I just ordered a Elegoo Saturn 3 12k Ultra printer. I’ve been pondering a resin printer for a while now. This is a pre-order (well, they’re shipping, but in-the-near-future) and I am in the September delivery window, which means probably early October.
Yay, something else to learn!
12k rez, wow, you went for the latest and greatest, excellent! And they’re all so cheap now, like $500, this tech would be 10x that a very few years ago. Nice!
I’m still having fun with my 4k, so I will be looking forward to seeing what you do.
Yes, learning curve and new kinds of consumables, but you’ll be great!
Yea. I made the decision to get a resin printer and started looking around and lo and behold these just came out. I was going to get an 8k but these are a fantastic price for what you get. I just got a notice they expect to be shipping on Sept 18. Yay!
Did you order any of the other bundles?
I added the wash and cure bundle too. Need that one.
Dang 12k. I’m really outdated now with a 2k printer…
I’m still having fun with my old out dated machine!
Yea, and I still love my PLA printers, they’re workhorses, but this should up my game a bunch.
I have some truck bolsters I tried printing in resin that failed epically. I want a PLA/FDM printer for projects like that. Something that needs a bit more strength. Resin is nice but it definitely has a learning curve and some drawbacks.
Mike Williams has tested an extremely durable resin. He mentioned it at a recent meeting, but I don’t have details. He said it is super strong for parts such as trucks.
At the Springfield train show, Al gave me some strap steps made with a really durable resin. Forget what it was, though, but there are a lot of durables out there now for people that print tabletop gaming figures and terrain.
Bob,
that resin "Durable " is a Formlabs Specific Resin. do not think it will work in your new machine. but i have heard that there are now similar resins available that will work.
Kinda an Apples and Oranges thing. I am limited to Formlabs resins because they are coded to the machine.
Al P.
Here’s a comparison of tough resins, most being useable for LCD/DLP. They have strength ratings & prices.
Since I make so many bad prints (true confessions time) I’ll stay in the $40-60/kg range… in which some of these are. However, once a design is nailed down I could see production runs using the pricier stuff.
It would be interesting to know the product, John. Mike’s using an LCD / DLP printer (vs., say, a Form Labs)?
Looks like Liqcreate makes some stupidly durable resins at 53mpa tensile strength. Yikes!
Yeah, that was a pricey one that caught my eye. Reading their specs though, they’re post-curing at around 140F for 30 minutes in a special oven, I didn’t know that was a thing. Maybe other resins can be strengthened some with less heat? Don’t know.
But heck, if you’re printing your own dentures it might be with the special $1k oven, haha!
I suspect the flexible, abs-like resins that are out there for gaming and high-handling purposes will be enough for us.
John,
I’d be interested to hear about that. My resin truck bolsters are bending under the weight of the cars. So much so that the wheels are dragging on the underframe of the car.
There’s a difference between flexible and durable vs strength. My issue I’m having is a strength issue. Even my cast resin is having issues with the truck bolsters holding up the weight of a typical 50’ boxcar with no additional weight. I’m stumped. Maybe I’ll post a thread with pictures.
Craig - I have no 3D experience but I’m wondering if you could design a channel in the print to accommodate some brass reinforcement.
Or lay brass wire in the mold before you pour?
Along Jon’s lines, maybe print a hole through a part, clean it out with a drill bit after curing, and glue in a brass rod? I think I did that once but can’t remember what on… Not sure if it was stronger but I felt better.