3D Printing
We can 3D print solid models of most file types. Prints can be made in choice of color including transparent colors. Prints can also be made in flexible or rigid materials. At this time, we only print in resin or plastic based materials. We do not offer metal 3D printing. A few projects that have been 3D printed are characterized vases, holiday decorations, custom vehicle badges, and even figurines for board games.
To give you a better understanding of 3D printing, it's best to start with what kinds of printers are out there. To break it down as simply as I can, there are 3 common types of 3D printers; Extruded wire such as FDM and FFM, Resin such as DLP and SLA, Powder such as SLS. There are more types of 3D printers, but we will leave that research up to you.
We favor the LCD resin printers due to their higher quality print, however print size is limited which can require assembling for larger prints. We are looking to add an FDM printer soon to offer larger prints. If you have some projects in mind, let us know.
FDM is one of the most well know types of 3D printing. Since FDM printing is one of the oldest and most common forms of 3D printing, there are several printers on the market to choose from, along with several open source platforms allowing for custom built printers. This means that there printers that can print larger prints than most other printers. There are also several printing materials to choose from including glow in the dark filaments, carbon fiber reinforced filaments, and various types of plastics. Most filaments are generally considered safe to use for food ware such as bowls and cups. FDM prints have a taller print height making the layers much more prominent. Filament printing is also much slower than a LCD or DLP printer since it has to trace the print on every layer. There is also less detail captured per layer.
As mentioned before, LCD printers can print in a much finer quality. The detail per layer is crisper and the layers are much thinner, making them much less noticeable. The downsides are that the print area is usually smaller than an FDM printer, the prints cannot be directly exposed to direct sunlight for other wise it may discolor or crack. This can be avoided however if the part is painted or wrapped in vinyl. Resin prints are also not considered food safe, meaning they can't be used for cups or bowls. They can be used as molds to make food safe items out of another material such as clay or other type of plastic. There are also new types of resin being added to the market everyday, so if there isn't one already, a food safe resin may be available soon.