From small daily tasks to big projects, everything starts from a basic print. We have come a long way from traditional printers and the black and white era. Today, we have advanced technology that focuses on making the copy more accurate with 3D Printers for copying. There is a whole variety of printers, and choosing from them can be a task. You may be baffled, and don't know which printer to buy. Do not worry! By the end of this article, you will know about the types of printers and the technology they use.
3D Resin printers work on two technologies: Stereo lithography and Digital Light Processing. These two technologies are the most popular, quite expensive and give versatile results.
SLP is the most widely used technology that features a liquid resin to generate a 3D print. There is a large tank that is filled with liquid adhesive. Firstly, a UV sensitive liquid polymer is spread over a surface, and a UV laser is taken. Wherever the laser strikes, the liquid parts get toughened. However, the liquid where the laser does not strike remains in liquid form, and the surface is lowered, and then the next layer of polymer is layered up against the previous one. The laser again hardens the parts it strikes. This process keeps on repeating. When the model is finished, it is taken out of the tank. This is known as Stereo lithography. There are various types of products including Touchscreen printers, Wi-Fi printers, and more printers.
Similar to SLA, Digital Light processing printers create the model layer by layer. There is a resin tank with transparent bottom and printers are built around this tank. DLP printers use a digital projector screen. This flashes an image on the surface or the platform. The image of each layer is made up of square pixels. This happens so because of the digital screen. Voxels which are small rectangular cubes, make up a three-dimensional layer.
The main difference between a DLP and SLA is that SLA printers work with the laser, whereas DLP printers work with projectors.
There are three dimensions, X, Y and Z. The vertical dimension, Z makes the 3D printing possible. The ability of a printer to produce thick layers is known as Z Resolution. SLA and DLP 3D printers have the finest Z resolution.
Accuracy is an essential factor here because this is a layered process. Inaccuracy can arise at any step. There are many factors like materials used, software settings, etc. that are responsible for accuracy. SLA and DLP 3D printers are incredibly accurate and precise. Before buying the printer, you can ask for a sample of the 3D model to check its accuracy.
SLA and DLP create smooth models and give them a beautiful finishing. Since the models are designed with layering, horizontal and vertical lines are sometimes visible. Compared to the other printers, this Qidi 3D printer provide a relatively higher rate of smoothness and precision.
Speed is an important aspect when it comes to printers. The speed of print in DLP 3D printers depends on the height of the model. The speed is uniform. They print full and denser models fast that fill up most of the platform or surface. Phrozen Lite printers can print small and medium-sized parts faster. SLA provides a larger build volume.
There are some different types of resins as well. They are as follows:
● Standard Resin: It is a low budget resin that provides highly detailed parts.
● Gray Resin: It is a smooth resin and is easy to paint on. It offers nine different colors for finishing.
● Mammoth Resin: You can print enormous sizes with smoothness and accuracy.
● Transparent Resin: It offers a transparent surface and is mainly used for smaller models.
● High detail Resin: It uses Polyjet technology. It can make small models with high accuracy and precision.
