Testing 3D printers is an in-depth course of. Printers usually do not use the identical supplies, and even the identical course of to create fashions. I check SLA 3D printers that use resin and light-weight to print, and FDM printers that soften plastic onto a plate. Every has a singular methodology. Core qualifiers I take a look at embody:
- {Hardware} high quality
- Ease of setup
- Bundled software program
- Look and accuracy of prints
- Repairability
- Firm and group assist
A key check print, representing the (now outdated) CNET brand, is used to evaluate how a printer bridges gaps, creates correct shapes and offers with overhangs. It even has little towers to assist measure how effectively the 3D printer offers with temperature ranges.
When testing velocity, we slice the mannequin utilizing the usual slicer the machine is shipped with on its customary settings, then examine the real-world length of the print to the assertion completion time on the slicer. 3D printers usually use totally different slicers, and people slicers can range wildly on what they consider the completion time to be.
We then use PrusaSlicer to find out how a lot materials the print ought to use and divide that quantity by the real-world time it took to print to provide us a extra correct quantity for the velocity in millimeters per second (mm/s) the printer can run at.
Each construct plate is meant to warmth as much as a sure temperature so we use the InfiRay thermal imaging digital camera for Android to examine how effectively they do. We set the construct plate to 60 levels Celsius — probably the most used temperature for construct plates — waited 5 minutes for the temperature to stabilize, after which measured it in six separate places. We then took the typical temperature to see how shut the 3D printer obtained to the marketed temperature.
Testing resin requires totally different standards, so I take advantage of the Ameralabs customary check: printing out a small resin mannequin that appears like a tiny city. This helps decide how correct the printer is, the way it offers with small components and the way effectively the UV publicity works at totally different factors within the mannequin.
Many different anecdotal check prints, utilizing totally different 3D fashions, are additionally run on every printer to check the longevity of the components and the way effectively the machine copes with varied shapes.
For the opposite standards, I researched the corporate to see how effectively it responds to assist queries from clients and the way simple it’s to order substitute components and set up them your self. Kits (printers that come solely semi-assembled) are judged by how lengthy and tough the meeting course of is and the way clear the directions are.