So.... Question for
@RatLabGuy and anyone else that might use 3D printing professionally. We've got three printers at work, and some of my coworkers have units at home for prototyping purposes (I didn't get in on that buy....f*ckers). Our big machine in-house is a 3D Systems SLA printer. Makes some fantastic prints in terms of surface finish and part accuracy. But durability? It's SLA. So it can be brittle.
We've also got a Form 2, which I LOVED (at first) just because of the wide selection of resins. Anything from tough/rigid parts, to flexible "plastics" to rubber-like materials for things like switch boots, grippy things, gaskets, etc. Really versatile machine, although small. Quality has seemed to slide over time, but I also have been working hybrid schedule for the past 2+ years, so one of the machinists there at the office is completing the post-process. Might have something to do with the slip in quality... since he may not be scrubbing out all the excess resin before curing.
Last and most recently, we've acquired an Ultimaker S5 Pro. Also a versatile machine, it's got dual extruders to run multiple filaments at once. Works well for support material, etc. where needed. I'm not the biggest fan, since it's a "silly string squirter" as I refer to it, and doesn't have the highest print quality or accuracy....at least compared to the first two. Perhaps it's user error? Not sure. I've never set up the prints on that one, so I don't know how much adjustment one can put into the builds.
My question comes in the need for metal parts printed. I'm currently working on a project that I need some durable prototypes made. I contacted our usual go-to for sourced prototyping, a local place that has a lot of capability and typically turns out some fine work. They have a machine to run DMLS, and made me some 18-8 stainless parts.....they are nice, but they're not all that fantastic. Especially for the price tag.... Size is within a reasonable tolerance, but the surface finish really lacks what is needed. These parts need to be able to slide/rotate in mating machined components, and they really just feel like sliding sheets of sandpaper together. I've been going at it with Swiss files and sandpaper, but this time could be better spent in other areas....lol.
So with all that being said - do you have experience with any vendors with capability to print high quality metal parts? Reason I'm not having these machined is their small overall size, and they would be nearly impossible to machine (at least in our in-house machine shop). The parts are designed for MIM. Two other projects have required metal printed parts, both of which came from the same vendor referenced above. For their respective applications, the quality was acceptable. But for this application...I need better. Got any suggestions?
