Are you checking 3D printers to turn your visions into reality? The good thing is that these printers are widely available now, for reasonable prices of several hundred dollars. You can choose a 3D printer in any shapes and sizes. Buy a competent and compact machine that’ll put your ideas to life easily and quickly.
Types of 3D Printers
FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling)
FDM 3D printing is the most popular 3D printing technology today. This printer is very suitable for beginners, but experts who create 3D prints also use it. When buying a 3 D printer you can start with an FDM 3D printer. The great thing about FDM 3D printers is their price, ease of use, large build size for models but also a wide range of models to use.
I'll mention that it's quite durable as well. This printer works primarily with a spool or roll of plastic that gets pushed through an extrusion system, down into a hotend that melts the plastic through a nozzle (0.4mm standard). Finally, it gets placed down onto a build surface, layer by layer to create your 3D-printed model. Certainly, it requires some basic knowledge to get things right, but as your knowledge develops, it would be very easy to set up an FDM 3D printer and get some models 3D printed within the hour.
SLA (Stereolithography)
This is the second most popular 3D printing technology. If you're a beginner, you can still start with this, but it may be a bit more challenging than FDM 3D printers. This 3D printing technology operates with a photosensitive liquid called resin. It’s a liquid that responds and hardens to a certain wavelength of light. The best thing about these printers is the high quality/resolution, speed of printing multiple models, and power to make unique models that manufacturing methods can’t produce.
SLA works with a vat of resin set on the main machine, which is placed on top of an LCD screen. The screen radiates a UV light beam (405nm wavelength) in specific patterns to create a layer of solidified resin. This solidified resin sticks to a plastic film at the bottom of the resin vat, and peels off onto a build plate above because of the suction force from the build plate lowering down into the resin vat.
Resolution or Quality
The resolution or quality your 3D printer can reach is limited to a level, described in the 3D printer’s specifications. Usually, 3D printers can reach 0.1mm, 0.05mm, to 0.01mm.
Printing Speed
The printing speed in 3D printers and 3D printing technologies varies. When you check the specifications of a 3D printer, you'll find detail about the specific printing speed maximum and the average speed that they recommend. There's a key difference in printing speeds between FDM and SLA 3D printers because of the way they create 3D models. FDM 3D printers are excellent for making models with a lot of height and lower quality models quickly.
SLA 3D printers' work speed is determined by the height of the model, even if you use the whole build plate. So, if you have one small model that you want to replicate many times, you can make as many as you can fit on the build plate, at the same time that you can create one.
Build Plate Size
The size of the build plate for your 3D printer is essential, depending on what you want to do. If you want to do basic models and don’t have specific projects, then a standard build plate is a good choice. FDM 3D printers have a significantly bigger build volume than SLA 3D printers. A common build plate size for FDM 3D printers is the Ender 3 with a 235 x 235 x 250mm build volume. A common build plate size for an SLA 3D printer is the Elegoo Mars 2 Pro with a build volume of 192 x 80 x 160mm (and far more affordable). SLA 3D printers can have larger build volumes, but these can get expensive, and harder to use.
How to Choose a 3D Printer to Buy
There are a couple of different 3D printing technologies and before you make your choice, you first need to decide whether you're going to buy an FDM or an SLA 3D printer. Once you decide, you need to check the features. Key features to look for in FDM 3D printers are Bowden or Direct Drive Extruder, build plate material and control screen.
Control Screen
The control screen is quite important for control over your 3D prints. You can get a touch screen or a screen with a separate dial to scroll through options. Both work well, but a touch screen makes things easier. Another thing about the control screen is the firmware of the 3D printer. Some 3D printers improve the control and options you can access, so make sure you have modern firmware to make things easier.
Bowden or Direct Drive Extruder
There are two types of extruders with 3D printers - Bowden and Direct Drive. They can produce 3D models to a good standard but there are some differences. A Bowden extruder is just enough if you plan to print 3D models using standard FDM printing materials while requiring a high level of speed and accuracy in detail.Choose a Direct Drive Extruder setup if you intend to print abrasive and tough filaments on your 3D printers.
