What to Consider Before Buying the 3D Printer?
Before buying the specific models of 3D printers, it is worthwhile to figure out by what criteria they are selected. This will help you to take a closer look at the particular model. Keep reading our special article to know all the information.
Where to start with?
There are hundreds of printer models on the market today. They differ in characteristics, capabilities and operating features.
Here are some of the main reasons why people buy such a printer.
Get to know closely the promising technology, learn how to create digital models of objects and experiment with them.
Replenish the home workshop with a new powerful tool and use it to make useful household items, spare parts for the repair of household appliances, etc.
Use it for professional purposes for prototyping if you are a designer or architect.
Spend leisure time with your child, make models and crafts for school.
Each of these applications has a different set of requirements for the printer. For example, a student will appreciate the ease of setting, for an artist the ability of a printer to work simultaneously with materials of different colours is more important, and for an engineer – the ability to print from complex thermoplastics.
Material for 3D printers
Most entry-level printers use FDM or FFF technology. They are very similar: in both, the object is created in the process of layer-by-layer plastic melting. Inexpensive and readily available ABS plastic, supplied as a filament on a spool, can be used as the print material. Typically, these printers can work with PLA (polylactide), which is safer for health and the environment. Objects obtained in this way have a relatively rough surface, the smoothness of which depends on the resolution of the printer.
Alternatively, you can consider models of printers using a liquid photopolymer that hardens when exposed to ultraviolet light. These printers produce a very smooth surface with high object detail.
Print resolution
Since an object is formed from many thin layers, the thickness of the layer determines the detail of the object. At the same time, print quality depends on more than just resolution.
Most printer models can print at different resolutions. The thicker the selected resolution, the thicker the layers and the faster the printer works. In many cases, you can sacrifice detail to gain typing speed.
Printing using different materials
Some printer models can work simultaneously with materials of two colours. To do this, they must be equipped with multiple printheads. For multicolour printing, a separate file is required for each colour.
Types of computer connection
The printer can be connected via USB, Ethernet, or Wi-Fi. Some models are equipped with slots for memory cards and can work autonomously without connecting to a computer. Each of the options has its own advantages.
Software
Most of the models on the market are equipped with the necessary software. It can also be downloaded from the manufacturer’s website.
As a rule, all these applications are cross-platform and can work with any common operating system. However, it will be useful to clarify this point.
Well, these were the basic things to pay attention to when buying a 3D printer. Visit the Currys website to get this beautiful device.
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