I know there has been discussion about this from some users - but I’m curious if anyone has used other low cost SLA/MSLA/DLP machines for engineering applications.
Phrozen is coming out with a Mega 8K MSLA machine. Wondering what people’s experiences have been with other similar machines (Phrozen Transform, etc.)
I would specifically be interested in knowing:
Quality of engineering resins
Ease of use
Post-processing - how big are the touch points, do they peel off easily, how much cleanup is required
Maintenance - how long do these “mono” LCD screens last? Are they a pain to replace?
Yeah - I think the challenge is that 80% of the people on those groups are hobbyists who are doing ad-hoc figurines and stuff, which isn’t super helpful for us engineering folk.
I have the Phrozen Transform since fall 2019. I use it for big and long parts. You can use multiple brands of resins. Not only the Phrozen ones. Of course they are cheaper than FL. I did many parts for my customer, who is casting urethane molds.
I will probably buy this Sonic Mega 8K bundle. And I will sell my Transform, which is in a great condition and with many spare parts. Also, the Phrozen Cure Mega is interesting for his great volume and low price. In comparaison of the Form 3L cure.
For larges parts, it’s around 1.5mm touchpoint size. In chitubox, you can adjust them as you like.
This morning, I bought the Cure Mega. Supposed to comes out in august.
I was not able to buy there Early Bird special this morning. Maybe I will buy 2 Sonic Mega and sell the other one.
Or, I will buy only one, shipped in october. Or buy from the Alberta reseller next fall.
The worst of all, is there Fedex shipping prices. It’s really expensive.
I bought the Cure Mega 499$ US + 399$ US shipping.
Overall, with the rebate, the price is good.
Phrozen Cure Mega comes with 40 X 40 X 45cm mega chamber size.
This touchpoint size is for big heavy parts. It depends what is the part and where we put the touchpoints. It’s between 0.5 - 1.5 mm. Mostly on a none visible surface, of course. So, it’s not to bad for me.
The dimensional accuracy is good too. But I don’t measure all the 3d printed parts all the time, if it’s not critical. It depends on the resin you have. More tweaking is necessary for exposure time of resins.
DLP is great for speed. Only the number of layers and exposure will change your printing time. Whatever the number of parts on the build plate.
But you have to pour resin in the vat yourself.
You only have to change the FEP film. Less garbage.
Each type of printers for type of jobs.
How was the dimensional accuracy? I guess I fall in the “engineering” category as well since musical instruments require insane precision, and that’s why I went with Formlabs (also had used form 2 for years)
I admit. You can have a lot of supports and a small touchpoint size. And less supports with bigger points too. I think.
With Phrozen Aqua 4K Resin, I’ve made great parts for my customers. Also, they have the Onyx Rigid Pro410 resin. I didn’t tried but seems to be good for industrial use, or engineering category. You can buy them on Amazon, or other resellers.
Update: I finally bought the Sonic Mega 8K! I will get it in october, or more…
A complement for the Form 3L, with another technology.
I will probably sell my Form 2 and my Phrozen Transform.
And later, I would like the Fuse 1 !
I’m on the Phrozen Facebook page and they just published some support settings for their Mighty 8K.
Pretty interesting, but looks like the touchpoint diameter is almost 2x what I routinely use on the 3L. This makes sense if you think about the difference in peel forces between low force stereolithography and just a standard tensioned FEP film.
Still…parts that people are getting out of the machine look really nice so far given that the machine is so affordable.
Like you, I’m on the Phrozen Facebook page too. Of course, because I have a Phrozen Transform and will get in couple of months my Sonic Mega 8K.
It cost me 2000$US for this printer and 900$US for the Phrozen Cure Mega.
It would be cheaper if the shipping prices where reasonable. But this is really a good buy for that price.
It’s was still better to buy directly from Phrozen than buying from US or CAN resellers.
3DPrintingPro
Some people put bigger dimensions for the bottom and middle supports settings, combine to really small contact diameters. It could be a good compromise for you.
The Form 3L seems like a Bloated overpriced oversized piece of equipment, well got to some thing big with 150 billion! My vote is for a Sonic Mega 8K. I know one high tech company that has multiple large format MSLA machines and the are running them all the time in a few departments. Or you can buy one form 3l and everyone can admire those rounded corners while they wait to use it. Or maybe your company has an expendable $150 million of its own.
