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Rigid resin
Overview
Rigid resin is a strong engineering plastic that is formed with UV light. Its raw state before printing is in liquid form as with all light based 3d printing resins. It has properties that we have found are suited well for a range of difficult geometries including forms prone to warping.
It has a remarkably low shrink rate of 0.2-0.7% which is how we produce forms within tolerance and free of warping. Its scores well in tensile strength so its strong and rigid. Its elongation percentage prevents it from becoming brittle and provides a little flexibility. Its highly machinable meaning all secondary operations like planar sanding, drilling, milling and tapping can be performed with greater ease. Parts under 100 grams are usually printed solid, for parts over 100 grams we will hollow the object for you, this is necessary to prevent printing failures.
We normally apply a wall thickness of 3mm giving it more than adequate strength. Typically, this resin is best suited to applications where fine detail and surface quality is most important. If you want a 3d print that most closely represent a real injection moulded consumer product then this is the material for you.
- Printing Technology : SLA Resin
- MAX PRINT SIZE : 156mm x 278mm x 295mm
- MATERIAL : Rigid Engineering Resin, Castable Wax
- COLORS : White & Grey
- LAYER HEIGHT : 0.07mm layer height
- PRODUCTION LEAD TIME : 1 or 3 working dayst
- MINIMUM ORDER : £25
Properties
Dimensionally Accurate
It has a particularly low shrink rate (0.2-0.7%) ideal for functional parts that require high dimensional accuracy. Most standard resins on the market have a shrink rate of 2% and up.
Tough & Rigid
Its strong and impact resistant like ABS. It has a shore 85D hardness making it stiff. Although it is stiff especially in thick areas it is still touch enough to withstand some bending.
Chemically Resistant
It offers good chemical resistance, its non-reactive with paint, oil, machine greases, water, glue, spirits and silicone. Nearly all paints adhere well to the surface, it can be glossed and it works perfectly for silicone moulding applications.
Slightly Flexible
Non-brittle with a little flexible (having a 37% elongation at break). Just enough give to improve impact strength and resist permanent deformation
Easily Machinable
It’s very easily machined, you can drill holes, tap threads, mill or turn with CNC and lathe. This is handy when for example you model a hole location incorrectly, instead of reprinting you can drill the hole where it needs to be. If the hole is too tight, you can redrill with a larger bore.
Silicone moldable
Rigid Resin is always the first choice with silicone moulding. This rigid resin is detailed and smooth and doesn’t inhibit the curing of most tin-based and many platinum based silicones.
Tolerance/Accuracy
The vast majority of our prints are with +-0.2mm (or +-0.2%). We offer a guaranteed tolerance of +-0.3mm (or 0.3%), however 95% of our parts are significantly more precise than the minimum tolerance we offer.
If the part is less that 100mm long, then it will be within 0.1mm of its target size.
In rare cases some geometries are prone to warping which can lead to results outside of the guaranteed tolerance, if this is the case, we can usually reorientate the print direction to compensate. This resin also has a very low shrink rate which we’ve found mitigates warping more than any other resin we use or have tested.
| Mechanical Properties | Test Method | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Ultimate Tensile Strength
| ASTM D638 | 39.13 MPa |
| Tensile Modulus
| ASTM D638 | 497 MPa |
| Elongation at Break
| ASTM D638 | 35.66% |
| Yield Point Elongation
| ASTM D638 | 5.94% |
| Flexural Strength
| ASTM D790 | 46.6 MPa |
| Flexural Modulus
| ASTM D790
| 966 MPa |
| Notched IZOD
| ASTM D256 | 364.2 J/m |
| Shrinkage
| / | 0.2-0.7% |
| Shore Hardness
| ASTM D2240 | 85 D |
| Viscosity
| ASTM D445 | 250-550 MPa*s |
| Density
| ASTM D792 | 1.05-1.13 g/cm3 |
| Range of wavelengths
| / | 385-410 nm |
| HDT @0.45MPa
| ASTM D648-18 | 70 degrees C |
Look/Feel/Finish
Below you will see pictures of the Rigid Resin fresh out of the printer before and after its post processing stage. There are various finishing methods you can apply to the surface including wet sanding, painting or glossing. By default, we remove the supports and sand away the marks (included in the price), however sometimes surfaces within pockets or odd crevices are not accessible enough to be sanded (in a time/cost efficient manner), so will be left unsanded.
The surface is naturally smooth but a light sanding then ideally a wet sand buffs away even the smallest of blemishes leaving it looking just like a commercially moulded part. To do this yourself all you need is high grit sandpaper (200+ grit). If the part has many fine details wet sanding may not be an option (it would buff out the detailing). The smooth surface is partially due to its layer height (only 0.05mm which as thinner than paper). At the bottom image you can see how the surface compares to our cheaper FDM printing which prints at 0.2mm layer height by default. It’s worth noting that layer thickness isn’t the only factor effecting surface finish, the type of printing technology also plays a significant role.
1 - (Above) supports and raft still attached (post processing stage)
2 - (Above) supports and raft removed (post processing stage)
3 - (Above) close up of the support marks (post processing stage)
4 - (Above) support marks sanded away (This is how you'd receive your print, fully processed)
5 - (Above) close up of freshly sanded surface
6 - (Above) spray painted
7 - (Above) close up of the spray painted model
8 - (Above) spray painted for smooth and sandblasted effect
9 - (Above) Glossed - normal clear acrylic gloss from spraycan
10 - (Above) resin in all 3 available colours
11 - (Above) NOT RESIN, its FDM printed PLA plastic. Look how visible those build lines are
