)
You can also swap out and add parts as needed on these printers (like most 3D printers) and the Marlin firmware (up to v1.1.9) would work on 8bit boards that Creality printers come with (v2 upwards are geared towards 32bit boards, and you may have to remove some features to make them fit in a 8 bit board)
I have 2 Creality printers and one of them pretty much just uses the same Chassis, steppers and power supply, everything else is swapped out for other parts.
I used to repair 3D printers as a side job, and now use them pretty extensively in my business. Comparing the print quality of an FDM to an SLA is almost always going to be a one-sided battle. There are definitely areas where an FDM is going to be the better choice, especially when you're printing large things or need a wider range of special materials, but in most cases an SLA will deliver the same part quicker, smoother, and more reliably. You do have to deal with goo, and you'll need a sink and if you're messy with pouring stuff you may have some regular cleanup to do, but you'll also never get jammed hot ends, burnt out thermistors, skipped belts, crazy filament spaghetti, or one of a hundred other headaches that just come with the territory of running an FDM printer.
I wouldn't actually recommend a Form 3 as a starting point, though. I mean, if you have the money to swing it, by all means, get the good stuff straight away, but Jessie started with the Mercedes of printers here and checked off all the options as well. You can get very comparable results from a far, far cheaper ~$300 option like the Elegoo Mars, the software is still clean and simple, and you really don't need cleaning and curing chambers. You can swish the platform in a bath of isopropyl alcohol for the same effect as the cleaner (I use ultrasonic jewelry cleaners I've picked up over the years at thrift stores for practically nothing), and pick up a UV nail dryer (like, for fingernails) as your curing chamber. Same function.
Bookmarking this comment for later, thanks. I have been interested in getting a 3D printer for a while, but there are so many types and options out there it gets super confusion for someone who doesn't know anything about them. That Elegoo Mars looks almost ideal for me though, especially considering the quality of the prints and price. The only issue right now is it's out of stock, as are almost every 3D printer I have looked at over the last few months, likely due to seriously increased demand from COVID. :/
I would also suggest looking at the Creality printers, they are great entry level printers, fairly inexpensive and deliver pretty good results as well. (Learning to calibrate the printers and fiddling with the slicer options is great for learning the ins and outs of printers too)
You can also swap out and add parts as needed on these printers (like most 3D printers) and the Marlin firmware (up to v1.1.9) would work on 8bit boards that Creality printers come with (v2 upwards are geared towards 32bit boards, and you may have to remove some features to make them fit in a 8 bit board)
I have 2 Creality printers and one of them pretty much just uses the same Chassis, steppers and power supply, everything else is swapped out for other parts.