SLA printing services
SLA printing services
Anyone know a good online store that offers SLA printing?
I'm planning on a new Minty Pi. The parts I got were fine, but I over sanded the button holes and the buttons themselves, and now it's practically useless.
High resolution SLA printing seems to be a good solution. I want something that is ready out of the box and doesn't need to be reworked. But the prices I'm seeing are astronomical. Well over $100? That can't be right, could it?
I'm planning on a new Minty Pi. The parts I got were fine, but I over sanded the button holes and the buttons themselves, and now it's practically useless.
High resolution SLA printing seems to be a good solution. I want something that is ready out of the box and doesn't need to be reworked. But the prices I'm seeing are astronomical. Well over $100? That can't be right, could it?
- neolith
- Posts: 192
- Joined: Mon Apr 24, 2017 12:43 pm
- Location: Germany
- Has thanked: 101 times
- Been thanked: 160 times
Re: SLA printing services
That sounds about right – unfortunately SLA prints are not cheap.
– "The biggest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist." –
- moooarcuuuus
- Posts: 232
- Joined: Tue Jul 04, 2017 1:28 am
- Has thanked: 2 times
- Been thanked: 94 times
Re: SLA printing services
SLA is very good and a high effort in comparsion to FDM printing.
SLS is great too, on https://www.3dhubs.com/ you can find guys near you. You can talk to them.
Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep... Game Over
Re: SLA printing services
Yup. SLA is expensive - the machines are smaller, the layers are thinner, the prints are slower, and the material is more expensive. So $100 isn't surprising.
And SLA may not be the perfect solution, either. SLA can resolve finer details, but you're probably going to need to do some finishing on the parts, still.
Couple of suggestions:
First and foremost, all you really need are the faceplate and bezel in SLA. There's no point doing the screen back or base, since they'll be hidden. And the hinge pieces would probably be too brittle in most SLA resins. You'd be looking at $35 - 40 at Shapeways for just those two parts (acrylic is cheaper; high-def acrylate is more expensive)
Second, re-work the files to use less material. Resin is expensive, so you can save some cost by reducing the amount of material used.
Third, play with orientation. With SLA/DLP prints, one of the biggest determining factors in print duration is height - the taller the object, the longer it takes. "Instant quote" pricing algorithms can be dumb, and often just spit out a price based on part volume + Z-axis height. So, if your model is rotated sideways, so it's standing on end rather than laying flat, it'll be a much taller print, and will take much longer to print, so you may get a higher quote. Not *every* website works this way, so it may not make a difference, but it's worth checking to see.
The flip side of #3 is, SLA/DLP printers have small print volumes (especially the cheaper home-use ones), so if your model is oriented flat, those pricing algorithm's may eliminate a bunch of results because your model is too large for their build envelope.
Finally, look at some other options. Shapeways' sintered nylon is pretty inexpensive and should be accurate enough for your needs. The faceplate and bezel would only cost about $15 and you get a wide range of colour choices. Plus, the nylon is really robust, so you could colour match the hinge parts, if you want. And you can save a few bucks if you can sprue the parts together.
- neolith
- Posts: 192
- Joined: Mon Apr 24, 2017 12:43 pm
- Location: Germany
- Has thanked: 101 times
- Been thanked: 160 times
Re: SLA printing services
That's interesting. Would you mind posting some pictures once you get your model?
– "The biggest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist." –
Re: SLA printing services
Turns out SLA probably isn't the best option, due to the finished parts being incredibly brittle! I'm going to try another alternative, selective laser sintering (SLS), using nylon. It will be a much more durable finished project.
Since the only piece I'm having an issue with is the faceplace, that's the only part I'm having made. I'll post pics once it comes in. Should be about a week.
Since the only piece I'm having an issue with is the faceplace, that's the only part I'm having made. I'll post pics once it comes in. Should be about a week.
- moooarcuuuus
- Posts: 232
- Joined: Tue Jul 04, 2017 1:28 am
- Has thanked: 2 times
- Been thanked: 94 times
Re: SLA printing services
Can you say what the price?
Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep, Eat, Sleep... Game Over
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest