Originally Posted by
Mike
96 microns is a huge layer height for SLA/DLP. That's where much of the speed is coming from. Most SLA/DLP machines print from 20-50 micron layers (with pro machines going as low as 6 microns). Printing half as many layers means printing twice as fast. Printing 25% as many layers means printing four times faster, and so on.
The FSL3D Pegasus Touch was originally designed to print 50 micron layers when it first launched on Kickstarter at the end of last year. At the time, they were boasting about its speed. They eventually redesigned it to print slower with smaller layers due to an overwhelming number of requests in the campaign's comments. This required a switch to a different laser. It's easy to imagine the Kast printer running into a similar situation. People don't buy SLA/DLP for speed. They buy it for print quality.
Brian, I'm not sure I agree about cured resin being the future of desktop fabrication. I believe it currently has the highest growth potential due to 3D artists finally being turned on to 3D printing and demanding high print quality, but I don't think it will ever become more popular than FDM, because FDM is capable of employing a much wider variety of materials (polycarbonate, nylon, rubber-like, wood/metal/stone composites). SLA/DLP is great for precision items intended for investment casting or for art, but it's not real good at functional everyday products such as smartphone cases, R/C car parts, wooden jewelry boxes, etc...
That being said, cured resin is definitely the way to go if you are a 3D artist, because the detail is superior. I expect this to be locked down until the CubeJet is finally released, at which point artists will have to decide between superior detail and full color sandstone.
