Filament vs Resin - which 3D printer should I choose?

[zogthegreat]

Hi everyone!

 

So I've decided to go ahead and get a 3D printer to make my builds easier. I found two printers on Amazon Canada. The first is Ender 3 Pro, going for $340 CAD:

 

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07GYRQVYV/?coliid=I2LZFUAC4LMABN&colid=6TQRNOU9V2XI&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

 

The other is the Flashforge Foto 6.0 2K Resin Printer for $200 CAD:

 

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B096K3YSP1/?coliid=I1OEF5YXMP461I&colid=6TQRNOU9V2XI&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

 

I've been reading the reviews and I understand the differences, including the different build sizes between the two printers. Although the resin printer is "cheaper" at $200, I will need other accessories like a wash station, UV lights etc. This make the price around the same as the Ender filament printer. 

 

Which would you go for and why?

 

Thanks!

 

zog

[AbydosOne]

3 minutes ago, zogthegreat said:

Which would you go for and why?

Big, chunky, and durable parts: FDM

 

Little, precise, and fragile parts: SLA

 

There's a little bit of overlap in there, but SLA (in my mind) is mostly for detail parts and high-fidelity shelf pieces, whereas FDM can make really tough mechanical parts as long as you don't expect high precision.

[Imbadatnames]

On 2/3/2022 at 8:55 PM, AbydosOne said:

Big, chunky, and durable parts: FDM

 

Little, precise, and fragile parts: SLA

 

There's a little bit of overlap in there, but SLA (in my mind) is mostly for detail parts and high-fidelity shelf pieces, whereas FDM can make really tough mechanical parts as long as you don't expect high precision.

Even then FDM can do fine detail to a degree. Will take FOREVER and would need some cleanup with solvents but is doable 

[zogthegreat]

So I went with an Ender 3 Pro. It set me back $340 CAD, but thus far I'm happyish. Getting the silly thing dialed in is somewhat of a PITA, but there is a good support community for this printer, so I should be putting out decent prints soon.

 

Thanks for the advice everyone!

 

zog

[tikker]

14 minutes ago, zogthegreat said:

So I went with an Ender 3 Pro. It set me back $340 CAD, but thus far I'm happyish. Getting the silly thing dialed in is somewhat of a PITA, but there is a good support community for this printer, so I should be putting out decent prints soon.

 

Thanks for the advice everyone!

 

zog

Great choice. Once you get the hang of dialing it in it'll be less of a chore and something that you can do relatively quickly. You can make bed tramming easier with some bed aligntment prints that print small squares on each corner and the centre for example.

[zogthegreat]

Hi @tikker

 

Sorry it took me so long to reply, I have spent the last two weeks getting things working properly on the Ender 3 Pro. However, I'm now getting great prints like this:

 

 

I still have some tuning to do, but in general, I'm pretty happy with my results!