Question 3D Printer Buying Help

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Looking to buy a printer, and I’m straddled between buying this SLA Printer, or this regular printer, and I’m a bit of a noob when it comes to printing, so can anyone more experienced help me on wether an SLA one would be a good alternative or if I should just stick with the standard printer.

Thanks
 

CrazyGadget

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The big question is: What do you want to print?

If you are a beginner to 3D printer, I would highly suggest sticking to FDM, as it's a lot more beginner friendly. That being said, each kind of printing has its own use cases. FDM printers are great for larger objects, things that require higher durability, and generally less complexity. SLA is good for small, intricate objects (think mini figurines, buttons, tiny things in general with great detail). They tend to struggle with larger objects due to warping, but that's not to be said that it's impossible. Resin prints are also a lot more brittle than FDM (assuming you're printing with PLA / PETG). The learning curve for FDM is a lot smaller, it's a relatively intuitive process that leaves a greater deal of room for error than SLA. Not to mention SLA is a pain to work with: it can get messy, and you *need* proper PPE to prevent messing up your lungs.

Again, it all comes down to what you want to print. I would start with the FDM printer, and if it's not doing what you need it to do, try SLA. That's just my two cents!
 
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the first thing people starting in printing want to know for themselves is:

What do I want to print.
Look at the finish you want
the size of the average print you'll be launching.
What materials do you print in?

Personally I would suggest starting with the FDM because you can get away with much more beginner mistakes without failing the entire process
AND
it's way less demanding in terms of post finishing because you don't have to rinse, clean, cure your FDM prints
On the other hand , for FDM printing you'll often needs files, sandpaper, knippers, etc...


I started in 2017 and now I'm 35 printers in from which 32 fdm and 3 SLA printers.
the SLA printers tend to be much smaller in print volume but the quality overall is way better
The impact and stretch strength in general is better with FDM printer materials
overall print quality isWAY BETTER with SLA prints just due to the level of detail of the Screens nowadays, determining your print resolution in the end.

so my suggestion: FDM
 

dababy

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yeah like both comments above me FDM is better for begginer printing i had an ender 3 for my first one and if i could give u any good advice is that the v2 has some upgrades far better than a stock ender 3. so overall i would definetly go fdm
 
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Again, it all comes down to what you want to print. I would start with the FDM printer, and if it's not doing what you need it to do, try SLA. That's just my two cents!
Yeah, I did a bit more research, and the SLA seems far to complicated for my tiny pea brain, and the FDM seems to work better for what I’m printing anyway. The brittleness of resin doesn’t seem all too great for threading screws.



Personally I would suggest starting with the FDM because you can get away with much more beginner mistakes without failing the entire process

it's way less demanding in terms of post finishing because you don't have to rinse, clean, cure your FDM prints
On the other hand , for FDM printing you'll often needs files, sandpaper, knippers, etc...
all seems pretty scary to do after a 10 hour print o.O, also love a good excuse to not be perfect lol



yeah like both comments above me FDM is better for begginer printing i had an ender 3 for my first one and if i could give u any good advice is that the v2 has some upgrades far better than a stock ender 3. so overall i would definetly go fdm
Yeah, after seeing the list of improvements I‘d definitely say it justifies the increase over the stock one, thanks for the advice.



Anyway thank you to all of you for helping out, much appreciate! :D
 
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Yeah, I did a bit more research, and the SLA seems far to complicated for my tiny pea brain, and the FDM seems to work better for what I’m printing anyway. The brittleness of resin doesn’t seem all too great for threading screws.





all seems pretty scary to do after a 10 hour print o.O, also love a good excuse to not be perfect lol





Yeah, after seeing the list of improvements I‘d definitely say it justifies the increase over the stock one, thanks for the advice.



Anyway thank you to all of you for helping out, much appreciate! :D
Being in the industry for ~8 years I can confidently say, FDM is the go-to for this type of work. Sure you gotta sand it down to get the best finish but the properties of plastics like PLA, ABS are far superior to hobby-grade SLA parts for inserts and durability.

Get an ender 3, and do some basic tuning with it. Here's a simple guide on how to do it: https://teachingtechyt.github.io/calibration.html
The OG Ender can be a bit annoying though, so v2 could be a good upgrade. For me, part of the fun is upgrading the printer and learning, so you can choose! Don't go into the 230 celsius range for too long as well, those are PTFE lined hotends. Get a premium roll of filament, those can be really consequential for prints finishing well.

E3s can be fiddly, but great printers for when they work. If you need bigger prints get a CR-10s, really cool models go for resin printers, and for the "I have 800 bucks, wanna do some cool stuff" printer get a Prusa MK3s. If your *really* adventurous (Like I am), build a Voron lol.

If you need help just reach out, always here!
 
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The big question is: What do you want to print?

If you are a beginner to 3D printers, I would highly suggest sticking to FDM, as it's a lot more beginner-friendly. That being said, each kind of printing has its own use case. FDM printers are great for larger objects, things that require higher durability, and generally less complexity. SLA is good for small, intricate objects (think mini figurines, buttons, and tiny things in general with great detail). They tend to struggle with larger objects due to warping, but that's not to be said that it's impossible. Resin prints are also a lot more brittle than FDM (assuming you're printing with PLA / PETG). The learning curve for FDM is a lot smaller, it's a relatively intuitive process that leaves a greater deal of room for error than SLA. Not to mention SLA is a pain to work with: it can get messy, and you *need* proper PPE to prevent messing up your lungs. the best printer for stickers and cardstock

Again, it all comes down to what you want to print. I would start with the FDM printer, and if it's not doing what you need it to do, try SLA. That's just my two cents!
I have a growing interest in art and craft. I recently was introduced to 3D printing by a colleague and loved it. My question is which 3D printer should I get to jumpstart my newfound passion.
Thanks
 
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Looking to buy a printer, and I’m straddled between buying this SLA Printer, or this regular printer, and I’m a bit of a noob when it comes to printing, so can anyone more experienced help me on wether an SLA one would be a good alternative or if I should just stick with the standard printer.

Thanks
First you should consider your requirements, then a Person can suggest you a printer which can fulfil your needs
 
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