Formlabs 2, Projet, Envisiontech, DWS?

[Marcusthegladiator CDT]

So we would like to acquire a printer or two.
Our Eden260vs has been a workhorse.
But we need more.
We want to do two things with the one or two new printers we acquire.

1. I want to be able to print patterns for pressing instead of mill them.
-The hardness of the material appeals to me for many reasons.
-It has to have a high resolution for better detail.
2. I want to be able to print surgical guides without changing material in the Eden260vs.
-A lot of material gets wasted during change out just to print 1 or two guides and this seems inefficient.

I'm not familiar with the Formlabs2, Projet, Envisiontech, or DWS printers.
Were looking for benchtop units.

What can you tell me about these printers?

 

[CoolHandLuke]

if you want benchtop, rule out 3dsystems. dont ever go near envisiontech.

 

[GarryB]

I went out to have a look at the Formlabs2 this week and was very impressed.

Seems easy to change materials. You have a separate tank for each material which you just take off and put in as appropriate. Each material comes in a sort of 1 litre cassette that just slots in and out.....I asked about purging when you change materials and apparently you don't have to. There are lots of materials to chose from but it's an open printer so you can use another manufacturers if you want. Prints seem good quality. Not sure if it's good enough for C&B but someone correct me if I'm wrong. Fairly large build plate for a desk top unit and the price is not bad either.

As I said, all in all I was impressed.....I don't have much hands on experience with printers so would love to hear anyone else's thoughts.

 

[JohnWilson]

I agree printing for pressing is pretty amazing on fit. When you can eliminate drill compensation from your cad you get even more precise fits, ESPECIALLY on sharp veneer cases.

The issue is how ash free the media is, also the burn out time is a bit different and we don't just jam it in a hot oven. I have not purchased yet but it sure seems that the market is changing so fast right now. Lots of new materials starting to get through FDA. Also with the advent of so many hobby style printers the price point is just falling so much.

The small build plate units, sub 4k units, will all do what you want, resolution isn't the #1 thing you should be focused on. I think speed and material choices have to be your #1 thing you should be considering aside from price.

Whipmix is pushing a new printer and I received a demo model the other day it looked awesome, I have a friend that have 6 Form2, he loves them.

 

[chooch0918]

We just purchasesd the Form2 from formlabs for Guides.
Pros - $3500
-Great dental quality resin with nice transparency
-use friendly software
-post processing is simple

Cons
-small build platform so CandB isn't ideal for larger labs
-print time on guides is around 4 hours

Good results so far. Parts have nice detail with accuracy around 50m for guides.