Shapeways site

[Lemosteam]

What I mean is, the surface(s) where those supports touch WILL be blemished, whether it be in the form of a bump, or in the form of a crater when they snap off.  So any surface that is facing the bed (even if at an angle, will not be perfect, period, so be prepared for that.

While we all complained about the wax messing up the Projet surfaces of FUD and FXD, at least they are somewhat manageable with sanding/ scraping or priming.  The SLA process will be much more work (as I have found) to bring those nice surfaces back.

Not all designs have a surface or edge that is expendable to these supports.

For instance, my turtle roof was printed on an SLA and sent to me for comparison to my FXD and FUD (In ALL fairness, the person who printed it for me quickly threw supports on the part for printing using embedded support software- some people DESIGN supports adding to design hours). My comment here in no way is meant to be a criticism of this person or of anyone using an SLA machine, it is for awareness and my opinion only.

The main surfaces were in fact outstanding, roof surface, outer ribs, and ends, but three negative (again IMHO) things occurred:

1: Support spacing left unsupported material to drape between the supports, leaving what should have been a perfectly straight mating edge looking like a telephone wire between poles
2: the interlacing of the supports can create unintended stress vectors when trying to remove the support structure with nippers, and ended up cracking the surface of the roof- I would recommend using a dremel outside with a mask so as not to breathe in the fine particles, and then carefully cutting off any remains with a cutter.
3:  Supports had to be added along the mating edge of the roof (which needs to be perfect for a mating joint) and some of the supports broke off with material that would otherwise been unaffected by a FUX/FXD print

Another negative effect of the SLA process is all of the wasted resin in the support and a support base that is printed first and that you will be paying for but not using.

[rodsup9000]

Yes I still need to sort through all the bad on Facebook.

As for price. Here it is for $418 plus $21 shipping:
https://www.3dprintersbay.com/anycubic-photon?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI8dbu8taz3gIVwQJpCh0xLQq6EAkYASABEgLCRPD_BwE

And for me here the price came to $425:
 https://www.aliexpress.com/item/ANYCUBIC-PHOTON-3D-Printer-Touch-Screen-SLA-LCD-UV-Resin-Ultimate-Slice-Speed-Light-Cure-Impresora/32847136643.html   
Anycubic seems to have a direct relationship with Aliexpress.

For the life of me I have no idea why Amazon is so popular as their price is $519.


Lately everything I do at Shapeways involves flat parts to hide the support layering. I'd treat the supports with the Photon the same. And I can position the supports where I want them.

 One thing I noticed in the price variances is the amount of resin that is included with it. Some with the lowest price doesn't come with any at all.

[peteski]

It seems to me that for optimal results one would be better off using multiple 3-d printing methods.
The FUD/FXD is good for larger pieces with fewer details, where SLA seems perfect for making small and well detailed objects (since there are less objectionable striations, and smoother surface finish).  So things like N scale steam loco headlamps, air compressors, steam injectors, or even entire N scale passenger automobiles would probably be better done using the SLA printing, while N scale railroad car bodies, roofs, or even buildings will be best printed in FUD (whatever that technology is called).

[daniel_leavitt2000]

Did Shapeways change their material names? I keep seeking "Smooth/est fine detail plastic" instead of FUD/FXD. I just want to be sure that it's the same material.

[Lemosteam]

Yes.