Which 3D Printing Type?

[Oldskool62]

Hey All

Well hopefully early retirement is only a few months away. So with the prospect of having a while bunch of time in my hands  I'm looking at getting a 3D printer but unsure of which way to go.

Not knowing anything about it other than made slot cars from printed bodies made of either PLA or resin.

What is your  preference PLA or resin? And what printer should I look at.

 

Cheers 

Warren.

 

Edited May 6, 2021 by Oldskool62
Typo

[kalbfellp]

Resin printers produce much better detail, than filament printers.But print size is more limited and the process  is more labor intensive and more expensive.

I am using a Prusa after several years of trying to get reasonable results from a cheap printer.

But prints off the Prusa still require many hours of filling and sanding to get good results.

Printed bodies require a lot more finishing than resin cast bodies.

Have a read of this these threads.

https://www.hrwforum.com/forum/hrw-all-scales/3d-slot-forum

 

[MrFlippant]

This is a copy (with edits) of a response I posted elsewhere when someone asked the same questions "resin or PLA?"

 

PLA is a TYPE of filament.

Resin is a CLASS of material.

 

A filament printer can print a dozen different types of filament: PLA, ABS, PETG, ASA, TPU, TPE, Nylon, and more.

 

A resin printer can print a dozen different formulations of resin. I'm not as familiar with the different types, but there are plenty to choose from.

 

So, your question was analogous to asking "Is meat needed for eating, or does a banana work?" Of course, both of them can be eaten (printed), but neither are the best for ALL use cases. If I need protein, meat will work better than fruit. Also, there are many kinds of meats to choose from, as well as other fruits than a banana. ;-)

 

If you want high detail, and don't need a large print size capacity, then a resin printer is a good place to start. After that, you'll want to learn about different types of resin formulations.

 

If you want function, large build capacity, and don't need to be able to print super fine details, then a filament printer might be a better place to begin. After that, you'll want to learn about different materials and print settings to get the best prints using those materials.

 

IMHO, filament printers are fine for chassis. You don't need to go with PETG or Nylon, but you DO need to make sure you're using the best settings to GET the best mechanical properties from your prints. I would use resin for bodies, simply because of the level of detail. The problem is, resin printers with a large enough build area for 1/32 bodies, let alone 1/24, are considerably more expensive than the $200 price point that has become common for entry level resin and filament printers.

 

Both types of printers have their pros and cons, and things to learn to get the best prints out of them, and both can be done poorly and have unusable or disastrous results.

Edited May 6, 2021 by MrFlippant
tweaked it a bit

[Oldskool62]

@kalbfellp 

Thanks for the reply! I do like detail in my builds and that's why I have mostly stuck to resin cast bodies. In saying that I have now done about 6 3D printed bodies of each type of print and I have to agree that even the resin printed bodies take some work.

Thanks for the HRW link. I do get on there and now facebook quite a bit

.NB: Again appreciate your reply.

Cheers

Warren

Edited May 6, 2021 by Oldskool62

[Oldskool62]

@MrFlippantThanks for the reply! I did ask the question elsewhere on this forum in another post but it must have been looked at that I was cutting in and that's why I started a new thread.

Regarding printing; I just showed my vast knowledge of 3D printing to the world, mistaking material for a process hahaha. I guess we all need to start somewhere. What I have learnt is that I need to understand what I want to print before thinking about materials and process. When the time comes to bale on work I want to build a track and incorporate diorama (another interest) into the layout and printing my own bits will save a bit of money.

Once again thanks for taking time to reply.

 

Cheers

Warren

Edited May 6, 2021 by Oldskool62

[MrFlippant]

Even now, one can purchase a resin printer for around $200, and a filament printer for another $200, and pay less for both than I did for one of my filament printers years ago. When you retire, I expect the prices to be about the same, but even better technology/quality for the money. Get both, if you can.

[Oldskool62]

1 hour ago, MrFlippant said:

Even now, one can purchase a resin printer for around $200, and a filament printer for another $200, and pay less for both than I did for one of my filament printers years ago. When you retire, I expect the prices to be about the same, but even better technology/quality for the money. Get both, if you can. 

@MrFlippantthe plan is and fingers crossed I can retire within the next two months. Hopefully technology and prices are more favourable by then hahahaha.

[Kevan]

The printer itself is a means to an end, I don't print anything I haven't either 3D designed or modified first.

In some ways the printing is the easy bit, what do you intend printing? I spent many hours doing due diligence on the CAD side before I even ordered my printer, I wasn't remotely interested in printing endless test pieces, for me it had to be an extra resource for my slot car hobby...and it ended up taking at least half of my hobby time to become an even bigger hobby all on it's own.

If you have already done CAD work you'll probably love it, 3D CAD seems easier than 2D CAD (to me) for geometric work but creating bodyshells and the like with something like Blender is something I've tried to get into but never found the real urge to want to go further.

[SlotsNZ]

Surprised Bingo hasn't popped up here yet. He has an Ender 5 Pro filament, and recently added a Crealty Resin printer - and he is a gun with CAD.
I think he is figuring out when to use each, and materials options.
Apparently you can get quite a range of resins, and you can alter the curing rate, to change the properties of the finished product - with hard but fragile one end, less rigid but more forgiving of shocks at the other.

All we know is, magic happens nearly every week.
Within a few days of getting his first Pioneer Legends last week he has already replicated the chassis and the bull bars to cover for breakages since you can't seem to buy any spare parts.....

[Kevan]

You can mix and match resins, I use a 3:1 mix for bodyshells, each uv resin has its own curing needs whilst in the printing process which you can only properly find with valuation tests. 

[Oldskool62]

@Kevan Thanks for the reply! I have no CAD experience but I do have a daughter who is a computor game design which is a 3Dmodelling world. She is there for me as a resource. The other thing I am hoping to have a lot of in the bear future is time and hopefully I will be able to learn programs related to this part of the hobby. 

What I want to do with the 3D printer is print figures, building parts such as doors and windows and maybe have a crack at printing a body or 2. I have to date built quite a few slot cars and have about I think at last count about 20 odd sitting there for their turn to be built. And that number doesn't include what resin or 3D bodies I have on order. In saying this I am still not sold 100% on 3D printed bodies as some of my best detailed builds have been with resin bodies so I don't see resin bodies going out of my life.

@SlotsNZMark I would really like to hear his expertise. I love to learn and when I'm trying to learn something research mode kicks in and off on the educational adventure I go . Your video's for me were priceless.  One of the beauties of forums is the resource pool of members on tap as well as the many many threads from days gone by.

 

Cheers

Warren

[SlotsNZ]

Warren,
just check into the HBMRC club thread and scroll through a few pages for his latest output. You can message him through the forum to get more info.

[Kevan]

Warren, resin casting will always be popular and 3D just enables those who can't/won't cast to print instead.

[dangermouse]

One of the local slot car track owners up here John has really invested some time into 3D printing of slot car bodies.

You can find his page on Facebook.  NBS 3d Printed Slot Car Bodies, Parts and Accessories

I am sure if you message John he would be happy to provide some tips on the printers he uses etc. He has filament and resin printers.

cheers

David

[Oldskool62]

@dangermouse G'day David I am the proud owner of at least 1/2 dozen of John's prints in both print types. Great guy and good quality.

Cheers Warren

 

 

[charlesx]

Gazza I think it was has done some really interesting prints. Regards Chas LeBreton

[Vark1985]

I prefer resin due to much better resolution. For tiny but detailed parts it's perfect.