When you look for a fast prototyping service to get high quality 3D printed plastic prototypes, parts, or products, it is important to choose the resin material carefully. The properties of the material should match the demands of your job. Selecting the proper material is a critical step to ensure the quality of your 3D printed products. You should take it seriously.

Are you thinking about using 3D printing technology to create prototypes, mechanical components, or decorative items? In this article, we help you discover the ideal resin material for your project.

There is a huge variety of resin materials on the market. Each one has its unique properties and technical specifications. If you are looking for high-quality plastic prototypes or parts, in addition to choosing the right fast prototyping service provider (>>>>Considerations When Selecting Your Prototyping Partner), making sure you know what material are the best for your project is also important.

Now let’s see what to consider in choosing resins and what resins can you choose for your plastic rapid prototyping.

Things to consider when choosing resins for your plastic rapid prototyping project

The very first question you need to be asking yourself when choosing resin is what exactly are you going to use the printed item for? Unlike FDM filaments that could be used properly with one another, resins for 3D printing are somewhat more technical. Different resins are excellent in different fields. For example, one resin may create exceptionally tough prints which have a somewhat rough surface; some other resins may create transparent prints which might not be exceptionally strong. To assist you to pick the ideal resin for your plastic rapid prototyping project, here are some frequent properties of resins you can consider.

Quality of finish

SLA and DLP prints are famous for having a smooth finish which you may just get with FDM prints after lots of post-processing. But, you will find specialty resins which promise to be able to make prints with exceptionally smooth surface. Additionally, there are some resin materials said to be able to create prints with ultra-high precision with minimal shrinkage. If the quality of detail and smoothness of finish would be your priorities in your plastic rapid prototyping project, then you ought to choose these kinds of resins.

Durability

Regardless of the superb layer adhesion of both SLA and DLP prints, they aren't exactly famous for their strength. Resin-based 3D prints are proven to be brittle, easy to break or crack. To address these problems, some fast prototyping service providers have developed "engineering" resins which can be customized to mimic the durability of injection-molded plastics.

There are various approaches to making a long-lasting resin-based printing. Some resins concentrate on "toughness" or come with higher tensile strength. The 3D printed items made from these kinds of resin excel in toughness, shatter resistance, and durability. If you are looking for 3D printed joints or hinges, these resins are exactly what you are looking for.

Flexibility

When it comes to flexibility, some resins are able to give products rubber-like properties. These kinds of materials have very low tensile modulus, quite amazing elongation, and incredibly high impact resistance, which make them the ideal option for manufacturing 3D printed objects which are intended to be bent and compressed. You can easily find a supplier offering this kind of fast prototyping service.

But being incredibly flexible makes the printing procedure really challenging. The extensive support structure is always needed in the printing process. Another thing should also be remembered is that even though they look rubber-like, they don't mimic the full strength of rubber. They are much less durable and will degrade following long-time UV exposure.

Transparency

You will find some resins that can create translucent objects, similar to transparent and translucent FDM filaments. The mechanical properties of items made out of these transparent resins are quite similar to those printed from standard resins, but they can also be processed to the point where they're as transparent as glass.

But the procedure is not as easy and fast as it seems. This fast prototyping service is ideal for creating items designed to showcase the inner qualities of a device or to get transparent items. And the optical properties of objects made from this resin will degrade with excessive UV exposure.

Five different resins are available for plastic rapid prototyping projects

Standard Resin

Standard Resin is a material that provides good quality at a very low price, which makes it the perfect cost-effective resin material for your plastic rapid prototyping project. In its printing process, you can use a support structure or not. The support could be removed using tools and sanding paper. Standard Resin is translucent, feels smooth to the touch and is easy to paint and post-process. Using this resin, you can get a printed object that offers a high level of detail and finish.

Gray Resin

Gray Resin, formerly called Prime Gray, is a really smooth resin, much smoother than nearly all other materials for 3D plastic rapid prototyping. It is also simple to paint. The typical finish comes in Natural Gray (Air Force Gray). But, generally, there are nine colors to choose from: white, black, blue, brown, gray, orange, green, yellow, and red.

Mammoth Resin

With Mammoth Resin, you can print objects of huge sizes. And it has the same high quality and smooth surface as the other resin. Therefore, if you are going to 3D print a large item, this resin can be your best choice.

Transparent Resin

If you want to get a completely transparent item, then you can choose transparent resin. The material is water-proof and perfect to create small items of high quality, smooth, and transparent surfaces.

High-Detail Resin

The final resin we are going to introduce is High-Detail Resin. It does not utilize stereolithography technology, but other 3D printing technology - PolyJet. How does the process go? It jets ultra-thin layers of resin on a building stage. Each layer is instantly tempered by UV light. This process goes layer by layer until the printed item is finished.

In this process, supports are essential for complex geometries. But the supports can be taken out by water jetting or hand after the printing is completed. If you want a small prototype with a high level of detail and a smooth surface, High-Detail Resin is the best option.

Do you have a plastic rapid prototyping project waiting for completing? We hope this article will help you find the ideal resin material to create your high quality 3D printed prototypes or products.