One thing they don’t mention is that smooth G2/G3 corners will print horribly (with FDM) if added to vertical corners, there just aren’t enough layers even with a 0.2mm nozzle. You can see they use a straight chamfer on the example piece.

While dreaming up Apple-like objects I quickly discovered 3D-printing them with good surface finish is nearly impossible. Best we can do is Mac mini-like flat tops. Like most other manufacturing methods, its limitations heavily influence the design.

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Someone 3 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Apple is 3D-printing Apple-like objects (https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2025/11/mapping-the-future-wi...), so one can hope this will trickle-down to hobbyist price points some time in the future.

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supermatt 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

There was a kickstarter for a $3000 SLS printer a while ago. Formlabs (who have over 50% of the SLS market) promptly bought the company and shut down the kickstarter - and gave backers a $1000 coupon towards their $30000 SLS printers...

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javawizard 44 minutes ago | parent [-]

That pissed me off so much.

I was one of the backers and I was sooooo looking forward to an affordable home SLS printer. They'd done some incredible engineering, too, in service of getting the price point down to where it was.

Scaling up was going to be a massive challenge for them, but damn, I wish they'd tried instead of phoning it in early.

(Mind you, I'm sure Formlabs paid them handsomely. Would I make the same decision under the same circumstances? I honestly don't know. So far be it from me to judge them, but man do I wish someone would do something about Formlabs' ridiculous prices and monopoly over that space.)

	▲	hobofan 36 minutes ago \| parent \| next [-]
		> I wish they'd tried I'm sure they've tried. From what I recall they've had serious reliability issues on the preview units. So I'd be skeptical if it would have even turned into a successfully delivered Kickstarter. They would have to deliver on that first before even concerning themselves with how to scale up. So maybe they didn't even get handsomely paid in the acquisition, but were given an option to save face.
	▲	40 minutes ago \| parent \| prev [-]
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kergonath an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Each method has its limitations. The technique they use (melting powder with lasers) is completely different to what people typically do at home (using either photosensitive resin or filaments).

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VBprogrammer 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Working within the limitations of a medium is a skill as old as time. Often work arounds for the limitations become design features that people come to expect. 3d prints typically use more chamfers than fillets for exactly this reason.

Most of the hobby grade printers are FDM, it's unlikely we'll evolve beyond the limitations of layer lines being a few tenths of a mm. UV resin printers however aren't ridiculously expensive and they have small enough layers that it's completely doable.

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dgroshev 11 minutes ago | parent | prev [-]

I mostly agree, but it also depends on the size and the shape of the fillet. Large sweeping curves that stay close to horizontal for a long distance are bad, but a tight corner can still look better in G2/G3 than just G1. On the top at least, because fillets on the bottom create sharp overhangs that don't print well.

Also, if you have that option, filler + sanding + paint can hide the layers completely, but preserve the overall shape.