Make Just About Anything You Can Dream Up with This 3D Printer Starter Kit

3D printing is saving lives, improving the lives of animals, and even helping us revive the voices of the dead — literally.

Yet: It can be an intimidating field if you're new to it, and if you're not sure where to start. SparkMaker offers a great place to start learning about 3D printing — by putting a machine right on your desk, with their Original SLA Starter Bundle, which is 39% off for a limited time.

What Is Stereolithography (SLA)?

SLA is short for stereolithography, better known as resin 3D printing. Originally, 3D printers (especially desktop models) used "fuse deposition modeling," or FDM, which melted a plastic filament and squeezed that out to create the model. It's good enough for basic work, but it lacks high resolution and finesse, especially at smaller scales.

An SLA printer skips the melting step and works with liquid resin. When this resin is exposed to a specific wavelength of light, it hardens into a polymer. The resin is easier to handle as a raw material and it simplifies the process, reducing the risk of a flawed model.

This allows SLA printers to deliver crisp, more complex models with micrometer precision. Once you're done, you'll have less finishing to do and can move on to the next part of your project. Whether you're running off custom miniatures for your next tabletop gaming adventure, or prototyping parts for a device you're building, you'll spend less time printing and more time making.

Print Easily

The SparkMaker Original is designed to print easily and quickly. To start with, it has a 3.9" x 2.2" x 0.5" mold area, allowing it to fit easily on a desktop so you can monitor the process while doing other work. It doesn't need to be online, either, as it can print from an SD card with a pre-loaded design, and at only 4.8 pounds, it's easy to take with you or loan to your friends to create their own models. It even has a button and knob interface to make it easy to use, so you won't have to struggle with any complex on-device controls.

In addition to the printer, the starter bundle includes two resins to try out, plus everything you need to assemble and run the machine. So whether you're dreaming of the next big thing, or want to see your art leap from computer to resin, you can make it happen, and for just $194.99.

Prices subject to change.

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