Which material is most commonly used for 3D printing? It is estimated that the first material that pops out of the minds of people familiar with the 3D printing industry is photosensitive resin. Photosensitive resin is a kind of 3D printing material, it is similar to ABS material, the surface is smooth, high precision, the surface can be painted, and the hardness is ok. Photosensitive resins are very suitable for printing prototype models, such as models for exterior designs. There are also special requirements for functions other than appearance, such as high temperature resistance or higher toughness.

Photosensitive resin is formed by SLA / DLP technology. SLA is also called light curing molding. It uses ultraviolet light or other light beams to cure liquid photosensitive resin. Photosensitive resin, literally, is a resin material that is sensitive to light.

The characteristics and applications of photosensitive resin are introduced in detail below.

Characteristics of photosensitive resin

Photosensitive resin is generally in a liquefied state, and objects printed with this material generally have high strength, high temperature resistance, and water resistance. However, if the photosensitive resin material is not used for a long time, it is likely to cause hardening.

The specific characteristics of photosensitive resin have the following points

1. Low viscosity;

2. Small curing shrinkage;

3. Fast curing rate;

4, small swelling;

5, high light sensitivity;

6, high degree of curing;

7. High wet strength.

Application of photosensitive resin

The finished 3D printed photosensitive resin material has good details and high surface quality, and can be colored by painting and other processes. However, if the items printed with photosensitive resin are exposed to light for a long time, they will gradually become brittle and yellow. This kind of material is mostly used to print fine models and complex design models that require high model accuracy and surface quality, such as prototype, handwork, jewelry or precision assembly and so on. But it is not suitable for printing large models. If you need to print large models, you need to disassemble and print them.

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, it needs to be reminded that after translucent and fully transparent printing, it is necessary to perform post-polishing. If it is not polished, the transparency will be slightly worse.

Photosensitive resin materials are not only good for molding, but also relatively cheap, so they have become the materials of choice for printing hands. For the appearance and function verification of a sample before the product is available, this proofing fee is really very cost-effective, compared to direct production without proofing, it can save a lot of money.