Which material is most commonly used for 3D printing? It is estimated that the first material that pops into the minds of people who are familiar with the 3D printing industry is photosensitive resin. Photosensitive resin is a type of 3D printing material. It is similar to ABS material. It has a smooth surface and high precision, the surface can be painted, and the hardness is also acceptable. The photosensor resin is very suitable for printing prototype models, such as appearance design models, and some models have special functional requirements in addition to appearances, such as high-temperature resistance or higher toughness.
Photosensitive resin is formed through SLA/DLP technology. SLA is also called light-curing molding. It uses ultraviolet light or other light beams to solidify liquid photosensitive resin. Photosensitive resin, literally speaking, is a resin material that is sensitive to light. It will solidify quickly after being exposed to light.
To put it more profoundly, photosensitive resin is a mixture of photoinitiators, monomer polymers, and prepolymers. This material can be cured under the focus of ultraviolet light of a specific wavelength. Compared with SLA, items printed by DLP have a smooth surface and high molding quality, so many DLP models are positioned as jewelry-level. The following is a detailed introduction to the characteristics and applications of photosensitive resins.
Characteristics of photosensitive resin
Photosensitive resin is generally in a liquefied state, and objects printed using this material generally have the characteristics of high strength, high-temperature resistance, and waterproof. However, photosensitive resin materials can easily harden if not used for a long time.
The specific characteristics of photosensitive resin are as follows:
1. Low viscosity;
2. Small curing shrinkage;
3. Fast curing speed;
4. Small swelling;
5. High light sensitivity;
6. High degree of solidification;
7. High wet strength.
In addition, the photosensitive material is more expensive than desktop-grade PLA. At the same time, since it needs to be poured into a container when using it, it can easily lead to waste.
Application of photosensitive resin
The finished product 3D printed with photosensitive resin material has fine details and high surface quality and can be colored through processes such as spray painting. However, if items printed with photosensitive resin are exposed to light conditions for a long time, they will gradually become brittle and yellow. This material is mostly used to print fine models and complex design models that require high model accuracy and surface quality, such as prototypes, figures, jewelry precision assembly parts, etc. But it is not suitable for printing large models. If you need to print large models, you need to disassemble them for printing.
In addition to the high toughness, high-temperature resistance, and ordinary photosensitive resins mentioned above, there are also translucent and fully transparent photosensitive resins. However, you need to be reminded that semi-transparent and fully transparent prints need to be polished later. The transparency will be slightly worse in areas that cannot be polished.
Photosensitive resin materials not only have good molding effects but are also relatively cheap, so they have become the first choice for printing prototypes. As for whether it is feasible to make a sample to verify the appearance and function of the product before it goes on the market, the sample fee is cost-effective. Compared with direct production without proofing, it can save a lot of money.
However, many customers have this question. As a liquid material, photosensitive resin also has a chemical smell, so is it toxic?
Photosensitive resin materials cannot simply be said to be toxic or non-toxic. The toxicity must be discussed in combination with the dose. Generally, there will be no problems after normal light curing. Photocurable resin is the matrix resin of photocurable coatings. It is compounded with photoinitiators, reactive diluents, and various additives to form photocurable coatings. Light-curing coatings are the earliest examples of large-scale successful application of light-curing technology in industry. They are also the products with the largest production and sales in the light-curing industry, so you can contact them with confidence.
Judging from the chemical materials and items we commonly use in life, it is not difficult to find that most polymers are non-toxic. Many of the plastics used in daily life are melamine tableware, which is the kind of plastic that looks a bit like porcelain. Polymelamine should be familiar to everyone, but its polymer is non-toxic. Of course, some black workshops use poor raw materials or poor craftsman
