I interested in everyone’s response as well. I’m considering taking the plunge and buying an SLA printer (I already have a couple FDM printers) but I’m curious as to the market for SLA prints.
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Hello, I had the need to buy an SLA, because they asked me in my business parts with very small details or very small pieces. but if you are not currently customers ask you that, do not recommend it because the material is 3 times more expensive than a FDM and more delicate work.
I see… sorry for that. In the new Form2 they should have solved that problem making the laser chamber sealed. I was oriented toward the Solus DLP Printer
I have taken apart my form1+ twice, per their instructions for mirror cleaning, they took the machine back for service, and then replaced the printer with a new one. I guess everybody has different results.
As for a sealed chamber, how would you dispense the heat generated by the laser other than air flow. I added a air filter to the outside of the air intake after the cleaning the mirrors twice, no issues since.
Additionally the Solus uses an external projector, so the air flow through the printer to dissipate heat is not an issue.
The biggest issue I have with the form1 is the print quality for jewelry. If you get away from the notion of it being a printer for fine jewelry, micro pave, and less than .8 mm detail work your fine. I have found for heavier jewelry, and making pieces to be molded with resins other than the Castable Blue. Your Golden.
I would like to work with someone to try resins other than Formlabs to print on the form1. I believe their biggest “Jewelry” fall back in the resin, not the machine. I can get exceptional 25 micron results with any of their resin other than their castable.
Hi -
I have a CAD service for professional goldsmiths and I do own a form 1+ and a robox fdm printer. I use the form1 for prototyping jewelry and for that it’s really good. For casting it’s not really usable for fine jewelry or let’s say: it just does not make sense. The quality is not really that good compared to what’s already out there, it takes a lot of time to print, finish and get ready for casting and then the goldsmith has more work with polishing as the surface is not as good as with wax. Pricewise you will have a real issue with the competition like shapeways etc or even the regular casting houses that offer prints made in a milling machine or with a solidscape. The problem as well will be the consistency of the prints and reliability of the printer. You will encounter a lot of problems with the machine… with all 3D printers really. So you will have a lots of times when your printer will be out of commission due to repairs. No plug and play as the say :-). The fdm printer is not usable at all for fine jewelry. Look, I love my printers, would hate to be without them. There is nothing more fascinating than watching something get actually build in a machine that you just created on your computer! But it’s more of a passion than a wise business decision.
Good luck
Julia
Thank you for your accurate reply, i have one more question, how you compare the Solus with the b9? Is the Solus more reliable?
Julia, does say it best, when they work its awesome, when they don’t sheer pain.
In addition, to be a full service for anything that comes at you all comes down to investment.
>10k in my opinion you need both a printer and a good mill.
>25k in my opinion, Envisiontec Mirco, and a good mill.
>25k in my opinion Solidscape
>75k in my opinion 3d systems 3500 Max, Envisiontec Mini, freaking workhorses, huge print platforms,but you gotta run them 24 hours a day to get back your money, and they too will cause you pain and break down.
My investment is currently about 13k over 10 years, I use a Form1+, Solus, used Roldand MDX-15, and a used Roland MDX-40.
The mills sit mostly, but when you get a huge ass bangle, or a belt buckle, or something a rapper would wear, 60 x 125 mm
and up, its milling time baby. The wax burns out clean, and no matter what resin or resin hybrid that big do not, period.
Anything that comes in the way of jewelry, we can accomplish. But everything comes with cost, learning, and trial and error, and frustration. This is only my opinion, and if I was 25 again, this thread might look different.
Have you or anyone looked at the Projet 1200 from 3d Systems? It’s $5,000.
Hi Nacot, I’m the former sole worldwide dist. For B9 and both a current B9 and Solidscape distributor. Also the author of many tech articles. Call me anytime for straight info on anything AM. Each platform has strengths and weaknesses and the game is rapidly evolving. Gary- +1-541-729-2531
17 days later
We have a DLP printer and a castable resin. The Z resolution is 25 micron. Build size is set at 160 mm x 100 mm, which gives X resolution about 160/1920=0.083 mm (83 micron), and Y resolution of 93 micron. We can print a few parts for you to help you evaluate the quality of small details. You can also look at the pictures in our hub as well.
17 days later
Hi. I have a Titan 1. When I got the printer I immediately inherited a whole bunch of problems regarding their printing vat and platform. I spent weeks re-inventing the vat as well as the print platform. I am now able to print into a glass petri dish with teflon held by a special rubber/acrylic bracket. I had to corona treat the teflon to epoxy it down on to the glass, since other self adhesive teflon sheets, in my opinion, are utterly useless. I always print onto a roughened acrylic base plate which is screwed to the original print platform. I got to say, I got pretty frustrated with resin prints not adhering on the platform. This problem has now been totally eliminated. I agree with what someone else said, this was not just a ‘plug and play’. I think the makers of the equipment were too rushed in releasing the equipment even with major faults.
On the brighter side, I can now print predictably and successfully in high detail using the correct resin all the time, and this with a fairly low priced printer.
If you are after a casting, you can always approach a dental lab for a quote. Most labs have sophisticated casting equipment and very accurate materials for detailed castings.
I have been using the Rapid Shape printers for about a year now and all I can say is that its awesome in every way. My 50 micron prints are better then any SLA or print head style printer out there even the 16 micron prints from the projet cannot compare. For those of you that want high detail and fast builds look at the Rapid Shape you wont regret it. 25 micron XYZ just cannot be beat.
6 months later
1 month later
Is the Solus as good as the pictures on the Reify website?
I am looking into buying, but I see some DLP prints with rather rough surfaces. That seems to be absent with the solus. Now I have had years of tinkering with FDM printers, and I hate it, I just need the prints. So I am torn between Form2 and something with a finer resolution, but I really want these smooth surfaces. Thanks, Maarten