Form Labs Form 1 3D Printer

[darkshark]

The software is extremely simple to use...almost too simple. The software can automatically rotate a model to where it calculates which orientation would be optimal for the generation of support structures, which does an okay job, but you'll almost always have to toy around with orientation manually to get a better result. It highlights areas of your model that -might- fail in shades of red, the darker the red, the more likely it is to fail, which is very very useful. There are only a few buttons in the interface, so anyone can become a pro at it within a few prints.

The support removal process can vary greatly, and it took me a little while to get it down. If you're printing a solid thick object, removing supports is a breeze, just peel it off like velcro (there is an option inside the software that allows you to change the size of the support point that touches your model. Thinner = easier to remove, but less supportive, possible print fails if on tricky objects, Thicker = harder to remove, but offers great support. Working with the resin is an experience in itself. Say you printed something overnight and it finished a few hours before you could begin removing the supports...they will be much harder to remove as opposed to trying to remove them fresh from a recently completed print, as the resin has time to cure/dry a bit while it's sitting there. These are all minor details, the point is that this printer can make some amazing models at amazing quality. I wish the build platform was bigger, but that's about my only gripe.

This was my very first print. Printed at the lowest detail setting. (100 microns)


Second print, again, lowest detail.

(I'd like to note that the models come out feeling "tacky" and a little bit sticky until you let them cure for a little while either out in the sun or under a UV lamp, so the gears didn't spin very well right away)

This Skyrim Giant (get my model for him here! http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:225234) failed in two spots on his chest. I made him hollow, and the walls of the model were probably just too thin for as small as I made him, scaled up would have probably been fine. The other one is the Pokemon Absol.

He's still a little rough from support removal, I've since cleaned it up.