Recommendations for an SLA / DLP Printer?

Hi all,

List of SLA / DLP Printers - vote and recommendations?

I have used standard FDM / FFF machines such as the Makerbot, Ultimaker, Rapman, etc. and now moving into SLA and DLP territory. I had a Form 1 which came from the original Kickstarter campaign and had upgraded it to the Form1+. There were issues, but the service support was superb. Their technical support was absolutely spot on and very helpful.

I've omitted the specs such as the print bed size or the resolution or cost of consumables as my priority would be (1) Reliability of the parts (2) the level of Technical Support in terms of having forums dedicated to the hardware and from their support service team; (3) and whether the supplied software / slicer, etc. is intuitive enough to use. Most importantly, another critical factor is whether the hardware / printer can accept 3rd party resins, which I understand it also means that the software must be able to "tweak" with certain settings. Now moving on, I'd like to experiment with another printer and what would be your recommendations in terms of:

1. Reliability
2. Technical Support
3. Ease of Use for Software
4. Compatible with 3rd party resins (important factor)

The list of printers are:

1. 3DSystems SLA
2. Prodways
3. Envisiontec
4. Rapidshape
5. DWS
6. Asiga
7. Kevvox
8. MiiCraft
9. Ilios HD
10. EliteImageWorks
11. SolidatorDLP
12. B9Creator
13. mUVe1DLP
14. Atum3d
15. Totem3d
16. Titan1
17. M-One
18. Draken
19. Carima DLP
20. Ember AutoDesk
21. Robotfactory

Thanks.
Kilroy

I can tell you that 1. 3D Systems, 3. Envisiontec, and 5. DWS (Digital Wax Systems) all use proprietary resins. It may be possible to use third-party resins, but they were not intended to and will most likely void any warranty on the machine. However, they all seem to be reliable machines with a very shallow learning curve.

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Originally Posted by bford903

I can tell you that 1. 3D Systems, 3. Envisiontec, and 5. DWS (Digital Wax Systems) all use proprietary resins. It may be possible to use third-party resins, but they were not intended to and will most likely void any warranty on the machine. However, they all seem to be reliable machines with a very shallow learning curve.

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Hi,

Which of these models would you therefore recommend, that uses 3rd party resins?

Thanks,
Kilroy

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kilroy

Hi,

Which of these models would you therefore recommend, that uses 3rd party resins?

Thanks,
Kilroy

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Take a look at the Solus dlp 3d printer. Www.junction3d.com

Attachment 6357Attachment 6358Attachment 6359

You should check out our Titan 1 that utilizes our patent-pending passive self-peeling technology, which minimizes post-processing.

The Titan 1 has an XY resolution ranging from 37-100 microns, but can actually go down to 25 microns with a modification to the project. (However, we do not advise this unless the printer is used to print at 25 microns frequently because it will give up the projector's warranty)

Additionally, the Titan 1's max build size is 7.5 x 4.3 x 10.0 (inches) and can print as fast as 2.7 in/hr.

Here is a comparison with other printers in the same range:
http://www.kudo3d.com/products/ (scroll to the bottom)

Please view our gallery: http://www.kudo3d.com/gallery/

If you have any questions, you can email me at catherinepark@kudo3d.com.

Thank you.

Is the Kudo a SLA or a DLP printer?

Kilroy

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kilroy

Thank you.

Is the Kudo a SLA or a DLP printer?

Kilroy

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It is a DLP printer, with the projected included. XY resolution ranges from 37-100 microns, but can reach 25microns with a modification in the projector.

Hi Kudo3D,

Sorry but I'm confused. The website says: Stereolithography (SLA) printing technology with bottom-up configuration
http://www.kudo3d.com/products/

It is not very clear whether it is a SLA or DLP printer. It is either SLA or DLP, it can't be both?

Regards,
kilroy.

It's a DLP. On the site, they say it uses a HD DLP projector with a 2cm native 1920×1080 DMD chip by Texas Instruments.

Andrew Werby
www.computersculpture.com

Hi Andrew, thank you for clarifying. OK, So Kudo3D's Titan1 is a DLP printer.

I have another question - If buying third party resins, how can I find out if it is compatible with a printer? Do I check the printer specs, or the resin specs? In the printer software, how do I calibrate the settings so that the curing effect is specification for that resin formula?

Thanks,

Regards,
FMF

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kilroy

Hi Kudo3D,

Sorry but I'm confused. The website says: Stereolithography (SLA) printing technology with bottom-up configuration
http://www.kudo3d.com/products/

It is not very clear whether it is a SLA or DLP printer. It is either SLA or DLP, it can't be both?

Regards,
kilroy.

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Hi Kilroy,

It actually is both.

Here is an excerpt from our blog comparing DLP v. Laser for SLA printers:

SLA stands for stereolithography. In this method of additive manufacturing, a 3D printed object is built layer-by-layer using a liquid resin (photopolymer) that is cured using UV light. What differentiates the Titan 1 from other SLA printers, is that the Titan 1 uses Digital Light Processing (DLP) to shine UV light via a projector.

The projector remains completely stationary during printing (and it is important that it doesn’t move or else the layers won’t align properly), which means there are few moving parts and little machine maintenance required. The only moving part is the stepper motor that lifts the build platform as the model grows after each layer is cured.

Please let me know if you have any more questions.

Hello. I have a question, very similar to Kilroy's, so I post it here.

I already have Acer P1500 DLP projector, and want to turn it to 3d printer. I need some cheap DLP 3d printer kit. By cheap, I mean price around $1000. I think, that mUVe 1.1 might be a good choice. Actually, can't find any good alternative to it. What do you think?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kilroy

If buying third party resins, how can I find out if it is compatible with a printer? Do I check the printer specs, or the resin specs? In the printer software, how do I calibrate the settings so that the curing effect is specification for that resin formula?

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kilroy,

I don't have DLP printer, but I believe each printer cures at a particular wavelength (or range of wavelengths), and you would obtain resin which crosslinks at the wavelength(s) which your machine produces. This should be detailed in the machine's specifications. I would not recommend a machine which does not publish this information.

We use the FSL3D Pegasus Touch with much success http://eezitec.com/products/fsl3d-pegasus-touch-laser

Thank you, Davo.

So we need to check that both Resin and the machine are compatible. Could someone upload a screenshot of how I can tweak the wavelength? I don't own a DLP / SLA printer yet, so any software will be fine. Which settings do I need to be looking at?

Thanks.
Kilroy

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Davo

kilroy,

I don't have DLP printer, but I believe each printer cures at a particular wavelength (or range of wavelengths), and you would obtain resin which crosslinks at the wavelength(s) which your machine produces. This should be detailed in the machine's specifications. I would not recommend a machine which does not publish this information.

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Hi, may I get some experience on your form 1? because I plan to get this printer recently. Many thanks

hi, I also checked some reviews, and Kudo 3D should be good, but the machine looks a little weird, anyone has some points as me? :)

Which printer did you go with in the end??

GBR1