Hands-on with Zortrax and ELEGOO's SLA 3D printers We're looking at the ELEGOO Mars printer and a Zortrax Inkspire printer. They're very similar in size, but the ELEGOO is $350 and the Zortrax is $2,000. Welcome to the latest installment of ZDNet's DIY IT Discovery Series on 3D Printing. Today, we're looking at our first two SLA printers.We've been working with FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) printers for quite a while. That's the kind of printing that lays down layers, one on top of the other. FDM printers use rolls of plastic filament, heat the filament, and extrude it out of a nozzle. As one layer is deposited on top of another, they fuse together into a finished object. Also: Everything you need to know about 3D printing and its impact on your business These new printers are quite different. They are called SLA (Stereolithograph Apparatus). They have a vat of goop, a resin. This is a liquid plastic that cures by light exposure. As each layer is exposed to light, it cures. Then, … [Read more...] about A first look at two SLA 3D printers (TL;DR: They’re goopy)
Industrial 3d printer reviews
Real-life version of Star Trek’s ‘replicator’ 3D prints full objects in seconds
Inspired by Star Trek’s “replicator,” a machine capable of synthesizing objects on demand, researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and the University of California, Berkeley, have developed a new, potentially game-changing type of 3D printer. Instead of building objects layer by layer, as conventional 3D printing methods do, this new printer is able to print entire objects at once — using projected light to transform gooey resin into solid finished pieces. “We’ve invented a new category of 3D printing process inspired by the principles of computed tomography (CT),” Hayden Taylor, an electrical engineer at UC Berkeley, told Digital Trends. “CT is widely used in 3D medical and industrial imaging, but hasn’t previously been applied to fabrication. Our new process is called Computed Axial Lithography (CAL), and prints entire 3D objects into light-sensitive materials all at once. The process involves rotating a … [Read more...] about Real-life version of Star Trek’s ‘replicator’ 3D prints full objects in seconds
Zortrax M300 and M300 Plus: Industrial-class 3D printers ideal for specialty applications
There was a knock on my door. A very wet, very cranky delivery guy had a huge crate on a hand truck. I didn't know it at the time, but the rain we were experiencing was the very early front for Hurricane Irma. The crate being delivered was the Zortrax M300 3D printer, a big, heavy, industrial-grade printer that, at the time, sold for about $4,500. The Zortrax was also about to go on a big adventure. This review has been 18 months in the making, during which the Zortrax M300 has had three homes and traveled more than 3,000 miles. The Zortrax M300 is an odd printer with a number of interesting strengths and frustrating weaknesses. Since it arrived, Zortrax dropped the price to $2,999 and introduced a Plus model for another $600 that overcomes many of the M300's limitations. In this review, we'll talk about both products. About a week or so after the crate containing the M300 arrived, I unpacked it and moved it onto my workbench. I used the auto-calibrate function to level (or, … [Read more...] about Zortrax M300 and M300 Plus: Industrial-class 3D printers ideal for specialty applications
DIY-IT: Exciting maker projects and gear coming to ZDNet in 2019
Welcome to 2019, the year we take our project coverage to the next level. 2018 was a year of huge transitions, where I spent most of the year moving and building out the makerspaces we'll be using to drive projects forward in 2019. 3D printing hands on Getting to know the LulzBot Mini multi-filament printer In this installment of our 3D Printing Discovery Series, we welcome a new printer to the shop. Join David Gewirtz in getting to know the LulzBot Mini 3D printer, a printer that's capable of printing many different types of materials. Read More The video above shows the assembly of a set of six mobile Rockler shop stands, which will form the foundation of our new Fab Lab. It's great to be able to work on the machines from all angles and rearrange the workspace as projects change. Our big news is that this year, the 3D Printing Discovery Series you've all been following is going to morph into the new Desktop Fabrication Discovery Series. Not only will we look at some exciting … [Read more...] about DIY-IT: Exciting maker projects and gear coming to ZDNet in 2019
Is MakerBot’s new Method 3D printer ready enough to save the company?
Beleaguered 3D printing firm MakerBot is attempting to put to rest the string of upsets and bad news that has plagued them for the past few years. From a rocky transition as paragon of the open source movement to a closed source vendor, from a proud-to-produce-in-America production line to offshore manufacturing, the company has lived through a major acquisition, management shake-ups (it went through four CEOs in four years), a class action lawsuit (now dismissed), and mixed reviews of its fifth-generation Replicator+ 3D printers. Today, though, the company hopes all that is in the past. MakerBot announced its Method 3D printer, in a category it calls "performance 3D printing," which it says "bridges the gap between desktop and industrial 3D printing by bringing features that were previously only available on industrial 3D printers to professionals at a significantly lower cost." The changing 3D printer market This is a story of both a company and a market in transition. … [Read more...] about Is MakerBot’s new Method 3D printer ready enough to save the company?