Which 3D Printer is good for open source applications?

General Discussion
1

Hi Everyone

We have formlabs 2 in our lab and it works great but, for my research project, we have to play with some of the printer properties; we need to play with the laser intensities, wavelength, resolution etc…

Basically we need an open source SLA 3D printer for science projects. Is anyone have an idea of what would be a good option for that? We were thinking Autodesk Ember SLA printer.

I appreciate every comment or advice.

Thanks!

2

Does OpenFL work with the Form2?
Open FL allows you to modify the printer settings such as laser intensity, speed, layer thickness etc etc.

3

I would research the Ember a little further, it seems as if they are stopping production, and I would be worried about support issues for you (Autodesk Discontinues Manufacture of Open Source Ember 3D Printer - 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing)

The Form1+ might be an excellent option due to the price point and the ability to use OpenFL (to tinker with all the setting you are interested in). Granted, Formlabs did officially stop production of this model as well, but I think it’s like 5x cheaper than the Ember.

There is also an Wanhao Duplicator 7 that only goes for $499, but it’s DLP (https://www.3dprintersbay.com/wanhao-duplicator-7-sla-3d-printer). To be honest, I might just buy one based on principle. It is so dirt cheap compared to everything else. I would be curious if anyone else has had experience with this printer?

I’m not sure if this was meant as rhetorical or not coming from you :slight_smile: but OpenFL definitely does not work with the Form2 at this time.

Hope that helps a little!

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4

Thank you for the replies !

I did not know form1+ has a good OpenFL features. I might want to look into that.

Is there any list to see which features can be modified on Form1+ or is it basically open source for every feature ? and is there any tutorial to teach me how to do that?

5

Here’s a link to the GitHub page for OpenFL which also includes a bit about what can be modified :slight_smile:

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6

I have had a bit of fun (and some headaches) working with OpenFL and the API.

If you can share what you are trying to do I am sure FL as well as the ones that have worked with OpenFL and the API can assist.

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7

We have the Form1+ to our lab, and OpenFL is great ! thanks for your helps

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