castable resin 3D printer

Are you planning about 3D printing in resin? Do you want to know more about the technology related to 3D printing in resin? Or you want to know what can be printed on an LCD 3D printer?

We have listed down all the options that will help you in getting the desired information. Stereolithography, the oldest form of 3D printing technology, has been in use since the 1990s.

Even though it is getting outdated due to LCD and FDM 3D printing, all the technologies use a liquid resin to create 3D models.

The 3D printed resins’ significant advantages are high-quality, smooth surface, detailed finishing, and better prints. Here are different types of resins that can be printed on 3D printers.  

3.1, For transparent resin 3d printing

Speaking about transparent resin 3D printing, it means printing 3D objects of different degrees of transparency. The final result will range from a little translucent to relatively transparent.

Multiple factors can cause such different results, for example, the nature of the 3D model, your castable resin 3D printer settings, type of 3D printer you are suing, materials, and the post-production process.

Remember that getting transparent print can be very challenging, but it can be done quickly with the best material. For example, you can consider epoxy resins, which are generally thermosetting resin. Here you will be using two essential parts, i.e., hardener and resin.

3D modeling for maximum transparency

When it comes to 3D printing of your 3D models, it is crucial to understand that the more complex design tends to refract more light. Besides, it will be less likely to come out very transparent. This is true in the case of curved 3D models as a curve redirects the light.

It is advisable to lower the light refraction level; you should 3D model the objects with the thinnest walls possible. The thicker wall will disperse more light and create an opaquer appearance after completing the 3D print.

Which 3D printing technology is right for your project?

You will have to choose the correct 3D printing technique based on the nature of your project. Do you need to create a final functional product or work on a prototype? Considering the requirement, you need to select the right technology. Here you can consider using FDM or LCD 3D printer for better results. Let’s have a closure look at this technology.

FDM 3D printing

FDM 3D printing technology is a popular and widely used 3D printing technology in the industry. It creates 3D models utilizing a filament.

Under this, the filament is gradually heated up in the nozzle and then slowly squirted through in the object’s shape but layer by layer.

As the FDM printing process is different from others, very tiny gaps can arise between the layers, and that, in turn, contributes to lower light passing by the surface of the object.

The visible layer lines also disperse light. The light refraction interferes with transparency, and lowering it by the design and production methods can optimize the outcome.

While carrying out the process for transparent printing, you need to use optimal settings. You need to set the material extrusion temperature, printing speed, print bed temperature, flow rate, nozzle diameter, and layer height thickness in terms of settings. Some features of transparent resins are:

1. Non-yellowing characteristic
2. Offers high gloss finishing
3. Very low shrinkage level
4. Can be Pigmented using the right pigments
5. Better UV stability
6. Excellent flow properties and low viscosity.
7. It offers smoother surface
8. You can achieve complex structure that is impossible to attain through traditional printing methods.

Are you ready to carry out your transparent 3D printing model? If yes, with Dreambot3d, you can get high-quality LCD and FDM 3D printers capable of transparent 3D printing. Besides, it will be easier for you to get the best result with our expert’s help.

3.2, For flexible resin 3d printing

The world of designing has gone through a great revolution ever since the introduction of 3D printing. The things that were initially considered impossible tasks can now be done with 3D printing technologies.

For example, you can create flexible 3D models using rubber-like 3D material or flexible resin. Speaking about flexible 3D printer resins, these can twist, bend, and maintain the actual shape.

It’s time to expand your LCD or FDM 3D printing with high-quality 3D printer resins. Using this, you can make products like gaskets, rubber-like products, and phone cases using resins or flexible photopolymers.

Is it possible to 3D print rubber? The answer can be no but using flexible 3D printing resin; you will feel 3D printing rubber.

One of the most common ones is filaments developed from TPEs- Thermoplastic Elastomers. This solution is quite beneficial for different applications, such as shoe soles, flip-flops, and some industrial applications such as sealing rings.

A few years back, designers used to face many challenges when it comes to printing flexible filaments. The reasons were, they were very soft. When processed through the 3D printer, they didn’t come out as expected.

Most of the extruders had the “pushing string effect.” What does that mean? When you push a filament with no rigidity feature towards the printer’s nozzle, the filament will twist as it is very soft. However, the introduction of direct drive extruders has made it possible to 3D print durable and flexible filaments.

The flexible resin can create prints that will look like rubber, not just for flexible filament. Flexible 3D printing is useful when you want to create or prototype flexible parts, for example, wearables, stamps, custom grips, gaskets, and more. For adding ergonomic features to the assemblies, you can also use this.

Some trick and tips for doing flexible 3D printing

There is no doubt that such filaments will significantly help your inflexible 3D printing process. However, using them can be a challenging task if you failed to follow the correct procedures.

Remember that if the material has a more elastic level, it will become more challenging for you to use them. However, to get the desired result, you can consider the below-mentioned tips.

1. Always print slowly- Flexible filaments will not perform well at high speeds. Flexible resins need to be printed at a slower speed. Compared to your traditional filaments, flexible filaments will take more hours to print. As per the experts, 20 to 40 mm/s is an ideal starting point for flexible resins. However, this can be improved using a specialized extruder.
2. Set the right temperature for printing while doing flexible 3D printing, beginning with the recommended temperature. Once started, you can go up or down till you attain excellent print quality. The too cold and hot situation can lead to poor results.
3. The print head should stay inside the model. While 3D printing, you need to make sure that the extruder is inside the model walls and not moving over open air. Most of the slicers have a configuration for this.
4. Check the retraction level. When utilizing your rubber-like filaments or flexible resins, the retraction process can bend the filament and create jams. You need to reduce it during the process, or sometimes you can prefer to turn it off.

What can 3D print resin be used for?

• 3D printer snap fits and joints- Sometimes, you may need to 3D print some flexible parts to connect parts. This will help you in reducing the assembly time. Processing high-quality flexible 3D print resins through our FDM and LCD 3D printers, you can come up with flexible yet durable 3D models. Create a snap fits and joints using this material.
• 3D printed shoes and clothes- A durable 3D printing material, such as PEBA, is widely used by the fashion industry. In some cases, designers’ 3D printing clothing is made of flexible materials to create parts that will correctly respond to the body’s movement. For example, have a look at the below dress. This dress is designed by Travis Fitch, an American designer, and has around 30 different sections. The dress is 3D printed, utilizing colorful, flexible material.
• 3D printed sports equipment, and footwear- Advanced and high-performance flexible 3D printing resins can offer you a new perspective on the footwear and sports equipment manufacturing process. You can get the right energy return level and shock absorption properties for creating shoes, helmets, shin guards, and more.

3D printing is an advanced technology, with its high efficiency, all in one molding, easy safety operation, environmental protection, and other such advantages in the global footwear industry. It is rapidly revolutionizing the design, personalized customization of shoes and production. It is widely used for shoe sole mold design and production.

Earlier, sole mold manufacturing normally took a week. If the model is not good, then it needs to be redesigned and mold. For each modification, it takes another two to three days. Besides, a new mold can cost a thousand dollars or more.

But with 3D printing, it can be done within two to three hours. Besides, the accuracy level is also good. You can use 3D printing to create a prototype that can be tumbled sand-cast shoe mold, correctly printed in 360-degree.

You can replace wooden molds. There will be a lesser requirement for material, manpower, and you can give a shape to the intricate patterns.

A well know shoe company, New Balance partnered with Formlabs to developed quality material for 3D printing. They developed Rebound Resin for printing lattice structure that is quite durable.

So, what are you waiting for now? Get the right 3D printing machine now and get ready to create flexible 3D models. A high-quality print using flexible resin with flex resin 3d printer will help you in saving time and money

3.3, For high hardness resin 3d printing

With time, the 3D printing industry is getting more refined and progressing, offering a positive and significant impact on all the sectors, covering medical, design, art, engineering, and more.

With that, 3D printing with FDM and LCD keeps developing, and well-known companies, for example, Dreambot3d, are trying to keep the momentum rolling. Now you can create durable 3D models using a tough resin 3d printer.

While printing with FDM and LCD is getting more popular due to some benefits like batter accuracy and higher resolution, materials concern expense, and reliability. For though 3D printing, you can always go for though resin, which is not fragile.

Speaking more about it, resin offers you the ABS plastic’s mechanical properties. It is developed for various applications that require materials that can easily withstand high stress and strain. Studies have proved that 3D printed parts using resin can offer a tensile strength of 55.7 MPa, and the elasticity level can be around 2.7-GPa modulus.

It creates a perfect balance between compliance and strength. However, the resin is an ideal option for functional and robust prototypes and assemblies that can undergo short periods of strain and stress. So, the resin is ideal for 3D printing gadgets, wearables, and other objects that withstand pressure. Here is a list of characteristics for standard and tough resin.

Tough Resin

• Perfect for functional prototypes along with mechanical assemblies.
• Creates shatter-resistant and sturdy parts.
• Offers better resistance to cyclic loads.
• It can be a little harder to remove from the platform.
• Not ideal for parts that need thin walls.

Standard resin

• Produces high-resolution prints.
• Produces a smooth finish on the surface.
• Colors can affect the properties.

Tough resins can offer some impressive mechanical properties. For example,

• Professionally looking parts
• Lower rate of brittle failure. You will enjoy increased elongation.
• Better level of stiffness and strength. However, the tough resin can increase the flexural modulus and flexural strength by around 15 to 20 percent.
• Impressive performance at the changing temperatures.

Remember that the tough resin prints at around 50 to 100 microns. That needs to be printed using necessary supports, and you should try to avoid the print directly on the platform as it will stick and hard to remove.

So, it is advisable to warm the build platform utilizing heated air to remove the part quickly. If you are printing large parts, increase the support of the touch point’s size to eliminate 3D printing failures.

You should consider its post-curing requirements. To achieve the right mechanical properties of the tough resin, you need to go for post-curing. This process will help you in getting an accurate substantial part with excellent flexural strength and flexural stiffness.

3.4, For castable resin 3d printing

Thanks to the latest technological development in 3D printing, 3d printing wax casting is now possible using castable resin.

Casting is a manufacturing process that consists of pouring liquid material into a mold cavity. When the liquid material cools, it gets harder, and you will get objects in the shape of the resin mold. The object created in 3d printing wax casting process is called casting.

That object can then be used for different manufacturing processes and sold as the final product. However, resin casting is a unique casting process that utilizes synthetic resin.

This is a method where the molds are filled with liquidized synthetic resin, which later hardens. This is generally used for small-scale manufacturing, for example, dentistry or industrial prototypes. Besides, this can be used to produce collectible figures, models, toys, and small-scale jewelry production.

The resin used for the process is a monomer and used for making plastic thermosetting polymer. During the process, the liquidized monomer is polymerized into the polymer solution, and then it gets hardened.

Understanding the basics of the resin casting

Castable resins are synthetic resins and used widely in the casting process. Synthetic resin is converted into a rigid and durable polymer through the curing process. In simple words, it starts in a liquid state but is later converted to a solid-state through curing.

In resin casting, liquidized synthetic resin is appropriately combined with the best curing agent at room temperature. Then the two substances are transferred into a mold cavity. After that, the curing agent turns the castable resin into rigid polymers by hardening. Once done, the hardened casting is removed from the mold.

Some significant advantages of resin casting

Resin casting is effortless and can be carried out utilizing a few tools and materials. It is so simple that some hobbyists use this process to craft small objects. This is the most cost-effective and straightforward way to build small objects.

Besides, using resin casting, you can produce objects having complex shapes. However, the casting shape ultimately depends on the mold cavity’s shape. By utilizing the right type of mold, you can form a casting in the desired shape.

Each day, new 3D printing materials are introduced for different requirements and getting popular in different sectors. Castable resin is time and cost-saving for different works, like dental and jewelry molding. Most of the 3D printed objects appear like traditionally casted products, which is why 3D printed jewelry is on its way to becoming mainstream.

Castable resin is designed to offer smooth surfaces and precise details. The best thing is that it can burn out correctly without leaving any residue, letting the jewelers go straight to the 3D print models from digital design suitable for 3d printing for investment casting. Now let’ have a look at how to use this resin.

How can you use the castable resin?

Going for the traditional method, under this, a model is in wax, and then a plaster mold is developed around the wax model. After that, the mold is fired at a high temperature in a kiln. Then the wax is burned out, allowing the metal parts to be cast. The same method is also used for 3D printed parts.

In the case of LCD or FDM 3D printers, the wax-like resin acts like printing material in these machines. After done with the pattern assembly, the entire section is properly submerged multiple times in slurry. Once done, the coating will be allowed to dry, and it will solidify, creating a ceramic layer.

It is then put inside an oven, and the resin structure is melted. After that, the final casing material is put into the mold and left to solidify. In the end, the outer ceramic molds are removed and processed for the finishing techniques.

Some significant benefits of castable resin?

Such resin is the best and affordable way to craft 3D printed jewelry. This resin is widely used to create a solid and real-looking piece of jewelry having a super smooth surface. Here are some advantages to using castable 3D printing.

1. You will be able to craft intricate designs. Typically, the jewelry casting patterns were developed from wax, and generally, CNC machines are used for this. 3D printing can produce parts that were challenging or impossible to make.
2. You can easily customize the design. You can easily make changes in your product design. A castable 3D model can be 3D printed as a plastic prototype to check if the design is correct or not. If not, changes can be done using any 3D modeling software, and the final design can be printed using the resin.
3. This process is very time-saving. You create multiple patterns within a few hours. This will lower the lead times and costs compared to traditional pattern making methods.
4. You will find it cost saving. The reason is, you can 3D print multiple designs in a single print. That means it can be very cost-effective where the production volumes are low.   

3.5, For photosensitive resin 3d printing

Is it possible to carryout photosensitive resin 3d printing? Well, everything is possible in the modern world. In 3D printing, you will hear about the material called photosensitive resin with a photopolymer resin 3d printer. Besides, this resin is also used for DLP-Digital Light Processing and Stereolithography 3D printing.

What do you mean by Photosensitive Resin?

Talking about photosensitive resin, this is also called photopolymer, UV curable, and light-activated resin. It is one type of polymer that can change the properties after getting exposed to light, often in the ultraviolet or the electromagnetic spectrum.

Such changes are generally manifested structurally. For instance, material hardening occurs during cross-linking.

In general, the UV curable resin includes monomers, oligomers, co-initiator, photo-polymerization, and some additives like pigments, plasticizers, antioxidants, and stabilizers.

It has been proved that photosynthesis curing offers a lot of advantages over conventional curing, such as less energy consumption, less equipment space and emission, reduced waste, higher productivity, and reduced temperature configuration. These can produce prototypes, dental surgical guides, jewelry models, functional parts, and more.

3.6, For heat resistant resin 3d printing

In some industries, there is a massive requirement of heat resistant resin 3d printing. For this, high-temperature resins are used. Such resins offer the highest HDT- Heat Deflection Temperature and are perfect for 3D printing precise and detailed parts that can offer a higher thermal stability level.

You can choose a heat resistant resin having an HDT of 238 °C @ 0.45 MPa. The 3d printing resin high temperature is perfect for applications that require the parts to withstand a higher temperate without facing excessive loading. Such material doesn’t offer much flexibility, so snap fits cannot print using heat resistant resins.  

Such resin comes in 25, 50, and 100-micron layer of heights. For small objects, you can use the 25- micron setting to create a piece of jewelry. The significant difference between printing at 50 microns and 25 microns is a smoother surface finish.  However, the print quality will be the same.

Printing in heat resistant resin requires more laser power. While using heat resistant resin for creating parts, you need to use supports. Always try to avoid printing parts on the platform with such resin as you may face adhesion issues between the part and the surface of the build platform.

As per the experts’ advice, always increase the touch point’s size when printing heavy or large objects. If the support touch point size is small, the models can get separated.

3.7, For conductive resin 3d printing

Conductive resin can easily connect different electrical contacts at a single time, and using this; it is possible to develop electrical connections in materials that are not possible to solder.

The electro-conductive resins can be used in conductive resin 3D printer, and resin can be made of a synthetic resin and conductive filler. You can use the material for conduction and different electrical contacts.

Carbon, nickel, silver, and more are used for electro-conductive fillers. For the binder, epoxy resin, silicone resin, urethane resin, synthetic rubber, etc., are used.

On the other hand, conductive resins can be used in sensitive electronics and fuel lines to prevent sparks. This can also be used in external components, wind turbines, and cars painted through electrostatic paint.

Remember that epoxy resin is non-conductive, but you can make it conductive by combining it with silver-filled epoxy resin. It can be thermally conductive and cool the component.

Another benefit is the epoxy can also be thermally conductive, meaning it can also cool the component. Such resin comes with some smart auto-response properties, such as self-repair, self-protection, self-healing, self-curing, and more. This makes it a perfect element for building, aerospace, car, energy supply, technology, and other industries.