Two of the many 3D printing techniques are Fused Deposition Modeling
using the Stratasys
FDM 2000 and Powder-Binding Printing using Z Corp's
Z406 printer.
FDM2000 prints in one colour ABS plastic (using a second water
soluble plastic for support) and allows a modelling envelope size of up
to 10" x 10" x 10", wall
thicknesses (road widths) form 0.0103" to
0.039" and slice resolutions (road heights) of 0.007", 0.010" and
0.014" (according to the manual).
manu adds:
"Regarding tolerances for moving parts
for printing on stratysys 3D printer, its about .020" usually. Theoretically you
could also use clearances based on your nozzle being used (0.012" or
0.016")."
Z406 prints in 16 bit colour (Millions of Colours) using bound plaster (using loose plaster for support) and allows modelling envelope size of up to 8" x 10" x 8" (203 x 254 x 203 mm), layer thickness of 0.003"-0.010"(.076-.254 mm) and with a print time of 2 layers per minute for colour mode and 6 layers per minute in monochrome mode (according to the web site).
printing with Z-Corp's 3D colour printer
printing with the Stratosis (from previous fab site)