>>10506553There are 2 types of 3D printers
- filament printers: is what people buy who want functional parts
- resin printers: is what people buy who want to print statues and minis
Downside of filament printers: longer printing times, limited level of detail.
Downside of resin printers: expensive printing materials, requires extra steps like washing and curing, easily breakable parts.
Upside of filament printers: can create strong functional parts, can print even rubber-like materials, the printing materials are cheap, straightforward printing process, wide range of filament colors to choose from.
Upside of resin printers: faster printing times, crazy level of detail.
In the span of a few years resin printers have evolved to print more detail whereas filament printers have evolved to be faster and to be able to print more colors.
In my opinion filament printers are a clear winner because you can print on it pretty much anything you want whereas with resin printers you're stuck at printing just statues.
As far as the level of detail that filament printers can offer check out the pic. I placed it next to a close-up of a 1/12 scale figure of Nightwing. Camera picks up more detail but with the naked eye you wouldn't even notice it's a 3D printed object if it wasn't for the specific 3D printed sheen it gives off. The test head was printed on the cheapest most reliable filament printer on the market with no add-ons or special tricks. For a more detailed comparison you can check out this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dj1wloMRAk&ab_channel=UncleJessyLong story short, for the 6 inch scale, a filament printer is more than capable of printing stuff at the same level or even beyond what's commercially available.
