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I just happened to come across this. Thought it was pretty damn cool. Maybe it's been mentioned on here already...

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/se ... lp-printer

that is sick

Not bad if you don't need to print anything very large. The print area is tiny.

Yeah, the print area isn't that big. I just thought the concept was really cool. Doesn't matter what's involved in the print, you can complete 3cm in an hour. That's damn quick compared to the FDM printers.

Tinyhead wrote:Yeah, the print area isn't that big. I just thought the concept was really cool. Doesn't matter what's involved in the print, you can complete 3cm in an hour. That's damn quick compared to the FDM printers.

Yes, very quick. That may be the one of the future technologies but they have to get the build area bigger with a price that a normal consumer can afford. The prints look fantastic.

The real drag on this tech right now is the resin. It's VERY expensive in comparison to the filament we use.

g.

geneb wrote:The real drag on this tech right now is the resin. It's VERY expensive in comparison to the filament we use.

g.

Yikes. Just looked that up. $75US for a litre... and that was supposed to be an 'affordable' price.

Tinyhead wrote:

geneb wrote:The real drag on this tech right now is the resin. It's VERY expensive in comparison to the filament we use.

g.

Yikes. Just looked that up. $75US for a litre... and that was supposed to be an 'affordable' price.

It was at least twice that price 2 years ago when the first DLP printers were being shown, so prices are dropping.
If you think about it, it's less than 2x the price of expensive filament Ultimachine charge you $46 a Kilo, vs $75 a Kilo for the resin.

The primary issue is demand, you simply can't buy some of the component chemicals in small quantities are reasonable prices, and even in the sort of batch sizes we see on kick-starter, you have to find a manufacturer willing to mix the somewhat dangerous chemicals together in what they would consider small quantities.

Speaking of expensive printing materials, why are PLA and ABS still 30-50 dollars per kilogram when they cost less than 5 dollars for resin pellets and extrusion into filament? We need to start making our own filament with close tolerances and selling it to each other for lower prices so that the larger manufacturers have to bring down their prices!

DLP printers look pretty cool and they build fast. The problem is that making the build area bigger means moving the projector farther away from the resin vat, and the resolution of the printer decreases linearly with build size. Plus, the brightness of the projector decreases with build area, meaning twice the linear print size takes 4x longer per layer.
By the time you get to a shoebox size print, your build time is ridiculous- just like with any other type of 3d printer.

Nevertheless there is a big market for tiny, detailed objects. The limiting factor in DLP printers is the projector, and those will keep getting better in the future.

Generic Default wrote: The problem is that making the build area bigger means moving the projector farther away from the resin vat, and the resolution of the printer decreases linearly with build size. Plus, the brightness of the projector decreases with build area, meaning twice the linear print size takes 4x longer per layer.

i bet this could be fixed by using 2 or 4 projectors and getting the image to span/split across the screens like it does in the current nVidia or ATI video settings. now by the time you pool enough resign to print these sized objects you are looking at several liters.

Generic Default wrote:We need to start making our own filament with close tolerances and selling it to each other for lower prices so that the larger manufacturers have to bring down their prices!

I completely agree. I'm currently saving up for a filastruder. It wouldn't take long to recoup the upfront costs, especially if you're able to sell rolls to other members.

I'm going to prototype the Dry-Draw thing I came up with a while ago ( http://forum.seemecnc.com/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=4335 ) as well as the hot glue extruder ( http://forum.seemecnc.com/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=5199 ). I think the diameter consistency of filament is a hurdle we have to get over in filament production.


The UV resin that DLP printers use will definitely come down in price once there is a big demand for it. I'm guessing that like with all other chemical products, photoresin will be much cheaper to be made in China. They don't exactly have environmental regulations in China.....

Tinyhead wrote:

Generic Default wrote:We need to start making our own filament with close tolerances and selling it to each other for lower prices so that the larger manufacturers have to bring down their prices!

I completely agree. I'm currently saving up for a filastruder. It wouldn't take long to recoup the upfront costs, especially if you're able to sell rolls to other members.

might want to think about a winder also, it helps with consistency of the filament diameter

bubbasnow wrote:

Tinyhead wrote:

Generic Default wrote:We need to start making our own filament with close tolerances and selling it to each other for lower prices so that the larger manufacturers have to bring down their prices!

I completely agree. I'm currently saving up for a filastruder. It wouldn't take long to recoup the upfront costs, especially if you're able to sell rolls to other members.

might want to think about a winder also, it helps with consistency of the filament diameter

Yeah, I saw that and it seemed like a "must have". I'd be running it in the garage and the floor isn't exactly clean enough to let filament spill onto it.