Advantages and Disadvantages of Resin 3d Printers

The difference between operating a FDM 3D printer and a resin 3D printer is still significant, as FDM printers use wound filament as the consumable, while LCD printers use liquid resin as the consumable. With FDM printers, I believe that novices can quickly get started printing useful objects. However, resin printers are not as easy, and require a bit of skill in handling the support and post-processing of the item. Today we will mainly talk about the advantages and disadvantages of resin 3D printers.

Resin 3D printers have a number of significant advantages over FDM 3D printing.

　　1. They produce superior quality products, especially with smooth surface finishes

　　They can produce objects with extremely high resolution, suitable for small items such as jewelry

　　3. They can work with a wide range of materials, including not only polymers, but also ceramics

　　4. They usually take up very little space on a table or desk

　　5. they can produce thermoset polymer objects with higher heat resistance

Disadvantages of resin 3D printing

The printed objects are weak.

While resin 3D printing can have higher quality and resolution, they can be weaker than the equivalent parts produced on FDM systems. This is partly due to the type of material, but also from the polymerization process. There is another effect: UV light. This type of light is used to initially cure the resin into the desired geometry, but is also used to cure the part after 3D printing is complete. This is usually done in a separate UV chamber.

The problem is that if a 3D printed part is used outdoors, it is exposed to more UV light from the sun. This UV light will continue to cure the object, which can create problems. Poor quality resins can actually cause 3D printed parts to break after repeated UV exposure.

Resin 3D printing support is more complicated

Freshly cured resins are still fragile and bend easily. So when you 3D print an object, it hangs from the build plate and is subject to the stresses of gravity and peeling new layers from the bottom of the resin grooves. These stresses can cause the print to bend into unexpected geometries, or even render the print completely unusable.

This means that a large amount of support material is required. While support materials can be generated automatically, in many resin slicing software systems, the automatically generated supports are poor. They may be too dense, causing surface quality problems, or too sparse, causing distortion of the printed model. In many cases, the operator is forced to design a unique support structure for the model, a complicated process.

Resin fluids smell bad ( toxic)

Resin 3D printing with typically toxic fluids can be a pain in the ass. Most photopolymer resins have toxic chemicals that are used in the curing process. The polymerized objects are perfectly safe, but in liquid form they can be toxic when exposed to the skin or lungs. This toxicity usually manifests itself after repeated exposure, so operating a resin 3D printer requires the operator to always use appropriate disposable gloves and goggles when handling.

The required post-processing step for resin 3D printers is to wash off any remaining toxic liquid resin. This is usually done with alcohol cleaning, but some resins can be cleaned with plain water. It is important to note that alcohol is flammable and care must be taken.

Do you still want to use a resin 3D printer?

After learning all this information, you may want to reconsider your plans to use a resin 3D printer. I suggest to decide according to your needs, if you really want a fine detailed and beautiful object, a resin 3D printer is better, but they are very different from FDM 3D printers, the post-processing requires some special treatment.