I think I would have a need both for printing models in rough quality (100 or 200 microns) and fine quality (not sure how low, as low as possible? ). When selecting a printer, how much do the quoted mm/s and microns tell us? Is the DeltaWARP at 600mm/s really something to drool at? Costs only around $2500

I understand with FDM we have a very hard limit in printing speed because filament just can't be fed through the extruder beyond a certain rate. You could use a larger head, but then print quality suffers and probably there isn't that much flexibility especially if you don't have a quick change system (such as in Ultimakers).

There's limitations in the movement speed as well, but if you were printing in fine quality, this would be the decisive factor because you're not putting out that much material per mm printed. But raw speed might not be that important, because the print head will need to change direction very frequently, so acceleration and control mechanics make a big difference in the speed vs quality equation. You can't find this out just looking at specs, you'd need to do reading, asking around and experimenting on your own.

I guess it gets better once you graduate past the $500 printers but how much? Does it matter if I say want to only print 50 or 100 microns and not finer than that? Ie. would there be a quality/speed benefit from investing much beyond the $500 printer?