3DPrinting
3DPrinting is a place where makers of all skill levels and walks of life can learn about and discuss 3D printing and development of 3D printed parts and devices.
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I haven't bought one in a year or two, but I don't think there's an equivalent.
I recommend something like a Bambu for people who want "a printer to supplement their hobby, not be their hobby."
Resin printing is incredibly fucking cool, don't get me wrong, but it's also like a finicky thing, between leveling (if you have an older Saturn like I do), resin temperature, vat film replacement, model cleaning, safe ventilation, and on and on.
If you wanna "set it and forget it" resin is not gonna be that. Probably ever, but definitely in its current form. You're just gonna have to do a lot more post processing than you will with fdm.
All that said, if you're fine with it basically being a hobby that can supplement your other hobbies go for it. I didn't do fdm till after I did resin, and the detail and print quality you'll get out of a even an older tuned resin system is in a different universe than what you'll get out of any modern fdm system. But you're gonna pay for it in extra effort and various pita that do not exist with fdm.
(I can rec a Saturn for sure, I have a 2 and I love that thing.)
Not to mention it’s incredibly toxic. So you have to be very careful with the handling, storage and ventilation.
That’s some nasty stuff and you don’t want to cut corners with it. Can’t beat it for miniatures and details though.
Funny, in terms of "set and forget" I rank resin way above fdm.
The handling of the resin doesn't detract from this at all. You have to do it every time so it's not like you're spending hours trying to figure something out like with fdm. Even after you get your filament and printer tuned just right, each print represents its own unique challenges if not designed perfectly for 3d printing. On top of that, there's way more points of failure in an fdm printer, and unless you're technologically inclined it can be really difficult to figure it out. (Obviously problems like this decrease when you get a machine like a Bambu.)
I've spent weeks at a time trying to tackle issues with my fdm printer, and even when it's in full working order, you never know when something might go wrong.
My second hand resin printer from anycubic, however, just... Prints. It took me an hour or two to learn the new "mechanics" of resin slicing, prepping models in the slicer takes a little longer than it does with fdm, but it just cranks prints out and i don't even worry anymore if I'm going to come home to a busted print or not. At worst a small detail will have failed to print properly. Fdm printer messes up halfway through and you might end up with a 100g solidified mass of plastic around your hotend..
Whole heartedly, FDM is laughably worse at the hobby/consumer level. I sold my Ender 3 because it was just a pain in the ass, intending on never 3D printing again.
A coworker mentioned the Elegoo Mars 4K being so cheap so I gave it a shot. I’ve printed so much with it, and I have literally never had a problem once I dialed in my exposure time with the resin I like. I don’t even fuss with how long the resin has sat idle. Months can go by between prints and I don’t even bother stirring it. It just cranks things out like a magician.
Everyone who can set up adequate ventilation and buy thick rubber gloves: get a resin printer and never look back.
Well, I should say that fdm certainly has its place. I do a lot of part prototyping, for something that I might need to print 5 or 6 different versions of, I'm 100% going to use my fdm printer.
Resin printers imo are really only good for things you want to look pretty or have shapes too complex to achieve with fdm. If it's something that prints easily and doesn't need immaculate quality, [and you have an fdm printer that doesn't make you want to commit war crimes (like the ender 3)] fdm is less annoying.
Not as bad as FDM but you do need to consider resin and drainage for any part that could have hollow/pockets.
A few degrees difference in ambient temperature can drastically affect your exposure times, and god help you if you have a print failure and forget to clean and filter your vat.
As far as model complexity for 3d printing, you absolutely still have those issues, unless you only ever print pre-supported models (which I absolutely love, but aren't ubiquitous.)
I have a pretty heavily customized ender 3 and I don't recommend that to people who don't want 3d printer maintenance as a hobby either to be frank.
I will say though, my issues with resin are never with the machine itself, it's always the material and the specific prints.
I would just about tolerate the fuss of a resin printer if I didn't have to think about fumes. That alone puts it out of reach for me.