Maker Tales: Taking the Form 1 for a test drive with a sleek smartwatch

3D Printing
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Maker Tales: Taking the Form 1 for a test drive with a sleek smartwatch prototype.

A few days ago, Amsterdam-based industrial designer Shivan Ramdhiansing contacted one of our Hubs to 3D print a smartwatch prototype. The print required an extra smooth surface finish and precision, so the local Hub owner, Emiel Rombach, offered to print it using his brand new Form 1. The Form 1 is a high resolution 3D printer that entered the market this year. Unlike most desktop printers, the Form 1 uses stereolithography [SL] technology instead of plastic extrusion. It can print layers as thin as 25 microns with features as small as 300 microns. Shavin’s prototype was the first 3D Hubs order printed on a Form 1 and SL technology is known to produce exquisite prints, so we were naturally interested in hearing about this 3D printing experience.

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Wow!! Thanks for sharing! I am interested in the difference between stereolithography technology instead of plastic extrusion. Also, what file formats does an image have to be in for a 3D printer? I am trying to figure out a simple software to use for a beginner.

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Hi Sara, lots of questions :slight_smile:

  • difference between SLA and FFF/FDM (extrusion) is mainly quality, which shows in layer thickness mainly, extrusion is usually 100 - 200 micron range, while SLA happens at 25 microns or even less
  • file format for 3D Printing is .STL, which is like the MP3 of 3d printing :slight_smile:
  • we’ve got some good software listed on our FAQ item here: http://www.3dhubs.com/faq#design-tools but I would start with Tinkercad or 123D Design for sure.
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@Sara_Bonham In addition to Brian’s comments. Aside from the layer differences, there are significant differences in build volume (sla much more limited), choice of materials (many materials available more with extruding bots), post print processing (clean up), durability of the finished parts (resin is quite brittle), print quality (better with sla) and so on.
Briefly, if you want to make very high surface quality parts that won’t hold up to much wear and tear you should choose SLA. If you want to produce usable objects with a variety of material choices but lower surface quality, go for a plastic extruder.

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@Sara_Bonham in addition to that SLS is also a great option for usable product in high detail, although it’s harder get your hands on and more expensive…

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Thank you @Brian_Garret and @Tim_Rastall ! Crazy how much you both helped me today and your at other ends of the world - New Zealand and the Netherlands :slight_smile:

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@Sara_Bonham No problem. Yay for internets!