Rapid Protoyping - FDM
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Trying to find a good, reputable rapid prototyping company to print some FDM parts for me.
Anyone have a company they can recommend? Looking for fairly quick turnaround. New to 3D printing. Have the solid models exported to .stl. Anything else to consider?
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Stratasys is the manufacturer of most (all?) commercial FDM machines, and they have a print service called Redeye. I toured their facility a couple weeks ago - they have several hundred FDM machines there just for printing on demand, and offer fast turnaround.
Quickparts also offers FDM, and they recently released a Sketchup plugin to upload and get quotes right from inside Sketchup.
I've never ordered from either company, as they're typically ~2-10x the cost of ordering SLS from Shapeways, but have had contact with both and would feel comfortable using them if I needed fast turnaround time. The downside to Shapeways is you may have to wait an extra week for your parts, but that depends on your needs.
Out of curiosity, why do you need FDM? Do you know about other 3D print methods like SLS? They each have their place, so just want to ensure you know all the options.
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Thinking FDM as the final products are going to be PVC or a recycled vinyl siding material (UV Rated). Trying to emulate with some durable enough to put some stress on them. I guess ABS would be the closest? Also there are very small teeth on the mouth opening. What are the benefits of SLS besides cost? Is there a better DPI? Definitely open to suggestions. Need to send them off in the next day or so.
Thanks Marcus, for taking the time to answer.
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The accuracy is very similar between the two - both have resolutions ~0.005", but the print layers are more visible in the FDM parts. FDM is typically used for commercial parts. I think you've made a good choice with ABS as that's similar to what your final material will be.
Quickparts offers both FDM and SLS and their engineers could offer better advice for your particular application.
Edit: I don't have experience with large parts, but the durability seems comparable between the two methods on the small models I have worked on. SLS is more flexible, while ABS is harder and slightly brittle.
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Also Ponoko.
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