Resin 3D Printing vs. PLA 3D Printing

3D printing changed the world when it started going mainstream. For the first time, instead of having to rely on fabrication workshops and the manufacturing industry or people with specific knowledge and skill sets, everyday men and women could build things at home for themselves.. Just about every industry imaginable has been affected by 3D printing. There are 3D-printed homes; cars have been getting 3D-printed parts, and now things like cosplay have been impacted by 3D printing. Instead of having to spend hundreds of dollars on props, you can make whatever you want at home.

Getting into 3D printing is easier than ever, thanks to the advent of tutorials and new 3D printers that come to market on a regular basis. But to get started with 3D printing, you have to know about the two different types of it. In this article, I’ll explore 3D printing with resin and compare it to 3D printing with PLA filament, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of both.

Table of Contents

1. What is 3D Printing?

2. What Materials Do 3D Printers Use?

3. How Resin 3D-Printing Works

4. PLA 3D Printing and Why You Would Choose It

5. Which is Better, Resin 3D Printing or PLA 3D Printing?

   
   

What Is 3D Printing?

Before getting technical about the kinds of materials you can 3D print with, I’d like to explore what 3D printing itself is.

3D printing, at its core, is the act of creating physical objects with three-dimensional factors. Instead of the pieces being simply flat and layered with no texture, depth, or height, they have volume and texture, and when printed properly, they’re extremely sturdy and able to hold up to rigorous amounts of stress.

The 3D printing process starts with a digital file that holds the properties of the item that is to be printed. This file is created and held in something known as CAD software. CAD stands for computer-aided design. The 3D printer you choose to use reads the file loaded into it and starts printing the object out in sections, layer by layer, until the print is complete.

What Materials Do 3D Printers Use?

3D printers use a wide variety of materials to print and create objects, such as plastics and metals. But for this article, we’ll focus on the two most commonly used materials by the average consumer: resin and PLA filament.

Resin 3D Printing

Resin 3D printing, as the name suggests, uses liquid resin to create objects. The type of resin used for 3D printing is sensitive to ultraviolet light and hardens when exposed to it. So, to print using resin, 3D printers lower a special plate into a vat of resin and aim a laser at the resin to slowly and selectively harden the resin and mold an object out of it.

Why Would You Choose To 3D Print With Resin?

Resin 3D printing has a few advantages over PLA 3D printing. First, resin 3D printing is extremely precise and detailed because of the laser that’s used to form the object. Resin 3D prints are often far more intricate and detailed than PLA prints. Resin prints are often extremely durable. PLA filament is typically made out of plastic, which does have some tensile strength, but it can often be easily shattered or broken. Resin 3D prints are hardened by UV light, which gives them added strength and makes them more durable in the event of an accident, such as a printed object falling.

Disadvantages of Resin 3D Printing

While resin 3D printing has many benefits and advantages, it comes with a fair share of drawbacks as well. Resin itself can be extremely toxic. Getting it on your hands can lead to a severe allergy, and breathing in resin can be extremely hazardous to your health.

Therefore, to use a resin 3D printer properly, you have to have it set up in a well-ventilated area, wear gloves, and wear a mask to prevent yourself from inhaling any fumes. Resin 3D printers can be more expensive than a PLA printer when you look at the total cost because you have to buy a washing and curing station for your 3D printer. The washing station is needed to clean off any excess resin left after the printing process, and the curing station is necessary to harden the print after it finishes.

PLA 3D Printing and Why You Would Choose It

PLA 3D printing is a widely used alternative to resin 3D printing. PLA stands for Polylactic Acid, and it’s widely used because it’s easy to access, relatively cheap, and provides some quality models and prints.

Like Resin, PLA 3D printing has its advantages and disadvantages. If your 3D printer is set up correctly, PLA filament is straightforward to use and doesn’t require additional stations like a resin 3D printer does. Essentially, you load the spool of PLA filament into your 3D printer, tell it to start printing, and it goes to work.

You don’t need a washing and curing station, and unlike resin 3D printing, it’s non-toxic, so you can have a PLA 3D printer in any section of your home without concern. PLA filament is also environmentally friendly and biodegradable, so for people who care about the environment, it can be a great choice, and it’s relatively inexpensive to purchase, so you can 3D print your favorite items for cheap!

Disadvantages of PLA 3D Printing

PLA printing has its benefits, but it also has its detriments. PLA-printed items can be extremely brittle and prone to breaking, which makes PLA rather unsuitable for anything that would be heavily load-bearing or seeing lots of use. PLA is prone to warping depending on the quality of the plastic and can also require extra time and effort that resin 3D printers don’t. PLA printers often have issues because of different parts, such as the printing bed not being properly level, which can ruin the object being printed and lower its build quality. Resin 3D printers don’t have that issue. PLA printers are notorious for being rather finicky and unapproachable to people new to the 3D printing hobby because of the additional time it takes to monitor the printers and ensure everything is running correctly.

What Can You Do With 3D Printing?

You can do just about anything with 3D printing, really. In recent years, 3D printing has exploded in popularity, especially in the cosplay industry, because instead of having to spend hundreds of dollars on expensive props or thousands of dollars on expensive suits, cosplayers can build their props and their suits at home and save lots of money in the process. Cosplayers build things like 3D-printed Iron Man suits using PLA filament all the time. Hobbyists who enjoy tabletop role-playing games use Resin 3D printers to print out armies of miniatures for their campaigns. Homeowners use 3D printers to create wall art or tools to use around the house. The possibilities of 3D printing are only limited by the user and their imagination.

Final Thoughts: Which is Better, Resin 3D Printing or PLA 3D Printing?

There is no definitive answer as to which is better: resin 3D printing or PLA 3D printing. Both have their pros and cons. The honest answer is that the best 3D printing solution depends on what you want to do with your 3D printer.

I’m interested in cosplay, so I’m learning how to 3D print individual parts and put them together. But someone who wants to practice figure painting might be better off with a resin 3D printer. There is no right or wrong answer; it just comes down to you and what you want to do.