What 3d Printer should I buy? best bang for buck?

[hero4u]

Hello everyone. I am looking to buy my first 3d printer. Some of my accounts are starting to use and send digital scans instead of impressions and so i need to buy a 3d printer to print the scans they send. Can anyone please recommend a 3d printer that will work well but wont be too expensive? Which brand and model will be the best bang for the buck? Thanks for all the help and info!

 

[JMN]

This is really a call where you decide if you want to spend more sweat bucks or more cash bucks. Then you can make choices.

There are machines that are fully capable for many things under $2000. But you will need to be your own support, trainer, technical consultant, repair tech....

Then there's the stuff marketed to us as turnkey. Some of it is kinda close too.

 

[Affinity]

Whats your budget? Read through a few printing posts and prime yourself a bit, because like JMN says, the printer only does what the operator makes it do, calibrates it to do, and maintains it. Also what materials are compatible, having to switch materials etc.
I learned the hard way by buying a nice used printer at what I thought was a good deal at the time (within a year the desktops came out and made it obsolete), but the material is a minimum order of $600, and Ive never used it. Plan for growth though as more adopt IOS. Sending models out is also a good option, to have someone else maintain an expensive machine, just mark the model up and put it on the bill.

 

[TheLabGuy]

A few accounts...I'd just use Argen for digital models. As your digital grows, take that time to do your research on different printers. I will say, there is many out there and some of the lower prices ones take time and have there quirks per say and the more expensive ones work right out of the box but may Nickle and dime you to death with there closed resins systems. You want a open system!!!...can use any FDA approved resin (if you're in the U.S.).

 

[Sda36]

Hello everyone. I am looking to buy my first 3d printer. Some of my accounts are starting to use and send digital scans instead of impressions and so i need to buy a 3d printer to print the scans they send. Can anyone please recommend a 3d printer that will work well but wont be too expensive? Which brand and model will be the best bang for the buck? Thanks for all the help and info!

We purchased a SprintRay Pro 95 about 2 years ago and must say it paid for itself in way less than its 1st year. Great results and not a ton of $ to purchase by comparison to other makes. Open to a wide feild of resins on the market. Really amazing support, right there when and if you need them. Wifi enabled and all upgrades automatically. Company can also remote assist but we haven't required them to do so.

Price was around 7K and came with their ProCure unit for post printing and its also amazing!

 

[tehnik]

Asiga MAX for starters

 

[LuthorCorp]

As others have stated it depends on how much you want to pay today for the printer you want. Form Labs Form2 or Form 3 is good bang for the buck but it has its drawbacks and wont be your one stop. Asiga, origin, or Rapidshape, up your quality and accessibility but at a higher price point. Then you go to big stratasys machines but if you don't have the volume it doesn't make sense.

Really depends on your budget and what you want the machine to do. Are you printing just ortho models, or no need for intense accuracy? Form Labs, are you printing C&B models, or implant models? Origin, Asiga, Rapidshape.

 

[sirmorty]

You can look at the Anycubic or the Phrozen as well. There is also Epax.
Those are more desktop budget printers.

 

[MrMolar]

it all depends on your budget. make sure you do your research and dont just jump on one just because. if you've never used a printer before, teaching yourself is easy on a cheaper amazon special one. however, as has been mentioned previously, its all about your budget and if you're a self starter or not. looking back, I should have went with an open source one. I was "brainwashed" into buying an EnvisionTEC, and I wished I'd have shopped more prior to that. I bought from uncle henry and that was the biggest mistake I made. I tried to buy resin from another supplier, because it was a couple bucks cheaper and free shipping, and Zahn strong armed EnvisionTec into not sending to me unless I bought from them. So i've found a loophole to get away from uncle henry, but still disappointed in the support from ET and Zahn. should have just gone whipmix or Nowak...

 

[bigj1972]

it all depends on your budget. make sure you do your research and dont just jump on one just because. if you've never used a printer before, teaching yourself is easy on a cheaper amazon special one. however, as has been mentioned previously, its all about your budget and if you're a self starter or not. looking back, I should have went with an open source one. I was "brainwashed" into buying an EnvisionTEC, and I wished I'd have shopped more prior to that. I bought from uncle henry and that was the biggest mistake I made. I tried to buy resin from another supplier, can dobecause it was a couple bucks cheaper and free shipping, and Zahn strong armed EnvisionTec into not sending to me unless I bought from them. So i've found a loophole to get away from uncle henry, but still disappointed in the support from ET and Zahn. should have just gone whipmix or Nowak...

+1 for Nowak
Proprietary BS is a no go. The "oh we're protecting our customers and making the machine trouble free" doesn't work anymore.

I saw a vid of a guy making his own VAT film's with laminate in an oven. Just keep the cheap Asian parts available for replacement.

 

[MrMolar]

+1 for Nowak
Proprietary BS is a no go. The "oh we're protecting our customers and making the machine trouble free" doesn't work anymore.

I saw a vid of a guy making his own VAT film's with laminate in an oven. Just keep the cheap Asian parts available for replacement.

there is no reason why they can't make a printer that works with their proprietary resins and everyone elses resins. this whole "locking" the printer to be specific to a certain resin is crap. seeing how well and consistent the Asiga printers have been, I wished I'd have shopped more. I still havent gotten the "training" that uncle henry is supposed to provide, and that we paid for, with the printer. luckily I know my way around a printer and have been using it successfully for awhile now.

As great as the EOne is, the support behind it, especially from EnvisionTec themselves is lackluster. having to call and get put on a "wait list" for a return call for something as simple as a file to be able to print with the new resin you just bought is frustrating. or when you buy a resin that says its compatible with your printer, spend $300+ on the resin, call to get the right RFID card for the printer to register it, to find out when you're trying to get the file for the nesting software that the resin you bought and already loaded into the printer does not work with the printer and they don't have a "buildstyle" for the EOne and you're SOL.

I've learned a lot of expensive lessons this year while working on updating our lab to a more efficient, modern workflow. the printer being one of them.

 

[bigj1972]

there is no reason why they can't make a printer that works with their proprietary resins and everyone elses resins. this whole "locking" the printer to be specific to a certain resin is crap. seeing how well and consistent the Asiga printers have been, I wished I'd have shopped more. I still havent gotten the "training" that uncle henry is supposed to provide, and that we paid for, with the printer. luckily I know my way around a printer and have been using it successfully for awhile now.

As great as the EOne is, the support behind it, especially from EnvisionTec themselves is lackluster. having to call and get put on a "wait list" for a return call for something as simple as a file to be able to print with the new resin you just bought is frustrating. or when you buy a resin that says its compatible with your printer, spend $300+ on the resin, call to get the right RFID card for the printer to register it, to find out when you're trying to get the file for the nesting software that the resin you bought and already loaded into the printer does not work with the printer and they don't have a "buildstyle" for the EOne and you're SOL.

I've learned a lot of expensive lessons this year while working on updating our lab to a more efficient, modern workflow. the printer being one of them.

Well I think the guys say Amiga is the best Dental Printer, but i think it has a VAT rfid thats expires, even if its still good. I know the technology well enough to see that its fee grabbing. It's the same as screen printing t shirts in the old days. its not that complex of technology by today's standards. Outside.of an LCD mask, its a $15 uv flashlight and a square bowl with the bottom cut out and a sheet.of laminate stretched across the bottom.

 

[MrMolar]

Well I think the guys say Amiga is the best Dental Printer, but i think it has a VAT rfid thats expires, even if its still good. I know the technology well enough to see that its fee grabbing. It's the same as screen printing t shirts in the old days. its not that complex of technology by today's standards. Outside.of an LCD mask, its a $15 uv flashlight and a square bowl with the bottom cut out and a sheet.of laminate stretched across the bottom.

its the truth too. I can't believe all the fees we get charged working in the lab. annual fees are crazy. the mark-up once you slap "dental" on it is stupid. we were buying Harvest Dental CA glue from uncle henry before I took over ordering. $15/oz, and they only came in 1oz bottles. the same stuff, without dental slapped on it, is $20 for 8oz refills and $8 for 2oz bottles. its just insane.

the way you break down the way a printer works couldnt be any more accurate. its just like the FDM printers that everyone is raving over for home use. you can spend $1000 on one, or spend $200 on the same exact thing, build it to be just as accurate as the $1000 one, print another printer from it, and still be less than $1000 into it.

 

[bigj1972]

its the truth too. I can't believe all the fees we get charged working in the lab. annual fees are crazy. the mark-up once you slap "dental" on it is stupid. we were buying Harvest Dental CA glue from uncle henry before I took over ordering. $15/oz, and they only came in 1oz bottles. the same stuff, without dental slapped on it, is $20 for 8oz refills and $8 for 2oz bottles. its just insane.

the way you break down the way a printer works couldnt be any more accurate. its just like the FDM printers that everyone is raving over for home use. you can spend $1000 on one, or spend $200 on the same exact thing, build it to be just as accurate as the $1000 one, print another printer from it, and still be less than $1000 into it.

We are the technicians, we'll worry about the fine tuning and maintenance. How would you like a $1200 hammer, but had a chip you had to reregister or it would turn to rubber.

 

[MrMolar]

We are the technicians, we'll worry about the fine tuning and maintenance. How would you like a $1200 hammer, but had a chip you had to reregister or it would turn to rubber.

i think the companies believe that we can't fix anything. so they take advantage of us with service contracts etc. but when it comes time to cash in on the service contract, it's like pulling teeth to get it.

 

[Race]

Asiga Max is good but you need to be aware that the trays you buy are only good for a certain volume of resin. Once that volume of resin has printed a chip in the tray shuts off the system and you are forced to buy another tray. Formlab forces you to use their resin in Formlab proprietary containers. One way or the other they are going to squeeze money out of you.

 

[tacoman1423]

My Lab uses The AnyCubic Proton S for model printing and surgical guides. Gets the job done, pretty accurate. We use exocad to do the model creation.

We just received our first digital implant case last week and we are just waiting for the abutment to come in and crown to be milled (DTX doesn’t allow for design export to be used in exocad, we mill in-house). We had to order an analog through Nobel (Nobel client) to place into the printed model. Will update on fitment and dr happiness

 

[GG - J]

we have a old ackureta 120 3d printer-

have convinced the powers to be its time to update and upgrade

thoughts or recommendations?

 

[MrMolar]

we have a old ackureta 120 3d printer-

have convinced the powers to be its time to update and upgrade

thoughts or recommendations?

what design software are you using?