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What is SLA resin Printing?

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 SLA is Stereolithography 3D printing. This type of printing uses a photochemical resin which hardens when in contact with either daylight or UV light. The resin is held in a vat which is usually above an LCD or laser arrangement. The light cures the resin and it hardens to the build plate or the layer hardened before it. SLA laser printer diagram LCD SLA Diagram SLA Printers have many advantages and disadvantages to FDM 3d Printers.  Some of the advantages are: Faster Print times Extremely accurate parts Resin Versatility No loss in print time with multiple parts Watertight parts Some of the Cons to SLA is Expensive compared to FDM printing Lots of post-printing work Can get messy Parts need to be washed and cured after printing Consumables can get expensive Relatively small build volume compared to FDM SLA Print being pulled out of the vat of resin FDM 3D Printing compared to SLA  This technology is being used widespread, especially with companies like Adidas using them...

What is 3D Printing?

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 3D printing is a form of Additive Manufacturing where large spools of plastic filament is melted and extruded out a metal nozzle to form patterns with the help of motors. Think of it similar to a hot glue gun, but much hotter, connected to motors and controlled by a computer. This type is called FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) or FFF (Fused Filament Fabrication).  Diagram of a 3D printer extruder 3D Printers are usually in a cartesian setup, which means they move along an X, Y and Z axis, where each axis is controlled by 1 motor. Think of it like an Etch a Sketch where each knob moves the drawing in one direction. This is the simplest of the forms of a 3D printer which makes it the cheapest and most abundant type. Cartesian 3D Printer Diagram Example of Cartesian 3D printer axis's There is also a form of 3D printer than uses a Core XY setup, where each motor moves the print head in a diagonal direction. This type of setup requires the motors to work well in sync. It also allo...