Quote Originally Posted by AutoWiz View Post
Hello folks. I just read about the resolution differences between SLA and FDM and I read about the affects of resin out in sunlight or exposed to temps and how there are better resins for this. This thread has been helpful to the ill informed that way. But I can not get over the notion of using resin for a functional part. Nobody prints upgrade parts with their SLA printer. You will never see one of them self replicate. Resin makes very weak products that can sit on a shelf. But for strength I am pretty sure FDM is the better way. And also thicker layers and nozzle diameters make stronger parts. I am so sorry for this but that is the way it works. I'm not even sure if resin makes good things to use for molds to remake out of carbon fiber. To make parts to be used and handled on a regular basis and have screws sunk into it I am pretty sure FDM will find the better joy. I will never own or use an SLA printer because I exclusively make functional parts with 3d printing. Aside from the price jump for consumables and arguably much more important resin is weak sauce. That should be pointed out in this thread. That is the tradeoff for the resolution increase. An inherently weak but beautiful looking product that costs notably more to produce. I would argue that SLA printing is a large step away from 'rapid prototyping' But then I really don't care about perfecting a shelf trinket in a day.
Hi AutoWiz, thanks for all of your input! I'm tending to lean toward your thoughts on SLA vs FDM. I've only experimented with ABS-like resin so far in regard to something stronger, and it's definitely less brittle than the standard resin, but still a little on the brittle side for sure. Thinner prints (say less than 5mm) that are printed directly to the bed have broken into pieces during removal, or with a little bit of bending by hand after cured. One PCB enclosure I printed over the weekend came out pretty decent and it won't be seeing daylight, so it'll be fine for me to use it as-is. But you're right.... for everyday handling and for testing in the field, I don't think resin is the best choice now, unless you use a much more durable resin. The quality and accuracy is definitely untouchable, but I don't think I want to handle my prototypes with a bunch of care. I'm still on the fence, because as curious aardvark said, there are definitely some advantages. But the time spent post-processing is more annoying and messy than I imagined. A lot of clean-up if you don't have a dedicated space with a semi-dedicated sink that can be used for the chemicals, if doing it often. I have a large stainless steel sink in my garage.... but it's too cold out there in the winter, and too hot during the summer lol. So right now I'm using my granite kitchen counter and my kitchen sink, and having to clean everything thoroughly each time I print something. Doesn't mean this isn't still the right printer for the job, but the cons are starting to outweigh the pros, in my personal experience, for the purpose I'm using mine for