Need help picking a low cost DLP printer!

Post, review and discuss any commercial machines. Try to include links, specifications and prices.
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reluttr
Posts: 16
Joined: Sat Jun 27, 2015 5:56 pm
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Need help picking a low cost DLP printer!

Postby reluttr » Sat Jun 27, 2015 6:46 pm

So I have been looking into DLP printers since my traditional FDM printer just doesn't give the smooth surface or resolution quality I am looking for.

I have been researching some low cost options and I have came up with a few on my own. But I am hoping you all could weigh in and hopefully help me pick the best one. :D

The first printer that kinda peaked my interest is the iBox Nano. Its certainly the most affordable resin based printer of the lot and it is the easiest to set up, but it seems to really suffer when it comes to the resolution and build area. Granted I don't need a gigantic build area for what I am wanting to do *printing weapons, accessories, and replacement parts for Transformers figures* so I could make it work. A benefit to the printer is that it would work on my Mac since its more or less a stand-alone system thanks to the Raspberri Pi that its driven by. My main concern is the overall quality of the prints made on this printer. I have been poking around their G+ user group and the prints being posted are pretty grungy.

Which led to the second printer I discovered, the LittleDP. The littleDP more than doubles the build area of the iBox and would work great for all of my needs, the sample prints are also a HELL of a lot better than similar prints done on the iBox Nano. My main concern with the LittleDP is the price and initial setup. The littleDP kit alone costs $599 and then the cheapest Projector that is officially compatible with it is ~$500. Another problem I have is the initial setup, about how difficult is it to modify the projector, build the printer, and line everything up? I put together my Two-Up without to much hassle, do you think the LittleDP is about on the same level?

Finally, I ran across the last one on my list last night, the XYZPrinting Nobel 1.0. The Nobel more than doubles the build area of the LittleDP, the price is only a little bit higher than the LittleDP all together, and there is very little set-up. It also has a neat automated vat filling mechanism. Now my main concerns with this machine, we are not entirely sure what the surface resolution will look like since they have not posted any close up pictures of prints. Another concern is the Resin itself, if the DaVinci series prints is anything to go off of, then this stuff will be average quality and be chipped to insure your not using makerjuice instead of their resin. Finally my last concern is the software, they apparently have created their own filetype for this printer that demands you use their software to generate supports and etc.

So what do you guys think? Did I miss a printer that should be on my watch list?

Wonderdog
Posts: 25
Joined: Fri Jun 19, 2015 5:12 am
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Re: Need help picking a low cost DLP printer!

Postby Wonderdog » Fri Jul 03, 2015 6:07 am


reluttr
Posts: 16
Joined: Sat Jun 27, 2015 5:56 pm
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Re: Need help picking a low cost DLP printer!

Postby reluttr » Fri Jul 03, 2015 7:02 pm



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