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Thursday, October 11, 2018
SparkMaker FHD $250 3D Printer Review!
Tested: Sean tests and reviews the SparkMaker FHD resin 3D printer, which is currently available as a pre-order for $250. At that price, it's an attractive low-cost resin printer, and we were happy with both its software and print quality.
4 comments:
Marisa Rinchiuso
said...
I thought this printer review was very cool, but I do not think I would ever buy it for theatrical purposes. I thought it was nice that the presenter, Sean, went through and explained a little about 3D printers, particularly the construction type of how the structures are made. This 3D printer is a resin based printer that used UV light to harden the portions that should be added. It is very appealing that the product is only $250 (if purchased through a fund/reward interface). Although the price is right, I suspect the printing dimensions are just too prohibitive for any use in a theatrical shop. I think this could be really powerful in the gaming world. The intricacies of the printing is perfect for small items and figurines. I'm not sure if creating new pieces is of interest to gamers or game shops but I think this product would have great value to that market.
This was a very thorough review, and it seems like it is a pretty solid printer, especially once they add the UI. I’ll be interested to see what happens as printers like this become more and more affordable and more and more common. I think at some point home 3D printers will be as common as home paper printers, but at the same time I don’t see myself ever getting one because I don’t know what I’d do with it other than make little random plastic things I then have no purpose for. I think scenic designers might start using 3D printing more and more for model making. There are lots of elements in models that would likely be very easy to 3D print, and 3D printing would allow for much quicker iterations and easily presenting multiple physical versions, especially for designers that have a digital 3D process when designing. I could also see this being useful for costume designers to make custom buttons, jewelry, and similar.
3D printers have come a long way in the past ten years. Back in 2010, you would be hard-pressed to find a 3D printer on the market for less than 2,000 dollars and that only got you a machine with minimal accuracy. I recently purchased a 3D Printer for 800 dollars, and after doing some extensive research, I concluded that the difference between a 25k dollar machine vs. the 800 dollar option was not substantial. Both the quality and reliability of the 800-dollar machine was very much on par with the school’s industrial grade printer.
To see a resin 3d printer on the market for less than 500 dollars is even more surprising to me. This technology has only been around for a few years and to see such a drastic decrease in price is astounding. I am curious to know the reliability of this machine outside the scope of the demo video, but if you can truly get the results talked about in the video, I would say this is a great machine.
Over the past decade, 3D printing has had a lot of attention and resources are thrown at it for development. Much like Chris said, a 3D printer under 2,000 dollars ten years ago would be unheard of. The fact that this resin printer can be bought for under 500 dollars is outstanding. Personally, I believe the fatal flaw with the 3D printing industry is their desire to innovate and not perfect. The review talks about how the lack of user interface on this pre-production model is a problem when it comes to troubleshooting and on the fly adjustments. While my experience with 3D printing is limited, I understand the basics when it comes to orientation and printing supports to ensure a successful model. Resin printing is certainly an interesting process and is able to achieve a much higher level of detail compared to traditional PVA printing. I love getting to witness the innovations of the 3D printing industry and am excited to see where we are in another ten years.
4 comments:
I thought this printer review was very cool, but I do not think I would ever buy it for theatrical purposes. I thought it was nice that the presenter, Sean, went through and explained a little about 3D printers, particularly the construction type of how the structures are made. This 3D printer is a resin based printer that used UV light to harden the portions that should be added. It is very appealing that the product is only $250 (if purchased through a fund/reward interface). Although the price is right, I suspect the printing dimensions are just too prohibitive for any use in a theatrical shop. I think this could be really powerful in the gaming world. The intricacies of the printing is perfect for small items and figurines. I'm not sure if creating new pieces is of interest to gamers or game shops but I think this product would have great value to that market.
This was a very thorough review, and it seems like it is a pretty solid printer, especially once they add the UI. I’ll be interested to see what happens as printers like this become more and more affordable and more and more common. I think at some point home 3D printers will be as common as home paper printers, but at the same time I don’t see myself ever getting one because I don’t know what I’d do with it other than make little random plastic things I then have no purpose for. I think scenic designers might start using 3D printing more and more for model making. There are lots of elements in models that would likely be very easy to 3D print, and 3D printing would allow for much quicker iterations and easily presenting multiple physical versions, especially for designers that have a digital 3D process when designing. I could also see this being useful for costume designers to make custom buttons, jewelry, and similar.
3D printers have come a long way in the past ten years. Back in 2010, you would be hard-pressed to find a 3D printer on the market for less than 2,000 dollars and that only got you a machine with minimal accuracy. I recently purchased a 3D Printer for 800 dollars, and after doing some extensive research, I concluded that the difference between a 25k dollar machine vs. the 800 dollar option was not substantial. Both the quality and reliability of the 800-dollar machine was very much on par with the school’s industrial grade printer.
To see a resin 3d printer on the market for less than 500 dollars is even more surprising to me. This technology has only been around for a few years and to see such a drastic decrease in price is astounding. I am curious to know the reliability of this machine outside the scope of the demo video, but if you can truly get the results talked about in the video, I would say this is a great machine.
Over the past decade, 3D printing has had a lot of attention and resources are thrown at it for development. Much like Chris said, a 3D printer under 2,000 dollars ten years ago would be unheard of. The fact that this resin printer can be bought for under 500 dollars is outstanding. Personally, I believe the fatal flaw with the 3D printing industry is their desire to innovate and not perfect. The review talks about how the lack of user interface on this pre-production model is a problem when it comes to troubleshooting and on the fly adjustments. While my experience with 3D printing is limited, I understand the basics when it comes to orientation and printing supports to ensure a successful model. Resin printing is certainly an interesting process and is able to achieve a much higher level of detail compared to traditional PVA printing. I love getting to witness the innovations of the 3D printing industry and am excited to see where we are in another ten years.
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