|
The Solidscape S390 possesses all the great features that come along with the S300 series. The other 3D printers from the series are S325, S350, and S370, mostly varying in terms of print speed, print resolution, and production volume.
So, let us focus on S390 for now and read the complete Solidscape S390 review to find out what’s unique in this machine that makes it so special.
Before moving any forward with other information, you must know that the 3D printer is designed especially for the jewelry industry.
It is difficult to ignore the jewelry making niche when the technology aims at impacting the major industries. Hence, without a surprise, we welcome the S390 to provide better prospects to the jewelers and designers.
S390 creates castable wax using wax modeling technology to further enhance the production process as a whole. Using this 3D printer, businesses can definitely get better ways of serving the needs of their customers.
By decreasing the wait time for jewelry production, this 3D printer aims to provide businesses with a real-time solution. Using castable waxes, companies can design jewelry using a variety of metals. The list includes platinum, silver, gold, bronze, and whatnot.
As mentioned before, the company has a number of variants within the same series. However, S390 is the latest and highly advanced of all the offerings.
It provides a balance of the highest accuracy along with high speed to produce a high volume of items in a day. Plus, you won’t get the resolution with any of the other variants from the series that S390 can offer.
Hence, combining all the aspects, it won’t be difficult to guess that the 3D printer must be expensive of all. However, every bit of it is worthwhile.
Features
There has to be something special that makes this 3D printer such a promising choice for jewelers. A design by Stratasys, a leading company working in the field of applied additive technology, the 3D printer provides huge benefits to the makers.
The company is already engaged in providing solutions to various other sectors such as aerospace, automobile, etc. With a proven track record and being able to manufacture efficient machines, S390 seems to follow the league very well too.
There are different features that make this machine simply better than any other option available in the market. You can count for precision as well as speed to stay ahead of your competitions.
Let us check out the important features and functionalities that make S390 the winner among all.
Directly Castable Wax: If you have worked with the traditional ways of jewelry making, you must know the amount of workload one has to go through in the preparation of castable wax. But with this 3D printer, you do not have to bother about different tiring steps. You can cast the 3D wax patterns directly using S390 3D printers. With a clear and streamlined process, you can directly turn to investment casting after the design completes.
Choose Metals you Like: When you create your castable mold from S390, you do not have to worry about the compatibility with different metals. On the contrary, you can choose any metal and start casting your designs without any hassle. The seamless workflow eases the entire process of jewelry making, eliminating the need for excess effort from the user’s end. Cast in gold, platinum, and many other metals. The sky is your limit.
High Resolution: As mentioned above, S390 is the best if you are looking for high precision. With layer thickness ranging between 0.001 inches (0.0254 mm) to 0.002 inches, you can think of almost every design and can print it without a problem.
Soluble Support: Resin printing is often rejected because of the imposed post-processing sequence. However, S390 offers soluble support which needs no to work extra for getting rid of the supports. All you need to do is wash off the support using non-toxic liquid. And, you will achieve the smoothest and finer molds for casting with your choice of metal.
One-Touch Operation: The manufacturer has added the one-touch operation to further enhance its desirability. Who does not want a seamless operating machine? While the 3D printers are known for huge setup requirements, this one stays out of the league in those terms. It is completely automated and works great all by itself.
Auto Fault Detection: Like to work with a smart machine that knows when to raise red flags? With auto fault detection, S390 can sense the problem prior and restarts from where the interruption started.
Quicker Calibration: Stratasys has always impressed users with its powerful offerings. S390 has the same traits that make it very useful and accurate for getting amazing results. One unique addition to the feature list is the calibration frequency detection. It manages to set the calibration frequency that fits the job and saves material wastage.
You must have noticed while going through the features that the printer has tried to put its best to provide the best solution for the jewelry industry. And, that is the reason why its features are so much applaudable.
One can find the best balance of quality and production capacity. The very well-designed 3D printer flaunts the best in class features to help jewelers make the most of it, staying simple to operate.
Specifications
The Solidscape S390 has a footprint of 558 x 495 x 419 mm. While it offers a build space of 152.4 x 152.4 x 101.6 mm which is quite enough for making jewelry.
The weight is a little bit on the greater side. With 36 kgs, you cannot expect to keep moving the machine from one place to another.
In other words, it would need its own place and you know how to manage that. The power requirement for operation is between 100 to 240 volts.
One can achieve a temperature between 16° to 24°C when working with the castable wax. It has a larger material tank that saves one from refilling the material from every now and then. S390 can run for longer with space for excess material.
When it comes to resolution, one cannot ask for anything more. The achievable resolution of 5000 dots/inch is highly capable of producing finer details. The layer thickness falls between 0.001 inches to 0.002 inches.
The surface finish would depend on the selection of later thickness and can go up to 32 micro-inches. Plus, you have the privilege to work with a one-touch set up along with the fully automatic calibrated machine.
Price
As expected, the price is something you cannot go wrong with. Solidscape S390 costs $55,650. A machine completely designed for large scale production and suiting the large scale setup is bound to carry that cost.
First Impressions
The 3D printer comes fully assembled. The package is completely secure and ensures that the 3D printer does not have to go through any wear and tear. The black finish of the machine looks aesthetically pleasing. And, it does carry the professional look.
The S90 is bigger in height in comparison to the other machines from the same series. This is mostly because of the extra space for the larger material tank.
The machine would need its own place. Apart from the size, the looks are similar across the entire range of this series. It is easy to unbox and very simple to set up.
Setup
Who likes to stress about the complex setup needs when trying to ease the complete production process? Businesses look for options that offer them a simple setup workflow.
And, this one presents that to the users. As the machine comes fully assembled, with the auto-calibration process, all you need to do is follow a few steps before printing the sample mold.
The company includes all the necessary guides and instructions for you to follow. You can carry on the steps as recommended and there won’t be any issue setting the entire printer.
Along with easy setup, you also do not need to worry about the maintenance of the hardware. This is because the service requirements for doing so are completely seamless.
Printing Type/Cost
The Solidscape S390 is based on the multi-jet modeling 3D printing technology. Those who do not know, this process is similar to the standard inkjet technology.
Using the technology, the casting wax is used for forming one layer at a time. Once the object is completed, the printing stops depositing any further layers. Ultimately completing the print process.
The entire process of printing is easy and you would not need a lot of manual support to carry the operation.
While considering the cost of printing, you must check the material cost, the 3D model design, the selected resolution, electricity cost for the printer’s operation, and a few other factors.
In short, the cost of printing different designs will differ. However, it would still be economical when compared to the traditional manufacturing of jewelry.
Print Quality
The print quality is commendable. The 3D printing technology provides amazing Z-axis resolution. This is due to the lowest layer thickness achievable using S390.
This ends up offering a very high resolution. On top of that, the soluble support further helps in providing a smoother surface finish.
Already mentioned above, you can achieve an astonishing resolution of 5000 dots/inch. With layer thickness ranging between 0.00025 inches to 0.001 inches, you can give shape to the most complex designs with ease.
Software
Solidscape S90 comes with proprietary software. The scaling application is easy to manage and is highly efficient. It formats the CAD files all by itself without needing you to make the conversions. Hence, eliminating the chances for errors to a great extent.
The easy to use interface is also very amazing. You can understand the software within a few minutes if you have worked with similar apps before.
However, it is only compatible with Windows operating system. So, the choice for OS is limited. But who cares when you have so much to win?
Customer Service
You do not have to bother at all. If its about customer support, you get everything you need. To connect with the technical support, you can email the team.
Or, you can also call the dedicated phone number. Not just that, the technician is also available in case you need someone to provide in house training or settings of the 3D printer.
In addition, there are a lot of guides and manuals available on the website.
Parameters Influencing Buying Decision
Look for the right reasons before you plan to buy this expensive 3D printer.
3D Printer cost: This is very expensive costing $55,650. Hence, suitable only for large and established businesses.
3D Print quality: The print quality is really amazing. You can create the most complex molds in a matter of time with high resolution and smoother finish.
3D Print speed: The print speed is also great. You can print 10-12 castable molds in a day.
3D Printer capability: This 3D printer is highly capable of printing the most complex designs that aren’t possible otherwise.
3D Printer Practicality: Specially designed for the jewelry industry, this could serve as a great solution for prototyping as well as for creating castable molds with complex structures.
3D Printer User expectations: In terms of quality, nothing can be better than this. However, the price is a bit higher. Hence, it is not something that anyone can own.
The Verdict
Solidscape S390 review clearly points out the various ways this printer could add value to your existing manufacturing workflow. The jewelry designing was never this fun.
So, if you can afford to buy this printer, do not delay. It will serve the purpose in the best way possible. And, you would be able to reduce the time delays from several weeks to a day.
