Resin/SLA is best for miniatures – hands down, but as always there are pros and cons when compared to FDM machines
I’ve for an ANet A8 FDM and an Anycubic Photon SLA so comparing SLA to FDM:
Pro SLA
Out of the box (Almost) capability – plug in and start printing.
Comes with tools/spares/gloves/resin/etc to get you going.
High resolution in all 3 axis
Almost invisible print lines – undercoat and go in most cases.
Time efficiency (Filling the bed takes no longer to print)
Good customer support and good community support
Con SLA:
Expensive resins - £30+ per litre but it does go a long way
Stink -Not all resins but some absolutely stink
Clean up - You need to wash the resin in IPA/Solvent to remove the uncured resin
Post print cure - prints need time to fully cure in UV/Sunlight
Mess - It’s a liquid based system and you will be handling fairly dubious chemicals that will inevitably get everywhere
Failed prints - 8 hours printing and £5 of resin fails at the last minute.
No quick prints - A 28mm mini will take in the order of 3-4 hours
Small build area
Pro FDM
Cheaper starting cost
Printing less stuff is faster
Huge (relatively) build volume
Cheaper materials
More variety in materials (ABS/PLA/Flex/Wood/etc)
Good community support
Con
Very much a hobby – the machines need love and attention.
Very few cheap machines that don’t need work or upgrades (Heated bed/self-level/etc)
Lower resolutions (almost certainly print lines) needing post print processing to get acceptable results.
Printing more stuff take longer (Seems daft but not an issue on SLA)
Both can be frustrating and there is a steep learning curve initially but after that it’s a matter of adjusting your techniques to get the best out of them.
Soem of my stuff here:
http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=116854.msg1477824#msg1477824An FDM would not be able to do this: