-Stereolithography, the technology behind many resin 3D prints, is typically described as 'the mommy of all 3D printing technologies' and is thought about one of one of the most commonly used strategies for producing top quality 3D prints. Below at Materialise, we have actually been using Stereolithography since 1990. Time to speak a bit a lot more regarding this modern technology as well as our most recent materials.
Resin 3D Printer Diy
The Innovation: It's everything about UV Lasers
The modern technology behind (most) resin 3D prints is known as Stereolithography. And also right here's the one-minute explanation of how Stereolithography works:
- In the first instance, the roller of the printer spreads out a razor-thin layer of fluid polymer. Since this layer is fluid, it will certainly expand over the whole platform making sure that each layer has a consistent thickness
- The fluid polymer we make use of is UV delicate. When struck by a computer-controlled UV laser, the resin will certainly alter from a liquid to strong state. Primarily, the laser "attracts" the outlines of the print into the resin layer as well as solidifies the parts that it touches.
The parts that are not touched by the laser will stay fluid
- These 2 steps are duplicated over and over as well as over again. The model is reduced by a portion, as well as the roller spreads out a new layer. The laser then solidifies certain locations of that layer, which will become parts of your 3D print. This is duplicated up until the design is ended up
As soon as the printing process is completed and also the entire item has actually been printed, the print is elevated from the resin container. The excess liquid will just move away and can be reused for other prints. The prints after that have to be eliminated and ended up by hand (i.e. remove support structure, smoothen surfaces, spray-paint surfaces, and so on).
The Resins: From Tiny Particulars to Mammoth-Size
There is more than one material used with this modern technology. As a matter of fact, we provide 4 various Stereolithography-based materials that had their own characteristics. Nevertheless, these resins additionally share some attributes: they showcase smooth surface areas and are excellent for post-processing.
Mammoth resin: Mammoth resin is printed on one of the most significant printers out there ... you thought it, the Materialise Mammoth printers (that's additionally the printer you saw in the video above). Previously this resin was referred to as Paintable resin. These printers could print large parts up to a dimension of 2100x700x800 mm, which can be spray-painted in a number of shades.
Transparent resin: Additionally printed on our Massive printers, Transparent resin is (shock, surprise) clear as well as can be ordered in several colors. As a matter of fact, it is the only clear product that we currently provide at i.materialise.com. It could additionally be gotten for parts approximately a size of 2100x700x800 mm.
Gray resin: Gray resin is the excellent all-rounder. It includes a great level of information, is suitable for little and mid-size models, and includes a smooth, grey surface area. This gray color makes it best for hand- or spray-painting tasks. That's why this resin is so popular amongst the scale modeling area.
Standard resin: Our most recent enhancement to the resin household. Typical resin comes with a low-budget price while providing very thorough results. To save some even more money, you could also get Common resin with support framework, indicating less time spent in post-processing.