I have been thinking about getting an resin based printer for a while but have not pulled the trigger for a number of reasons. First, I really do not need one! Second, I have seen the post processing work needed to remove the support structures that are required for this kind of printer and am not keen on them. Third, I am space constrained in the man cave. Fourth, they cost a lot of money for something that I really dont need!
As with all things in the technology space the prices, particularly at the low end, are coming down. There are FDM 3D Printers now available for just a couple hundred dollars. Entry level but fully capable of doing good prints. This trend is also impacting resin based printers though until recently the lowest price point has been around a thousand dollars.
Enter the
Wanhao Duplicator 7 which is aimed at the bottom price point in the market at 400 dollars. The printer is extremely capable for that price point though. The build volume is decent (120, 68, 200), the speed is decent (15mm-35 mm per hour), and the resolution is more than decent given that it can do layers of 35 microns and an x-y resolution of around 500 dots per inch.
And it is cute! Its small size makes it perfect for the man cave. I think the printer is a great demonstration of how the Chinese can take a product and develop a low cost version. The electronics are based on a RAMPS board which is the same thing that drove the 3D Printer that I built two and a half years ago. Everyone knows what they are and what to do with them. The motor is the same as a zillion other 3D printers. The power supply is a standard brick. The LCD display is repurposed from what had been designed for a tablet. i'm not sure what the video interface is but I would bet that it was repurposed from a laptop or something of the kind. It is eloquent in its simplicity.
