Are resin printers the pain in the ass they appear to be?

Rilot · 25 Nov 2020 at 10:24

I've got 3 FDM machines (1 x 350mm Core-XY, 2 x 250mm cartesian) but I keep looking at resin printers. The whole post processing lark looks to be a royal pain in the ass, as does dealing with left over resin.

I'm not sure what I would use it for to be honest as I'm not really interested in miniatures or anything like that. I just seem to have this feeling that I should be exploring this area.

So, sell me on resin printers? Do they have to be a pain in the ass? How are they for making structural parts like gears, extruder housings etc.?

Really hoping SLS comes down in price over the next few years as it looks to be the best balance between SLA/DLP and FDM.

Rilot · 18 Jan 2021 at 18:09

Good info thanks. I think I'm just going to stick with FDM. It's good enough for what I need.

Rilot · 18 Aug 2021 at 18:23

Well, I bought a Mars 2 a while back. It's working well but is a pain in the ass. Already on my 2nd screen due to getting resin on the original from a pinhole in the FEP caused by a failed print.
I can't see me using it much TBH. It was a lot of fun to make miniatures for my son but after that I've not really used it. It's not much use for functional stuff as the output is too brittle.

Rilot · 3 Sep 2021 at 19:40

I'm using the ABS-like resins at the moment. I still find it a little too brittle for my liking.
I tend to print functional stuff in ABS on my FDM printers.