Posted by
Vladimir Ghukasyan-2 on
URL: http://confocal-microscopy-list.275.s1.nabble.com/3d-printers-for-microsocpy-tp7585214p7585219.html
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Hi Aryeh,
You have an option to go to filament extruder printers or stereolithography
printers. First group as you probably already know, melt a thermoplastic
filament and extrudes it in a particular layout. In stereolithography a
laser is polymerizing a curable resin. We tried the Makerbot Replicator 2
for the filament printers (FDM). It was ok, but wasn't easy to handle. This
is a high-maintenance printer and tends to break a lot. You need to figure
out the settings for different details, so we have got many bad prototypes
with it. Makerbot is now out of business - they stopped manufacturing 3D
printers. We recently bought a Form2 SLA printer and are very happy with
it. It provides with a high-resolution nice finish details and you get to
vary the mechanical properties with the resin - Formlabs, the manufacturers
of Form2 offer a variety of different formulations - Tough resin with good
tensile strength, Flexible resin for squishy parts, a range of standard
plastics, and a Dental resin - a biocompatible one. A disadvantage here is
that cured resin tends to change mechanical properties and become brittle.
This, however, is what theory says and we have not seen this as of yet
(this will probably affect the parts over the course of years). Another
consideration is the cost of the resins - you will need to spend ~$150/l of
resin. To give you an example, we printed a model of fly brain with the
size of approx. 3''x2''. That model consumed 90ml. So for big parts - this
is not practical. For smaller parts or parts that require high precision I
would trust the SLA more. The cost is reasonable ($3400) and the customer
service is good.
If you want to choose an FDM printer, please consider a review made by the
Make magazine. We found the ratings they do pretty reliable and thoroughly
made (
http://makezine.com/comparison/3dprinters/). According to their
review, LulzBot is very good along with the Zortrax. A Maker facility here
on campus has bought LulzBot and was very happy with it - it appeared to be
very reliable. The printer that Alexander mentioned is very tempting, but
is much more costly.
Good luck with your printing.
Vladimir
On Tue, May 24, 2016 at 9:38 AM, Alexander Cramer <
[hidden email]> wrote:
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>
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>
> Greetings Aryeh,
>
> We employ two different types of 3D printers for creating parts and 3D
> models at
> the University Imaging Centers at the University of Minnesota.
>
> We have a couple a MakerBot Replicators for simple parts that have worked
> relatively will for our users needs and our own, but we've also very
> recently added
> a MarkForge II (
https://markforged.com) for stronger parts.
>
> It prints using Nylon as it's base material but then has a second extruder
> that adds
> a fiber filament such as Carbon Fiber, Kevlar, or Fiber Glass for added
> part
> strength.
>
> You do have the option to just print in Nylon too which is quite useful
> even without
> fiber reinforcement.
>
> Both printers are pretty affordable which was a key point for our core
> since we
> have just entered the world of 3D printing.
>
> Word to the wise if you do purchase a MakerBot of any model- Make sure it
> has the
> new Smart Extruder +. Any of the older models are woefully inadequate and
> will
> give you nothing but headaches.
>
> If you have any questions just let me know, happy to answer what I can.
>
> Alex
>