Are you thinking about getting a professional 3D printer that can print high resolution parts? When it comes to print quality, resin 3D printers reign supreme. But quality means nothing without speed and throughput. That’s why we’ve put together a quick comparison of two of the most interesting professional desktop 3D printers available today – the Nexa3D XiP and the Formlabs Form 3+.
Nexa3D® XiP
Nexa3D has taken its industrial resin 3D print engine (known as LSPc) and shrunk it into a desktop envelope—giving individual professionals and small businesses access to the ultrafast 3D printing technology.
Formlabs® Form 3+
Formlabs is one of the pioneers of desktop SLA 3D printing and its Form 3+ is its latest printer model.
3D Printing Technologies
Nexa3D® LSPc
Lubricant Sublayer Photo-curing (LSPc) is a masked stereolithography (mSLA) process that is much faster than traditional stereolithography (SLA). It uses an LED array as the light source together with an LCD photomask, which serves to shape the layer image as it passes onto and through the self-lubricating membrane. This arrangement allows higher light levels which translates to faster build speeds with less image distortion – ultimately resulting in better quality prints.
Formlabs® SLA
SLA 3D printing is the original form of resin-based 3D printing. A pin-point laser draws out every element of the print curing the resin as it draws. Formlabs uses a 250 mW laser which is more powerful than typical consumer grade SLA 3D printers but significantly slower than the LSPc process.
Print Time Comparison
V6 Engine Block Model
An example file of a V6 Engine Block model was sliced on the native software for each of the two leading professional desktop 3D printers – Nexa3D XiP and Formlabs Form 3+ using the fastest settings and materials for both without compromising print quality or reliability. XiP printed a single duct in just 87 minutes while Form 3+ took 483 minutes or 6x longer.
Tech Specs Overview
