This blog post will show you the best way to orient and support your resin prints for the Formlabs 3 and 3L SLA printers. By modifying the support touch point size and density, you can have resin parts that simply break off of the support which reduces your post-processing time. When it comes to supporting models for SLA 3D printing, the goal is to have the least amount of support while still securing the model to the build plate. If your support size is too large, small puck marks can be visible on the model as the supports’ tips pull off some of the uncured resin. If you make the support size too small and the supports too sparse, the model will break away from the build plate, and the print will fail. PreForm is the standard slicing software for Formlabs printers. This software allows you to generate supports for your models. Some of the parameters that you can change are the touchpoint size, density, and support location. In this example, we have a simple box that can be supported using large touchpoints. We used 0.5mm supports with a density of 80%. Using the Edit Support feature, you can add extra supports in [...]

3D Printed Prosthetics To Save A Bird’s Life While caretakers at ZooTampa were performing a routine check-up on a 25-year-old great hornbill, they found a lesion at the base of the bird’s casque, the yellow helmet-like growth on top of the head. Further examination determined that the bird, named Crescent, was suffering from life-threatening cancer. The great hornbill is one of the most endangered bird species on the planet, driven out of its habitat by forest-clearing and hunted for its casque. Found only in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, ZooTampa’s hornbill is one of its prized attractions. The cancer, located near the bird's skull, couldn't be removed because it housed part of the bird's sinuses. The team wanted to know if they could remove the casque, and replace it with a 3D-printed replica designed specifically for this bird. Patient-specific prosthetics and devices have been used before in human procedures, but never for a great hornbill. Would it be possible, and if so, which materials would be safe for the bird? "Clinical literature has shown improved outcomes when patient-specific prosthetics, medical devices, and surgical guides have been used with human patients," Gaurav Manchanda, director of medical market development for Formlabs, said in a [...]

Outsourcing vs. In-House: When Does it Make Sense to Bring SLS 3D Printing In-House? Do you ever wonder about the value proposition of bringing selective laser sintering (SLS) 3D printers in-house and how it compares with outsourcing SLS parts from a service bureau? Or have you ever wondered about what it would be like to post-process these parts? In "Outsourcing vs. In-House: When Does it Make Sense to Bring SLS 3D Printing In-House?" a white paper created by Formlabs, they examine the value proposition of bringing SLS 3D printers in-house while providing an overview of the SLS 3D printing market today and discussing the six case studies they conducted. These six case studies represent three applications, and with them, they demonstrate the positive ROI of bringing SLS in-house for all different types of businesses. Additionally, you may learn about different post-processing techniques from a webinar we shared earlier this year. Cimquest's Tyler and Camil teamed up with Mark from 3D Cincy to discuss many different ways parts from an SLS printer can be post-processed. This webinar delves into 10 different methods, with examples, of providing parts with different finish outcomes. Watch Here Fill out the form below to download the [...]