Difference between SLA & SLS 3D Printing

 

Stereo-lithography, also known as SLA, is a 3D printing process where, prototypes are built layer by layer using light from a laser. Photo polymer resins like clear resin, standard resin, to name a few, are used to make prototypes in SLA. These resins, or ‘build materials’ as they are called are in a liquid state. The 3d printer’s build tray is submerged in a basin of photosensitive material. The depth to which a build tray is submerged depends on the strength of the laser being used, type of material and required tolerances. A part’s entire cross section is traversed by the laser as it builds up each layer.

SLA is better suited to printing parts with small and well defined features. The SLA process works with polymers & resins, not metals. When printed using SLA, parts generally yield higher dimensional tolerances a better surface finish.

SLA presents a challenge when printing larger parts, as they need support during the printing process. This becomes a major hindrance when printing parts with complex geometries.

Selective Laser Sintering or SLS, is when prototypes are 3D printed using powdered building materials. The technique uses polyamide and polystyrene powders as building materials. The materials are binded together to create desired structures. Layers of the materials are carefully on the build tray using a leveler or roller. Cross sections of the prototype are then sintered layer by layer by a laser. Just like SLA, thickness of the layers being printed depends largely on the strength of laser being used, type of material and required tolerances.

SLS can work with metals like steel, titanium and nickel in addition to polymers. Parts built using SLS are generally tougher than the ones built using SLA.

Once printed, the parts need to be cooled down. Efforts to speed up the cooling process may result in variations from the intended designs. When using metals in the SLS process, one has to take extra caution not to breathe in the fine particles that may be harmful.

Liquid photopolymers required for SLA cost around $80 to $100 per liter, whereas SLS powders cost somewhere between $300 to $600 per kilogram. SLS requires high peak energies as compared to SLA to compress metal powders, making it a costlier alternative. When it comes to surface finish, SLA parts are preferred due to their mold like finish, however, SLS is more suited to printing parts with higher tolerances.

How can we lower our 3D printing cost?

 

1. Choose a reliable printer with an upgraded room

What factors will a Newbie consider before he/she is going to get started to do 3D printing? Practicability, reliability, and affordable price are factors worth being considered.

Starting with a pre-assembly process, makers can get a comprehensive understanding of 3D printers and their accessories.

2. Scale down or hollow out your model

If it doesn’t necessarily require a big size or solid structure for your prints, scaling down or hollowing out your model will substantially decrease the cost.

3. Eliminate unnecessary support structure

It is commonly known that prints can’t stand naturally on the hotbed if the model is designed with some angles. Support is necessary for FDM printing, but cost materials and more time, even additional post-processing for further smoothness and polish.

What if 3D-printing goes 100X faster?

 

3D printing as known as additive manufacturing, has been developing at rapid speed to exert more convenience in various industries. However, due to certain limits, it always takes a long time to get prints out from the printing machine. As Joseph DeSimone, the CEO of Carbon3D, said “3D printing always takes forever. There are mushrooms that grow faster than 3D prints.”

With two-year research collaborated with his partner on the 3D printing area, Joseph DeSimone shared the research findings at TED talks. He considered that 3D printing is a misnomer, which in fact is a repetitive 2D printing process. Let’s imagine ink-jet printer making letters on papers, and continue doing it over and over again, layer and layer added, thus taking a long time to build up a 3D object. Besides, the layer by layer process leads to defects properties. Moreover, material choices are far too limited. If we could use self-curing material, more breakthroughs can be pulled off.

They pondered over all those questions and problems faced by 3D printing when they got inspired by a Terminator 2 scene from T-1000. Why couldn’t a 3D printer be operated in this fashion? We had an object arising out of the liquid with essentially real-time completion and no waste to make great objects. Whether we could get this to work would be our true challenge.

The approach they applied in the research was to use standard knowledge in the field of polymer chemistry to harness light and oxygen for uninterrupted manufacturing. Light and oxygen work in different ways. Light converts the liquid resin into a solid, which converts the liquid into a solid. Oxygen can inhibit this process. Therefore, from a chemical point of view, the effects of light and oxygen are opposite to each other. If we can control light and oxygen three-dimensionally, we can control the production process (CLIP).

CLIP has three functional components. The first is a container for storing liquids, just like the robot T-1000 in Terminator 2. There is a special window at the bottom of the container. Component 2 is a platform that can be lowered into the container to pull the object straight out of the solution. The third part is a digital light projection system located below the container to provide illumination in the ultraviolet light area. The key is the window at the bottom of the container. A very special window is not only transparent but also oxygen permeable. Nature is similar to contact lenses.

With the special window, we can let oxygen enter from the bottom. When the light hits oxygen, oxygen will inhibit the reaction and form a dead zone. The dead zone is about a few tens of microns thick, about two or three times the diameter of the red blood cell, and it can still remain liquid at the window interface. Then we pull the object out. The thickness of the non-sensitive area can be changed by changing the oxygen content.

The result was very staggering, which was 25 -100 times faster than traditional 3D printers. In addition, with the improved ability of the control interface liquid adjustment, he believed that the printing speed can be 1000 times faster. As a result, water-cooled 3D printers may appear in the future because printing is too fast. Because of our growing manufacturing method, the traditional laminate manufacturing is abandoned, the integrity of the components is improved, and you can't see the surface layer to the structure.

A smooth surface at the molecular level can be obtained. When you print in a growing manner, the characteristics of the object do not change due to the orientation of the print. These look more like pour parts, which is quite different from traditional 3D manufacturing. In addition, we can use the knowledge of the entire polymer chemistry textbook to design the right chemical materials to create the characteristics you really expect in a 3D printed part.

In this way, we can produce ultra-high-strength materials, high strength to weight ratio, true ultra high strength materials, and truly super elastic materials. These are great material properties.

The immediate opportunity is that if the results produced can be the final product and can be transformed at the speed of the industry, it can really change the face of manufacturing. In the current manufacturing industry, the so-called "digital line" is being applied in the field of digital manufacturing. We range from CAD drawing and design to prototyping to manufacturing.

It is often the case that digital line production is stuck in the prototyping process because it cannot be manufactured directly because most of the components do not have the characteristics of being the final product. Now we can connect every step of the digitization line from design and prototyping to manufacturing. This opportunity really opens up the possibility of making all kinds of items. For example, it is possible to reduce the fuel consumption of a car by using a high-strength weight ratio mesh type material, a new turbine blade, and many other superior parts.

In a word, this real-time manufacturing technology that makes parts manufacturing a finished product really opens the door to 3D manufacturing. For us, this is very exciting because it really realizes the interaction between hardware, software, and molecular science.

Here’s What Our Customer Say

Lockdown was tough on everyone, but there were some people who were working at home all day.  One of them is Nidhis A D. He is a Gizmo Enthusiast & Engineer. It was his dream to own a 3D Printer. But it was not an easy process. He saved enough money to buy a 3D printer and did lot of research to find a trustworthy vendor. In his research he came to know many retailers and distributors of 3D Printer and contacted them. 3Idea Technologies was one of it. He contacted us and bought a 3D Printer when we were still in lockdown. Here is his journey of buying a 3D Printer in our words and also about us what we are as Distributors of 3D Technologies.

It was a dream for Nidhis A D to buy a 3D Printer and he did achieved it. It took him quite the research from various sources to guide him through the complete process.  He did the quick survey on Amazon in the 3D printing Category in India. Out of which five of top 8 results from 3Idea Technologies. We manage to deliver his required 3D Printer within 7 Days when we were still in Lockdown.

We are glad that we provided Nidhis A D his required 3D Printer and manage to fulfil his dream. We as an authorized retailers and distributors of 3D Printer are one of the fastest growing company in this space. As a company our idea is to bring out the best 3D technologies out there at best affordable prices to our customers. We’ve been in this industry for more than 3years and we have delivered high quality 3D technologies Product at best prices.

We have a wide range of 3D Printers, 3D Scanners, 3D Pens, 3D Printing Consumables and 3D Printing Services. We are one of the known Retailers, Distributors, Wholesalers and Suppliers of 3D Printing Products and Services in this field. We have a team of skilled professionals who have extensive knowledge of 3D Technologies.  Our aim is to become the leading Products & Services provider, continuously adding value to customers & Stakeholders, primarily using innovative 3D technology.

Four Common Causes and Solutions of Nozzle Blockage

The 3D printer features high speed and high utilization rate. Although the digital operation mode has low fault rate, if the fault appears, it will not only affect the printing quality, but also waste time and filaments, and even damage the machine. At present, the most common fault of 3D printer is that the nozzle is blocked and cannot discharge. There are several reasons and solutions about nozzle fault. Given below are some of the reasons for nozzle blockage and their solutions:-

Reason 1

The residual filaments solidify and block the nozzle because the nozzle is not cleaned in time after printing.

Solution 1

First, heat the nozzle to the normal melting temperature of printing consumables; then try to insert the wire into the nozzle manually. Normally, the downward pressure of manual feeding can penetrate the consumable line and bring out the blocked debris;

Finally, if the nozzle still fails to work, try to use a 1.5mm hexagonal wrench to dredge the throat or nozzle.

(Notice: After printing, be sure empty the sprinkler to at the first time to avoid blocking.)

Reason 2

The consumable is broken and stuck in the conduit during the feeding process, which affects the feeding.

Solution 2

Take out the filament and cut off the damaged part of the consumable;

Then put the filament in again, pay attention to keep the smoothness of the filament.

 

Reason 3

The impurity consumables are easy to swell, which affects the normal discharge of the nozzle.

Solution 3

High-quality consumables are recommended to avoid damaging the machine.

 

Reason 4

The heating temperature of the nozzle is not up to the standard temperature, so that the nozzle cannot be worked

Solution 4

Temperature parameters: if the heating temperature is set correctly and the nozzle is not heated normally, check whether the heating rod, heating resistance improper contact of circuit: check whether the nozzle heating temperature matches the consumable melting temperature; (notice: the temperature of ABS printing nozzle is between 210 ℃ - 230 ℃, and that of PLA printing nozzle is between 195 ℃ - 220 ℃.) and other circuits are in poor contact; if the cause cannot be found, it is recommended to turn off the power immediately and contact the after-sales engineer for solution.

(Notice: Different brands have own quality control, and the service life of the nozzle is different)

The rise of full-color 3D printer

 

Much has transformed considering that the initial electronic printer was established in 1968. Within a couple of decades, we have relocated from single color dot matrix printers to full-color inkjet and printer. A comparable advancement is presently happening in the 3D printer market and also it appears to be establishing many times much faster. The majority of 3D print quantities still come from the areas of prototyping and also print-on-demand. Till recently, the process of transforming a 3D printed things right into a ready-to-use item was still laborious belief, for instance, of manually cutting tags or other assistance structures, or sanding, polishing as well as over painting.

The series of applications for 3D printers is becoming even broader. This is why we hear a lot regarding innovative tasks in aerospace, the production market as well as clinical scientific research. Equally as fascinating is the introduction of full-color 3D inkjet technology, which can be used to publish 3D objects in no less than 10 million colors. This enables the capacity to substantially shorten production times and time to market, in addition, to immediately provide a ready-to-use product.

 

1. Printing models in full color

The UV led inkjet print technology advertises the development significantly. The product is equally as hard as ABS, making it ideal for various applications, and similar to traditional inkjet printers, it can also create more than 10 million colors. This might seem evident for a person unknown to 3D printing, but it absolutely isn't. There are indeed numerous 3D printers on the marketplace, however, they mainly differ in facets like the print resolution and sorts of product they sustain. Complete color 3D printing modern technology just came onto the market ten years ago. For the 3D market, this was a crucial action in the direction of making the innovation a lot more obtainable and allowing it to be used for a broader range of purposes. After all, now you can design an object entirely in 3D and color it, and then physically reproduce it one-to-one in a full-color 3D printer. With this advancement, at one dropped swoop, 3D printing has virtually reached the very same status as 2D printing, but for printing physical items. You develop a design on your computer system, which you can after that publish out easily without the requirement of extensive finishing’s, such as over painting or manually eliminating support material.

 

2. 3D art and range models on need

Complete color 3D printing is overcoming the marketplace at a terrific rate. Not just does it reduce time to market, but also supplies far better looking and also higher quality items than a common 3D printer. For many companies, modern technology has actually now come to be extra easily accessible. This enables them to swiftly supply a visually eye-catching prototype without additional therapies. In practice, we are additionally seeing the modern technology being made use of to print scale designs where a lot of information is needed, such as the cabins of a cruise ship, yachts or offshore buildings. It made use of to be a large job for version building specialists to produce these sorts of objects. Currently, it can be done more quickly, and at a much-reduced cost.

 

3. Full color 3D printing is additionally significantly interesting for customers.

More and more 3D scans or data are being shared and also sold online, and can quickly be bought as a 3D print. Artists can therefore market their online productions on-line and print them as needed, ranging from 3D paintings to all type of complicated sculptures and also figurines. Collection agencies as well as version home builders are additionally relying on 3D printing in their look for a different way to get unique or unusual objects.

With full color 3D printing, the 3D designs used can likewise be fully adapted as well as personalized, without the limitations of mass production. This opens up a significant market for firms that want to provide customers access to their small 3D print manufacturing facility in a user-friendly means.

It is clear that full color printing is an essential innovation for the 3D market, which will provide the marketplace with substantial energy over the coming years.

3D Printed Toys --10 Printable Ideas for Kids to Explore 3D Printing Fun

 

 

3D printing has brought all kinds of brand-new possibilities for adults. However, what about children? 3D printing is a fantastic leisure activity that helps kids increase their knowledge of STEM-related subjects. 3D printed toys are one way to bring more fun, boost customizability. From drones and also monsters to dolls ... 3D printing toys make a child feels like being in a candy store. Here are some terrific ideas for 3D printed toys for children of all ages to expand their toy collection.

 

1. Educational and Fun Parts

Kids don't just like to learn about modern technology. What seems extravagant for us is something children these days will certainly grow up with. "Leo the Maker Prince" is a book that educates about 3D Printing. Leo is a talking, printing robot that takes a trip to Brooklyn with his close friend, Carla. All of the characters were made to be 3D Printable, and cost-free designs can be downloaded from Thing verse.

 

2. 3D Print Sports Toys

The 3D printed penny board is very easy to print. It can be found on the internet, websites such as My Mini Factory, Thing verse, and also Cults. These may be better for those who can print in their own home, or at a local lab. There are companies who specialize in 3D printed gear: like Cavity Skateboards who produce skateboard decks, or Disrupt, that makes surfboards. However, most might be over the expectation for most kids.

 

3. Play a Special Instrument

Starting to play a musical instrument like the piano or guitar is wonderful, yet they are tough to master. Many children want instant gratification and are open to exploring the unusual. Printing or buying a 3D printed toy instrument, nevertheless, is very easy—and sometimes much more fun as well.

 

4. Make Your Tabletop RPG Tools

For kids and adults who take pleasure in tabletop parlor games, 3D Printing has completely transformed the rules. Dungeon devices, as well as characters, can be found for free for those with a 3D Printer-- as well as there are sufficient layouts to choose from.

 

5. Customized Racing Cars

For boys, toy automobiles are wonderful. 3D Racers are programmable, customizable, and can operate on every service. They headed a killer Indie gogo campaign project, and they are available for purchase. They come pre-programmed, but they provide techies a lot of chances to play with coding as well.

 

6. Make a Bottle Rocket

This 3D printed bottle rocket was built at a school in the Netherlands. All you need is an old water bottle, some cardboard, a 3D printer, a Ping-Pong ball, and a bicycle pump to propel the rocket into the sky. The kids not only 3D printed the parts themselves, they also designed the rocket parts. This is a great, highly adaptable project for schools or a group of kids.

 

7. Make a Drone

Drones aren't just for adults. They are the battery-powered car of today. Micro-Drones from Extreme Fliers are made with 3D printed parts and can be purchased with a camera. The price tag isn't so small, but, given the quality and cool factor, it's probably worth it for older kids who want to go zooming through the park.

 

8. Shape Your Own Monster

Kids love to draw and design. Moyupi takes a child's drawing and manually turns it into a 3D printed toy monster. The results are stunning and absolutely unique. Also, the 3D printed toys are child-safe (round edges, no loose parts, non-toxic materials) and made from a Lego-like material.

 

9. Draw Something with a 3D Pen

You don't need an expensive 3D printer to have fun with 3D. 3D pens are available for a relatively reasonable price (Check Here) are very easy to use and great fun for kids. Just think of something and start drawing into thin air. With some practice, you'll get great results. You also can exchange colors of the filament. Some 3D pen manufacturers offer models that work without heating the tip, making it safer for smaller kids.

 

10. Solve Crazy Puzzles

Puzzles. The gift every parent wants to give. 3D Printing has given independent designers the chance to make and sell their own puzzles. One example is the adorable "Lock Nester" animals. They vary in size, difficulty, and, of course, animal.