Why Buy A 3d Printer [Extra Quality]
There are plenty of good reasons for having a 3D printer at your disposal, not the least of which is the ability to rapidly build almost any type of plastic part you might require. But there are some cases where it might not be advisable to buy your own 3D printer and operate it at home.
why buy a 3d printer
Many 3D printers, aside from the most recent devices, are pretty noisy. The stepper motors driving the motion system can buzz repeatedly as they move axes back and forth. Depending on the location of your device, there could be an annoying noise echoing through the home and that could be quite annoying to anyone not as excited about 3D printing as you are.
Desktop 3D printers are not exactly like other household appliances: they break and you have to fix them. Your toaster likely will last decades without incident, but your 3D printer will last mere hours until something goes awry.
Solutions exist for open and closed frame printers to take care of the particles and gases produced (just in case You do not have a good ventilation option). BOFA makes 3D print filtration systems for printers as small as the Prusa, as large as the BigRep PRO, and everything inbetween. Give us a shout.
Just like with any piece of technology, knowing what you plan to use your 3D printer for will go a long way in helping you make the right purchase. The strength, smoothness, and overall quality of the final printed products are determined by the type of printer and materials used in making them. If you plan to use the printer as a hobby, budget filament-based devices may be perfect. Or, perhaps, you need the 3D printer for your business to replace machine parts or create objects that will see daily use. In that case, a more expensive resin or powder material printer may be necessary. There are hundreds if not thousands of uses for 3D printers, so make sure to consider all your possible creations before making a purchase.
The two most common types of entry-level 3D printers are SLA and FDM. These devices are fundamentally different in how they operate and the materials they use. Thus, knowing the differences between them is essential when considering buying a 3D printer.
Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) printers function by using heat to melt filament and feed it through a tube to create various shapes. Objects are created by adding materials on the X, Y, and Z-axis. FDM printers are relatively standard for hobby 3D printing and typically come in two types of frame construction: Cartesian and Delta.
Stereolithography (SLA) printers use a chemical treatment process known as photo-solidification to form the different layers of the final print product from liquid resin. An ultraviolet laser hardens the desired print pattern into the material one layer of resin at a time. These printers are capable of some of the highest quality prints with incredible detail. Unlike FDM, the final products from SLA printers are smooth and require little post-print work.
Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) printers work similar to SLA but use a laser and powder materials to create 3D objects. The laser points at specified areas within the powder, which hardens, creating detailed yet sturdy final products.
SLS printers are common for printing machine parts or objects that need to be durable yet complex and intricate. SLS printing materials can be rather hard to come by, however, so SLA printers tend to be more favored.
Digital Light Processing (DLP) printers are also similar to SLA printers, with one significant difference. While SLA printers use ultraviolet light, DLP printers use more conventional light sources, like an arc lamp. DLP is the oldest form of 3D printing but is still considered high-quality by today's standards. That said, they are somewhat rare in availability and often steep in cost, so DLP printers do not see much use in the consumer market.
Selective Laser Melting (SLM) printers use a high-powered laser beam to form 3D objects out of powdered metals. These printers are not typically found in homes but are rather commonplace in universities and the medical field. SLM printers are ideal for creating machine parts with complex geometry that must be both incredibly thin and detailed.
FDM printers use plastic filaments to print objects layer by layer. Different material types can have significant effects on the final printed product. Filament materials come in many different variations that can have specific use cases. There are, however, two plastic print materials that are far more common than others:
Unlike with screens, the smaller the resolution of a 3D printer, the better quality of the finished product. The three dimensions of printing can make the quantifying of resolution somewhat intricate and confusing. However, all you need to remember is the lower, the better.
When it comes to printing, being fast is not always the most desirable trait. Often, 3D printers with high print speeds sacrifice quality to get to the final product faster. Slower devices take so much time because they are capable of creating much more complex final prints. No matter what you are printing, it will take a substantial amount of time, so it is worth it to get a slower device with better final print quality.
Knowing what types of materials you can use in your specific 3D printer is crucial in determining the regular costs of using the device. Some materials such as powders for SLM printers can be scarce in availability and steep in price. Knowing how often you plan to print and the type of objects you intend to create can help you determine which types of materials you should use in your 3D printer.
This can also be referred to as the build area. This specification tells you the maximum size of printable objects for your device. This is important to consider, because larger printers quickly rice in base price and cost of printing materials.
Keep in mind that smaller printers can also print some items in parts that can later be assembled into a larger object. Hence, a massive build area is not always needed. Conversely, sometimes a single large part may need to be printed for use in a professional setting. In that case, a 3D printer with a large print capacity is a must.
3D printers have quickly become commonplace at work and home. From small toys to machine parts, 3D printers can create impressive objects from a wide variety of materials. Buying a 3D printer can be a daunting task due to the many types of devices and complicated printing methods. The best place to start is to decide what you are going to print and how often you will be printing it. These factors are crucial in finding the best machine for you and can go a long way in understanding the many different specifications of 3D printers. Remember, no matter what choice you make, getting a 3D printer has many benefits, and this guide is available to help you find the best machine at any time!
You should be buying a 3D printer that has the correct balance between price, performance and durability. Many 3D printers that are $200-$300 work to a good enough standard to get you started.
On the other hand, if you want your 3D printer to be a premium one from the start and have excellent longevity, it could be worth forking out more for a higher priced 3D printer with great features, performance and warranty for your intended application.
Being able to simply transport a 3D printer and the material to a location, then printing out objects saves massively on transport costs, especially to places with hard to access areas.
Universities in many places now have 3D printers for students to use at their own leisure. In the future, more and more universities and organizations will adopt this, so give your children the opportunity to start early and be the top of the class!
Printing materials in this fashion reduces waste and mostly uses only what will be in the final product. The amount of electricity these printers use is relatively low compared to other traditional manufacturing methods.
Keep reading to find out everything you need to know before buying a 3D printer for Black Friday, and be sure to check out our Black Friday 3D printer deals hub for all the best offers (we've also collected some of our favorite deals at the bottom of this page too).
Resin 3D printers use a liquid photopolymer (commonly referred to as resin) that is hardened, layer by layer, to create detailed 3D prints. Resin is messy and can be dangerous to handle, so specialized equipment is necessary to wash and cure printed parts so they can be safely handled. Parts made on a resin printer can be highly detailed (like the models made on the Anycubic Photon Mono X 6K), but are often brittle and delicate.
Filament 3D printers use a heated nozzle to deposit filament onto a build platform, almost like a hot glue gun that is moving in three dimensions. This style of printer can create strong, durable parts that require little post-processing, but the dimensional accuracy and resolution are usually lower than comparably priced resin printers.
Inexpensive desktop resin 3D printers can be found for as low as $149, while models with higher resolution and a larger build volume are typically in the $499 to $699 price range. The Elegoo Mars range of resin printers are great, and the company are currently offering the best price on Elegoo resin 3D printers (opens in new tab). The larger build volume and higher resolution Anycubic Mono X 6K is a larger printer with a retail price of $529 but was recently put on sale for just $309, making it a printer worth keeping an eye on when Black Friday deals kick off.
Resin printers with smaller build volumes typically are capable of higher resolution, while larger build volumes offer a slightly lower resolution in exchange for the increase in available size. Filament printers with a large build volume tend to print more slowly than smaller volumes, as the build platform and other parts of the machine are typically larger and heavier. 041b061a72