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Formlabs: High Resolution 3D Printer

formlabs.com

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Re: Formlabs: High Resolution 3D Printer

#31

Post by slrelevant »

replicatorblog wrote: post #16
cottonseed wrote: post #10

Can an expert in 3D printing compare this with, say, the MakerBot Replicator 2? How does the extruder technology compare with SL on resolution, hardness, speed of printing, etc?

I put together a small comparison chart in this post: http://www.wired.com/design/2012/09/formlabs-creates-a-low-c...

Looking at the Replicator2 specs vs Formlabs. I see that Makerbot lists layer height and XY resolution as 100 microns, while Formlabs has layer height as 25 microns, but XY as 300 microns. Does the improvement in layer height matter much when the XY resolution isn't as accurate? What I'm basically wondering is are you only as good your least accurate spec?

Re: Formlabs: High Resolution 3D Printer

#32

Post by iammaxus »

bradleysmith wrote: post #23
mtgx wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The layers seem to be 25 micron vs 100 micron for the Replicator 2, although I'm not sure what they mean by the 300 micron resolution: http://formlabs.com/pages/our-printer http://store.makerbot.com/replicator2.html

I operate an Objet Connex260 that also has separate resolutions for the X/Y Axis, and the Z-axis 'layer thickness'. Objet specs it at '600 dpi' in the X/Y axes, and '1600 dpi' in the Z axis. http://objet.com/sites/default/files/C260_A4_il_en_lowres.pd... As it was explained to me by objet, the X/Y resolution is the size of the individual droplets of resin that can be laid down by the Connex's digital print heads. The…

Defining the output quality and resolution of a 3D printer is a subtle thing. Sticking to DPI, laser spot sizes, and layer thicknesses is somewhat akin to comparing clock speeds of modern processors. The question is a lot more subtle than that.

When we talk about minimum feature size, we are giving a rough guide for the finest pillars or walls that you can print (see the fingers of the Neptune figurine in our photos). By this metric, the Form 1 is comparable to the best high end SLA and inkjet machines, and well beyond any FDM machine.

-Max Co-founder, Formlabs

Re: Formlabs: High Resolution 3D Printer

#33

Post by illinx »

Slightly off-topic, but does anyone know anything about the 3D printing tech used by http://www.shapeways.com/ ? Limited materials are the one thing holding me back from picking up a desktop 3D printer, so I'd like to learn more about their tech and what might be holding it back on the desktop. Their material selection is seriously impressive.

The Formlabs one looks promising and I love the design, but I just don't have any interest in printing PLA/resin.

Re: Formlabs: High Resolution 3D Printer

#34

Post by sp332 »

tocomment wrote: post #27
sp332 wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

OK this literally is quantum physics and the discovery was Nobel-prize material but it's not that hard to grasp so here's how it works :) If you have a chemical reaction that requires a certain energy level, shining lots of light on it won't help much if each individual photon is below that energy level. Even if you have a really bright reddish light, each photon still only has a relatively low energy. On the other h…

So it just needs energy to solidify? Would heat also work? So the molecules that it's made of up combine into new molecules that are solid? Do you know what the chemical reaction is?

Not sure about the exact chemistry but I think there are actually two exposures, one to harden the shape after which the unused material is removed, and then another higher one to make it less sticky or "detackify" it.

Here's a paper from 1995 explaining the chemistry http://195.37.231.82/publications/pac/pdf/1995/pdf/6701x0025...

Re: Formlabs: High Resolution 3D Printer

#36

Post by mibbitier »

jws wrote: post #2

The call to action link says: "Pre-Order on Kickstarter" They must have not gotten the "Kickstarter is not a store" memo. They appear to be ready to pull the trigger on their manufacturing partners, so this is sort of a "how big should we make the first run?" type of kickstarter rather than a "let's create something awesome". Details… • Stereolithography printer (laser, not extruder) • Much nicer than extruder style…

First thing I noticed as well. "pre-Order on kickstarter" screams out "This is a scam!!!! You'll never get anything".

I've never understood why anyone would give anything via kickstarter. A "donate now" paypal button would probably be less scammy.

Re: Formlabs: High Resolution 3D Printer

#37

Post by knowaveragejoe »

BitMastro wrote: post #15

Similar price and technology of B9creator http://b9creator.com/ (also funded on kickstarter a few months ago), more info on the technology here https://code.google.com/p/lemoncurry/wiki/main

It seems the B9 is a tad more expensive and also requires self assembly. I'm not sure why but their site is also incredibly slow and a pain to use in some cases. With that said it does appear to have a higher resolution in the Z plane than the Form 1.

Re: Formlabs: High Resolution 3D Printer

#38

Post by zzzeek »

samwillis wrote: post #7

It will be interesting to watch 3D Systems share price today. JP Morgan issued a statement yesterday that they thought Formlabs might pose a significant risk to them. https://www.google.com/finance?client=ob&q=NYSE:DDD Down 2% already in just 5 min!

maybe DDD will just buy them out.

Re: Formlabs: High Resolution 3D Printer

#39

Post by replicatorblog »

slrelevant wrote: post #31
replicatorblog wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I put together a small comparison chart in this post: http://www.wired.com/design/2012/09/formlabs-creates-a-low-c...

Looking at the Replicator2 specs vs Formlabs. I see that Makerbot lists layer height and XY resolution as 100 microns, while Formlabs has layer height as 25 microns, but XY as 300 microns. Does the improvement in layer height matter much when the XY resolution isn't as accurate? What I'm basically wondering is are you only as good your least accurate spec?

Good question - It probably comes down to the limitation of the parts - that said, no current FFF 3-D printer could match the detail of the Neptune figuring. That trident would basically be impossible. At some point the models do a better job explaining than the stats.

Re: Formlabs: High Resolution 3D Printer

#40

Post by podperson »

About what I paid for my first inkjet printer (because I couldn't afford a LaserWriter). Or another way of thinking about it -- rather than upgrading to an FX digital camera this generation, I can skip a generation, live with my insanely-good-but-not-that-insanely-good DX camera and get one of these.

Obviously, the whole "giving $3000 to someone and trusting them to deliver" thing is a bit of an issue, but presumably this means something like this is viable at something like the price of a good printer in 1992.

Hmmm.

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