Types of 3d printing resin

What Types of SLA Resin Are There For 3D Printing? Best Brands & Types – 3D Printerly

When it comes to resin 3D printing, there are a few types of resins you want to get familiar with. I thought there was only one type when I first started. After some time, I noticed there are more types with some cool properties.

For resin 3D printing, you can choose to use Standard Resin, Clear Resin, Tough Resin, Flexible Resin, Water-Washable Resin, and Dental Resin, each with its own set of unique properties and specific use cases. 

I’ll be describing these different types of resins and more in detail in this article, as well as some great brands to get for yourself. Keep on reading through this article for more useful information.

What Types of Resin Are There For 3D Printing?

There are many kinds of liquid resins for 3D printing and each of them boast their own unique properties and added benefits. I will go over them below in simple terms, so you can decide which one sounds more suited to your use case.

The following are the different types of resin that are commonly used for 3D printing:

• Standard Resin
• Clear Resin
• Tough Resin
• Flexible Resin
• Water-Washable Resin
• Dental Resin
• Ceramic-Filled Resin

Do keep in mind that some resins can have multiple properties and types in one.

Standard Resin

Standard Resin is the most popular liquid resin used for 3D printing. One of the major reasons for its widespread use is its high quality with great details and affordable pricing.

This type of resin makes high-resolution prints and is best recommended to beginners who are just starting out with resin 3D printing.

The following are the main properties of Standard Resin:

• Smooth surface quality
• Highly detailed features and remarkable quality
• Very affordable
• Can break with little effort
• Minimal impact resistance
• Not suitable for functional parts
• Comes in the largest range of colors

An example of standard resin would be Elegoo Mars Standard Resin.

There are plenty of colors you can get with standard resins such as white, gray, beige, red, blue, green, black, maroon, white, yellow, clear, and more.

Clear Resin

Clear Resin is another popular choice for those wishing to make transparent 3D prints. It’s in the same category as Standard Resin, but deserves its own category due to the unique color. Many resins come in clear colors such as clear red, clear green, clear blue, or just clear.

The following are the main properties of Clear Resin:

• High-quality surface finish
• Makes transparent prints
• Water-resistant
• The clarity may degrade with time as the model is exposed to UV rays

A good example of clear resin is Anycubic Clear 3D Printer Resin 1KG.

The really cool thing about clear resin is how you can mix your own colors into it using something like DecorRom Epoxy Resin Pigment from Amazon to make beautiful, unique colors. You can also do this successfully with white resin.

I wrote an article about Mixing Different 3D Printer Resins Together which goes over how to mix these pigment dyes to create new colors, so feel free to check that out.

Tough Resin

Tough Resin is the perfect choice when it comes down to producing strong, functional resin 3D prints that can easily handle stress and strain. It’s also called ABS-like since it resembles the mechanical properties of ABS.

This material is ideal for making mechanical parts like machine assembly components, wearable items, and other objects that need to withstand wear and tear.

The following are the main properties of Tough Resin:

• High impact and shatter-resistance
• Durable and sturdy
• Best for creating sturdy functional parts
• Not recommended for models with thin walls
• Print removal can be a little difficult compared to Standard Resin

An example of tough resin is the eSUN Tough High Impact Resin.

Flexible Resin

Flexible Resin is a unique material that boasts rubber-like properties. It allows users to create firm parts with a high degree of flexibility, although the latter does depend on the specific Shore Hardness value of the resin.

It can withstand bends and compressions easily and is perfect for making packaging materials, handles, grips, gaskets, and stamps.

The following are the main properties of Flexible Resin:

• Very flexible
• Great impact resistance
• Ideal for making flexible parts
• Can be hard to print with
• Mostly requires a good use of support structures
• Like Tough Resin, it’s also not recommended for models with thin walls

An example of flexible resin would be the Siraya Tech Flexible Tenacious Resin.

Water-Washable Resin

Water-Washable Resin is exactly what the name says it is. This material stands out for simple and easy post-processing with water instead of using IPA (Isopropyl Alcohol) or anything similar.

Apart from its ease of use, this resin boasts a low odor and higher strength than Standard Resin. However, it’s quite brittle as well, thanks to the gradual water absorption by the part as you clean and post-process it with water.

The following are the main properties of Water-Washable Resin:

• Effortless post-processing with water instead of alcohol or other solutions
• Appreciable strength
• Fast curing speeds
• Good detail
• Can be dyed or painted easily
• Absorption of water in parts can generally make them crack
• Affordable

An example of water washable resin would be the Elegoo Water Washable Ceramic Gray Resin.

Dental Resin

Dental Resin is a special kind of material that is specifically used for making dental appliances. It generally comprises high precision and an exceedingly smooth surface quality.

This resin has the benefit that it can be steam-sterilized using an autoclave, so it’s more suited for professional settings rather than regular consumer use.

The following are the main properties of Dental Resin:

• High compressive strength
• Aesthetic appearance perfect for dental use
• Resistant to abrasion
• Ideal for surgical and dental appliances
• Average fracture-resistance
• Expensive

An example of dental resin would be EPAX 3D Printer Dental Resin.

Ceramic-Filled Resin

Ceramic-Filled Resins are a sizable step up from Tough Resins. As the name depicts, this material is usually reinforced with ceramic materials resulting in extremely stiff, and smooth parts.

This type of resin also has great heat resistance and remarkable thermal stability, so you can make highly functional parts that can easily tolerate multiple rough conditions.

The following are the main properties of Ceramic-Filled Resin:

• Very tough and stiff
• Excellent for making fine-featured parts
• Highly resistant to heat
• Ideal for molds, jewelry, automotive applications, pipes, and manifolds
• Below-average impact strength
• Brittle

An example of a ceramic-filled resin would be iFUN Ceramics Resin.

Best Types & Brands of Resin to Buy

Different manufacturers are out there trying to create the best resins for SLA 3D printers, but only a few of them have really achieved that “best” status.

Before we pick the top brands, here are some popular brands that you’ll find when searching for 3D printer resin.

• Anycubic
• Elegoo
• Siraya Tech
• eSUN
• Phrozen
• Formlabs
• SUNLU
• Nova3D

Let’s now look into the best brands that create high-quality 3D printer resin.

Anycubic

Anycubic is one of the pioneers of resin-based 3D printing. The company is headquartered in Shenzhen, China, and has over 200 employees hard at work for it.

It was founded in 2015 by a group of friends who were hell-bent on bringing a change in the world of 3D printing. Fast-forward to 2021, Anycubic is a leading 3D printer manufacturer.

This company has come out with some of the best liquid resins ever that are both affordable and produce top-quality prints. Let’s take a look at some of them below.

• Anycubic 3D Printer Standard Resin (Amazon) – A highly balanced resin that lets you create highly detailed prints with vividly apparent features. Parts made with this resin are quite durable and have a low odor as well. The Standard Resin has a 4.7/5.0 overall rating on Amazon where people have constantly praised the material for its extensive shelf life of 12 months and overall quality.

• Anycubic Craftsman Resin (Anycubic) – A premium-grade high-precision resin that makes models with extremely fine details. This resin is also suited for jewelry items and accessories for its high quality. On Amazon, the material has a 4.5/5.0 overall rating where customers regard the Craftsman Resin to produce ultra-fine details in their prints with little tendency to shrink.

• Anycubic Eco Resin (Amazon) – An environment-friendly resin that’s based on soybean oil. This material boasts the lowest odor out of any other resin and has fast curing times as well. The Anycubic Eco Resin has got a 4.7/5.0 overall rating on Amazon with people regarding it as pleasant to work with. Resin smell can become a huge problem for some, but this material makes sure to provide an eco-friendly printing experience.

Elegoo

Elegoo is another very reliable and trustworthy 3D printer brand that is known for its extensive array of high-performance SLA 3D printers. The company also makes high-quality liquid resins for its consumer base.

Like Anycubic, the company also originated in 2015 in Shenzhen, China, and has since earned quite the name for itself in the 3D printing industry.

If there’s one aspect where Elegoo beats Anycubic, it’s the quality of the customer support service.

Elegoo is famous for having the most skilled and cooperative customer support centers that prioritize customer satisfaction above everything else, even if that means going the extra mile.

That said, we are now going to take a look at some of the best Elegoo resins that you can buy and start creating top-of-the-line prints with right away.

• Elegoo ABS-Like Tough Resin (Amazon) – A fantastic choice of resin for making durable models. This material borrows the properties of the famous ABS filament so it’s quite tough and is also easy to clean up with Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA). On Amazon, the Elegoo ABS-Like Resin is well-received with a 4.7/5.0 overall rating. It’s high tenacity and low brittleness makes it a favorite among people who require functional 3D prints.

• Elegoo Water-Washable Resin (Amazon) – A premium resin that can be rinsed with water for post-processing. This popular material is also known for making attractive and durable prints. The Water-Washable Resin has a 4.7/5.0 overall rating, mostly because of its exceptional ease of use, and a far less irritating odor than other resins.

Siraya Tech

Siraya Tech is another reputed brand that’s known for making top-of-the-line liquid resins for a wide variety of SLA 3D printers, such as the Anycubic Photon series, the Elegoo Mars series, and even the Phrozen Sonic Mini 4K.

People from all over the world have tried out Siraya Tech resins and they’ve fallen in love with their quality, effectiveness, and affordability.

Let’s take a look at some of the best resins offered by this brand below.

• Siraya Tech Tenacious Resin (Flexible Resin) (Amazon) – A high-end resin that boasts high flexibility and toughness for making strong functional parts. People mostly pick this resin up for mechanical prints like bumpers and outer casings. It’s a top-rated product on Amazon with a 4.7/5.0 overall rating.

• Siraya Tech Sculpt (Amazon) – A high-temperature resin with great resolution and surface finish that’s ideal for injection molds. Being an engineering-grade resin that captures details very well, it’s quite affordable, as many people pointed out. On Amazon, it enjoys a terrific 4.8/5.0 overall rating. The resin can hold a temperature of 180°C and doesn’t deform up until that value.

Can Any 3D Printer Print with Resin?

No, not all 3D printers can print with resin since it requires a UV light to cure the photopolymer resin to harden it to a plastic. SLA, MSLA & DLP 3D printers all have a light source that emits through a screen which helps to cure the resin in a resin vat. FDM 3D printers use thermoplastic filament to create objects.

Stereolithography Apparatus (SLA) is one of the multiple modern 3D printing techniques that use a liquid resin for 3D printing. SLA branches out to other similar methodologies of 3D printing, like DLP and MSLA, but the base ideology remains the same,

What basically happens is that the resin gets curated by UV light and therefore hardens to adopt a solid form. Only SLA 3D printers are equipped with UV lights and other components required to print with resin.

On the other end of the 3D printer spectrum, we have the technology of Fused Deposition Modeling, which, as mentioned earlier, uses a filament like PLA, ABS, TPU to 3D print.

It does not consist of the parts necessary for printing with resin, such as a powerful UV light source, a resin vat, and a tank where the resin accumulates.

You can read all about FDM and SLA 3D printers, including their major differences in my Resin vs Filament 3D Printers comparison article.

If you’re further interested, it’d be wise to check out the 7 cheapest and best SLA 3D printers that you can easily purchase today.

How Expensive is Resin for 3D Printing?

The cheapest resin for 3D printing costs around $30-$35 per KG like Elegoo Standard Resin, while more expensive resins can go for around $100 like the Monocure 3D Rapid Flex. The more expensive resins like dental or engineering resins can be $300 per KG from brands like Formlabs and Uniz.

3D printer manufacturers have kept pace with the changing economy of the world and therefore strive to produce high-quality products and make them affordable too.

For instance, Elegoo is one of the best 3D printer manufacturers—as described earlier—and has a number of top-notch resins that can be bought under a budget.

The Elegoo Standard Photopolymer Resin 1 Liter on Amazon is priced around $35. You might think that this price will get you a low-quality resin, but that isn’t the case anymore.

You can get high-quality resins at this price, and the Elegoo Standard is one of them. In addition to the pricing, one bottle of resin can last you for around one week to one month, depending on the usage.

For example, if you’re into miniatures and figures, a 500ml bottle of resin will keep you sorted for roughly 2 weeks, so you’re looking at a monthly expense of $70-$90, depending on the type of resin you buy.

If you want a more detailed analysis of 3D printing costs, I highly suggest reading the “Is 3D Printing Expensive or Affordable?” guide.

Is Filament Printing Cheaper Than Resin?

Yes, filament printing is cheaper than resin simply because FDM 3D printers are generally less expensive than SLA machines, and that filament can be bought cheaper than resin. There are additional costs with resin 3D printing too that you have to consider, such as purchasing protective gear and curing machines.  

SLA 3D printers usually cost more because the quality of prints they produce is on a whole new level as compared to FDM 3D printing. As discussed in the previous section, a 1-liter bottle of standard resin costs about $35.

This is more than the cost of a 1kg filament spool, which can be bought for as low as $20. The costs are usually lesser with FDM 3D printing as you don’t necessarily have to purchase any protective equipment.

The same cannot be said for resin 3D printing as the uncured resin is quite dangerous when handled with bare hands, so you need Nitrile gloves and a respirator for safe breathing.

I wrote an article about the 23 Best & Useful Accessories for a Resin 3D Printer so you can see what kind of items are involved with resin printing.

SLA 3D printing is taken up by those who require extreme details in their parts, but the trade-off here is with cost and post-processing effort.

What Kind of Resin Is Used in Resin 3D Printing?

The kind of resin used in 3D printing is called photopolymer resin, which is a liquid that turns into plastic through a chemical reaction with UV light. Some people confuse epoxy resin with 3D printing resin, but that is a fundamentally different type of material. Gray photopolymer resin is the most popular color.

As described above, there are different types of resins such as Tough Resin, Water-Washable Resin, and Flexible Resin.

That said, many people often wonder what 3D printing resin is made of. The answer to this is that resins are actually a photosensitive combination of oligomers and monomers, both of which are multiple units of carbon molecules bonded together.

This is just the basic chemistry of 3D printer resin. The specific material properties vary from resin to resin, as some are modified to achieve specific results.

For instance, the water-washable resin is made in such a way that it can be easily post-processed with water. The same cannot be said about parts made with other types of resin, such as Ceramic-Filled or Tough Resin.

Types and applications of resins for 3D printers

3D resin printing has evolved in the same way as 3D FDM printing, until it is available to all types of users. This new movement through the use of 3D resin printers has led to the development of a wide range of resins, with very varied properties and applications.

In this article we will try to explain and clarify the types and applications of the existing resins for 3D resin printer (SLA, DLP, LED/LCD, LFS and etc).

Types of Resins

Most users are knowledgeable about the types of materials within the FDM technology, but when they start in 3D resin printing they usually encounter the problem of lack of knowledge about the types of resins. In the same way as in FDM technology, there are two large groups of materials for resin 3D printers: standard and advanced.

Standard resins

Normally, it is called "Standard resin" a resin that is used to make parts oriented to a generic use in any 3D resin printer. Resins belonging to this category have a good surface finish and moderate mechanical properties, such as resins with properties similar to ABS (zABS), resins to make really fast prints (zUDP) or even resins that allow you to create the color that the desired user (Color Base Kit).

Image 1: Piece printed with Color Base Kit. Source: Formlabs

Advanced resins

All resins that offer ideal mechanical properties for functional applications or that show a particular quality necessary for certain technical applications belong to this category. Within this category there are three distinct groups: engineering, dental and castable.

Engineering resins are materials developed to solve the most complex engineering problems thanks to the specialization of a material for a very specific application. You can find materials such as Grey Pro Resin, which combines very good mechanical properties, high geometric precision and good surface finish. There are also flexible resins (Elastic Resin and Flexible Resin), which show a low tensile modulus and high elongation, suitable properties for printing damping elements, packaging, flexible or ergonomic parts. There are high temperature resistance resins (High Temp Resin), which with its low thermal expansion and high tensile modulus can be used to print models for environmental tests, molds and masters for foundry and thermoforming operations, much more fast, economical and even more accurate than with conventional methods. Other materials of great interest for this sector are glass fiber reinforced resins to withstand large impacts (Rigid Resin) or low friction and high elongation (Durable Resin).

Image 2: Drone manufactured with Tough Resin. Source: Formlabs

As already mentioned, advanced resin groups are specialized materials, the clearest case being that of dental resins. All these materials have a biocompatibility certificate to ensure the health of objects intended for dental use. Professionals in this field make crowns and bridges models (Dental Sand A1-A2 Resin), surgical guides (Dental SG Resin), splints and retainers (Dental LT Clear Resin) with incredible accuracy and material costs far inferior to those caused by traditional methods.

Image 3: Surgical guide. Source: Formlabs

To finish the field of advanced resins, are the castable resins. These resins are used to make metal parts through the lost wax process, especially in the field of jewelry. The castable resins in combination with 3D resin printers is the ideal set to meet the need to manufacture small, high-detail metal parts that every jeweler wants, more quickly, easily and profitably than with conventional manufacturing processes.

Image 4: Model for lost wax and metal end piece. Source: Formlabs

Applications

Apart from the clear uses of each type of resin (dental, castable, flexible, high temperature resistance and etc.), some specific resin for one application is also valid for other applications. In this case there are dental resins (Dental Model Formlabs, zDental Model Sand, Dental Resin HARZ Labs), which show high mechanical properties and a high quality surface finish, ideal for printing final functional parts.

Image 5: Functional elastic shoe sole. Source: Formlabs

Before acquiring a resin

When acquiring a resin it is necessary to take into account the type of 3D printer available to the user (SLA, DLP, LED / LCD, LFS and etc.) and the wavelength of the UV beam it generates. The most common wavelength is 405 nm but 3D printers that use 350 nm to 410 nm can be found on the market. Once these two characteristics are known, the user can already look for a resin that meets their needs, without forgetting that they need a curing center that uses the same wavelength as the 3D printer, in order to obtain the maximum mechanical properties it offers each material

3D resin printing is already advanced enough to cover all the needs of any user, both for printing decorative pieces, resistant parts or specialized products for some field of industry.

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Choosing a liquid photopolymer for a 3D printer. Classification of materials for SLA/DLP 3D printing.

Contents:

1. Introduction
2. SLA Overview
3. SLA Standard Resins
1. Standard photopolymer resin - Standard
2. Clear Photopolymer Resin - Clear
4. Engineering photopolymer resins
1. Rigid photopolymer resin - Tough (like ABS)
2. Durable photopolymer resin - Durable (PP-like)
3. Heat resistant photopolymer resin - Heat resistant
4. Rubber-like photopolymer resin - Rubber-like (Elastic)
5. Ceramic photopolymer resin - Ceramic filled (Hard)
5. How to choose the right resin for your application
6. Dental and medical SLA resins
1. Medical Device Photopolymer Resin - Custom Medical Appliances (Class I Biocompatibility)
2. Dental Long Term Biocompatible Resin (Class IIa Biocompatible)
3. Biocompatibility class I vs biocompatibility class IIa
7. Cast SLA resins
1. Cast resin for jewelry making
8. Generalized rules

Hello everyone, Friends! With you 3DTool!

This article compares photopolymer resins using Formlabs SLA 3D printing products –

Catalog of photopolymer 3D printers

Photopolymers from FormLabs

Detailed review of the Formlabs Form 3 3D printer

Introduction

The stereolithography prints plastic parts with high resolution, good fine detail and smooth surface. Due to the variety of photopolymer resins available for SLA, this technology is used in many different industries:

• "Standard" photopolymers are used for prototyping

• Engineering photopolymers have certain mechanical and thermal properties

• Dental and medical photopolymers have biocompatibility certificates.

• Cast photopolymers have a zero ash content after burning.

SLA 3D Printing Resin Overview

SLA uses a laser to cure a liquid photopolymer resin. This process is called photopolymerization. Various combinations of polymers and other additives that are part of the resin allow you to get different material properties.

The main advantages and limitations that are common to all resins in SLA 3D printing are:

Benefits:

Weaknesses:

Base Resins for SLA

Post-Processing SLA/DLP 3D Printing Article

Standard resins produce parts with high stiffness, detail and a smooth surface. The low cost of resins, from $250 per liter, makes them ideal for prototypes.

The color of the resin also affects its properties. For example, in FormLabs products, gray resin is suitable for models with fine details, and white resin for parts that require the smoothest possible surface.

Benefits of using Standard grade resins:

Cons Standard:

Also included in the class of "Standard" photopolymer resins from FormLabs is the Color KIT - a set of special dyes and "Color Base" photopolymer resin for mixing and obtaining a variety of color solutions. This eliminates the need for painting parts after 3D printing.

FormLabs Engineering Photopolymer Resins

Engineering resins have a range of properties for injection molded plastics.

All engineering resins require additional UV curing, such as using the Form Cure, to achieve their maximum properties.

Tough resin was developed for models that need to withstand high loads and be durable.

This material produces strong, shatter-resistant parts and functional prototypes such as snap-on housings.

Pros:

Cons:

Ideal for: functional prototypes, mechanical parts

Durable resin is a wear-resistant and flexible material with mechanical properties similar to polypropylene.

Durable photopolymer produces models with a smooth glossy surface and high resistance to deformation.

Durable Resin is ideal for:

• Bushings and bearings;
  
• Various functional compounds

Pros:

Cons:

• Not suitable for thin wall parts (recommended minimum wall thickness 1mm)

• Low heat distortion temperature

• Low flexural strength (lower than hard resin)

Ideal for: functional prototypes.