Meanwhile, other firms that were used to desk-side manufacturing were more attracted to Envisiontec DLP. Firms that were used to large machines with a light on top, in my experience, tended to go for the large iPro SLA systems from 3D Systems.
To give you one example: in choosing whether to use two vat photopolymerization technologies, stereolithography (SLA) or digital light processing (DLP), and then which machine in each of these categories to use, companies were often lead more by their previous experiences in manufacturing more than the technologies or machines themselves. Depending on the size, detail, strength, and wall thickness of a part, many variables could make one system the obvious choice. Depending on your workflow, the amount of space you have, throughput, the materials you use and even the shape of the objects you print, one or another machine could be better. It is important to note that there is no such thing as “the best” 3D printer. Millions of dental crowns, dental intermediates, hearing aids, and jewelry casts are being made with 3D printing, but apart from these cases, high volume manufacturing is still quite rare in 3D printing. In many instances, this ancillary use is more widespread than the dedicated manufacture of millions of products. In a lot of cases, they can also be used for making items such as jigs and fixtures or tooling for manufacturing. Industrial 3D printers are those used by companies on the factory floor, generally for manufacturing end products.