Resin Vs. Filament - Benefits of each?

[CaptainObvious]

Are there any biodegradable, environmentally friendly resins (like PLA in the filament realm)?

[Feign]

Are there any biodegradable, environmentally friendly resins (like PLA in the filament realm)?

CO, you've hit on exactly the reason that FFF printing isn't going away any time soon. As prices drop on resin printers, prices will also drop on home filament extruders that people can use to just recycle their old plastic waste into new filament. While resin prices drop, filament prices can drop to effectively zero.

Also, there's currently no easy way to print multiple materials on a SLA or SLS printer. When a low resistance conductive filament is developed (Filament with moderate/high resistance conductivity has already been made), it will change the game completely for filament printers. Right now a 3+ head FFF printer is a luxury, but when a head for conductive lines gets introduced, 3 heads will be essential.

[Compro01]

As prices drop on resin printers, prices will also drop on home filament extruders that people can use to just recycle their old plastic waste into new filament. While resin prices drop, filament prices can drop to effectively zero.

While extruders may be excellent for recycling existing prints and waste, I expect that using consumer plastics will give you issues with consistency. You already see regular regarding black filaments due to certain colourants that don't agree with extrusion being used. I would expect similar issues with recycled consumer plastics.

Also, there's currently no easy way to print multiple materials on a SLA or SLS printer.

1. Technically, SLA's cousin Polyjet does multiple materials nicely, though it's absurdly expensive (or at least Stratasys charges a lot for it, regardless of actual cost) at present and way outside the home user's budget.