3D Printer Is To Choose Light Curing Or FDM？

First of all, let's take a look at the principle of light-curing printers.

The traditional FDM printer melts the consumables, draws lines according to the model parameters, and stacks them into a surface, which is stacked layer by layer and finally formed. The light-curing printer uses the ultraviolet light source inside the machine to show a specific shape through the screen. Curing the consumables on one side directly, and then lift them out of the photosensitive resin liquid layer by layer.

The printing accuracy of ordinary FDM printers is mostly 0.1-0.2mm. The materials are cheap but the effect of printing complex models is poor. General light-curing 3D printers have high molding accuracy up to 0.025mm layer thickness, and the higher the resolution, the higher the single-layer printing accuracy and the higher the molding accuracy. The printing speed is also faster than FDM printers by means of liquid solidification and molding. Of course, from the point of view of the machine, the disadvantage of light-curing at the same price relative to FDM is that the print size is small. When large parts need to be printed, it needs to be split into several parts. The chance of splicing not in place is relatively high. For demanding models, the impact of improper splicing is devastating.

Generally speaking, light-curing 3D printers are better than FDM printers in terms of accuracy and speed. However, regardless of the printing cost, it is a rogue. It costs about 100-200 yuan to buy a bottle of 1KG photosensitive resin online while buying 1KG PLA consumables only costs 50 yuan, and after curing and molding, cleaning and secondary curing are required. If there is no cleaning and curing machine, it needs to be air-dried and sun exposure. The process is also more complicated. The purchase of cleaning and the curing machine starts at least 700 yuan, and the overall cost Also rose. Finally, the photosensitive resin is slightly toxic, so you need to keep the room ventilated, and it is best to wear gloves when touching it.

Except for complicated operations and sufficient funds, light curing is better than FDM in the case of the pursuit of precision such as printing hands.

If you are only making spare parts and do not require high accuracy, FDM can meet the requirements. It is best to choose the one that suits you.