Which Desktop 3D Printer Do I Buy? Part Two

Editor: This is a guest post courtesy of well-known 3D Printing blogger Joris Peels. Most recently Joris was the Community Manager for Shapeways, but these days he's blogging at VoxelFab. This is part two of a two-part post. You may read part one here. 

   

The Dimension uPrint Plus (a.k.a. HP Designjet)

 

Don't get the entry level uPrint, it only has one material color. The Dimension 3D printers work on FDM (Fused Depostion Modeling) technology that takes a thin strand of ABS plastic and builds up your models layer by layer. The support material is dissolved in a soda bath. FDM usually does not make for very pretty 3D printed parts. However the technology does have the highest dimensional accuracy & strength. The Dimension systems are the easiest to operate in an office environment & support material removal is also comparatively easy.   

 

The Plus costs $16,000 & the HP Designjet, which is the same printer, is around that price. 

 

The Good

• Ease of use
• Strong parts in ABS
• Highest dimensional accuracy
• Easy support material removal
• No post processing needed

 

The Bad

• Parts are not pretty
• Separate soda bath station required

 

Recommendation

 

This would be less suited for elaborate client pitches. It would be eminently suited for internal testing of functional parts and more engineering focused firms.   

 

Also look at:

 

The Dimension Elite. Although larger and more expensive at $22,000 this is the tried and trusted Dimension printer with a larger build volume & more detail.  

 

Dream Customer: Foster + Partners 

 

Objet Alaris 30

 

The Objet Alaris 30 is relatively expensive at around $40,000. Objet systems use a photopolymer that is hardened by UV light. Support material has the consistency of hard hair gel and can be removed by water jet. The technology is very accurate with very fine layers and the parts made with is look very arty. The parts are however not very strong and begin to melt at 58 Celsius.  

 

The Good

• Highest detail
• Pretty looking parts

 

The Bad

• Parts not strong
• Material is proprietary technology so least understood
• I'm meltinggggg 
• Support removal can be very tricky with some interior spaces
• Separate water jet station required.  

 

Recommendation  

 

This would be the system I would re commend to a creative "space & form" focused architectural firm. Art and design objects look good coming from Objet machines and the level of detail makes a lot of people go "wow." The parts are however not very strong so less suitable for shipping around the world. 

 

Dream Customer: OMA 

 

I hope I've begun to illustrate that there really isn't a "best" 3D printing technology out there. It all depends what kind of parts you need and what you want to do with them. When buying a system make sure you understand and have the capability to master every production step. For this investment to make sense you need people in house that know how to design for 3D printing, know how to repair and nest designs & now how to remove support material from parts. Understand the total time it will take you to get a model. Things such as "build speed" are quite irrelevant if one model must cool off for 24 hours and the other must not for example. Also look into service bureaus and compare the total costs of ordering from them & time to get your part versus owning your own printer. Many people forget to factor in labor, an important cost factor. From the outset look at the total price of the system and all the parts you need. Some systems need curing & post processing units that increase the cost by half or more. Most important of all get your hands on as many parts as you can from the different technologies you are evaluating. Touch them, play with them, test them, break them, leave them on your desk and ask everyone for feedback & print out the actual parts you would need for your business. If you do these things the best 3D printer for you should become clear. 

 

You can follow Joris Peels on Twitter here or read his 3D printing blog VoxelFab here.    

Which Desktop 3D Printer Do I Buy? Part One

Editor: We are totally tickled to present our very first guest post - and we're greatly honoured to have it written by well-known 3D Printing blogger Joris Peels. Most recently Joris was the Shapeways Community Manager, and now he's blogging at Voxelfab. Over the past few years Joris has written extensively on 3D printing helping the community immensely and has a wealth of knowledge and experience to share with us. This is part one of a two-part post. Enjoy!

 

This is actually not an easy question. As Fabbaloo just reported the benchmarking of 3D printers has begun in earnest. When you compare 3D printers you are actually comparing very different production technologies, however. The right 3D printer for you is as much about who you are as it is about the relative merits of the technology or system. 

 

To illustrate this let's imagine we are a medium sized US architecture firm and want to buy an in-office easy-to-use 3D printer in order to prototype the buildings we plan to construct. Lets limit our shortlist to 3 of the biggest brands and their entry level systems.

 

Zcorp 310

 

I'm intentionally leaving out the new Zprinter 150 & the Zprinter 250 since they're so new they currently don't have a track record. The Zcorp Zprinter 310 is a tried and true legacy system by Zcorp. It prints a fine plaster powder using an inkjet head. The material cost is the lowest in the industry and the system costs $20,000. Unlike most other Zcorp printers this prints monochrome. The parts are not very strong and have to be infused or cured after printing. 

 

The Good 

• Cheap to buy & run 
• Build speed is quick

 

The Bad

• Very weak parts & parts could break during production. 
• Very thick wall thicknesses needed for a lot of parts (<2mm) .
• Many things can simply not get made with Zcorp. 
• Post processing required so overall speed to get a part finished is slow
• Separate depowdering & infusion stations required

 

Who is it for? 

People very worried about TCO. 

 

Recommendation: If you want to get the cheapest option in the long run you might want to consider this printer. But, it will not wow our architect's clients and together with post processing will not be easy in an office environment.

  

Also consider:  the Zprinter 650

 

On the other end of the Zcorp spectrum we have the Zprinter 650. This comes in at $100,000 if you add in all the post processing and other gadgetry you need. This prints color and the colors are much clearer than other older Zcorp systems. This system allows you to remove the Zcorp powder within the system. This would be a good system for a larger architectural firm that wants to put in the extra effort in terms of financing and manpower that this system would require. The system would benefit from a trained operator as especially the post-processing steps can be finicky. A lot of geometries can not be made with Zcorp so this is a limitation. I would recommend this system for a larger architectural office that makes a lot of models to show to customers. The color is unique and would help make a mall or other building shown in situ much more compelling. 

 

Dream Customer: AEDAS 

 

You can follow Joris Peels on Twitter here or read his 3D printing blog VoxelFab here.    

 

Editor: Stay tuned for part two tomorrow, where Joris will express his opinion of the Dimension uPrint and the Objet Alaris 30.